MONITORING (SW) – Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to halt attacks on energy infrastructure targets in Ukraine for 30 days after a phone call with US President Donald Trump.
Putin ordered the Russian military to stop strikes against energy facilities, the Kremlin said in a statement following a lengthy phone call between the two leaders on Tuesday. But he stopped short of accepting a broader US-backed 30-day ceasefire proposal that Ukraine has said it is ready to implement.
Russia’s leader raised concerns that such a truce could be used by Ukraine to mobilize more soldiers and rearm during a pause in the countries’ two-year war.
Putin also indicated to Trump that “the key condition for preventing the escalation of the conflict and working towards its resolution through political and diplomatic means should be the complete cessation of foreign military aid and the provision of intelligence information to Kyiv”, according to the Kremlin.
In a statement, the White House said the leaders agreed that talks on a potential maritime truce as well as a broader ceasefire would begin “immediately” in the Middle East.
Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that the conversation with Putin was a “very good and productive one”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said at first that he was open to supporting the US proposal and halting attacks on Russian energy infrastructure, but he warned that Moscow was attempting to delay the negotiations for a ceasefire and weaken Kyiv.
Later on Tuesday, Zelensky pointed to continued Russian drone attacks, including on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, as proof that Putin had no intention of seeking peace.
“It is these types of nighttime attacks by Russia that destroy our energy sector, our infrastructure, and the normal life of Ukrainians,” Zelensky wrote on social media. “And the fact that this night is no exception shows that the pressure on Russia must continue for the sake of peace.”
He called on Ukraine’s allies to pressure Russia to accept a peace deal through sanctions and other measures — and to reject its appeal to suspend military aid.
“Today, Putin effectively rejected the proposal for a full ceasefire,” Zelensky said. “It would be right for the world to respond by rejecting any attempts by Putin to prolong the war.”
In Tuesday’s call, Trump and Putin agreed to move towards peace beginning with “an energy and infrastructure ceasefire, as well as technical negotiations on implementation of a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea”.
Attacks on energy targets have been a constant feature of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with Moscow’s strikes on critical energy infrastructure regularly forcing power cuts across the country, affecting everything from heating and water distribution to sewage and public health.
Reporting from Washington, DC, Al Jazeera’s Alan Fisher said Kyiv would likely be wary that the proposal is limited to attacks on energy targets.
“The Ukrainians will be concerned that the Russians will use this period to try and make more land gains, which is why they’re not agreeing to an entire ceasefire,” he said.
European leaders said they would continue to bolster their support for Kyiv.
