Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday that Putin “effectively rejected“ a US-backed ceasefire plan, launching new attacks on civilian areas shortly after agreeing to stop hitting energy sites.
The US has been pushing for a 30-day ceasefire as a first move toward ending the war, which has lasted three years.
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But in a 90-minute call with US President Donald Trump on Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said a broader peace deal would only happen if the West stopped sending weapons and intelligence to Ukraine.
The call did not lead to the ceasefire Ukraine had hoped for, but Russia did agree to hold off on attacks against Ukraine’s power grid for 30 days.
The Kremlin said Putin had already ordered the pause on energy strikes.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the energy ceasefire but said he needed more “details” from Washington.
Despite this agreement, explosions shook Ukraine just hours after Trump and Putin spoke, and air raid sirens sounded across the country.
Zelensky said “there have been hits, specifically on civilian infrastructure,” including a hospital in Sumy.
“It is these types of nighttime attacks by Russia that destroy our energy sector, our infrastructure, and the normal life of Ukrainians,” Zelensky said.
“Today, Putin effectively rejected the proposal for a full ceasefire,” Zelensky said, accusing Russia of not being “ready to end this war.”
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Across the border, Russian emergency service officials said debris from a repelled Ukrainian drone attack ignited a fire at an oil depot in the village of Kavkazskaya.
Trump, who says he has an “understanding” with Putin, hailed his latest call with Putin as “good and productive.”
“We agreed to an immediate Ceasefire on all Energy and Infrastructure, with an understanding that we will be working quickly to have a Complete Ceasefire and, ultimately, an END to this very horrible War between Russia and Ukraine,” Trump posted afterwards on his Truth Social platform.
Moscow also underlined that a fuller truce was dependent on its long-standing demands for a “complete cessation” of Western military and intelligence support to Ukraine’s military.
Kremlin added that forced mobilization in Ukraine should stop and that Ukraine’s military should not receive new weapons during any ceasefire.
In a televised interview after the Trump-Putin call, US envoy Steve Witkoff said ceasefire talks would pick up again Sunday in Jeddah.
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