Crimea Attack Kills One as Trump Holds Separate Putin, Zelensky Calls
MOSCOW-A Ukrainian attack on Russian-occupied Crimea killed one person and injured two others early on Sunday, Moscow-installed authorities said, as U.S. President Donald Trump held separate telephone conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky aimed at advancing efforts to end the war, now in its fifth year.
Sergei Aksyonov, the Moscow-appointed governor of Crimea, said the strike occurred in the northern part of the peninsula. He reported that one person was killed and two others were wounded, including one who was in serious condition, but did not provide further details about the nature of the attack.
The latest strike follows an increase in Ukrainian attacks targeting infrastructure in Crimea, reflecting Kyiv’s effort to disrupt Russian military logistics and isolate the strategically important Black Sea peninsula.
Russia seized Crimea in 2014 and subsequently annexed the territory, a move rejected by Ukraine and widely regarded as illegal by much of the international community. Western officials and analysts say Ukraine’s growing use of long-range strikes has increased pressure on Moscow even as Russian battlefield advances have slowed in recent months.
The attack came hours after Zelensky and Putin separately spoke by telephone with Trump about prospects for ending the conflict.
In a message posted on X late Saturday, Zelensky said he had called Trump to congratulate him on the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence. He said the two leaders discussed developments along the front line and agreed to continue their discussions in person during the upcoming NATO summit in Ankara.
Zelensky said there remained a genuine opportunity to end the war and described continued U.S. engagement as an important factor in achieving that objective.
The Kremlin separately described Putin’s conversation with Trump as constructive. Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov said the call lasted nearly 90 minutes and marked the fourth conversation between the two leaders this year.
According to Ushakov, Putin congratulated Trump and the American people on the anniversary of U.S. independence. He said Trump reiterated his willingness to support a rapid end to hostilities and pursue a peaceful settlement, while U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would continue mediation efforts and remained prepared to visit Moscow.
Ushakov said Putin again stressed that Russia favors a diplomatic resolution provided that what he described as Moscow’s fundamental positions are taken into account.
The Russian president also accused Ukraine and its European allies of seeking to prolong and intensify the conflict, according to Ushakov, arguing that European governments had misjudged the military situation.
Ushakov further said Putin told Trump that Russian forces continued to make gains along the front and cited the capture of the Ukrainian stronghold of Kostyantynivka as an important step toward securing the entire Donetsk region.
Ukraine denied Russia’s claim that Kostyantynivka had been captured.
The latest diplomatic contacts highlighted renewed international efforts to explore a negotiated settlement even as fighting continues across multiple fronts and both sides maintain sharply differing positions on the conditions for ending Europe’s largest armed conflict since World War II.
