Trump said efforts to secure a full ceasefire in Russia’s three-year-old invasion remained“on track” despite the fact that his call with Putin failed to produce any broader peace deal.
As Kyiv and Moscow accused each other of continuing attacks, Zelenskyy said after the “frank” call that Ukraine was ready to pause strikes on both Russian energy and civilian infrastructure.
Trump said he spoke for around an hour with his Ukrainian counterpart, their first conversation since they had a blazing televised row in the Oval Office just over two weeks ago.
“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,” Trump said on his Truth Social network.
“We are very much on track.”
US President Donald Trump is now floating the idea of US ownership of Ukrainian power plants. Photo / Getty Images
The White House later said that during the call Trump had floated US “ownership” of Ukrainian power plants as it would be the “best protection” for them.
The billionaire former real estate mogul has already pushed Kyiv into a deal to give the United States preferential access to its critical mineral resources.
Trump also pledged to help Ukraine get more air defence equipment from Europe, a statement from National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.
But while Ukraine has already agreed to a US plan for an unconditional 30-day ceasefire with Russia, Putin is still refusing.
The Kremlin leader insisted during his call with Trump that a full ceasefire was only possible if the West halts its billions of dollars in military aid to Kyiv – Moscow’s long-standing demand.
Putin also demanded Ukraine must not be allowed to rearm, and that it must halt mandatory mobilisation.
Despite both Ukraine and Russia saying they now backed a temporary truce on power plants, each accused the other of failing to adhere to the halt.
Ukraine’s defence ministry said an overnight barrage of Russian missile and drones struck the war-battered nation, killing one person and damaging two hospitals.
“Today Putin effectively rejected the proposal for a full ceasefire,” said Zelenskyy.
Ukraine’s national railway service said the barrage had hit railway energy infrastructure in the central Dnipropetrovsk region.
Russia’s defence ministry reported a “deliberate” Ukrainian attack overnight on an oil depot in the south of the country, which they said was aimed at “derailing” Trump’s attempts to broker an end to the fighting.
“These attacks are countering our common efforts,” added Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, referring to the US-Russian talks.
Russia and Ukraine did however exchange 372 prisoners, Moscow said, which was planned as a goodwill gesture.
In Washington, US envoy Steve Witkoff said technical talks on a possible deal to end the war would begin in Saudi Arabia next week.
He predicted that a ceasefire agreement could be reached “within a couple of weeks” and told Bloomberg Television that a meeting in the kingdom between Trump and Putin was “likely” but offered no timeline.
Zelenskyy warned before his call with Trump against making “any concessions” to Russia following Putin’s demand for a Western aid halt.
Trump insisted on Monday night that he and Putin “didn’t talk about aid at all”.
The US President has, however, talked about dividing up “assets” including Ukrainian land and a huge nuclear power plant currently held by Moscow’s forces.
Trump’s overtures to Putin and indications Washington will no longer guarantee European security have spooked Kyiv and the United States’ Nato allies and prompted moves towards a steep increase in domestic defence spending.
“I don’t believe Putin at all, not a single word. He only understands force,” said Kyiv resident Lev Sholoudko, 32.
In Moscow, locals were more optimistic the talks could bring an end to the fighting – to Russia’s advantage.
“Definitely this is in our favour,” said one Moscow resident, Larisa, 46. “There is no other way. What happened in 1945 will happen now,” she added, referring to the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany.
