US President Donald Trump has held a “very good” hour-long phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, following a conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Mr Trump stated on his social media platform, Truth Social, that the call aimed to align Ukraine and Russia’s “requests and needs” and that ceasefire efforts were progressing.
Both Mr Zelensky and Mr Putin have previously expressed willingness to halt attacks on energy infrastructure, but have since accused each other of continued hostilities.
Mr Trump is pursuing a broader truce, but Mr Putin reportedly rejected a US and Ukrainian-backed 30-day ceasefire in their Tuesday call.
In a separate development, Ukraine and Russia have exchanged prisoners of war, with each side releasing 175 individuals. Mr Zelensky described the swap as “one of the largest”, noting that Russia included 22 “severely wounded” soldiers.
Mr Trump described his conversation with Mr Zelensky as lasting approximately one hour, stating that it focused on aligning the two countries’ positions following his call with Mr Putin. “We are very much on track,” he said.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio provided further details, stating that Mr Trump had agreed to assist Ukraine in sourcing additional air defence systems, particularly within Europe. The leaders agreed to share intelligence between their defence staffs.
Technical teams are set to meet in Saudi Arabia to discuss extending the ceasefire to the Black Sea, which Mr Rubio suggested could be a step towards a full cessation of hostilities.
Mr Trump also raised the possibility of the US taking ownership of Ukrainian power plants as a means of protecting the country’s energy infrastructure, according to Mr Rubio.
Mr Zelensky described his conversation with Mr Trump as “positive”, “frank”, and “very substantive”, stating that both leaders agreed to continue working together to achieve a “real end to the war and lasting peace”.
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