President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine agreed in a Wednesday phone call with President Trump to accept Russia’s offer for a mutual pause in attacks on energy targets as a step toward a broader cease-fire.
In a social media post, Mr. Trump said he had “a very good” hourlong conversation with Mr. Zelensky, and a later joint statement from his national security adviser and the secretary of state said the talk “significantly helped in moving toward ending the war.”
Mr. Zelensky sounded a similar note in his own social media post, calling the conversation “positive, very substantive, and frank,” and making clear that he had thanked Mr. Trump for America’s support.
It was the first time Mr. Trump and Mr. Zelensky have spoken since their disastrous Oval Office meeting last month, during which Mr. Trump and Vice President JD Vance fumed that Mr. Zelensky had shown insufficient gratitude for America’s backing.
The statement from Michael Waltz, the national security adviser, and Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, suggested for the first time that Mr. Trump is interested in taking control of Ukraine’s electrical and nuclear power sites.
Mr. Trump told Mr. Zelensky that the United States “could be very helpful in running those plants with its electricity and utility expertise,” the statement said, adding that “American ownership of those plants would be the best protection for that infrastructure and support for Ukrainian energy infrastructure.”
Anastasia Kuznietsova and Johanna Lemola contributed reporting.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/19/world/europe/zelensky-trump-ukraine-russia-putin.html
