Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to a 30-day pause in attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure following his phone call with US leader Donald Trump on Tuesday. However, Putin did not agree to Trump’s proposed 30-day ceasefire covering the entire war.
According to the Kremlin’s readout of the call that lasted for 90 minutes, Putin agreed to Trump’s proposal that both parties refrain from attacks on infrastructure facilities.
"During the conversation, Donald Trump put forward a proposal for the parties to the conflict to mutually refrain from striking energy infrastructure facilities for 30 days. Vladimir Putin responded positively to this initiative and immediately gave the Russian military the corresponding command," the Kremlin’s statement reads. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he supported the temporary halt to attacks on infrastructure, but said Putin’s refusal to agree to a broader ceasefire reflected Russian leader’s unwillingness to achieve peace and his desire to “weaken” Ukraine.
Trump wrote on his Truth social media platform that he and Putin had "an understanding that we will be working quickly to have a Complete Ceasefire and, ultimately, an END to this very horrible War." However, Kremlin reiterated its earlier position that the “key condition” for achieving lasting peace would be halting all Western military and intelligence support to Ukraine’s army, the demands that have been rejected by Kyiv and its Western allies.
Trump has made ending the war in Ukraine as his key pre-election campaign and even stated that there would be no war had he been the president four years ago. He first initiated direct negotiations with Putin in February, drawing criticism from Ukraine’s western allies who seek to isolate the Russian leader. The move was followed by the unruly Oval Office meeting on February 28 in White House, in which Trump and Vice-President JD Vance berated Zelenskiy for not showing enough gratitude for US military aid to Kyiv.
Earlier on Sunday, Trump said his call with Putin would concentrate on “lands” and “power plants” with reference to Ukraine’s Russian-held Zaporizhzhia power plant.
