Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated he expects to discuss next steps with President Trump after Trump’s call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to Kremlin reports, Putin agreed to a limited cease-fire in his recent call with Trump, allowing attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure to halt. However, this falls short of the 30-day unconditional truce Kyiv agreed to at Washington’s urging. Zelensky appears open to the limited cease-fire but believes it would require U.S. monitoring. On Wednesday, he stated, “If the Russians do not strike our facilities, we will definitely not strike theirs,” at a news conference in Helsinki with Finland’s President Alexander Stubb.

The lack of trust between Ukraine and Russia is evident as the two countries accuse each other of attacking each other’s energy infrastructure. Zelensky stated that some of Putin’s demands for a broader cease-fire, like a demand for a complete stop of foreign military and intelligence aid to Ukraine, are only attempts to stall for time and gain a stronger position on the battlefield and in future negotiations. He stated that Russia is not ready to end the war and will continue to impose additional conditions to prevent a cease-fire.

The 30-day cease-fire proposal agreed to by Ukraine after talks with U.S. officials in Saudi Arabia had broader implications, applying to land, air, and sea, and representing the first cessation of hostilities since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago. This monthlong truce was meant to provide time for fuller peace negotiations. Anastasia Kuznietsova contributed to the reporting.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/19/world/europe/zelensky-trump-ukraine-russia-putin.html