Zelensky eager for details on Trump-Putin talk

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday called for more details in President Trump’s proposal for a ceasefire with Russia that would spare energy and infrastructure targets, warning that Russian President Vladimir Putin is pressuring Ukraine in ground operations.

Zelensky made his remarks in a press conference organized shortly after Trump held a phone call with Putin to discuss the terms of a potential ceasefire. Putin held back committing to a U.S.-pitched a ceasefire that Ukraine accepted last week and that would halt ground and air attacks.

"We support all steps aimed at the end of the war. We will support them. But in order to support them, we need to understand what exactly we support,” Zelensky said in remarks in Ukrainian and shared by Reuters.

“When President Trump has time, he is a busy man, when he has time, we can call me any time, he has my phone number. We are ready to talk through further steps, with pleasure."

The White House did not return a request for comment by The Hill on whether Trump has plans to call Zelensky.

The Ukrainian leader said a prisoner exchange set for Wednesday will demonstrate a will and desire to end the war, on the part of Russia. But he said Kyiv is skeptical in trusting the Russians, saying there is no trust in Putin to hold to a truce.

“That’s why I am saying we need to understand how it will work technically so that it will not depend on their desire only. That is it," Zelensky said.

Zelensky said Putin is intent on conducting offensive operations in key areas of Ukrainian territory, which Moscow claims it annexed but does not have full control. This includes the Ukrainian oblasts of Zaporizhia, the site of a critical nuclear power plant, and the areas of Sumy and Kharkiv in the northeast of the country, on the border with Russia.

"Putin wants to conduct a few offensive operations,” Zelensky said. “He will try to do it. For what? To put maximum amount of pressure on Ukraine. When will it happen? Trust me, he will try to do it in the nearest few months."

Zelensky also spoke out about demands Putin raised in the call with Trump, that any ceasefire would require Ukraine to halt recruiting new soldiers and stop rearmament. Zelensky also rejected Putin’s calls for the U.S. to end military assistance for Ukraine.

Trump briefly halted U.S. military aid and intelligence sharing but restored it when Zelensky agreed to a 30-day ceasefire.

“He saw that the United States can take steps [to stop military aid and intelligence sharing] and that is why he is raising topics which he thinks may work in his favor. It happened before, so why not to do it again. But once again, it means weakening of the Ukrainian army," Zelensky said.

“I think military aid will continue. We have aid from both the United States and our European colleagues. We are constantly in touch with them. I am certain there will no betrayal from the partners’ side and that the flow of military aid will continue.”

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