Zelenskyy, Putin agree to limited ceasefire, but future uncertain

Ukraine and Russia agreed in principle to a limited ceasefire after U.S. President Donald Trump spoke with both countries' leaders this week, though exactly what the agreement covers remains unclear with the three sides offering different interpretations.

A partial ceasefire against energy

The White House said Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a phone call on Wednesday agreed to "a partial ceasefire against energy" between Russia and Ukraine.

The phone call came one day after Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed on Tuesday in their phone talks that the peace in Ukraine "will begin with an energy and infrastructure ceasefire" in Ukraine.

U.S. and Ukrainian "technical teams will meet in Saudi Arabia in the coming days to discuss broadening the ceasefire to the Black Sea on the way to a full ceasefire" in Ukraine, said a statement signed by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz.

Both the U.S. and Ukraine "agreed to share information closely between their defense staffs as the battlefield situation evolved," said the statement, which added that following Zelenskyy's request for additional air defense systems, particularly Patriot missile systems, "President Trump agreed to work with him to find what was available, particularly in Europe."

Trump also discussed Ukraine's electrical supply and nuclear power plants with Zelenskyy and told the latter: "The United States could be very helpful in running those plants. American ownership of those plants would be the best protection for that infrastructure and support for Ukrainian energy infrastructure."

Zelenskyy wrote on X after speaking to Trump, "One of the first steps toward fully ending the war could be ending strikes on energy and other civilian infrastructure. I supported this step, and Ukraine confirmed that we are ready to implement it."

However, the White House statement on Wednesday did not mention that the partial ceasefire would apply to civilian infrastructure as Zelenskyy suggested.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed at a press briefing later on Wednesday that all intelligence sharing between the United States and Ukraine will continue.

Tracking recent exchanges between U.S., Ukraine, Russia

The call with Trump, which Zelenskyy described as "fruitful," came just weeks after a disastrous Oval Office meeting between the two leaders that led to Trump temporarily pausing intelligence sharing and military aid to Ukraine.

February 28: Trump and Zelenskyy clash at the White House.

March 3: U.S. announces suspension of military aid to Ukraine.

March 4: Zelenskyy states Ukraine is willing to initiate peace talks as soon as possible under U.S. leadership.

March 5: U.S. announces suspension of intelligence sharing with Ukraine.

March 11: U.S. and Ukrainian delegations reach consensus on issues such as implementing a temporary ceasefire, resuming intelligence sharing and restoring security assistance.

March 12: U.S. military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine resumes.

Unlike the ups and downs in the U.S.-Ukraine exchanges, the U.S. and Russia have held relatively smooth exchanges. The presidents of both countries held phone conversations in February and March, while negotiating teams from the countries have carried out diplomatic talks in recent weeks.

Uncertain future

The tentative deal to partially rein in the Russia-Ukraine conflict came after Putin rebuffed Trump's push for a full 30-day ceasefire.

The difficulty in getting both Russia and Ukraine to agree not to target one another's energy infrastructure highlights the challenges of trying to quickly end the three-year conflict. Even that narrowly defined pause appeared in doubt on Wednesday, with Moscow saying Ukraine hit an oil depot in southern Russia and Kyiv saying Russia had struck hospitals and homes, and knocked out power to some railways.

Zelenskyy said Russian strikes were carried out after Trump's call with Putin and showed that Russia was not ready for peace. He said the U.S. should be in charge of monitoring any ceasefire, adding a halt to infrastructure attacks could be quickly established.

It was also clear that the three parties had different views about what the pact entailed, with the White House saying "energy and infrastructure" would be covered, the Kremlin saying the agreement referred more narrowly to "energy infrastructure," and Zelenskyy saying he'd also like railways and ports to be protected.

While it remains to be seen whether the limited ceasefire can be viable, Zhao Junjie, a researcher at the Institute of European Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told CGTN that it's high time that both Russia and Ukraine seek peace and reconciliation in face of the disastrous conflict.

Describing negotiations to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict as a "turning point," Zhao said "the ceasefire in Ukraine not only brings a glimmer of hope for peace but also sets the stage for Ukraine's future political positioning – whether it can join NATO, participate in the EU, or whether the EU can protect it after accession, or if it will remain neutral."

These interactions could bring a dawn of peace and security to the European continent, Zhao added.

(With input from agencies)