President Trump and Russian President Vladimir V. Putin are expected to speak on Tuesday as Washington pushes for a ceasefire in Ukraine. Mr Trump said the theme would include power plants and “split” Ukrainian assets.
The phone number the Kremlin said will be held between 4pm and 6pm local time – as long as Russia does the same since Ukraine agreed to support a month-long ceasefire supported by the U.S. When Mr. Trump expressed his desire for a truce as soon as possible, Mr. Putin seemed to be seeking more concessions.
“Many elements of the final agreement have been agreed, but there are still many,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social on Monday. He added that the war “must end immediately” and said he was looking forward to a call with Mr. Putin.
Before the call, Mr. Putin was confident in his speech to Russian businessmen. He said Western businesses that left Russia after Ukrainian invasion now hope to return and will not be able to regain assets with modest amounts and will face regulatory scrutiny from Russia.
Ceasefire proposal on the table
A week ago, U.S. National Security Advisors Marco Rubio and Michael Waltz sat down with delegations from Ukrainian Presidential Chief of Staff Andrii Sybiha and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov to hold talks in Saudi Arabia.
After more than eight hours of talks, the United States and Ukraine issued a joint statement saying Kiev would support the Trump administration’s proposal for a 30-day ceasefire with Russia, and it was approved by Russia. The United States said it would immediately resume military aid and intelligence to Ukraine, aid that the Trump administration suspended after an explosive U.S.-Ukrainian meeting at the White House.
The United States and Ukraine also agreed to reach an agreement to develop Ukraine’s key mineral resources “as soon as possible”.
Russia’s position
Mr. Putin has not yet agreed to stop the war that began in Russia three years ago. The idea of a ceasefire is “right, we absolutely support it” but put forward many conditions that could delay or undermine any truce. This includes requiring Ukraine to mobilize new soldiers, train troops or import weapons during the time of pause in combat.
Putin also said Russia would continue to stick to a peace agreement that resolved the “primitive cause” of the war – indicating that he would not stop fighting until he offered a guarantee that Ukraine would not join NATO and that the alliance would reduce its presence in Central and Eastern Europe.
“We need to discuss some issues, and I think we need to talk to our American colleagues and partners,” he said before meeting with Steve Witkoff on Thursday, a special force in Mr. Trump’s Middle East but also played a role in peace talks against Ukraine.
Mr. Vikov told CNN on Sunday that his meeting with Putin lasted three to four hours. Although he refused to share details of their conversation, he said the situation was going well and the two sides “close the difference between them”.
The ceasefire proposal could create tensions between Mr. Putin’s desire for a far-reaching victory in Ukraine and his close ties to Mr. Trump.
Conversation topics
Kremlin spokesman Dmitri S. Peskov declined to disclose the topics on the call agenda.
Mr. Trump said on Sunday night that he hopes to discuss territorial issues with Mr. Putin and the fate of Ukrainian power plants. He also noted that “distribution of certain assets” has been discussed.
“We want to see if we can end this war,” Mr. Trump said. “Maybe we can. Maybe we can’t, but I think it’s very likely we can.”
Mr. Trump did not elaborate on his assets or power plants, but his comments were mentioned on the same day in an interview with CBS News.
This seems to be a reference to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine, which Russia seized in the early days of the war and still controlled. The six-response factory is the largest in Europe, and its distance from fighting the frontline has long raised concerns about the risk of a radiological disaster.
However, it is unclear whether any discussion about power plants will focus on Russia abandoning it or whether to find a way to put it in any truce.
The power plant is located near the Dnipro River in the Zaporizhzhia region of southern Ukraine, and Russia officially annexed the region despite controlling only a portion of its territory. Surrender will mean cede territory Russia has considered its own. This will also give Kief’s troops a foothold in a Russian-controlled area that was subjected to relatively protected Ukrainian attacks due to natural obstacles to the large Denipro River.
At the same time, the nuclear power plant is in poor condition after three years of war and the restoration of full operation will require a lot of time and investment, energy experts say. Experts say this could mean that Russia may see motivations to try to trade for other things, such as easing sanctions on the Russian economy.
State of War
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Mr. Putin of stagnation so that Russian troops could advance on the battlefield and strengthen his hands at the ceasefire.
Moscow has pushed to expel Ukrainian troops from most of Russia in recent days, which has allowed Kiev to strip important bargaining chips in any potential negotiations.
Kursk’s move gives Russia a chance to show Mr. Trump his momentum on the battlefield. Battlefield maps of Russian and Western groups analyzing combat footage and satellite imagery show that Russian troops have crossed Ukraine’s Sumi region from Kursk, and analysts say it could be an effort to surround Ukrainian troops in Kurs or open up new fronts in the war.
Mr. Zelensky accused Russia of preparing for a larger attack on the Sumy region, which has hundreds of thousands of people.
Despite the setbacks from Kursk, Kiev’s troops stagnated in the Russian offensive in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine and began to win small plots of land, despite military analysts and Ukrainian soldiers. However, military analysts have been debating whether the Russian brigade is exhausted after more than 15 months of the offense or is recombining to make a push again.
Recent U.S. tensions in Ukraine
Since taking office, Mr. Trump has appeared to have readjusted U.S. foreign policy, which seems to be beneficial to Russia – including in response to the Kremlin’s conversation point, which blames Kiev for launching a war.
This has raised an alarm in Ukraine about whether Trump will weaken the flow of U.S. military aid. On February 28, when Mr. Trump and Vice President JD Vance accused Mr. Zelensky in the Oval Office, he said he was not very grateful for the support of the United States, and he said he was not very grateful to Zelensky.
Since then, Ukraine has been trying to stabilize relations with the Trump administration, and Mr. Zelensky has repeatedly expressed his gratitude to the United States for its assistance.
Discounts and guarantees
Mr Rubio said Ukraine would have to make concessions to the land Russia has taken since 2014 as part of any agreement to end the war. But he also said that negotiations with Moscow must determine what Russia is willing to admit.
Before agreeing to the ceasefire proposal, Ukraine insisted that any ceasefire includes security guarantees, but there is no indication that any such warranty will be provided prior to any temporary ceasefire.
European allies have promised further support for Kiev. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he would continue to urge Mr. Trump to ensure U.S. security, a lobbying effort he shared with French President Emmanuel Macron. Britain and France have committed to donating to a peacekeeping force and are trying to invite the rest of Europe to do the same.
