Vladimir Putin has ordered Russia’s military to refrain from striking Ukrainian energy infrastructure for 30 days but stopped short of agreeing an unconditional ceasefire.
The Kremlin said the Russian president had “reacted positively” to Donald Trump’s suggestion to halt the attacks during a call between the leaders on Tuesday. It added that Putin “immediately gave the Russian military the corresponding order”.
But rather than agree to the US president’s proposal for an unconditional 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine, Putin highlighted a “series of significant issues” about enforcing such an agreement and “serious risks” concerning Kyiv’s compliance.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump described the call as “very good and productive, adding: “Many elements of a Contract for Peace were discussed . . . That process is now in full force and effect and we will, hopefully, for the sake of Humanity, get the job done.”
Readouts from the call offered no indication that Putin was willing to compromise on his maximalist goals for the war, which in effect amount to ending Ukraine’s existence as an independent state while rolling back most of Nato’s expansion east of the former “iron curtain”.
According to the Kremlin readout, Putin said he was ready to work with the US to end the war but insisted any agreement must “take into account the unconditional necessity to remove the initial reasons for the crisis and Russia’s legal security interests”.
The Kremlin said Putin stressed Russia’s “key condition to stop the conflict from escalating” and move towards a settlement would be a “total end to foreign military support and intelligence sharing with Kyiv”.
Last week, Kyiv signed up to Trump’s proposed 30-day truce after pressure from Washington, which had suspended military aid and intelligence sharing.
Trump on Sunday had also suggested that “land” and “power plants” would be divided between Kyiv and Moscow in any final peace settlement, a seeming reference to Ukrainian assets occupied by Russia.
The White House said the two leaders had “agreed this conflict needs to end with a lasting peace” and “stressed the need for improved bilateral relations between the United States and Russia”.
It added that they had “agreed that the movement to peace will begin with an energy and infrastructure ceasefire”, with “technical negotiations” to begin on implementing a “maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea” followed by talks on a “full ceasefire and permanent peace”.
The Kremlin said Putin had reacted “positively” to Trump’s proposal on Black Sea maritime security and added that Moscow and Washington would set up expert groups to work on paths to a ceasefire.
Steve Witkoff, Trump’s Middle East envoy, told Fox News’s Sean Hannity on Tuesday that talks with Russia would continue on Sunday in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, led by secretary of state Marco Rubio and national security adviser Mike Waltz.
“Up until recently, we really didn’t have consensus around these two aspects — the energy and infrastructure ceasefire and the Black Sea moratorium on firing — and today we got to that place,” said Witkoff. “I think it’s a relatively short distance to a full ceasefire from there.”
“The devil is in the details,” Witkoff added, “and we’ve got to figure out those details. Beyond that, we’ll move to a full ceasefire.”
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had floated the possibility of a truce on attacking energy targets in October, saying it could pave the way for broader peace talks.
Zelenskyy said on Tuesday that Kyiv would support the proposal to suspend strikes on energy infrastructure but added that the conditions Putin attached to a full truce showed his intention was to weaken Ukraine.
He noted Russia was preparing new offensives, pointing to what he said was a build-up of forces on the border with Ukraine’s northern Sumy region.
Zelenskyy later wrote on social media platform X that Russia was undertaking drone attacks on Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure, including a hospital in Sumy.
“Only a real cessation of strikes on civilian infrastructure by Russia, as proof of its willingness to end this war, can bring peace closer,” said Zelenskyy.
Asked about the Trump-Putin call, a senior Ukrainian official involved in the peace negotiations said an energy infrastructure ceasefire was “the only realistic proposal because, ultimately, Putin wants war”.
The Kremlin said Putin and Trump had discussed a “broad spectrum of directions” where the US and Russia could co-operate, including “mutually beneficial partnerships in economics and energy”.
The leaders also discussed the Middle East, where they said they would make “joint efforts to stabilise the situation in crisis zones”, as well as global security, including “establishing co-operation” on nuclear non-proliferation, the Kremlin said.
Trump also agreed to Putin’s suggestion that Russia and the US host international ice hockey matches featuring players from both countries, the Kremlin added.
Tuesday’s call followed a conversation between Trump and Putin in February that launched the US president’s efforts to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.
Over the past month, Trump has put heavy pressure on Zelenskyy to make concessions and negotiate a settlement with Putin.
The US president has been criticised domestically and internationally for being far less demanding of his Russian counterpart, though he has threatened to impose additional sanctions on Russia if Putin fails to engage in peace talks.
Trump promised to end the war in Ukraine throughout his 2024 presidential election campaign, placing it at the top of his foreign policy plans for his second term.
