US President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, agreed on Wednesday to work together to end Russia’s war with Ukraine.
The two leaders made the pledge in what the White House described as a “fantastic” one-hour phone call.
According to the White House, in their first conversation since an Oval Office meeting descended into a shouting match on 28 February, Zelenskyy thanked Trump for US support, and both leaders agreed that technical teams would meet in Saudi Arabia in the coming days.
The Ukrainian leader asked Trump for more air defence support to protect his country against Russian attacks, and the US president said he would help locate the necessary military equipment in Europe.
Trump also briefed Zelenskyy on his phone call on Tuesday with Vladimir Putin, during which the Russian president rejected a proposed full 30-day ceasefire sought by Trump and accepted by Ukraine but agreed to pause attacks on energy infrastructure.
Zelenskyy, describing his conversation with Trump as “positive, very substantive, and frank,” said he had confirmed Kyiv’s readiness to halt strikes on Russian infrastructure and its commitment to an unconditional ceasefire on the front line, as the US had proposed earlier.
“One of the first steps towards 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,” he said.
