Russia and Ukraine Blame Each Other as Fighting Continues Despite Moscow’s Truce

 In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Services on May 8, 2025, a rescue worker puts out a fire of a building which was heavily damaged by a Russian strike in Sumy region, Ukraine. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Services on May 8, 2025, a rescue worker puts out a fire of a building which was heavily damaged by a Russian strike in Sumy region, Ukraine. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
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Russia and Ukraine Blame Each Other as Fighting Continues Despite Moscow’s Truce

 In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Services on May 8, 2025, a rescue worker puts out a fire of a building which was heavily damaged by a Russian strike in Sumy region, Ukraine. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Services on May 8, 2025, a rescue worker puts out a fire of a building which was heavily damaged by a Russian strike in Sumy region, Ukraine. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

Russia said on Saturday that fighting had been taking place in four regions of Ukraine despite this week's unilateral ceasefire by Moscow, saying its troops had been forced to respond to Ukrainian attacks.

Ukraine says Russia has continued to attack it and has called the ceasefire a farce. It did not join the truce but is calling instead for a 30-day ceasefire that US President Donald Trump is urging the warring sides to agree.

Reuters could not verify battlefield accounts by either side. The 72-hour ceasefire, declared by President Vladimir Putin to mark the 80th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany, expires at midnight (2100 GMT) on Saturday.

In a statement, the Russian defense ministry said its forces were sticking to the ceasefire - which Ukraine denies - and remaining at previously occupied lines, but that they were retaliating against "violations" by Ukraine.

It alleged that Kyiv's forces had mounted attacks in the Sumy, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions of Ukraine and near 12 different settlements in Donetsk region, which it said Russian troops had repelled.

A wounded Ukrainian soldier at a field hospital in Zaporizhzhia region told Reuters on Friday night that "there hasn't been any ceasefire" and nothing had changed.

"Shelling has continued just as before, drones are flying just like before," he said.

The Russian statement also said that Ukraine had tried four times to break across the border into Russia's Kursk and Belgorod regions, but did not specify when the alleged attempted incursions had taken place.



Trump Says US Has Given Ukraine Too Many Weapons in First Public Comments on Pause in Shipments

A truck with mounted anti-aircraft cannon, of the of 127th Separate Brigade of the Territorial Defense Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, fires towards Russian drones and missiles during an overnight shift, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine July 2, 2025. (Anatolii Lysianskyi/Press Service of the 127th Separate Brigade of the Territorial Defense Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces/Handout via Reuters)
A truck with mounted anti-aircraft cannon, of the of 127th Separate Brigade of the Territorial Defense Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, fires towards Russian drones and missiles during an overnight shift, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine July 2, 2025. (Anatolii Lysianskyi/Press Service of the 127th Separate Brigade of the Territorial Defense Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces/Handout via Reuters)
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Trump Says US Has Given Ukraine Too Many Weapons in First Public Comments on Pause in Shipments

A truck with mounted anti-aircraft cannon, of the of 127th Separate Brigade of the Territorial Defense Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, fires towards Russian drones and missiles during an overnight shift, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine July 2, 2025. (Anatolii Lysianskyi/Press Service of the 127th Separate Brigade of the Territorial Defense Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces/Handout via Reuters)
A truck with mounted anti-aircraft cannon, of the of 127th Separate Brigade of the Territorial Defense Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, fires towards Russian drones and missiles during an overnight shift, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine July 2, 2025. (Anatolii Lysianskyi/Press Service of the 127th Separate Brigade of the Territorial Defense Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces/Handout via Reuters)

President Donald Trump complained Thursday that the United States provided too many weapons to Ukraine under the previous administration, his first public comments on the pause in some shipments as Russia escalates its latest offensive.

Speaking to reporters before boarding Air Force One for a flight to Iowa, Trump said former President Joe Biden "emptied out our whole country giving them weapons, and we have to make sure that we have enough for ourselves."

Air defense missiles, precision-guided artillery and other weapons are among those being withheld from Ukraine. The country suffered a new barrage overnight, with warnings of ballistic missiles followed by explosions in Kyiv. The sound of machine gun fire and drone engines could be heard across the capital.

Trump, who also spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, suggested he wasn't completely cutting off American assistance to Ukraine.

"We've given so many weapons," he said, adding that "we are working with them and trying to help them."

Trump said he had a "pretty long call" with Putin that "didn't make any progress" in resolving the war, which the Republican president had promised to swiftly bring to a conclusion.

"I’m not happy about that," he said.

The Kremlin described the conversation as "frank and constructive" — the sixth publicly disclosed chat between the two leaders since Trump returned to the White House.

While discussing the situation around Iran and in the broader Middle East, Putin emphasized the need to resolve all differences "exclusively by political and diplomatic means," said Yuri Ushakov, his foreign affairs adviser.

The leaders agreed that Russian and US officials will maintain contact on the issue, he added.

The United States struck three sites in Iran on June 22, inserting itself into Israel’s war aimed at destroying Tehran's nuclear program.

On the conflict in Ukraine, Ushakov said Trump emphasized his push for a quick halt to the fighting, and Putin voiced Moscow’s readiness to pursue talks with Kyiv, noting the previous rounds in Türkiye yielded humanitarian results.

At the same time, the Russian leader emphasized that Moscow will seek to achieve its goals in Ukraine and remove the "root causes" of the conflict, Ushakov said.

"Russia will not back down from these goals," Ushakov told reporters after the call.

Putin has argued he sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022 to fend off a threat to Russia posed by Ukraine's push to join NATO and to protect Russian speakers in Ukraine — arguments rejected by Kyiv and its allies. He insisted that any prospective peace deal must see Ukraine abandon its NATO bid and recognize Russia's territorial gains.

Ushakov said a suspension of some US weapons shipments to Ukraine wasn’t discussed in the Trump-Putin call.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in Denmark after meeting with major European Union backers that he may talk to Trump in the coming days about the suspension.

"I hope that maybe tomorrow, or close days, these days, I will speak about it with President Trump," he said.

The previous publicly known call between Trump and Putin came June 14, a day after Israel attacked Iran.

The resumed contact between Trump and Putin appeared to reflect their interest in mending US-Russian ties that have plummeted to their lowest point since the Cold War.

Ushakov said the leaders discussed developments in Syria and expressed interest in pursuing bilateral projects in the energy sector and space exploration, during what he described as "frank, businesslike and concrete conversation."

The Kremlin adviser added that Putin even suggested that the US and Russia could exchange movies promoting "traditional values shared by us and the Trump administration."

On Tuesday, Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron held their first direct telephone call in almost three years.