Trump and Zelensky speak for first time since blow-up
US President Donald Trump says he’s had “a very good phone call” with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky — the first time they have spoken since their blow-up at the White House.
The two presidents mostly discussed Trump’s chat the previous day with Russian President Vladimir Putin in order to “align Russian and Ukraine”, said Trump.
“We are very much on track,” Trump said.
Zelensky described his phone call on Wednesday (US time) with Trump as positive, frank, and “very substantive”.
“We agreed that Ukraine and the United States should continue working together to achieve a real end to the war and lasting peace,” he said.
“We believe that together with America, with President Trump, and under American leadership, lasting peace can be achieved this year.”
The chat lasted an hour and was Trump and Zelensky’s first conversation since an Oval Office meeting descended into a public row on February 28.
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The discussion followed Trump’s call with Putin on Wednesday (AEDT) when the Russian president agreed to pause attacks on energy infrastructure, a proposal Zelensky accepted.
However, only hours later Russia and Ukraine accused each other of violating the agreement.
Zelensky said Russia had launched 150 drones, targeting energy infrastructure, striking hospitals and homes and knocking out power to some of its railways.
“In other words, Putin’s words are very much at odds with reality,” Zelensky said at a news conference with Finnish President Alexander Stubb.
Russia said Ukraine hit an oil depot in southern Russia.
Still, the two sides announced a swap of prisoners, each releasing 175 troops in a deal facilitated by the United Arab Emirates.
Russia said it also freed an additional 22 wounded Ukrainians as a goodwill gesture.
Zelensky said the continued attacks showed Russia’s words did not match its actions, and that Russia was not ready for peace.
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He said the US should be put in charge of monitoring any ceasefire.
“If the Russians will not strike our facilities, then we will definitely not strike theirs,” he said at a briefing in Helsinki alongside Stubb.
The Kremlin said it had called off planned attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, including shooting down seven of its drones heading towards Ukraine.
It accused Ukraine of failing to call off attacks, in what it called an attempt to sabotage the agreement.
Attacks on energy infrastructure have been a major part of the war’s effect far from the front lines.
For most of the past three years, Russian forces have relentlessly attacked Ukraine’s power grid, arguing that civilian infrastructure is a legitimate target because it facilitates Ukrainian war-fighting capabilities.
Ukrainian officials say such attacks have subsided in recent months, with backup power generators that once crowded the streets of Kyiv becoming less prominent since late 2024.
For its part, Ukraine has steadily developed capabilities to mount long-range attacks into Russia, frequently using drones to target distant oil and gas sites which it says provide fuel for Russia’s troops and income to fund the war.
In the attacks overnight, Ukrainian regional authorities said Russian drones damaged two hospitals in the north-eastern Sumy region. There were no injuries but patients and staff had to be relocated.
Near Kyiv, a 60-year-old man was injured and air strikes hit homes and businesses in the Bucha district north of the capital.
Attacks had damaged power systems for the railways in Dnipropetrovsk in the south on Wednesday, the railway said.
Authorities in the southern Russian region of Krasnodar said a Ukrainian drone attack caused a fire at an oil depot near the village of Kavkazskaya.
No one was injured in the fire, which had spread across 3700 square metres as of 4pm Moscow time.
The depot is a rail terminal for Russian oil supplies to a pipeline linking Kazakhstan to the Black Sea.
A representative of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium operator said oil flows were stable; two industry sources said the attack could reduce Russian supplies to the pipeline.
