Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the US President Donald Trump had a telephone conversation on March 19, which both described as “very good” and “frank.” The key point was Washington’s ceasefire initiative.
Donald Trump shared with Zelensky the details of his conversation with Putin yesterday. The Ukrainian president supported the cessation of strikes on energy and other civilian infrastructure facilities — Kyiv is ready to implement this.
Zelensky and Trump have tasked their teams with resolving technical issues related to implementing and expanding the partial ceasefire. The Ukrainian and US teams are set to meet in Saudi Arabia in the coming days.
Volodymyr Zelensky told the American leader about the situation on the battlefield and the course of the operation in the Kursk region, as well as the consequences of the Russian strikes. They separately talked about the release of prisoners of war and the return of Ukrainian children, the state of Ukraineʼs air defense and the possibility of strengthening it.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Zelensky had asked Trump for additional Patriot air defense systems. She said that Trump “agreed to work with him to find what is available, including in Europe”. As for the children, the US president promised to “work closely with both sides” to return children abducted during the war.
According to Leavitt, Trump suggested that US ownership of Ukrainian power plants and nuclear power plants “could be very beneficial” and “become the best protection” for Ukraine’s critical infrastructure.
The US White House also confirmed that Washington continues to exchange intelligence with Ukraine, which it needs for defense.
At the same time, Karoline Leavitt noted that the Ukraine-US minerals agreement went beyond just economic agreements and focused on a "partial ceasefire". She added that in the long term, the agreement should lead to a full ceasefire and lasting peace.
This was the leadersʼ first conversation since their meeting at the White House on February 18, at which the presidents spoke in raised tones. Then, during a press conference, Trump and Zelensky argued: it all started with the Ukrainian presidentʼs words about the need to provide Ukraine with security guarantees and actively include Kyiv in the negotiation process.
- The day before, on March 18, Trump spoke with Putin. They discussed, in particular, the 30-day ceasefire proposed by the United States. Putin demanded that Ukraine stop the mobilization and rearmament of the Armed Forces of Ukraine for this period.
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