Trump says Russia-Ukraine "on track" for ceasefire after Zelensky call
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President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meet in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on Feb. 28, 2025. Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images
President Trump spoke on Wednesday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in an effort to reach an agreement on a partial 30-day ceasefire with Russia, the White House said.
Why it matters: The call took place one day after Trump spoke for more than two hours with Russian President Vladimir Putin and tried to convince him to agree to a full and immediate 30-day ceasefire with Ukraine.
- Putin didn't accept Trump's proposal and presented a list of preconditions for a full ceasefire, but the White House said the Russian president did agree to a 30-day halt of attacks on energy and civilian infrastructure.
- The Kremlin confirmed Putin agreed to a partial ceasefire but described it as referring only to attacks on energy infrastructure.
The latest: Trump on Truth Social said much of his call with Zelensky 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."
- "We are very much on track," Trump said after the call, which lasted about one hour.
- Zelensky agreed to a partial ceasefire with Russia that includes stopping attacks on energy facilities, the White House said.
The intrigue: The White House revealed two additional details about the "fantastic" call in its formal readout.
- Zelensky asked for additional U.S.-made Patriot missile systems for air defense, and Trump "agreed to work with him to find what was available particularly in Europe."
- Trump told Zelensky the U.S. could help run "Ukraine's electrical supply and nuclear power plants" and that "American ownership of those plants would be the best protection for that infrastructure."
- Those aspects weren't mentioned in the Ukrainian readout. Kyiv did confirm that Zelensky agreed to the 30-day pause on infrastructure strikes.
Yes, but: Zelensky also claimed that after Putin's call with Trump the Russian military launched drone attacks against civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.
- The Kremlin denied Zelensky's accusation and said the Russian military shot down seven of its own drones that were headed for targets in Ukraine.
- Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff told Bloomberg on Wednesday morning that he believes the Russians.
- Zelensky on Tuesday said Russia released 175 Ukrainian soldiers in one of the largest prisoner of war exchanges since the war began. Putin agreed to the prisoner swap in Tuesday's call with Trump, the Kremlin said.
What they're saying: Trump's national security adviser Mike Waltz told reporters at the White House on Wednesday morning that he spoke to his Russian counterpart to follow up on the call with Putin.
- "Shuttle diplomacy is difficult, it's tough, but we are going back and forth at every level, driving both sides toward a ceasefire and driving both sides toward the end of this war," he said.
What's next: Working-level officials from the U.S. will hold discussions with Russian and Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia on Monday and Tuesday to discuss the technical details of the partial ceasefire, the White House and the Ukrainian peesident said. It wasn't immediate clear whether that would be a trilateral format or separate meetings.
Editor's note: This story was updated with the U.S. and Ukrainian readouts of the call.
