Zelensky agrees partial ceasefire in phone call with Trump

During a one hour long call, Donald Trump said US ownership of Ukraine’s power plants would offer better protection as Volodymyr Zelensky agreed a partial ceasefire.

Presidents Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky spoke for the first time since their heated exchange in the White House earlier this month.

Donald Trump suggested to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky the US take ownership of his country’s power plants during a one hour phone conversation on Thursday (AEDT) during which Mr Zelensky agreed to a “partial ceasefire against energy.”

The US President later hailed the phone call as “very good,” noting that they were “very much on track” in securing a peace deal.

The one hour phone discussion between the two men – markedly shorter than Mr Trump’s two hour long chat with Vladimir Putin on Wednesday – is the first direct conversation since the heated Oval Office exchange last month and came after both Russia and Ukraine accused one another of violating a temporary ceasefire brokered by the White House.

Mr Trump posted on social media late Wednesday (local time) that “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’’.

Mr Zelensky described the phone call as “frank,” posting on X: “One of the first steps towards fully ending the war could be ending strikes on energy and other civilian infrastructure. I supported this step, and Ukraine confirmed that we are ready to implement it.”

Reading out a statement issued by Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state and the national security adviser Mike Waltz at the White House, Katherine Leavitt told reporters: “Technical teams will meet in Saudi Arabia in the coming days to discuss broadening the ceasefire to the Black Sea on the way to a full ceasefire.

“They agreed this could be the first step toward the full end of the war and ensuring security.”

Mr Rubio and Mr Waltz also said Mr Trump had suggested to Mr Zelensky that the US take ownership of Ukraine’s power plants to ensure their security.

Mr Trump told Mr Zelensky the US could be “very helpful in running those plants with its electricity and utility expertise,” the officials said. They added in their statement that “American ownership of those plants could be the best protection for that infrastructure.”

Mr Zelensky confirmed the two men had discussed US control, but said: “We talked only about one power plant, which is under Russian occupation,” referring to the plant in Zaporizhzhia.

The power station, Europe’s largest, was captured by Russian forces early in their invasion launched in February 2022 and since has been a flashpoint of concerns over a possible nuclear incident.

Mr Zelensky said that it could take more than two years for the plant to be made operational again, and that its generation capacity was needed by both Ukrainians and Europe.

“Do we need it? For people, yes, and for Europe, too. To join the European electronic network – absolutely. We can do all this,” he said.

Before the two men spoke, Russia and Ukraine exchanged 372 soldiers in a prisoner swap as part of a goodwill gesture.

Some of the 175 Ukrainian prisoners of war wrapped with national flags, following an exchange with Russia at an undisclosed location. Picture: AFP.

The phone conversation between the leaders came a day after Mr Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin brokered a 30-day pause on attacks against energy infrastructure.

Speaking earlier on Wednesday, Mr Zelensky accused Russia of breaching terms of the partial ceasefire by launching a large scale attack, including two ballistic missiles on Sloviansk, and a drone attack on several hospitals in Sumy.

“Even last night, when Putin allegedly said he had given the order to stop strikes on Ukrainian energy targets, 150 drones struck energy infrastructure and transport,” said Mr Zelensky, before his call with Mr Trump.

“Putin’s words are very different from reality.”

He said Ukraine would prepare of list of energy and infrastructure facilities to be included in any such temporary ceasefire.

“We will prepare this list, if Russia don’t strike ours then we definitely won’t strike theirs,’’ Mr Zelensky, said after a meeting in Helsinki with Finland president Alexander Stubb.

Mr Zelensky added he was “grateful” to the US for restoring military intelligence and aid to his country.

Finland's President Alexander Stubb, right and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hug at the end of a joint press conference. Picture: AFP

Mr Stubb confirmed unconditional Finnish support for Ukraine which included joint military efforts in drone manufacture and called for a European team, headed by the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy to be given “skin in the game” at any peace negotiations.

Russia, meanwhile, responded to Ukraine’s claims, saying it was Ukraine which was derailing the ceasefire by launching a deliberate attack on an oil depot in Kavkazskaya in the Krasnodar region of southern Russia overnight.

“It is completely obvious that this is another specially prepared provocation by the Kyiv regime aimed at derailing peace initiatives of the US president,” the Russian defence ministry said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on March 19. Picture: AFP

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Mr Putin and Mr Trump “trust each other” and want to normalise US-Russia ties after more than three years of Moscow’s Ukraine offensive.

“Presidents Putin and Trump understand each other well, trust each other and are intent to gradually move towards the normalisation of ties,” he said, adding that the pair’s phone call Tuesday lasted around two hours

Mr Zelensky said Russia’s desire to have Ukraine’s regions of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Luhansk and Crimea recognised as being Russian was “a red line”.

“They are temporarily occupied, but this is temporary and they will not be Russian, ever,’’ he said.

with AFP