Trump and Putin agree to an immediate ceasefire for energy
infrastructure in Ukraine conflict
[March 19, 2025]
By AAMER MADHANI, VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV and ZEKE MILLER
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir
Putin agreed during a lengthy call Tuesday to an immediate pause in
strikes against energy infrastructure in the Ukraine war, but the
Russian leader stopped short of backing a broader 30-day pause in
fighting that the U.S. administration is pressing for.
The White House described it as the first step in a “movement to peace”
that it hopes will include a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea and
eventually a full and lasting end to the fighting. But there was no
indication that Putin has backed away from his conditions for a
prospective peace deal, which are fiercely opposed by Kyiv. And shortly
after the call ended, air raid alerts sounded in Kyiv, followed by
explosions in the city. Local officials urged people to seek shelter.
Putin during the call reiterated his demand for an end to foreign
military and intelligence assistance to Ukraine, according to the
Kremlin. Trump, though, denied that the subject came up during an
interview with Fox News on Tuesday.
“We didn’t talk about aid," Trump said. “We didn’t talk about aid at
all.”
Russia also wants Ukraine to pull back its troops from the four regions
that Moscow has annexed but never fully captured, renounce any prospect
of joining the NATO military alliance and sharply cut its army.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters that Ukraine is
open to any proposals that lead to a sustainable and just peace, but
stressed the need for full transparency in discussions.
Zelenskyy said he was seeking more details on what Putin and Trump
agreed on, but rejected Putin’s demand for halting military aid and
intelligence sharing to Ukraine, warning that such a move would weaken
Ukraine.
“We need to understand what the conversation is about," Zelenskyy said.
“What are the details? And hopefully, we will be fully informed, and our
partners will discuss everything with us.”
He added: “There are two sides in this war — Russia and Ukraine. Trying
to negotiate without Ukraine, in my view, will not be productive."
Ukrainian officials earlier this month proposed a ceasefire covering the
Black Sea and long-range missile strikes and the release of prisoners.
Trump immediately cheered Tuesday's development as a major step toward
his ultimate goal of ending the biggest land war in Europe since World
War II.
“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 said on social media.
Putin also told Trump that Russia and Ukraine are set to exchange 175
prisoners of war each on Wednesday, and Russia will also hand over to
Ukraine 23 badly wounded soldiers, the Kremlin said.
The limited pause comes as Trump still hopes to get Russia to sign off
on his 30-day ceasefire proposal aimed at ending the Russian invasion of
Ukraine.
Ukrainian officials last week agreed to the 30-day ceasefire proposal
during talks in Saudi Arabia led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
White House special envoy Steve Witkoff then met with Putin in Moscow to
discuss the proposal.
Zelenskyy, however, remains skeptical that Putin is ready for peace as
Russian forces continue to pound Ukraine.
“This is not a game where only Putin dictates the rules,” Zelenskyy
said, making clear he remains doubtful that Putin was serious about
wanting peace.
The Trump-Putin engagement is just the latest turn in dramatically
shifting U.S.-Russia relations as Trump made quickly ending the conflict
a top priority — even at the expense of straining ties with longtime
American allies who want Putin to pay a price for the invasion.
Trump has at moments boasted of his relationship with Putin and blamed
Ukraine for Russia’s unprovoked invasion, all while accusing Zelenskyy
of unnecessarily prolonging the biggest land war in Europe since World
War II.
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President Donald Trump, right, shakes hands with Russian President
Vladimir Putin, left, during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of
the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan, June 28, 2019. (AP Photo/Susan
Walsh, File)
Trump has said Washington and Moscow have already begun discussing
“dividing up certain assets” between Ukraine and Russia as part of a
deal to end the conflict.
He said before the call that control of land and power plants would
be part of the conversation, which came on the anniversary of Russia
annexing Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula 11 years ago. That bold land
grab by Russia set the stage for Russia to invade its neighbor in
2022.
But neither the White House nor Kremlin made any mention of land or
power plants in their post-call statements.
Witkoff on Sunday suggested that U.S. and Russian officials have
discussed the fate of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant —
Europe's largest — in southern Ukraine. Russian troops seized the
plant early in the war and it has been caught in the crossfire,
fueling fears of a potential nuclear catastrophe.
The plant is a significant asset, producing nearly a quarter of
Ukraine’s electricity in the year before the war.
After a disastrous Feb. 28 White House meeting with Zelenskyy, Trump
temporarily cut off some military intelligence-sharing and aid to
Ukraine. It was restored after the Ukrainians last week signed off
on the Trump administration's 30-day ceasefire proposal.
In his dealings with Zelenskyy and Putin, Trump has frequently
focused on who has the leverage. Putin has “the cards” and Zelenskyy
does not, Trump has said repeatedly.
Trump, who has long shown admiration for Putin, has also made clear
he'd like to see the U.S.-Russia relationship return to a more
normal footing.
The president during his recent contentious meeting with Zelenskyy
grumbled that “Putin went through a hell of a lot with me," a
reference to the federal investigation into Russian interference in
the 2016 presidential election in which he beat Democrat Hillary
Clinton.
Trump on Tuesday again underscored his view that Ukraine is not in a
strong negotiating position. He said Russian forces have surrounded
Ukrainian troops in Russia's Kursk region — amplifying an assertion
made by Russian officials that's been disputed by Zelenskyy.
“They are nicely encircled, and that’s not good,” said Trump,
according to excerpts of an interview on Fox News Channel's "Ingraham
Angle." “And we want to get it over with.”
Ukraine’s army stunned Russia in August last year by attacking
across the border and taking control of an estimated 1,300 square
kilometers (500 square miles) of land. But Ukraine’s forces are now
in retreat and it has all but lost a valuable bargaining chip, as
momentum builds for a ceasefire with Russia.
The White House said Trump and Putin also discussed the situation in
the Middle East and agreed “Iran should never be in a position to
destroy Israel.”
U.S. officials have previously said that Iran has provided Russia
with short-range ballistic missiles and attack drones for the war in
Ukraine. The U.S. has also said that Iran has assisted Russia with
building a drone-manufacturing factory.
The Kremlin said that Trump also expressed support for an idea
floated by Putin to organize hockey matches in the United States and
Russia between Russian and American players from the National Hockey
League, which has U.S. and Canadian teams, and the Kontinental
Hockey League, which includes teams from Russia, Belarus,
Kazakhstan, and China.
___
Isachenkov reported from Moscow. AP writer Hanna Arhirova in Kyiv
contributed reporting.
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