President Donald Trump confirmed early Friday he would hold discussions with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hours after Russia launched the most massive aerial assault on Ukraine since the start of its full-scale invasion in 2022.
Hours later, Zelensky said he and Trump discussed the Russian air raids, and “more broadly, the situation on the front lines,” according to his official X account. “President Trump is very well informed, and I thank him for his attention to Ukraine.”
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I had a very important and fruitful conversation with @POTUS. I congratulated President Trump and the entire American people on the US Independence Day.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) July 4, 2025
We – in Ukraine – are grateful for all the support provided. It helps us protect lives, safeguard our freedom and… pic.twitter.com/kQ3Byipvd2
The pair discussed air defense options and agreed to work on increasing airspace protection. They also agreed “on a meeting between our teams,” the Ukrainian president said, adding further discussion were over the country’s defense industry potential and cooperation with U.S. partners to bolster drone production and related technologies.
The overnight onslaught killed at least one person and wounding at least 23 others across Kyiv, including a child, in a bombardment that saw 550 drones and missiles fired at Ukrainian targets, according to the Ukrainian air force. Trump confirmed his plans to call the war-torn country’s president, but did not elaborate on the details of the discussion.
Firefighting efforts and debris removal are still ongoing after another Russian strike. This was one of the most large-scale air attacks – deliberately massive and cynical. In total, 550 targets were launched, including at least 330 Russian-Iranian “shaheds”, along with missiles,… pic.twitter.com/vnn31oST0z
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) July 4, 2025
“Yet again, Russia is showing it has no intention of ending the war and terror. Only around 9 a.m. today did the air raid alert end in Kyiv,” Zelensky wrote on X. “It was a brutal, sleepless night.”
The Washington Examiner contacted the White House for additional information about Trump’s call with Zelensky.
Trump’s call with Zelensky came after a tense conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin late Thursday. “I’m very disappointed with the conversation I had today with President Putin, because I don’t think he’s there,” Trump told reporters early Friday morning. “I don’t think he’s looking to stop [the fighting], and that’s too bad.”
Trump’s remarks followed his administration’s decision earlier this week to pause some weapons deliveries to Ukraine, including air defense missiles and precision-guided artillery shells. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the pause is meant to assess current U.S. stockpiles, though Kyiv officials have warned the move leaves the country vulnerable amid Russia’s growing aerial escalation.
Zelensky said five regions in addition to Kyiv were hit in the overnight attacks — Dnipropetrovsk, Sumy, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, and parts of greater Kyiv — and called on Western allies to intensify pressure on the Kremlin.
“All of this is clear evidence that without truly large-scale pressure, Russia will not change its dumb, destructive behavior,” Zelensky said.
Zelensky’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said Ukraine’s call with Trump was “very important and meaningful,” though no further details have been released.
Poland’s Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski accused Putin of “mocking” Trump with the renewed strikes and called on NATO members to “restore supplies of anti-aircraft ammunition to Ukraine and impose tough new sanctions on the aggressor.”
The Kremlin defended the assault, claiming it targeted drone production facilities in Kyiv. But Ukrainian officials described it as a deliberate act of terror against civilians, with Kyiv’s Economy Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko posting, “What Kyiv endured last night cannot be called anything but a deliberate act of terror.”
The attack is part of a broader Russian strategy to regain momentum in the war, which has entered its fourth year. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha noted that Russia launched 5,438 drones and more than 330 missiles — nearly 80 of them ballistic — throughout the month of June, a record pace of escalation.
Despite U.S.-led efforts to broker a ceasefire, little diplomatic progress has been made. When asked Friday if his call with Putin yielded any results, Trump said bluntly: “No, I didn’t make any progress with him today at all.”
TRUMP SAYS HE MADE NO PROGRESS ‘AT ALL’ WITH PUTIN ON ENDING UKRAINE WAR AFTER CALL
Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials confirmed a prisoner swap occurred Friday, with Zelensky noting that many of the returned soldiers had been held by Russia since 2022. The Kremlin has not commented on the number of Russian captives returned.
With international pressure mounting and Russia showing no signs of de-escalation, the next phase of U.S. involvement may hinge on whether Trump resumes paused aid shipments, and whether Zelensky’s push for more support can shift Washington’s current posture.