Putin tells Trump drone strikes ended talks restart as Moscow sets the pace

Russian President Vladimir Putin told US President Donald Trump in a Friday telephone call that Ukrainian drone attacks during Russia's parliamentary elections had destroyed the immediate prospect of resuming trilateral peace negotiations, according to Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov.

Ushakov said the call lasted 90 minutes. He said Putin accused Kyiv of launching a massive drone strike on Moscow, other cities, polling stations and people involved in organizing the vote on the main election day. Ushakov said Moscow would now consider when negotiations might be resumed.

Those are Moscow's claims, delivered through a Kremlin aide and carried by Russian state news agency Tass.

What is clearer is the mechanics. Trump listened to Putin's position and agreed to instruct that the message be conveyed to the Ukrainian delegation in Miami for scheduled talks with US representatives, Ushakov said. That leaves Ukrainian negotiators receiving Putin's account secondhand, through Washington, rather than from Moscow directly.

Moscow and Washington had previously discussed restarting trilateral talks involving Russia, the US and Ukraine immediately after the State Duma elections. Russia now considers the circumstances changed.

The call lands at a moment when the US had been working to arrange a new round of talks to end the Russia-Ukraine war. Kyiv and Moscow both confirmed on Friday the plan to relaunch trilateral talks, with the UAE proposed as host.

If Moscow's account holds, a near-term trilateral restart is off the table and the timing of any resumption sits with the Kremlin.

Several things remain unknown. When, if ever, Moscow will agree to resume negotiations.