"From a military point of view, this is a turning point in the war," aviation expert Anatolii Khrapchynskyi told me.
Trump warned in a social media post that the phone call, which lasted more than an hour, would not "lead to immediate peace" between Russia and Ukraine.Russia's RIA Novosti, a state-owned news agency, said Putin told Trump that Ukraine has tried to "disrupt" the negotiations and that the government in Kyiv has "essentially turned into a terrorist organisation".
The two also "exchanged views on the prospects for restoring cooperation between the countries, which has enormous potential," it said.The conversation between the two leaders marks the first since Ukraineon 1 June, targeting what it said were nuclear-capable long-range bombers.
Trump told Putin in the call that the US was not warned in advance of the attack, Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov said.Ukraine's Minister of Strategic Industries Yuriy Sak told Radio 4's World Tonight programme his country had hoped the US would respond to the "incessant Russian missile and drone attacks" with "more sanctions and with more pressure".
Last week, Trump appeared to set a two-week deadline for Putin, threatening to change how the US is responding to Russia if he believed Putin was still "tapping" him along on peace efforts in Ukraine.
The comment was one of a string of critical remarks by Trump, who on 26 May said that Putin had gone "absolutely crazy" and was "playing with fire" afterA rare oil portrait of Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi - painted in 1931 in the UK - will be auctioned in London next month.
Gandhi led a non-violent resistance movement against British rule in India and his teachings have inspired millions. Most Indians revere him as the "father of the nation".Over the years, several paintings, drawings and sketches of him have circulated around the world.
The auction house Bonhams says the painting, made by British artist Clare Leighton, is "thought to be the only oil portrait that Gandhi actually sat for".The portrait was made when Gandhi went to London in 1931 for the second Round Table conference, held to discuss constitutional reforms for India and address its demands for self-governance.