Putin Told Trump Russia Is 'Winning' While Ukraine Was Bombing Crimea

Four-Hour Weekend, Two Phone Calls, Zero Ceasefire

Trump held separate calls with both Putin and Zelenskyy over the weekend, framed publicly as a diplomatic push to end the war in Ukraine. According to CBS News, the Trump-Putin call lasted nearly an hour and a half, which is their fourth conversation this year. That's more quality time than most people spend with their accountants.

Zelenskyy posted on X that he called Trump to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence, they discussed the front line situation, and he came away believing there is 'a real prospect of ending this war.' He said the two leaders agreed to continue talking in person at the NATO summit in Ankara. That's the most optimistic framing you can put on a conversation that produced no concrete commitments from anyone.

Putin's Briefing to Trump: A Work of Fiction

Here's what the Kremlin's foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov said Putin told Trump during their call: that Russian armed forces are 'confidently advancing, liberating one settlement after another.' Putin specifically cited the capture of Kostyantynivka in the Donetsk region as a major Russian victory and a key step toward controlling the entire region.

Ukraine's General Staff responded on Telegram the next day saying Kostyantynivka remains under Ukrainian control. Zelenskyy had already called the Russian claim 'just another Russian lie' the day before. So Putin looked Trump in the eye, metaphorically speaking, and told him a thing that Ukraine says is flatly untrue. This is the guy Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff are being sent to Moscow to negotiate with.

The Kremlin readout also had Putin blaming Ukraine and European allies for 'betting on prolonging, and even escalating the conflict,' accusing what he called the European 'party of war' of misreading the battlefield situation. This is a man who invaded a neighboring country in 2022 complaining that other people want the fighting to continue.

Meanwhile, Back in Crimea

While the diplomatic calls were happening, Ukraine struck northern Crimea, killing one person and injuring two others, including one serious injury, according to the Russian-installed regional governor Sergei Aksyonov, who posted the information on Telegram. Aksyonov did not provide details about the nature of the attack.

This is not a one-off. CBS News reports that Ukraine has significantly stepped up strikes on key infrastructure targets in Crimea in recent weeks, as Kyiv works to isolate the Russian-held peninsula. Russia declared a state of emergency in Crimea at the end of June and halted all fuel sales to civilians because of the ongoing Ukrainian strikes. Putin himself admitted to a Russian journalist around that time that the Ukrainian attacks were causing 'problems' for Russia. That's a remarkable concession from a man who just told Trump his forces are advancing confidently.

The Crimea Situation, Briefly Explained

Russia seized Crimea by force in 2014 and illegally annexed it. That's not disputed international law, that's just international law. The peninsula has been a critical logistical hub for Russia's war effort ever since, and Ukraine has made it a priority target, using long-range strikes to degrade Russia's ability to supply its forces.

Western analysts and officials, as CBS News notes, say Moscow's recent battlefield advances have ground to a near halt. The Ukrainian strikes on Crimea are part of a strategy to keep pressure on Russia while the front lines have largely stabilized. So the military picture on the ground looks considerably different from the confident-advance narrative Putin was selling to Trump on a Saturday afternoon phone call.

Witkoff and Kushner Are Still On This

The Kremlin readout confirmed that Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will continue mediation efforts and are prepared to visit Moscow. Trump also reaffirmed, per the Kremlin, his 'readiness to help achieve a quick cessation of hostilities,' which is a thing he has been affirming since before his second inauguration with limited results to show for it.

Kushner is a real estate developer who married into this job. Witkoff is a real estate developer who golfed his way into this job. They are the American government's point people for ending the largest land war in Europe since World War Two. This is where we are.