MOSCOW/WASHINGTON, Dec. 29 — Russian President Vladimir Putin held a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump on the progress in the latest U.S.-Ukraine negotiations, Russian Presidential Aide Yuri Ushakov said Monday.
“President Trump and his key advisors participating in the call provided a detailed, comprehensive briefing on the main outcomes of the previous day’s negotiations with the Ukrainian delegation held at Mar-a-Lago,” Ushakov told the press.
Trump also informed Putin that he had advised Zelensky against seeking a military respite for Ukraine, urging instead a focus on reaching comprehensive and binding agreements, Ushakov said.
Putin emphasized that the Russian side intends to continue engaging in close and productive cooperation with its U.S. partners to explore pathways toward achieving peace, Ushakov said.
Ushakov also revealed that Trump was shocked and outraged by the news of Kiev’s overnight drone attack on the Russian presidential residence in Novgorod, saying that the U.S. president “could never have imagined such reckless actions on the part of Ukraine.” In 2025, Putin held 17 contacts with U.S. representatives, including 10 phone calls with Trump, according to Ushakov.
The White House also confirmed the phone call between Trump and Putin on Monday morning, the second conversation between the two presidents in the past two days.
“President Trump has concluded a positive call with President Putin concerning Ukraine,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote on X, without providing further details. (Namibia Daily News / Xinhua)
