President Donald Trump stated on Monday that a resolution to the five-year war in Ukraine is “much closer than people realise,” and confirmed the issue will be on the agenda when NATO leaders gather in Ankara on 7–8 July. The remarks, delivered at the White House, came after a 4 July telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin and a separate call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump told reporters that both leaders want the conflict to end, and that his administration is in active talks with the two sides. A senior US official, cited by Associated Press, said the president feels “a real sense of urgency” to halt the fighting, noting that the battlefield has effectively frozen in recent months with neither side making significant advances.

Viewed from Washington, the diplomatic push marks a return to a mediation role that had been paused earlier this year when the United States launched a joint military operation with Israel against Iran. According to a Kremlin readout, the Putin-Trump call lasted around ninety minutes and provided what spokesman Dmitry Peskov described as a “good opportunity” to convey Moscow’s position directly. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, however, characterised the US stance on Ukraine as “noticeably detached,” a posture he said was affecting the overall negotiating environment. Moscow has consistently signalled that it regards Washington as an interested party rather than a neutral mediator, yet the Kremlin has also indicated it remains open to continued bilateral engagement on the file.

On the Ukrainian side, Zelenskyy has publicly stated his desire to end the war, and a meeting with Trump is scheduled for Wednesday on the margins of the Ankara summit. The encounter is expected to focus on pathways to a ceasefire and a possible framework for settlement. Previous US-led efforts have included a 28-point plan presented by Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff during a visit to Moscow; Russian officials later complained that Washington was retreating from its own proposals to which Moscow had agreed. The summit itself will take place against a backdrop of internal NATO friction: European allies are concerned by Trump’s withdrawal of troops and funding from the continent, while divisions persist over the scale of financial support for Ukraine.

Despite the diplomatic activity, military operations continue. On the same day as Trump’s remarks, Russian authorities reported Ukrainian drone strikes on the Omsk region in western Siberia, one of the longest-range attacks since the invasion began, and Ukrainian forces claimed to have hit two vessels of Russia’s so-called shadow fleet. The NATO gathering is expected to address both the immediate prospects for a ceasefire and longer-term security guarantees, though some European diplomats caution that the Ukraine question may be handled as a secondary item to avoid open disagreement with the US president. A further Putin-Trump contact after the summit has not been ruled out by Moscow.