Kremlin demands all aid to Ukraine be halted — Trump and Putin’s one-hour call yields no breakthrough

U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a one-hour phone call on Tuesday, September 8.

Trump urged Putin to end the war in Ukraine as soon as possible, but the talks produced no breakthrough.

Russian presidential foreign affairs aide Yuri Ushakov described the conversation as “constructive and quite candid,” noting that Trump “clearly conveyed the idea that an early end to the conflict is desirable.” At the same time, Putin used the call to present what Ushakov called an “objective and detailed analysis” of the battlefield situation and outlined Russia’s intention to continue pursuing its military objectives.

Kremlin demands and trilateral talks

The day after the call, Ushakov told Russian state television that the United States “must stop all aid to Kyiv” as a precondition for peace. He said Putin outlined steps Washington could take to resolve the conflict.

Direct U.S. military and financial assistance to Ukraine has been suspended, but Kyiv’s allies can still purchase American weapons through a NATO mechanism, and Washington continues to share intelligence that helps Ukrainian forces strike targets on Russian territory.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia is “politically ready” to resume trilateral talks involving the United States, Russia, and Ukraine, naming Abu Dhabi as the preferred venue. Several rounds of such talks held earlier this year produced limited political results but did facilitate prisoner exchanges.

The phone call was preceded by visits to Moscow and Kyiv by Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, which yielded no visible diplomatic breakthrough. Volodymyr Zelensky described some of Kushner’s proposals as “very good and worthwhile,” but told reporters he expects the war to continue through the winter months.

Negotiator reshuffles and a growing CIA role

The Financial Times reported that CIA Director John Ratcliffe is preparing to play a more prominent role in shuttle diplomacy between Russia and Ukraine. The White House is reviewing the level of involvement of Witkoff and Kushner in the negotiating process; according to the outlet’s sources, Ratcliffe and Witkoff are competing over the distribution of negotiating authority. Trump has not yet made a final decision on the restructuring.

Battlefield realities

The diplomatic maneuvering is unfolding against a backdrop of continued fighting. Seven people were killed and 28 wounded in the Kyiv region as a result of Russian strikes shortly after a brief ceasefire introduced during the American envoys’ visit expired. The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, assessed on September 6 that at the current rate of advance, Russian forces “will not capture Donetsk before 2032, if they can capture it at all.”

Zelensky expressed hope for a meeting with Trump around September 20, roughly when the UN General Assembly convenes in New York.