1 killed in attack on Crimea as Putin, Zelenskyy hold separate Trump calls

One person was killed in a Ukrainian attack on Russian-occupied Crimea, Moscow-installed officials said early on Sunday, as Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held separate telephone calls with US President Donald Trump on efforts to end the war, now in its fifth year.

Two other people were injured in the attack on northern Crimea, one of them seriously, the Russian-installed regional governor, Sergei Aksyonov, wrote on Telegram. He did not provide further details of the strike.

In recent weeks, Ukraine has intensified attacks on key infrastructure in Crimea as Kyiv seeks to isolate the strategically important peninsula, which was seized by Russia and illegally annexed in 2014.

Ukraine's growing use of long-range strikes has underscored its ability to inflict significant damage on Russian military assets, increasing pressure on the Kremlin as Moscow's battlefield advances have slowed in recent months, according to Western officials and analysts.

The latest attack came after Zelenskyy and Putin held separate discussions with Trump on prospects for ending the conflict.

Writing on X, Zelenskyy said he had telephoned Trump to congratulate him on the 250th anniversary of American independence and that the two leaders had discussed the situation along the front line.

"There is a real prospect of ending this war, and America's determination will be crucial. We agreed to continue the conversation in person during the NATO summit in Ankara," he wrote late on Saturday.

The Kremlin said Putin and Trump had held a "constructive" telephone conversation on Saturday.

Kremlin foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov said Putin congratulated Trump and the American people on the anniversary of US independence during the call, which lasted nearly 90 minutes and was their fourth conversation this year.

According to Ushakov, Trump reaffirmed his "readiness to help achieve a swift cessation of hostilities and search for peaceful solutions to settle the crisis" in Ukraine. He added that Trump's envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, would continue mediation efforts and stood ready to visit Moscow.

Ushakov said Putin again stressed Russia's preference for a diplomatic settlement, provided that Moscow's "well-known, fundamental positions" were taken into account.

At the same time, Putin accused Kyiv and its European allies of seeking to prolong, and even escalate, the conflict, saying the "European party of war" had a flawed understanding of the situation on the battlefield, Ushakov added.

He also said Putin told Trump that Russian forces were making steady advances and had captured the Ukrainian stronghold of Kostyantynivka, describing it as a key step towards taking control of the entire Donetsk region.

Ukraine has denied Russia's claim that Kostyantynivka has been captured.