Putin tells Trump he won't back down from goals in Ukraine, Kremlin says

Russia's President Vladimir Putin speaks during a plenary session of a forum organised by the Agency for Strategic Initiatives (ASI) in Moscow, Russia, July 3, 2025. Sputnik/Ramil Sitdikov/Pool via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY.

MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russian President Vladimir Putin told U.S. President Donald Trump in a phone call on Thursday that Moscow wants a negotiated end to the Ukraine war but will not step back from its original goals, a Kremlin aide said.

In a wide-ranging conversation that also covered Iran and the Middle East, Trump "again raised the issue of an early end to military action" in Ukraine, the aide, Yuri Ushakov, told reporters.