Trump to speak with Ukraine's Zelensky following call with Putin about ceasefire
President Trump will speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday, a White House official told NewsNation, following Trump’s call with Russian President Vladimir Putin a day earlier in which the two discussed a limited ceasefire in the Russian-Ukraine war.
Zelensky said Putin’s promise following a call with Trump to halt Russian attacks on energy and infrastructure in Ukraine was “very much at odds with reality,” pointing to a Russian salvo Tuesday night of 150 drones against Ukrainian targets, including energy facilities.
The Kremlin accused Kyiv of targeting Russian oil facilities overnight.
“If the Russians don’t hit our facilities, we definitely won’t hit theirs,” Zelensky said during a press conference alongside Finland’s President Alexander Stubb, according to the Associated Press.
Zelensky said he would speak with Trump and said he expected to hear more about the president’s plans for implementing a ceasefire.
Trump is pushing for a halt in fighting between Russia and Ukraine as part of a larger peace deal that he promised on the campaign trail could be achieved within a matter of days. Ukraine and Russia are expected to exchange prisoners on Wednesday, a move that Zelensky earlier welcomed as an important exercise in building trust.
But Putin raised demands in his call with Trump that Ukraine not recruit forces or rearm troops during a ceasefire – a potential red line for Kyiv. Ukraine sees such concessions as an effort by Russia to weaken it.
Finland’s president welcomed Trump’s call with Putin on Tuesday as a “step in the right direction toward a full unconditional ceasefire,” but said it is important Ukraine be able to decide its future, in particular its pursuit of membership in the European Union and NATO.
Putin has cited NATO’s expanding membership as a direct threat to Russia’s security and what it views as “root causes” of its initial invasion into Ukraine.
Stubb said a just and lasting peace between Moscow and Kyiv should make sure that Russia can never threaten Ukraine again.
“President Trump is a seasoned negotiator and he’s driving this process forward right now, he's trying to stop the killing – ceasefire is Step one of that,” Stubb said alongside Zelensky.
“And then after that we all need to work together to achieve a just and lasting peace. Because I think the key in all of this is that Russia should not be able to do this ever again and that is a red line.”
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