Putin orders partial ceasefire after call with Trump but not the one hoped for

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday ordered his military to adhere to a 30-day ceasefire on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, but he did not extend the temporary truce to the active frontlines or civilian populations. 

“The blood and treasure that both Ukraine and Russia have been spending in this war would be better spent on the needs of their people,” the White House said in a release following the roughly 90-minute call between Putin and President Donald Trump. “The leaders agreed that the movement to peace will begin with an energy and infrastructure ceasefire, as well as technical negotiations on implementation of a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea, full ceasefire and permanent peace.”

Reports leading up to the call suggested that Trump intended to push Putin to agree to an unconditional ceasefire, as he refused to engage with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy until the latter makes clear that he “wants to make peace.”

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Following the call, Trump posted on Truth Social that, “My phone conversation today with President Putin of Russia was a very good and productive one. We agreed to an immediate Ceasefire on all Energy and Infrastructure, with an understanding that we will be working quickly to have a Complete Ceasefire and, ultimately, an END to this very horrible War between Russia and Ukraine,” Trump said in a post following the call.  “That process is now in full force and effect, and we will, hopefully, for the sake of Humanity, get the job done!”

While Ukraine last week agreed to immediately start a ceasefire upon Russia’s agreement, Zelenskyy again voiced skepticism Monday night over whether Putin was actually interested in ending the war. 

“Now, almost a week later, it’s clear to everyone in the world – even to those who refused to acknowledge the truth for the past three years – that it is Putin who continues to drag out this war,” he said during this Monday night address. 

Similarly, on Tuesday, a Ukrainian lawmaker, who wished to remain anonymous, pointed out that an agreement to stop hitting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure two days before the first day of spring was not necessarily a sign that Putin is interested in peace.

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“30-day ceasefire on energy infrastructure when winter is over, really? That’s it?” the lawmaker told Fox News Digital, highlighting Russia’s three-year winter-time strategy of targeting Ukraine’s energy sector. 

Zelenskyy’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s questions, and both NATO and EU officials held off on immediately reacting to the day’s talks. 

“The Russian readout is a typical diplomatic talk by the Kremlin, with a lot of fluff in it. The only tangible and significant commitment that Putin has made is to stop the strikes on Ukrainian critical infrastructure,” Rebekah Koffler, a former DIA intelligence officer and author of “Putin’s Playbook,” told Fox News Digital. “The key point, though, is the ‘mutual refusal of the parties to the conflict’ to strike these facilities. 

“I don’t rule out the possibility that Russia may violate this commitment and claim that Ukrainians did that first,” she added. “But at least on the surface it looks positive.”

Putin also apparently agreed to a 175-prisioner swap with Ukraine, and 23 “seriously wounded” Ukrainian servicemen currently being treated in Russian hospitals will be returned to Ukraine in a “gesture of goodwill,” said the Kremlin’s readout following the call. 

The Russian leader also said that following Trump’s “appeal to save the lives” of the Ukrainian forces bogged down in the Kursk region, he has been “guided by humanitarian considerations” and will allow for their surrender and provide “decent treatment to the soldiers,” which is an existing international law mandated by the United Nations Geneva Convention.