Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to a limited ceasefire that pares down the proposal for a 30-day ceasefire that the United States and Ukraine struck earlier this month, the White House announced.
The agreement would “begin with an energy and infrastructure ceasefire,” the White House said of the deal hashed out between Putin and President Donald Trump, who spoke at length over the phone Tuesday. In a statement acknowledging the phone call with Trump, the Kremlin claimed Putin ordered the Russian military to cease attacks on all energy and infrastructure facilities, but said that negotiations with Ukraine have been repeatedly violated.
Ukraine was not involved in negotiations for this more limited ceasefire proposal, and it is not clear whether they have agreed to the proposal.
Russia appeared to balk at the broader proposal the United States brokered with Ukraine for a 30-day ceasefire last week. Putin’s close adviser called that deal nothing more than a way to rest Ukrainian troops and allow them to rearm. Later, Putin showed more openness to a short-term ceasefire.
Trump foreshadowed his conversation with Putin over the weekend, saying that “dividing up assets” between Russia and Ukraine would be among the subjects of conversation.
As for negotiations around a broader 30-day ceasefire, the White House said talks between Ukraine and Russia would start “immediately in the Middle East.” Last week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, joined by National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, acted as intermediaries in talks with Ukraine in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Russia has repeatedly said it wants assurances that Ukraine will not join NATO, and has laid claim to large swaths of currently contested territory, including Crimea and portions of the Donbas region. It has likewise demanded an end to military aid to Ukraine. Restricting Ukraine’s rearmament during the initial 30-day ceasefire has thus far been a nonstarter for U.S. intermediaries, as Russia hasn’t offered any similar promise.
Separately, the Kremlin said Russia would exchange a small number of prisoners with Ukraine, including some wounded Ukrainians, though it was not immediately clear whether this would be part of broader ceasefire talks.
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John T. Seward is a NOTUS reporter and an Allbritton Journalism Institute fellow.