Russian President Vladimir V. Putin has agreed for the first time to a limited ceasefire to stop strikes on energy infrastructure as long as Ukraine is doing the same, the Kremlin said in a statement.
But in a two and a half hour call with President Trump, the Russian leader has now refused to agree to a broader 30-day suspension in the fight proposed by us and Ukrainian officials. In other words, attacks on Ukrainian civilians, cities and ports will be fought for the territory and the good.
Still, if the energy infrastructure attacks by both sides actually cease, it would mark the halt of the first mutually agreed attack in the three-year war that the White House characterized as a first step towards wider peace. But personally, some administrative authorities acknowledge that Putin appears to be stuck and agrees well enough that he appears to be engaged in peace negotiations, pushing his advantages on the battlefield.
The ceasefire of energy targets will not only benefit Ukraine, which has struggled for years with repeated attacks on the Russian energy grid. It also brings it as a relief to the Kremlin. Ukraine has risked Moscow's most important national revenue stream and has carried out extensive strikes on oil and gas facilities deep in Russia's centre.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was waiting for a call from Trump to look into details of his discussion with Putin, but he said it was open to a strike ceasefire targeting energy infrastructure.
“Russia and Ukraine can agree not to attack energy infrastructure through US mediation,” he told Ukrainian public broadcaster Sasrun on Tuesday night. “Our side supports this. But Russia will attack our energy sector and we cannot remain silent. We will answer.”
In a later statement, he said Putin “effectively rejected the proposal for a ceasefire entirely,” and that Russia accused him of continuing attacks, including an unmanned attack at a hospital in Smie, a northeastern city. His claims could not be confirmed independently.
The US and Russia statements of the call point to the remaining bay. Putin argued that the long-term peace relied on a complete halt of foreign troops and Intelligence News support to Kiev, the Kremlin said.
Essentially, Putin had called for an end to all the military support for Ukraine that the US and its allies had provided for three years. Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance were extremely critical of the billions of dollars the US spent on the war, but the White House did not mention that part of the argument in a vaguely expressed explanation of the conversation. Europe is pledging more aid.
The White House also did not explain the debate about which territory Russia would retain after the seizure of about 20% of Ukrainian land, which began with the illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014.
The outcome of the call seemed far from what Trump wanted in his outreach to Moscow. Despite Trump's public optimism, including social media posts filled with exclamation points, there was no date for the meeting between the two presidents. There was no statement of general principles to end the war.
But there was a gesture of goodwill. Putin said Russia will release 23 seriously injured Ukrainian soldiers and will exchange prisoners with Ukraine later this month. The Kremlin said.
The negotiations came after a prominent public violation between Trump and Zelensky, who played directly in the hands of Putin. The Trump administration temporarily suspended military and intelligence reporting aid to Ukraine earlier this month after an explosive conflict between Trump and Zelensky in the oval office. Washington has restored the flow of aid after we and Ukrainian officials met in Saudi Arabia and agreed to a comprehensive 30-day ceasefire proposal. The Trump administration then brought the proposal to Moscow.
Putin said he wanted to avoid hampering the Kremlin's rapid settlement with the White House, and that the idea was “right” and that Russia supported it in principle. However, he proceeded to lay out conditions known to be unacceptable to Kyiv.
According to the Kremlin, Russian leaders reiterated these concerns during their call Tuesday. Putin raised the issue of “ensure effective control” and will implement a ceasefire on a long scale, the Kremlin said. The Russian leader also said Ukraine needs to suspend mobilization and re-arming of personnel. Ukraine said it would not accept it.
On Sunday night, Trump told reporters he hoped that much of the debate would focus on the territory that would be handed over to Russia and control of nuclear power plants. It seemed to suggest that he wanted to discuss the fate of Europe's largest Zaporia nuclear power plant, currently occupied by Russian forces.
However, neither the Kremlin nor the White House mentions any debate about the power plants or territory that Russia may hold.
Washington and Moscow last month committed to normalizing diplomatic missions after years of ousting and closure of Tart, and mid-level US and Russian authorities held discussions on the issue in late February. However, the White House and the Kremlin did not mention the issue in their summaries of their calls.
In a White House statement and another post by Trump, Washington said he “consented to stop the energy and infrastructure strikes, but the Kremlin said in a statement it was “energy infrastructure.” It was not clear how the energy strike moratorium would be implemented, and how it would be implemented.
The Kremlin said the two leaders expressed support for wider normalization in US-Russia relations and discussed the potential for future economic cooperation, including the energy sector. Trump agreed with Putin's idea of ​​holding hockey tournaments in each country where professional American and Russian players compete, the Kremlin added.
The Trump administration's avoidance of discussion of details may be designed to maintain maximum flexibility in the negotiation room, including debates that force two men to do so in the name of ending the fight. But it may also reflect his desire to avoid another open conflict with Zelensky.
Recently, senior Ukrainian officials have explained three red lines that will enter negotiations. Kiev does not formally accept Russian sovereignty more than occupied Ukrainian territory, agree to a neutral position or reduce the size of its military. Authorities also say security guarantees must be obtained as part of the settlement. France and the UK offered, among other things, to send troops to Ukraine as part of a peacekeeping or “tripwire” unit, but the Kremlin rejected the idea. And military authorities question whether such forces are feasible if the US does not agree to back up European efforts in the crisis.
Speaking to journalists on Saturday, Zelensky said Ukraine would not recognize the occupied territory as Russian “under any circumstances,” adding that he understood “this is exactly what the Russians need and would insist on a term that Ukraine knows is unacceptable.” Last November, Zelensky admitted that not all territory will be reclaimed by force, and that after the settlement they may have to remain effectively under Russian control.
In the statement, the White House focused on issues outside of Ukraine, saying that Trump and Putin “we spoke widely about the Middle East as a region of potential cooperation” and that “the need to stop the spread of strategic weapons.” The only remaining nuclear weapons restriction treaty between the US and Russia will expire in February next year, with negotiations on a replacement not yet underway. In his first term, Trump said China would not enter the new Arms Control Treaty without signing restrictions, but Beijing has not expressed interest in expanding its arms.
For Trump, the Ukraine ceasefire is the first step towards a much broader normalisation of relations with Russia, with most of his NATO allies continuing to sanction and contain Russia, and aiding Ukraine while following the strategy of the past three years.
Ukrainian officials accused Putin of playing for time to maintain leverage in negotiations and to keep Russia up to time to continue attacking Ukrainian cities and towns.
The White House said Trump and Putin have agreed to launch “technical negotiations” over a wider maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea, where Russian ships are currently barely operated. He said these speeches “start immediately in the Middle East.”
Mark Soundtrack and A certain mejito I contributed a report from Kyiv.
