Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he held a "very important and useful" call with U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday, July 4. The call comes after the Trump Administration canceled a planned shipment of weapons to Ukraine over concerns about the diminishing level of U.S. stockpiles.

Trump has stunned observers by privately telling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that he wants to help Ukraine, despite recently pushing for the U.S. to freeze critical weapons deliveries. The contradictory moves have fueled speculation that Trump is leveraging military aid to gain influence over both Kyiv and Moscow ahead of the U.