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MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin and US counterpart Donald Trump on Tuesday discussed the Ukraine conflict in an \u201cextremely frank\u201d and constructive hour-long phone call, the Kremlin said.<\/p>\n
It came after US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner visited Moscow and Kyiv over the weekend in an attempt to kickstart long-stalled US efforts to end the fighting.<\/p>\n
Washington has been pushing for fresh face-to-face talks between Moscow and Kyiv.<\/p>\n
Kyiv says the talks could happen as early as this month, but the Kremlin on Monday said it was \u201ctoo early\u201d to discuss a venue or dates.<\/p>\n
During their call on Tuesday, Putin and Trump \u201cfocused on the issue of a settlement in Ukraine\u201d, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters including AFP.<\/p>\n
Trump called for a speedy end to the fighting, Ushakov said, while Putin presented an \u201cobjective and detailed analysis\u201d of the frontline situation.<\/p>\n
Putin has routinely said his troops are advancing across the entire front, with the capture of the entire eastern Donbas region a matter of time.<\/p>\n
Putin \u201cpointed out what the Americans could realistically do to bring the hostilities to a swift conclusion\u201d and stressed that Russia had \u201cno aggressive plans\u201d towards Europe, Ushakov added.<\/p>\n
Trump and the White House did not provide an immediate readout of the call.<\/p>\n
\u2018The earlier, the better\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n Russia has intensified aerial attacks on Ukrainian towns and cities in recent months.<\/p>\n After announcing a brief ceasefire to coincide with Witkoff and Kushner\u2019s visit to Kyiv, Moscow resumed strikes on the Ukrainian capital overnight, killing at least five people, according to Ukraine\u2019s rescue services.<\/p>\n AFP reporters in Kyiv heard fresh explosions in the early hours of Tuesday, triggering fires and sending locals down into basements and metro stations for shelter.<\/p>\n Zelensky meanwhile said Russian, Ukrainian and US negotiators could meet as early as this month for talks on finding an end to the war.<\/p>\n \u201cIf all sides agree, we also want to hold it in the autumn. If September works out, then it would be great. The earlier, the better,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Several previous rounds of negotiations have failed. Trust is low, and there is no sign that Moscow or Kyiv have shifted their positions.<\/p>\n \u201cThe moment the US president\u2019s peace envoys left, Putin launched another massive, horrific attack against Kyiv,\u201d Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said.<\/p>\n \u201cHis ballistic missiles speak louder than his words on diplomacy.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018Terrifying\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n Russia said it had carried out a \u201cmassive strike\u201d on military-industrial sites, logistics hubs and storage centres in Kyiv and its suburbs.<\/p>\n Locals told AFP how they ran for cover as the attack started.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was very terrifying, we barely managed to run into the parking lot. The parking lot was shaking all over too,\u201d Nina Kimova, 55, said, adding that her car had been \u201cburnt to ashes\u201d.<\/p>\n Civilian deaths in Ukraine are running at their highest rate since the first months of Russia\u2019s offensive, according to statistics verified by the United Nations.<\/p>\n In the Moscow-annexed Crimean peninsula, Russian-installed officials said a Ukrainian attack killed two people.<\/p>\n Zelensky told US news outlet Axios that the United States was pushing for a de-escalation ahead of winter and that Putin did not want to annoy Trump before the US midterm legislative elections in early November.<\/p>\n Russia has struck Ukraine\u2019s energy grid each winter since launching its offensive in February 2022, cutting power and heating to millions in temperatures as low as -20C.<\/p>\n The two sides appear no closer to agreeing on how the war should end.<\/p>\n Moscow is demanding Ukraine cede territory in its eastern Donetsk region that it still controls and renounce Western military support.<\/p>\n Kyiv has said such terms amount to capitulation and would only allow Russia to prepare a fresh attack in its bid to install a Moscow-friendly puppet government.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n