Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke with Donald Trump for nearly 90 minutes on July 4 in which the US leader again offered to help end the Ukraine war, according to the Russian foreign ministry.

Putin personally congratulated Trump “and the entire American people on this significant holiday” — the 250th anniversary of the US declaration of independence — the foreign ministry said.

The conversation was their fourth this year and “businesslike and highly constructive,” the ministry said, adding that Trump had “reaffirmed his readiness to facilitate the earliest possible cessation of hostilities” in the Ukrainian conflict.

CNN has reached out to the White House for comment on the conversation.

“The Russian side once again emphasized the preference for a political and diplomatic resolution to the conflict,” according to the foreign ministry, while claiming that “Kyiv and its European sponsors are banking on prolonging and even escalating the conflict.”

“Our president has outlined the reality of the situation on the battlefield, where the Russian Armed Forces are advancing confidently,” the ministry said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he had also had a “very good call” with Trump on Saturday.

“There is a real prospect to put an end to this war, and America’s resolve is decisive,” Zelensky said.

Russia meanwhile has claimed that its forces now control the important town of Kostyantynivka in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.

“It is just another Russian lie, an attempt to generate some kind of a news story,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday.

The Ukrainian military said Saturday that small groups of Russian soldiers had infiltrated the town, but counter-sabotage operations were ongoing.

(Source: CNN)