One person was killed in a Ukrainian attack on Russia-occupied Crimea, Moscow-installed officials said in the early hours of Sunday, as the Russian and Ukrainian leaders held separate calls with US President Donald Trump about ending the war, now in its fifth year.
Two other people were injured in the attack in northern Crimea, one of them in serious condition, Russian-appointed regional governor Sergei Aksyonov wrote in a telegram. He did not give details about the attack.
In recent weeks, Ukraine has intensified its attacks on key infrastructure targets in Crimea, as the Ukrainian military seeks to isolate the vital Russian-controlled peninsula in the final phase of the war.
The peninsula was seized by force and illegally annexed by Moscow in 2014. Western analysts and officials say Ukraine’s increasing use of long-range strikes has highlighted its ability to inflict painful damage on Russia and put additional pressure on the Kremlin, while Moscow’s advances have recently been all but halted.
The latest attacks came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke with Trump about ending the war.
Get breaking national news
Get Canada breaking news delivered to your inbox as it happens so you never miss a trending story.
Zelensky wrote on the X website that he called to congratulate Trump on the occasion of the 250th anniversary of America’s independence, and that the two leaders discussed the situation along the front line.
“There is a real possibility of ending this war, and America’s resolve will be decisive,” he said late Saturday. “We agreed to continue the conversation in person during the NATO summit in Ankara.”
The Kremlin said Putin and Trump discussed the conflict in Ukraine in a “constructive” phone call on Saturday.
Kremlin Foreign Affairs Advisor Yuri Ushakov said that Putin congratulated Trump and the American people on the occasion of the 250th anniversary of America’s independence during the call, which lasted approximately an hour and a half, which was the fourth conversation between them so far this year.
Ushakov said that Trump reiterated his “readiness to help achieve a rapid cessation of hostilities and seek peaceful solutions to resolve the crisis” in Ukraine, while Trump envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will continue mediation efforts and will be ready to visit Moscow.
The Kremlin advisor said that Putin once again stressed Russia’s preference for a diplomatic settlement of the conflict, provided that Russia’s well-known basic positions are taken into account.
At the same time, Putin accused Kiev and its European allies of “betting on prolonging the conflict, and even escalating it,” considering that the European “war party” is based on a wrong perception of the general situation and the state of affairs along the line of contact,” as Ushakov put it.
He added that Putin told Trump about “the real situation on the battlefield, where the Russian armed forces are advancing confidently, liberating one settlement after another.”
The Russian leader specifically mentioned the seizure of the Ukrainian stronghold of Kostyantinivka, calling it a major step towards the “liberation” of the entire Donetsk region.
Kyiv denied the Russian claim of control over Kostyantinivka. The Ukrainian General Staff reiterated that the besieged city remained under Ukrainian control in a statement on a telegram on Sunday, a day after Zelensky said Russia’s claim of control of the city was “just another Russian lie.”
& Edition 2026 The Canadian Press
