U.S. President Donald Trump revealed that he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, discussing the ongoing war in Ukraine and Iran’s nuclear program. During the hour and 15-minute call, Trump said Putin “very strongly” indicated that Russia would retaliate against Ukraine following a recent drone strike on Russian military airbases.
“There is no immediate peace on the horizon,” Trump said, referring to the conflict that began with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. He described the conversation as constructive but acknowledged that it did not bring the two sides any closer to ending the war.
The call took place just days after Ukraine launched a bold drone attack on Russian airfields, claiming to have destroyed several nuclear-capable bombers worth billions of dollars. Trump said they discussed this attack, as well as other ongoing hostilities between Russia and Ukraine.
“It was a good conversation,” Trump wrote in a post. “But not one that will lead to immediate peace. President Putin stated very strongly that he will have to respond to the recent attack on the airfields.”
Trump did not indicate whether he had urged Putin to avoid retaliating, despite U.S. military and financial support for Ukraine.
On Iran, Trump said Putin expressed willingness to engage in talks about Tehran’s nuclear ambitions. Trump accused Iran of dragging its feet in responding to U.S. proposals for a deal. He emphasized that both he and Putin agreed Iran must not acquire a nuclear weapon.
“President Putin suggested he would take part in discussions with Iran and might be helpful in moving things forward quickly,” Trump stated. “In my view, Iran has been slow-walking their decision on this critical issue. We need a definitive answer very soon.”
The Kremlin confirmed Tuesday that Putin had told Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian Moscow was ready to help facilitate negotiations over the nuclear deal. However, earlier on Wednesday, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rejected Washington’s proposal, saying it was not in Tehran’s national interest — amid a stalemate over uranium enrichment.
While Trump has often been criticized for appearing sympathetic to Putin — including by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a contentious White House meeting — he has grown increasingly frustrated with Russia’s refusal to help him fulfill a campaign promise to end the war in 24 hours. To date, he has not explained how such a resolution would be achieved.
Despite the tension, the call signaled that the U.S. and Russia may be exploring limited cooperation on the Iranian nuclear issue, even as the Ukraine conflict rages on.