Trump, Zelensky pledge in ‘fantastic’ phone call to work for end to war in Ukraine

KYIV – US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky agreed on March 19 to work together to end Russia’s war with Ukraine, in what the White House described as a “fantastic” one-hour phone call.

In their first conversation since an Oval Office meeting

descended into a shouting match

on Feb 28, Mr Zelensky thanked Mr Trump for the US’ support and the leaders agreed that technical teams would meet in Saudi Arabia in the coming days.

Mr Zelensky asked Mr Trump for more air defence support to protect his country against Russian attacks, and the US President said he would help locate the necessary military equipment in Europe, the White House said.

Mr Trump briefed Mr Zelensky on his March 18 phone call with Mr Vladimir Putin, during which the Russian President

rejected a proposed full 30-day ceasefire

sought by Mr Trump and accepted by Ukraine, but agreed to pause attacks on energy infrastructure.

But that narrowly defined pause

appeared in doubt

on March 19 with Moscow saying Ukraine hit an oil depot in southern Russia, while Kyiv said Russia had struck hospitals and homes and knocked out power to some railways.

Still, the two sides announced they had carried out a prisoner exchange,

each releasing 175 troops

in a deal facilitated by the United Arab Emirates. Moscow said it freed an additional 22 wounded Ukrainians as a goodwill gesture.

Mr Zelensky, describing his conversation with Mr Trump as “positive, very substantive and frank”, said he had confirmed Kyiv’s readiness to halt strikes on Russian infrastructure and its commitment to an unconditional ceasefire on the front line as the US proposed earlier.

“One of the first steps towards fully ending the war could be ending strikes on energy and other civilian infrastructure. I supported this step, and Ukraine confirmed that we are ready to implement it,” he said on social media.

Earlier, Mr Zelensky said the Russian strikes, which he said were carried out since Mr Trump’s call with Mr Putin, showed that Moscow’s words did not match its actions and that Russia was not ready for peace.

He said the US should be in charge of monitoring any ceasefire.

The Kremlin said it had called off planned attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, including by shooting down seven of Russia’s own drones heading towards Ukraine. It accused Kyiv of failing to call off its own attacks in what it called an attempt to sabotage the agreement.

Mr Trump suggested to Mr Zelensky that the US could help run, and possibly own, Ukraine’s nuclear power plants, according to a statement by the US administration. Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, has been shut down since Russian troops occupied it in 2022.

Europeans wary

Mr Trump has long promised to end Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II. But his outreach to Mr Putin has unnerved European allies, who fear it heralds a fundamental shift after 80 years in which defending Europe from Russian expansionism was the core mission of US foreign policy.

Some European leaders said Mr Putin’s rejection of Mr Trump’s proposed full truce was proof Moscow was not seeking peace.

The offer to temporarily stop attacking Ukrainian energy facilities counted for “nothing” and Mr Trump would have to win greater concessions, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said.

“Putin is playing a game here, and I’m sure that the American President won’t be able to sit and watch for much longer,” Mr Pistorius told German broadcaster ZDF.

Ms Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, said she would present a proposal to European leaders in Brussels on March 20 to provide Ukraine with two million rounds of large-calibre artillery ammunition, according to a letter seen by Reuters.

Scores of attacks

For most of the past three years, Russia has relentlessly attacked Ukraine’s power grid, arguing that civilian infrastructure is a legitimate target because it facilitates Kyiv’s war-fighting capabilities.

Ukrainians say such attacks have subsided in recent months, with backup power generators that once crowded the streets of Kyiv becoming less prominent since late 2024.

Kyiv has steadily developed capabilities to mount long-range attacks into Russia, frequently using drones to target distant oil and gas sites, which it says provide fuel for Russia’s troops and income to fund the war.

In the attacks overnight on March 18 and 19, Ukrainian regional authorities said, Russian drones damaged two hospitals in the north-eastern Sumy region, causing no injuries but forcing the evacuation of patients and staff.

Near Kyiv, a 60-year-old man was injured, and air strikes hit homes and businesses in the Bucha district, north of the capital.

Attacks had damaged power systems for the railways in Dnipropetrovsk, in the south, on March 19, the railway operator said.

The authorities in the southern Russian region of Krasnodar said a Ukrainian drone attack caused a fire at an oil depot near the village of Kavkazskaya. No one was injured.

The depot is a rail terminal for Russian oil supplies to a pipeline linking Kazakhstan to the Black Sea. A representative of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium operator said oil flows were stable.

Two industry sources said the attack could reduce Russian supplies to the pipeline. REUTERS