President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke by phone on Wednesday, amid Trump’s efforts to broker peace between Ukraine and Russia.
The phone conversation lasted about an hour. It came a day after a lengthy phone conversation between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, during which the two leaders discussed a 30-day cease-fire whereby Russia and Ukraine would agree to stop attacking each other’s energy sites.
Following that Tuesday call, the Kremlin said Putin had immediately passed down the order to halt new Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy sector.
“Much of the discussion was based on the call made yesterday with President Putin in order to align both Russia and Ukraine in terms of their requests and needs,” Trump said of his Wednesday call with Zelenskyy.
Just hours before the Wednesday call with Washington, Zelenskyy alleged Russian forces had already breached the agreement.
Speaking at a press conference in Finland, Zelenskyy said Russian forces launched around 150 attack drones toward Ukraine in the hours after Trump concluded his call with Putin. He said those Russian attack drones had targeted Ukrainian energy sites, transportation systems, and hospitals.
Russian officials claimed that Ukrainian forces had also targeted an oil transfer site in Russia’s Krasnodar region on Wednesday, setting fire to an oil tank there.
Despite the accusations of a breach, Trump said on Truth Social, “We are very much on track.”
Following Trump and Putin’s call on Tuesday, the White House said the next round of negotiations would concern a cease-fire at sea and then a more comprehensive cease-fire and eventual permanent peace.
“These negotiations will begin immediately in the Middle East,” the White House said on Tuesday.
