Putin Agrees to 30-Day Halt on Energy Strikes Following Trump Call

Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to a 30-day halt on attacks on energy infrastructure in Ukraine, following a high-stakes call with US President Donald Trump, the Kremlin said in a statement on social media.

“Vladimir Putin responded positively to this initiative and immediately gave the Russian military the appropriate command,” the statement read.

Trump and Putin held a much-anticipated call on Tuesday, lasting over 90 minutes. A White House official said the call was “going well” about an hour into the conversation.

The Kremlin said Putin also spoke about “a number of significant points” related to enforcing a ceasefire along the front line. The Russian leader said forced mobilization in Ukraine should stop and that Ukraine’s military should not receive new weapons.

He called the “complete cessation of foreign military assistance and the exchange of intelligence information with Kyiv” a key condition for avoiding escalation.

Putin said a prisoner exchange would take place on March 19, with each side swapping 175 prisoners. As a “gesture of goodwill,” Russia will also return 23 seriously wounded Ukrainian soldiers who are being treated in Russian hospitals, the Kremlin said.

The two leaders also agreed to set up Russian and American expert groups to work on the issues discussed and “stay in touch on all issues raised.”

Kyiv agreed to a US-backed 30-day ceasefire proposal on March 11 after an eight-hour discussion between high-ranking US and Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia.

Before the meeting, Kyiv said it was open to an air-and-sea ceasefire but, at least initially, ruled out the cessation of ground combat. It’s not been confirmed if the resulting 30-day proposal brought to Moscow meant a full ceasefire or an air-and-sea-only ceasefire.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin said that he would agree to a ceasefire only if it leads to what he called a long-term peace on Thursday and questioned how a ceasefire could be implemented effectively and raised a number of “conditions that need to be studied,” including its enforcement alongside a front line stretching for hundreds of kilometers.