White House Press Secretary Caroline Livitt announced on December 29 that there was a phone conversation between the Presidents of the United States and Russia — Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin — regarding the cessation of the war in Ukraine. This was reported by Zamin.uz.
According to her, the conversation took place in a positive spirit and potential steps leading to peace were discussed. Russian President’s aide Yuri Ushakov also confirmed this information.
He stated that Trump informed Putin about the results of the meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky held at the Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida. During the conversation, the US side provided information about signals received regarding negotiations with Ukraine.
According to Ushakov, Putin informed Trump about an attempted drone attack on the state residence in Novgorod region by Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had spoken about this earlier as well.
According to Kremlin officials, this "attack attempt" occurred after the negotiations at Mar-a-Lago. Putin emphasized that this incident would not go unanswered and that Russia’s position in the negotiations might be reconsidered.
At the same time, Russia stated that it does not intend to completely stop communication with the United States. According to Ushakov, Trump was surprised to hear about the drone attack on Putin’s residence and was deeply affected by this news.
Additionally, Trump noted that the US did not provide Kyiv with "Tomahawk" missiles. However, this information has not been officially confirmed by the White House.
According to Lavrov, on December 29, Ukraine attempted to attack the residence in Novgorod region with 91 drones, but all of them were destroyed. Although this situation may affect Russia’s approach in the negotiations, it was emphasized that relations with the US will not be severed.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called these statements "another lie." According to him, Moscow is trying to disrupt peace efforts between Kyiv and Washington with such claims.
Zelensky accused Russia of attempting to create an information environment to strike at government institutions in Kyiv and called on Trump to respond firmly to Moscow’s threats. On the same day, Zelensky also had a phone conversation with US President’s special envoy Stephen Biegun.
According to Ukraine’s Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, the parties continue to coordinate future cooperation and next steps. These events indicate that the geopolitical situation surrounding the Ukraine conflict is becoming more complex and tense.
The path to peace remains uncertain, but diplomatic dialogue continues.
