Putin, Trump agree halt to Ukraine energy attacks but no ceasefire

Putin, Trump agree halt to Ukraine energy attacks but no ceasefire

Putin and Trump spoke for more than 90 minutes

Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed in a call with US counterpart Donald Trump Tuesday to halt attacks against Ukrainian energy targets, but refused a full ceasefire unless the West halts all military aid for Kyiv.

Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky said he backed the 30-day truce on energy infrastructure after more than three years of grinding war, while accusing Putin of still seeking to "weaken" his country.

The highly anticipated, more than 90-minute conversation failed to produce the breakthrough that Trump has been pushing for since his return to the White House in January.

Trump hailed the call as "good and productive" and insisted he had an "understanding" with Putin to quickly work towards a complete ceasefire and a wider settlement to the three-year-old war.

The White House said broader truce talks would begin "immediately" in the Middle East and cited the "huge upside" if Moscow and Washington repair ties.

Russia said Putin had already ordered his military to pause strikes against Ukrainian energy targets for 30 days.

But the Kremlin made it clear that it was far off accepting the full 30-day ceasefire that Washington had proposed and Kyiv had already accepted.

- Zelensky seeks 'details' -

And Moscow underlined that any deal was dependent on long-standing Russian demands that Kyiv and the West will find hard to accept.

The Kremlin statement insisted that the "key condition" for peace would be a "complete cessation" of Western military and intelligence support to Ukraine's embattled military.

It also emphasized that Kyiv could not rearm or mobilize during any ceasefire.

The only other concrete results from the talks were that Russia and Ukraine will exchange 175 prisoners each on Wednesday -- and for plans to organize ice hockey matches between US and Russian players.

Explosions rang out and air raid sirens wailed over the Ukrainian capital Kyiv a few hours after the call, AFP journalists reported.

In Kyiv, Zelensky said Ukraine was favorable to an energy truce but needed more "details" from Washington first.

Moscow has launched devastating attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure throughout the war, while Ukraine has used drones to bomb multiple Russian oil installations.

The Ukrainian leader -- who accepted a full ceasefire at talks with the United States in Saudi Arabia last week -- also lashed out at Russia for its reluctance to reach a deal.  

"They are not ready to end this war, and we can see that," Zelensky said, adding about Putin that "his whole game is to weaken" Ukraine.

Zelensky also said that Ukrainian troops would continue fighting in Russia's Kursk region "as long as we need," following days of major Russian advances in the area that Kyiv partially seized last year.

- 'Count on us' -

Russia said on Tuesday that Ukrainian forces attempted a ground assault on the Belgorod region earlier but were pushed back, casting it as an attempt to undermine the Trump talks.

Trump has been intent on delivering on an election pledge to end the war in Ukraine, blaming his predecessor Joe Biden's policy on Russia for fueling the war.

He stunned the world in February when he announced a surprise call with Putin and the start of talks with Russia to end the conflict, sparking fears among allies that he was pivoting too far towards Moscow. 

As Trump upended years of US policy staunchly backing Ukraine, he then had a televised shouting match with Zelensky in the Oval Office.

Before the call he spoke about "dividing" Ukraine's "assets" including land and power plants.

Western allies remain skeptical that Putin is ready for a ceasefire.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron vowed after the Kremlin statement that they would keep sending military aid to Ukraine.

"Ukraine can count on us," Scholz said.

As the talks were under way, soldiers on Ukraine's frontline also remained doubtful.

"How can you trust people who attack you and kill civilians, including children?" said Oleksandr, 35, who has returned to military training in the Donetsk region after being injured in combat.

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Originally published as Putin, Trump agree halt to Ukraine energy attacks but no ceasefire