Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a one-hour phone conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump on March 19 to discuss ongoing efforts to end the bloody Russo-Ukrainian war.
The call took place a day after Trump held a phone call with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.
“Much of the discussion was based on the call made yesterday [March 18] with [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin in order to align both Russia and Ukraine in terms of their requests and needs,” Trump wrote on social media.
The most recent conversation marked the first personal communication between the two leaders since the explosive Zelenskyy’s White House on Feb. 28 when met with Trump and Vice President JD Vance.
Zelenskyy described the dialogue as “positive, very substantive, and frank,” while Trump called it “very good.”
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz described Zelenskyy’s call with Trump as “fantastic.”
“This represents a diplomatic triumph for the Ukrainian president less than three weeks after he was kicked out of the Oval Office,” CNN reports.
Zelenskyy and Trump discussed strengthening Ukraine’s air defense, particularly through the deployment of Patriot systems. The U.S. president assured Zelenskyy that he would “find what was available particularly in Europe.”
The two leaders also addressed the situation on the frontlines and recent peace initiatives.
“I also provided an update on the battlefield situation and the consequences of Russian strikes. We spoke about the situation in the Kursk region, touched on the issue of the release of POWs, and the return of Ukrainian children who were taken by Russian forces,” Zelenskyy wrote.
The leaders also talked about Ukrainian power plants, including nuclear facilities. Trump said that American ownership of these sites would offer the best protection.
During his 90-minute call with Putin, the Kremlin leader reportedly supported Trump’s proposal for mutual suspension of strikes on energy infrastructure by both Ukraine and Russia for 30 days and “gave the relevant order to the military.”
However, Russia launched another attack on Ukraine, including on its energy infrastructure, just hours after this promise.
The peace process began with a meeting between Ukraine and the U.S. in Saudi Arabia on March 11, where Kyiv agreed to a month-long comprehensive ceasefire, contingent upon Russia’s adherence to the same terms.
Putin has since outlined a series of demands, including “effective control over the potential ceasefire along the entire front line, a halt to forced mobilization in Ukraine, and the rearming of Ukraine’s armed forces,” according to BBC.
Delegates from Russia and the U.S. are scheduled to meet in Saudi Arabia on March 23 to continue discussions. Ukraine does not plan to participate in these discussions.
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