US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy agreed yesterday to work together to end Russia’s war with Ukraine, in what the White House described as a “fantastic” one-hour phone call.
In their first conversation since an Oval Office meeting descended into a shouting match on February 28, Zelenskiy thanked Trump for US support and the men agreed that technical teams would meet in Saudi Arabia in the coming days.
Zelenskiy asked Trump for more air defence support to protect his country against Russian attacks and the US president said he would help locate the necessary military equipment in Europe.
Trump briefed Zelenskiy on his phone call on Tuesday with Vladimir Putin, at which the Russian president rejected a proposed full 30-day ceasefire sought by Trump and accepted by Ukraine, but agreed to pause attacks on energy infrastructure.
That narrowly defined pause appeared in doubt yesterday, however, with Moscow saying Ukraine hit an oil depot in southern Russia while Kyiv said Russia had struck hospitals and homes, and knocked out power to some railways.
Still, the two sides announced they had carried out a prisoner exchange, each releasing 175 troops in a deal facilitated by the UAE.
Zelenskiy, describing his conversation with Trump as “positive, very substantive and frank,” said he had confirmed Kyiv’s readiness to halt strikes on Russian infrastructure and its commitment to an unconditional ceasefire on the front line as the US proposed earlier.
Some European leaders said Putin’s rejection of Trump’s proposed full truce was proof Moscow was not seeking peace. The offer to temporarily stop attacking Ukrainian energy facilities counted for “nothing” and Trump would have to win greater concessions, Germany’s defence minister Boris Pistorius said.
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