Trump says Ukraine truce bid 'on track' after Zelensky call

WASHINGTON

U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that negotiations on ending Russia's war against Ukraine are "very much on track" after he concluded a call with President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Trump and Zelensky spoke for about an hour Wednesday morning a day after Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In a social media post, Trump said the call was to “align both Russia and Ukraine in terms of their requests and needs” as he seeks to bring about a ceasefire between the two countries.

The call was believed to be the first between the pair since Trump and Zelensky had a blazing, televised row in the Oval Office two and a half weeks ago that led to a brief halt in U.S. aid for Ukraine.

Zelensky earlier Wednesday said Putin’s commitment to a limited ceasefire is “at odds with reality” as Moscow and Kiev traded accusations over mutual infrastructure attacks.

Just hours prior, Russian and Ukrainian authorities reported overnight attacks on local infrastructure sites, less than 24 hours after Tuesday's call between Putin and Trump in which the Russian leader agreed to a limited ceasefire that would temporarily halt attacks "on all energy and infrastructure.”

Zelensky, who had earlier voiced support for the proposal, told a joint press conference in Helsinki that there were attacks from “150 drones overnight, including on energy facilities. There were strikes on transport. Unfortunately, two hospitals were hit, as well as ordinary urban infrastructure."

"Putin's words are very different from reality," he stated.

Kiev last Tuesday agreed to a far more encompassing 30-day truce, and Trump had sought to have Putin consent to joining that as well, threatening potential economic penalties on Moscow if the Russian leader did not agree.

That did not materialize during Tuesday's discussion, but Trump maintained that negotiations would commence quickly over the wider ceasefire proposal, and a peace deal to fully end the conflict.

The Kremlin, for its part, said it had identified "a number of significant issues" before it would accept a 30-day truce, including what it said is "the need to stop forced mobilization in Ukraine and the rearmament of the Armed Forces of Ukraine."

On Wednesday, Zelensky conveyed his belief that the ongoing conflict in his country can end this year with a "decent" peace, but that security guarantees for Kiev are "definitely needed."

"Otherwise, Putin will come again with war, and this has been his essence from the very beginning," Zelensky further said.

The conditions listed by Putin with regard to the 30-day ceasefire proposed by the U.S. only show his intent to continue the conflict, Zelensky argued.

Before the phone conversation, Moscow and Kiev said that Russia and Ukraine have exchanged 372 soldiers in a prisoner swap brokered by the United Arab Emirates.

Zelensky hailed the exchange as one of the largest of the war and said that some among the Ukrainians released had been "persecuted by Russia for fictitious crimes."