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Trump said Putin and Zelensky want to end the Ukraine war after separate calls with both leaders. His remarks came as Russia struck Kyiv again and India rejected his claim of brokering an India-Pakistan halt.
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Washington,UPDATED: Jul 6, 2026 21:10 IST
US President Donald Trump on Monday said Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky want to end the war in Ukraine, even as Moscow launched a fresh wave of attacks on Kyiv that killed at least 18 people.
Trump made the remarks at the White House after holding separate calls with Putin and Zelensky over the weekend on ending the war, now in its fifth year. He said the issue would also come up in talks with NATO.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office after ringing the opening bells for the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq to launch Trump Accounts for children, Trump said, “President Putin wants it to end. I will tell you that very strongly. Good call. And President Zelensky actually wants it to end now, and we're going to be going to NATO, and we're going to be talking about it.”
While speaking about the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Trump repeated his claim that he had ended eight wars, including the conflict between India and Pakistan, which he said could have involved nuclear weapons. “I ended eight wars, and this (Ukraine) was, in my opinion, going to be an easier one because I know both heads -- I didn't know most of the heads. I did India, I did Pakistan, I did others that could have been a really bad one, nuclear.
“That was going to be nuclear. It could have, as per the Prime Minister of Pakistan, killed 40 million. Forty million people would have been killed, maybe 50 million. They had shot down 11 planes. It was raging. For four days, and I got it stopped,” Trump said, referring to Operation Sindoor last year. “And I did that, but this (Ukraine) is one that I think we're getting much closer than people realise,” he added.
India has consistently denied claims of any third-party intervention during the conflict with Pakistan in May 2025. According to New Delhi, the understanding on the cessation of hostilities with Pakistan was reached after direct talks between the Directors General of Military Operations of the two militaries. India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 last year, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians.
Trump’s remarks tied his latest outreach to Putin and Zelensky to his wider claim of having helped end other conflicts, while Ukraine remained under attack and India reiterated that its understanding with Pakistan followed direct military talks.
With PTI Inputs
- Ends
Published By:
India Today Web Desk
Published On:
Jul 6, 2026 21:10 IST
