Macron and Putin held a phonecall, Macron confirmed that Puted had rejected the ceasefire

On July 1, 2025, French President Emmanuel Macron held a two-hour phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, marking their first direct conversation since September 2022. Macron urged Putin to agree to an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine, emphasizing France's unwavering support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. The French leader called for the cessation of hostilities and the initiation of negotiations between Ukraine and Russia to achieve a lasting resolution to the conflict. However, Putin rejected the ceasefire proposal, maintaining his stance that the war in Ukraine is a consequence of Western policies, particularly those ignoring Russia's security interests. He insisted that any peace agreement must be comprehensive, long-term, and account for "new territorial realities," referring to Russia's annexation of Ukrainian territories, a condition Ukraine and its allies firmly oppose.

Macron informed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy about the call before and after it took place, ensuring transparency with Ukraine. The Kremlin reiterated Putin's view that Western support, including military aid to Ukraine, fuels the conflict, and Putin demanded that any peace deal address these issues while reflecting Russia's territorial gains. Macron's office noted that the leaders also discussed Iran’s nuclear program, agreeing to pursue diplomatic solutions, but the primary focus remained on Ukraine, where no progress was made toward a ceasefire. Macron expressed intent to continue dialogue with Putin, but posts on X and reports indicate that Putin’s rejection of the ceasefire and his unchanged position on the war underscore Russia’s commitment to its military objectives, complicating diplomatic efforts for peace.

Ukrainian Defence Ministry responded to the halt in US military aid

Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence has announced that it has not received any formal notice regarding delays or changes to the schedule of U.S. military aid deliveries. In response to media reports suggesting potential delays in the arrival of certain components from previously approved U.S. defense packages, the ministry has requested a phone call with American officials to clarify the situation.

“The Ukrainian side has taken note of reports concerning delays in the delivery of certain elements of previously allocated U.S. defence aid packages and is clarifying the current factual circumstances of these deliveries,” the ministry said in an official statement.

Ukrainian officials emphasized that the results of these communications with U.S. partners will be reported by both the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Defence Ministry further underlined the critical importance of maintaining stable, continuous, and predictable military assistance — particularly in strengthening Ukraine’s air defense capabilities — while expressing deep gratitude to the United States for its continued support.

Moscow welcomes reported pause in US arms shipments to Ukraine, saying it brings the war's end closer

The Kremlin claimed that the reported U.S. decision to pause certain arms deliveries to Ukraine could accelerate the end of the war. On July 2, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the fewer weapons supplied to Ukraine, the closer the end of the conflict would be.

Peskov’s remarks followed a Politico report stating that the U.S. Department of Defense had suspended shipments of key munitions to Ukraine, including Patriot air defense missiles, precision-guided artillery shells, Hellfire missiles, and other weaponry essential for Ukraine’s newly deployed F-16 fighter jets. The pause was reportedly due to concerns over declining U.S. stockpiles.

In response, Ukraine's Foreign Ministry summoned U.S. Charge d'Affaires John Ginkel on July 2. During the meeting, Deputy Foreign Minister Mariana Betsa warned that any delay or hesitation in supporting Ukraine's defense capabilities would only encourage Russia to continue its war and acts of terror, rather than seek peace.

According to Politico, the halt was ordered in June by Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon’s policy chief, after a review of available U.S. ammunition reserves. The White House confirmed the move and explained that it was part of a broader reevaluation of American military assistance to foreign allies.

Russia plans to extract gas in the Azov Sea

Russian authorities are planning to begin gas extraction from the Sea of Azov, citing Soviet-era geological data and identifying 22 potential offshore fields, including several near the occupied Ukrainian city of Berdiansk, Ukrainian officials told Suspilne on July 1.

According to the Berdiansk Municipal Military Administration, Russia's Federal Subsoil Resources Agency (Rosnedra) has announced plans to explore and potentially develop gas fields such as the Morske, Pivnichno-Kazantypske, and Skhidno-Kazantypske deposits.

Ksenia Kleshchenko, acting head of communications for the Berdiansk administration, said Russia had declared commercial reserves of gas in the Sea of Azov, referencing Soviet-era archives that listed 22 oil and gas structures. She explained that these include the Morske field, discovered in 1977 and still under conservation, and added that further exploration and pilot operations would be necessary.

Kleshchenko also noted that the Pivnichno-Kazantypske and Skhidno-Kazantypske fields had been discovered in the late 1990s and early 2000s during Ukraine’s independence but had not been developed. She said that the Ukrainian company Chornomornaftogaz had previously conducted surveys at the Pivnichno-Kazantypske and Strilkove sites before Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea and seizure of Ukraine’s offshore assets.

Ukrainian authorities believe that the Kremlin’s interest in mineral resources may have partially motivated Russia’s occupation of southern Zaporizhzhia Oblast, including Berdiansk. The Berdiansk administration stated that all of Russia’s plans are aimed at enriching itself and the Russian Federation, rather than improving the welfare of citizens in the occupied territories. It added that while residents of Berdiansk suffer from constant water and electricity outages, Russian authorities are simultaneously drawing up extensive plans to exploit the region’s resources.

The administration also issued a warning about potential environmental risks, pointing out that the Sea of Azov’s shallow average depth of around 14 meters (approximately 46 feet) could make any extraction efforts particularly damaging to the local ecosystem. Exploratory work is reportedly scheduled for 2026–2030.

Russia’s interest in resource-rich areas is not limited to the Sea of Azov. In June, Russian forces seized control of a major lithium deposit near the village of Shevchenko in Donetsk Oblast — one of Ukraine’s most valuable sites for the mineral essential to electric vehicle battery production.

Ukraine has now lost two of its four known lithium deposits to Russian occupation, including the Kruta Balka deposit in Zaporizhzhia. According to the Kyiv School of Economics, Ukraine holds approximately one-third of the European Union’s lithium reserves.