Vladimir Putin has agreed to a limited ceasefire against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, but the Russian leader declined to commit to a month-long full truce, after a high-stakes phone call with Donald Trump.
A statement said Putin had issued an order to the Russian military to suspend strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said late on Tuesday that he would support a US proposal for a limited ceasefire aimed at halting attacks on each side’s energy infrastructure.
If upheld by both sides, a halt to attacks on energy infrastructure would mark the first partial ceasefire in more than three years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
But Putin again pushed back against Trump’s much sought-after plan for an immediate 30-day total ceasefire, which Ukraine agreed to last week, denting hopes of the US president’s plan bringing a quick end to hostilities.
On his Truth Social platform, Trump described the conversation with Putin as “a very good and productive one”, writing: “We agreed to an immediate Ceasefire on all Energy and Infrastructure, with an understanding that we will be working quickly to have a Complete Ceasefire and, ultimately, an END to this very horrible War between Russia and Ukraine.”
The US president added: “Many elements of a Contract for Peace were discussed, including the fact that 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!”
A White House statement said Washington and Moscow had also agreed to begin negotiations on the “implementation of a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea, full ceasefire and permanent peace.”
“These negotiations will begin immediately in the Middle East,” the White House said.
During the call with Trump, which lasted two and a half hours, Putin reiterated his concerns over a range of issues that he said must be addressed before the fighting could end, according to the Kremlin statement.
The “series of significant issues” included how such a ceasefire would be enforced and whether it would give Ukraine an opportunity to strengthen its forces and receive western military aid, it said.
Russia has given no indication that it plans to halt its own regrouping during the ceasefire, raising fears in Kyiv that Putin may use the pause to prepare for further hostilities.
The Kremlin’s account of the call said Putin set several maximalist conditions for a lasting ceasefire, including the suspension of western arms and intelligence support for Ukraine. Putin also demanded that Ukraine halt the mobilisation of new recruits.
“It was emphasised that a key condition for preventing the escalation of the conflict and working toward its resolution through political and diplomatic means must be the complete cessation of foreign military aid and the provision of intelligence to Kyiv,” the Kremlin said.
People inspect energy infrastructure damaged by Russian shelling in March 2024, at an undisclosed location in the Ivano-Frankivsk region, Ukraine. Photograph: Igor Tkachenko/EPA
There was also no indication that Putin had abandoned any of his most hardline objectives in the war in Ukraine.
He told Trump that peace talks must “take into account the unconditional necessity to remove the initial reasons for the crisis and Russia’s legal security interests.”
In recent statements, Putin outlined these demands, which include a commitment to keeping Kyiv out of Nato, the demilitarisation of Ukraine, and full control over the four regions Moscow annexed in 2022 – effectively undermining Ukraine’s independence.
Russia’s maximalist demands will put Trump in a tough position, as he has pledged to secure both sides’ agreement on an immediate 30-day halt to the fighting before working out the details of a longer-term settlement.
Meanwhile, Zelenskyy said he hoped to speak to Trump about his talks with Putin.
“I think it will be right that we will have a conversation with President Trump and we will know in detail what the Russians offered the Americans or what the Americans offered the Russians,” Zelenskyy told reporters during an online briefing.
Some of Trump’s recent remarks have raised concerns that the US may prioritise securing a deal over protecting Kyiv’s interests. Before the call, he posted on Truth Social that “many elements of a Final Agreement have been agreed to, but much remains.”
