Trump tells reporters the end of Ukraine war is “getting close” while Russian strikes hit Kyiv

President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House on July 6 that he thinks an end to the war in Ukraine is “getting close,” adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin “wants it to end,” according to PBS NewsHour Politics. The comments were made while strikes and other attacks associated with the conflict continued to affect Ukraine, including the reported targeting of Kyiv.

PBS reported that Trump made the remarks in the course of a press exchange after describing his view that the situation is moving toward an end “than people realize.” In the same account, PBS tied Trump’s comments to the fact that Russian strikes on Kyiv were underway at the time, placing his stated assessment alongside an immediate security reality on the ground.

Trump’s July 6 remarks follow earlier public talk by U.S. officials about efforts to pause fighting or open space for negotiations, though reports in 2026 also described friction over compliance and the durability of ceasefires. In one widely reported episode in May 2026, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia had breached a three-day ceasefire, according to The Guardian, which cited Zelenskyy’s claims that Russian forces were continuing assault operations in key sectors.

Other reporting around that same period similarly described disputed accounts between Moscow and Kyiv about truce violations. France 24 reported that both sides accused each other of violating a three-day U.S.-brokered pause during the weekend period it covered, underscoring how peace-related announcements have been accompanied by competing narratives on the battlefield.

Across those episodes, Trump has maintained that direct engagement and U.S. efforts could bring the conflict toward an end, but the public record presented in contemporaneous reporting also shows that ceasefires and negotiation efforts have not consistently translated into sustained reductions in violence. The July 6 comments did not, in the PBS account, identify a specific timetable or a new negotiated framework that would define what “getting close” meant in operational terms.

As the fighting continues, the practical question for any declared movement toward negotiations remains how parties verify compliance and sustain pauses, particularly when strikes fall on cities such as Kyiv. For U.S. policy discussions, the statement also highlights the ongoing tension between leaders’ diplomatic expectations and real-time security conditions that affect civilians and military operations.

The Trump administration’s next steps, as reflected in public guidance and diplomacy related to Ukraine covered by major outlets, would likely focus on whatever mechanisms are in place for monitoring, enforcement, and potential talks. Absent a new official document or announced agreement tied directly to the July 6 remarks, Trump’s comments remain a broad assessment rather than a specific implemented policy action.

Russia and Ukraine are still locked in a contested war, and the specifics of any pathway toward ending it depend on terms that would need to be agreed by the parties and supported through verification and enforcement. For now, Trump’s comments function as a statement of intent and expectation, made while reporting indicated that attacks continued in the conflict theater, including in Kyiv.