On July 4, President Donald Trump told reporters at the air base near Washington: "I have not made any progress with him." At the same time, Ukraine suffered a series of drone and artillery attacks from Russia, burning down an apartment complex in the suburbs of Kiev and killing at least 5 people in the eastern part.
According to Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov, the call did not mention the temporary suspension of some US weapons shipments to Kiev. Meanwhile, many sources said that the US has temporarily suspended the supply of some important weapons to Ukraine due to concerns about low reserves in the context of Russia stepping up attacks in the summer.
On this issue, Mr. Trump denied the possibility of a complete stop of aid. We are still providing weapons, he said. Mr. Biden has run out of our warehouse by providing them with aid. Now we have to make sure we have enough for ourselves."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he hopes to talk to Trump the next day about a temporary halt to arms transfers, something Kiev has only recently known about.
Ukrainian officials have summoned the US representative in Kiev to emphasize the importance of military aid, and warned that this suspension would weaken Ukraine's defense capabilities against new Russian attacks.
Meanwhile, Mr. Putin continued to stress that Russia would only stop the campaign if the root causes of the conflict were resolved. According to Ushakov, these include NATO expansion and Western support for Ukraine, especially the abandonment of Ukraine's idea of joining NATO.
Russia is also said to be seeking to increase its influence on political decisions in Kiev and Eastern European capitals. In that context, the diplomatic efforts of the three sides seem to have been unpopular with Russia. Some Ukrainian officials said that at a meeting in Istanbul in June, Russia asked US diplomats to leave the meeting room to avoid tripartite negotiations.
Ushakov also confirmed that the two leaders are not considering holding a face-to-face meeting.
