President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin struck an agreement for a partial ceasefire in Ukraine, with Moscow agreeing to halt attacks on energy and infrastructure facilities, allow safe passage of Ukrainian ships along the Black Sea and begin talks to end the three-year conflict “immediately.”
The deal stops short of the full 30-day truce proposed by Mr. Trump and accepted by Ukraine last week. It also was not immediately known what Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thought of the deal and any ceasefire – even a partial one – would require his approval.
It’s unclear when talks on details of a peace agreement would begin, but the White House said the negotiations would start “immediately” in the Middle East.
“The two leaders agreed that a future with an improved bilateral relationship between the United States and Russia has a huge upside. This includes enormous economic deals and geopolitical stability when peace has been achieved,” a White House readout of the call said.
Mr. Trump hailed the phone call as “very good and productive.”
“My phone conversation today with President Putin of Russia was a very good and productive one. We agreed to an immediate ceasefire on all energy and infrastructure with an understanding that we would be working toward a complete ceasefire and, ultimately, an end to this very horrible war between Russia and Ukraine,” Mr. Trump said on social media.
“This war would have never started if I were President! Many elements of a contract for peace were discussed including the fact that the thousands of soldiers are being killed and both President Putin and President Zelenskyy would like to see it end. That process is now in full force and effect, and we will, hopefully, for the sake of humanity get the job done,” he continued.
In its own release, the Kremlin said Mr. Putin “responded positively” to Mr. Trump’s proposal to halt the energy and infrastructure attacks as well as assure “safe passage” in the Black Sea.
Mr. Putin also agreed to release 23 seriously wounded Ukrainian soldiers who are being treated in Russian hospitals and continue peace talks.
“The key condition for preventing the escalation of the conflict and working toward its resolution through political and diplomatic means should be the complete cessation of foreign military aid and the provision of intelligence information to Kyiv,” the Kremlin reported that Mr. Putin told Mr. Trump.
Mr. Putin raised several “significant issues” that would be a roadblock to a permanent ceasefire in Ukraine, according to the Kremlin, including Kyiv stopping “the forced mobilization” of Ukrainian citizens to military service and rearmament of the military.
Mr. Putin also called for terminating foreign military assistance and intelligence sharing with Ukraine as a condition of a full ceasefire.
Mr. Trump and Mr. Putin reached the temporary ceasefire deal in a roughly 90-minute phone call Tuesday.
The two leaders also agreed that Iran should never be in a position to destroy Israel, according to the Kremlin’s account of the call.
While the White House didn’t give details of the conditions for a permanent ceasefire, Mr. Trump said discussions would involve “dividing up certain assets” that include land and power plants.
“We will be talking about power plants,” Mr. Trump told reporters Sunday on Air Force One. “I think a lot of it has already been discussed at length by both sides, Ukraine and Russia.”
Mr. Trump’s comments indicate that the Zaporizhzia power plant, which sits in Ukraine and is Europe’s nuclear facility along with land – Ukraine controls part of the Russian region of Kursk, while Russia controls several regions of Ukraine – are all on the table for negotiations.
The president told reporters Monday that Ukraine’s soldiers in Kursk were “in deep trouble” and that his temporary suspension of military and intelligence assistance with Kyiva was an effort to get Ukraine “to do the right thing.”
Mr. Putin last week expressed concern about a ceasefire. He said he’d be open to the idea if it leads to long-term peace, but hinted that barring Ukraine from receiving U.S. military aid and mobilizing new forces must be part of any peace agreement.
He has also called for Ukraine to surrender four southeastern regions currently occupied by Russian troops and a guarantee that Ukraine is barred from joining NATO.
Moscow has also rejected a proposal by European nations to deploy foreign peacekeepers to Ukraine.
Mr. Zelenskyy previously said he would be willing to resign in exchange for peace or NATO membership, which he views as critical for Ukrainian security.
