US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that negotiations on ending Russia’s war against Ukraine are “very much on track” after he concluded a call with President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Trump said the conversation was “very good,” and lasted for about an hour.
“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,” the president said on his proprietary social media website.
Additional details about the conversation will be released by National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, said Trump.
Zelensky said earlier Wednesday that Putin’s commitment to a limited ceasefire is “at odds with reality” as Moscow and Kyiv traded accusations about mutual infrastructure attacks.
Hours prior, Russian and Ukrainian authorities reported overnight attacks on local infrastructure sites, less than 24 hours after a call Tuesday between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump in which the Russian leader agreed to a limited ceasefire that would temporarily halt attacks “on all energy and infrastructure.”
Zelensky, who had earlier voiced support for the proposal, told a joint news conference in Helsinki that there were attacks from “150 drones overnight, including on energy facilities. There were strikes on transport. Unfortunately, two hospitals were hit, as well as ordinary urban infrastructure.”
“Putin’s words are very different from reality,” he stated.
Kyiv agreed last Tuesday to a far more encompassing 30-day truce, and Trump had sought to have Putin consent to joining that as well, threatening potential economic penalties on Moscow if the Russian leader did not agree.
That did not materialize during Tuesday’s discussion, but Trump maintained that negotiations would commence quickly on the wider ceasefire proposal, and a peace deal to fully end the conflict.
The Kremlin, for its part, said it had identified “a number of significant issues” before it would accept a 30-day truce, including what it said is “the need to stop forced mobilization in Ukraine and the rearmament of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.”
On Wednesday, Zelensky conveyed his belief that the conflict can end this year with a “decent” peace, but security guarantees for Kyiv are “definitely needed.”
“Otherwise, Putin will come again with war, and this has been his essence from the very beginning,” he said.
The conditions listed by Putin with regard to the 30-day ceasefire proposed by the US only show his intent to continue the conflict, Zelensky argued.