KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine and Russia agreed in principle to a limited ceasefire after President Donald Trump spoke with the countries’ leaders this week, though it remains to be seen when it might take effect and what possible targets would be off limits to attack.
The tentative deal to partially rein in the grinding war came after Russian President Vladimir Putin rebuffed Trump’s push for a full 30-day ceasefire. The difficulty in getting the combatants to agree not to target one another’s energy infrastructure highlights the challenges Trump will face in trying to fulfill his campaign pledge to quickly end to the war.
After a roughly hourlong call with Trump on Wednesday that both leaders said went well, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters that “technical” talks in Saudi Arabia this weekend would seek to resolve what types of infrastructure would be protected under the agreement.
But it was immediately clear that the three parties had different views about what the pact entailed, with the White House saying “energy and infrastructure” would be covered, the Kremlin saying the agreement referred more narrowly to “energy infrastructure,” and Zelenskyy saying he’d also like railways and ports to be protected.
