Trump says Ukraine truce bid 'on track' after Zelensky call
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his US counterpart, Donald Trump, held a telephone conversation in which, according to the American, they discussed the details of the call between the US leader and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Both agreed that steps toward a truce are on the right track. Moscow and kyiv have exchanged 300 prisoners.
The telephone meeting, which Washington said lasted about an hour, marks the first known direct contact between the two leaders since their clash at the White House last month jeopardized military support for Kyiv.
"We just had a great phone call with President Zelensky," Trump said on his social media platform, Truth Social. "Much of the conversation was based on the call we had yesterday with President Putin to align Russia and Ukraine with his requests and needs. We are on the right track," the note from the conversation states.
The White House has also confirmed that intelligence sharing will continue and that the country will help Ukraine acquire more air defense systems. Trump has also expressed support for the possibility of returning Ukrainian children kidnapped by Russia during it's invasion.
Zelensky welcomed the talks with Trump and ordered his teams to resolve technical issues in ways that would help extend the ceasefire. He reiterated his willingness to seek a truce on all fronts and thanked the US president for his country's support.
"Ukrainians want peace, which is why Ukraine accepted the proposal for an unconditional ceasefire," Zelensky reiterated.
Ahead of the talks, the Ukrainian president insisted from Helsinki that the United States should take over monitoring a possible ceasefire focused on energy facilities, something he says Putin has already ignored. White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said Trump suggested during the call that he might take "ownership" of Ukraine's nuclear and power plants to provide "the best possible protection and support for Ukraine's energy infrastructure."
The White House considers the minerals agreement obsolete
The White House also announced that it has moved beyond the previously negotiated minerals and natural resources agreement between the United States and Ukraine, and is now focusing on peace between Ukraine and Russia. A surprising turn of events, considering that the previous schism between Trump and Zelensky occurred during the latter's visit to Washington to sign the agreement.
"We are now focused on a long-term peace agreement," said White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt.
Under the terms of the agreement, Ukraine agreed to allocate up to 50% of the profits from the exploitation of its rare earth natural resources to a joint investment fund, where the US side would have greater decision-making power and which would be used to invest in the Ukrainian economy. Part of the terms of the agreement depended on maintaining the US military aid agreement with Kyiv.
Russia and Ukraine carry out a prisoner exchange
Moscow and Kyiv each exchanged 175 prisoners of war, both sides confirmed, in an exchange that comes after the topic was raised during the phone call between Trump and Putin.
Russia has also handed over 22 seriously wounded Ukrainian prisoners, according to Zelensky, "through measures that go beyond exchanges." "All of them will immediately receive the necessary medical and psychological assistance," the president stated.
The Russian Defense Ministry said the 22 prisoners had been returned in what it described as a gesture of goodwill. Moscow claims the United Arab Emirates resorted to humanitarian mediation to facilitate the agreement. He also noted that the Russian soldiers released under the agreement were in Belarus receiving medical and psychological care before being transferred to Russia for further treatment.
Attacks continue despite calls from Putin and Trump
Just hours after the news of a ceasefire against energy infrastructure, Russia and Ukraine responded with mutual accusations of launching airstrikes against civilian targets. Both sides have described dozens of drone attacks overnight. On Wednesday, Ukraine accused Russia of launching 145 drones over its territory. For its part, the Russian Defense Ministry stated that its units destroyed 57 Ukrainian drones overnight, 35 of them over the Kursk border region.
At a joint briefing in Helsinki with Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Zelensky denounced Putin's remarks as insufficient and said Ukraine would provide a list of energy facilities that he hopes the United States and its allies will help monitor. "I want there to be control. If the Russians don't attack our facilities, we won't attack theirs," Zelensky said.
Ukraine will not recognize any occupied territories as part of Russia
Following the call between Putin and Trump, Zelensky emphasized that the US-proposed ceasefire is a "correct" first step toward ending the war, but insisted that he will not recognize any Ukrainian territory occupied by Russia. "For us, the red line is the recognition of the temporarily occupied territories as part of Russia," X said in a message.