Trump Predicts Peace Deal Amid Escalating Ukraine Air War

U.S. President Donald Trump expressed optimism during a NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, stating that both Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky want the conflict settled quickly. Describing the ongoing violence as carnage, Trump suggested a diplomatic resolution is closer than publicly perceived, though he noted the war affects Europe more directly than the United States.

This diplomatic push coincides with a sharp escalation in aerial warfare. Russia launched a massive assault on July 6 and 7, deploying 68 missiles and 351 drones against Kyiv and surrounding areas, killing at least 11 to 22 people. Ukraine responded with asymmetric drone strikes targeting Russian energy infrastructure, including record-distance hits on oil refineries in Omsk and St. Petersburg and causing total power blackouts in Crimea.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has declared that the decisive phase of the war has shifted to the air domain, arguing that dominance in the sky will determine the outcome. To bolster this effort, Zelensky is planning a visit to Washington to urge U.S. leaders to authorize the use of long-range missiles for strikes inside Russian territory, a permission neither the U.S. nor the United Kingdom has yet granted. While Zelensky expressed readiness for a second international peace summit in November, the Russian government rejected the invitation, maintaining that Moscow will only negotiate if Kyiv surrenders four regions, including the Donbas.