Donald Trump said that discussions on advancing peace in Ukraine “are very much on track” after speaking to Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday.
The White House said that Ukraine had agreed to go ahead with a limited truce with Russia, which will stop attacks on civilian and energy infrastructure for 30 days.
Russian President Vladimir Putin also signed up for the U.S. proposal in an earlier phone call with Trump but declined to back a wider ceasefire, which Ukraine agreed to.
U.S. officials said that, during the presidents’ conversation, Zelenskyy asked for additional air defense support to protect civilians from Moscow’s attacks, including advanced Patriot missile systems, with Trump saying he would help locate the equipment in Europe.
The two nations also agreed to continue sharing intelligence amid intense fighting in Russia’s Kursk region and eastern Ukraine.
Zelenskyy said the discussion with Trump was “positive, very substantive, and frank,” adding that he believed that “lasting peace can be achieved this year” under U.S. leadership.
The 47-year-old Ukrainian leader also reiterated its support for a general ceasefire, saying in a post on X that discussions between U.S. and Ukrainian negotiators will continue in Saudi Arabia “in the coming days.”
“We instructed our teams to resolve technical issues related to implementing and expanding the partial ceasefire,” he wrote.
“In further meetings, the teams can agree on all necessary aspects of advancing toward lasting peace and security guarantees.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin also signed up for the U.S. proposal in an earlier phone call with Trump but declined to back a wider ceasefire, which Ukraine agreed to.
U.S. officials said that, during the presidents’ conversation, Zelenskyy asked for additional air defense support to protect civilians from Moscow’s attacks, including advanced Patriot missile systems, with Trump saying he would help locate the equipment in Europe.
The two nations also agreed to continue sharing intelligence amid intense fighting in Russia’s Kursk region and eastern Ukraine.
Zelenskyy said the discussion with Trump was “positive, very substantive, and frank,” adding that he believed that “lasting peace can be achieved this year” under U.S. leadership.
The 47-year-old Ukrainian leader also reiterated its support for a general ceasefire, saying in a post on X that discussions between U.S. and Ukrainian negotiators will continue in Saudi Arabia “in the coming days.”
“We instructed our teams to resolve technical issues related to implementing and expanding the partial ceasefire,” he wrote.
“In further meetings, the teams can agree on all necessary aspects of advancing toward lasting peace and security guarantees.”
Trump proposes US-run power plants
In a post on social media, the U.S. president said he spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart for an hour, with the discussion centered around his conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin a day earlier.
“Much of the discussion was based on the call made yesterday with President Putin in order to align both Russia and Ukraine in terms of their requests and needs,” he wrote.
A statement by U.S. officials giving details of the exchange revealed that Trump also raised the prospect of Washington getting involved in Ukraine’s electric network and nuclear power plants.
“American ownership of those plants would be the best protection for that infrastructure and support for Ukrainian energy infrastructure,” the statement read.
Trump has previously said that the future control of Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, located in Ukraine but currently occupied by Russia, could become a point of discussion in negotiations about a long-term peace settlement.
Overnight aerial attacks
Russia’s Putin agreed on Tuesday to stop attacking Ukrainian energy facilities temporarily but declined to endorse a complete 30-day ceasefire that Trump hoped would be the first step toward a permanent peace deal.
Before their conversation, Zelenskyy said he would ask the U.S. to lead efforts to monitor the limited ceasefire, adding that Ukraine would provide a list of energy facilities.
Yet both countries launched aerial assaults on each other overnight.
Ukraine reported that several Russian missiles and 145 drones had targeted sites across the country, especially in the east and south, with Zelenskyy saying residential buildings and healthcare facilities were hit.
An oil depot in the Russian city of Krasnodar was struck as Ukraine also launched dozens of drones.
Later on Wednesday afternoon, Ukraine’s state railway said Russia had attacked its facilities for the second time in one day, injuring four people in the southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region.
Zelenskyy has repeatedly warned that Putin may be dragging out talks and has no real appetite for peace.
