Putin and Trump agree to halt attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure

Moscow / WashingtonMinimum agreement between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, which allows the Russian president to kick the ball forward again. Both leaders have agreed to halt bombing of energy infrastructure for 30 days, a proposal from the US president that, according to a Kremlin statement, the Russian president has accepted and has already ordered his generals to execute. According to the White House, they also committed to beginning "technical negotiations on the implementation of a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea," in addition to continuing to discuss "a comprehensive ceasefire and permanent peace." These negotiations will begin "immediately." Trump's threat a few days ago to apply new sanctions and broad tariffs to the Russian economy "until a ceasefire and a final peace agreement are reached" is a thing of the past.

Russia is not only taking advantage of this opportunity to make a Pyrrhic concession now that demand for electricity is declining with the arrival of good weather, but it is also maintains objections to a temporary ceasefire as proposed by Washington and Kiev. In the statement, the Kremlin reiterates the questions Putin raised at a press conference last Thursday: the need to establish "effective control" on the front lines, to halt the "forced mobilization" and "rearmament" of Ukrainian forces, and the impossibility of punishing alleged "terrorist crimes." Therefore, it demands that the West stop providing Kiev with military aid and intelligence information.

Another point on which Putin has no intention of budging is his maximalist demands. It is no coincidence that one of the first sentences of the Kremlin statement is that "we must take into account the absolute necessity of eliminating the root causes of the crisis and Russia's legitimate interests in the security sphere." That is, in practice, the capitulation of Ukraine. According to the Russian government, The conflict should be resolved in a "comprehensive, sustainable and long-term" manner.

In this way, the Russian leader maintains his willingness to engage in dialogue with Trump while refusing to end the fighting. In fact, just hours after hanging up the phone, the Russian army shelled the city of Kiev, according to Ukrainian media reports. At the same time, The Russian Defense Ministry has accused Ukraine of wanting to "create a negative background" in the talks with an offensive in the Russian region of Belgorod.Volodymyr Zelensky has already responded that he agrees with the pause in attacks on energy infrastructure and has urged the US president to inform him of the call with Putin. "I think it will be good for us to have a conversation with President Trump and learn in detail what the Russians have offered the Americans, or the Americans have offered the Russians," the Ukrainian president said from Finland.

Two statements

Just as the Kremlin has issued a long and detailed statement on the negotiations, making clear what it wants and what it doesn't want, the White House statement stands out for its conciseness. It's four paragraphs, 227 words of pomp, where The only thing that is clear is that Washington wants to get closer to Moscow. In fact, to conclude the text announcing the minimal agreement, the Americans announce their willingness to improve a relationship that "has great potential." "This includes enormous economic agreements and geopolitical stability once peace is achieved," the document concludes.

Trump always boasts of being a deal-maker, the point is that perhaps the business that worries him in this case is not so much the truce as what may come afterward. In fact, the president had already asked the State and Treasury Departments to draw up a list of sanctions against Russia that could be lifted. Last week, the tycoon also announced during his meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte that he would purchase 48 new icebreakers with the goal of exploring Arctic routesThe North Pole region is becoming more navigable thanks to the melting ice caused by climate change, and, as Trump explained to Rutte, "the routes are very direct to Asia and Russia" via this route, much faster than conventional routes.

Shortly after the White House issued the statement, Trump also held the meeting at Truth Social. As he has been repeating since the election campaign, the president once again stated that the war would not have started if he were in power. "This process is now fully underway, and hopefully, for the sake of humanity, we will get the job done!" the president wrote.

Among other issues, Trump and Putin also agreed to a prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia. Specifically, 175 prisoners should be exchanged tomorrow, and Russia has said it will send 23 seriously wounded soldiers to Kiev imminently.

Two and a half hours of conversation

The conversation lasted two and a half hours, one of the longest on record between the presidents of Russia and the United States.Putin has once again displayed the same position of strength he displayed during Trump's Moscow visit to Moscow, Steve Witkoff, when he made him wait all day before meeting with him. This Tuesday, he attended a conference of business elites and, when asked if he wouldn't be late for the call with the US president, he joked that Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov, who had previously announced the time of the conversation, should not be listened to.

Unlike the White House, Putin's entourage has received the outcome of the call with euphoria. The director of the Russian sovereign wealth fund, Kirill Dmitriev, also a member of the negotiating team, described the conversation as "perfect" and asserted that "the world is a safer place today" thanks to the leadership of both presidents. Earlier, Dmitriev had also proposed to Elon Musk to jointly organize a Russian-American mission to Mars in 2029. "Our minds and technologies should serve the glory of humanity, not its destruction," he wrote to X.

And a symbolic note about this on ice both in Russia and in the United States between players from all national leagues.