A Ukrainian attack on Russian-occupied Crimea killed one person, Moscow-appointed officials said early Sunday, as the presidents of Russia and Ukraine held separate calls with U.S. President Donald Trump about ending the war that is now in its fifth year.Two other people were injured in attacks in northern Crimea, one of them seriously, Sergei Aksyonov, the Russian-appointed governor of the Crimea region, wrote on Telegram. He gave no details of the attack. Ukraine has stepped up attacks on critical infrastructure targets in Crimea in recent weeks, as Kiev’s military seeks to isolate the crucial Russian-controlled peninsula in the latest phase of the war.The latest attack comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke with Trump about ending the war. Zelensky wrote on X that he called Trump to congratulate Trump on the 250th anniversary of the United States’ independence, and that the two leaders discussed the situation on the front line. “There is real hope for ending this war, and American resolve is crucial. We agreed to continue face-to-face dialogue during the NATO summit in Ankara,” he said.The Kremlin said Putin and Trump discussed the Ukraine conflict in a “constructive” phone call on Saturday. Kremlin foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov said Putin congratulated Trump and the American people on the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence in a phone call that lasted nearly an hour and a half, their fourth phone call so far this year.Ushakov said Trump reiterated his “readiness to help Ukraine quickly cease hostilities and seek a peaceful solution to the crisis,” while Trump’s special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would continue mediation efforts. The Kremlin adviser said Putin once again emphasized Russia’s “preference for a diplomatic solution to the conflict, taking into account Russia’s basic position.”“Ushakov said Putin accused Kiev and European allies of “betting on prolonging the conflict or even intensifying it” and believed that “the European ‘war faction’ has a flawed view of the overall situation.”
