KYIV, Ukraine – President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky discussed the path to a ceasefire between Kyiv and Moscow on Wednesday, a day after the U.S. leader held similar talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
Trump’s call with Zelensky was about half the length of his call Tuesday, during which Putin agreed not to target Ukraine’s energy infrastructure but refused to back a full 30-day ceasefire.
In a social media post, Trump said his call with Zelensky was to “align both Russia and Ukraine in terms of their requests and needs” as he seeks to bring a halt to fighting.
“We are very much on track,” Trump added, saying Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Advisor Michael Waltz would provide further details of the conversation.
Prior to his call with Trump, Zelenskyy said Putin’s limited ceasefire pledge was “very much at odds with reality” following an overnight barrage of drone strikes across the country.
“Even last night, after Putin’s conversation with … Trump, when Putin said that he was allegedly giving orders to stop strikes on Ukrainian energy, there were 150 drones launched overnight, including on energy facilities,” Zelensky said at a news conference in Helsinki with Finnish President Alexander Stubb.
