Kremlin says Putin rejected swift restart of Ukraine peace talks in Trump call

Russian President Vladimir Putin told US President Donald Trump during their 9 October telephone call that an immediate restart of talks on Ukraine was not possible, according to Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov. Ukrainska Pravda, NV.ua and Latvia's Apollo reported Ushakov's account. The account represents the Kremlin's description of the conversation, not an independently verified record of what the leaders said.

Ushakov said Putin blamed Ukrainian drone attacks, including alleged strikes on Russian election-related infrastructure, for preventing a swift return to negotiations. The Kremlin adviser also said Russia would continue military operations until its stated objectives were met. His claims about Ukrainian attacks on election sites have not been independently established in the supplied reports.

Apollo cited Reuters as reporting that Putin expressed doubts about the near-term resumption of trilateral peace negotiations. This framing is narrower than claims in some headlines that Putin had ruled out all future talks. The available reporting establishes only what Russian officials said about the conversation and does not include an agreed timetable for renewed negotiations.

The Institute for the Study of War, cited by NV, challenged the Russian account and said Moscow was using the call to blame Kyiv for the lack of progress. That is the institute's interpretation rather than a statement of fact about Putin's motives. Ushakov also claimed Trump had agreed to convey Russian messages to Ukraine.

The conversation took place as Washington and Moscow discussed Russian diesel exports, a separate development criticised by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. NV.ua reported that the US Treasury had authorised certain Russian diesel transactions. The Kremlin account did not establish a ceasefire or a completed peace settlement.