NYT: Putin Refuses Truce

Russia imitates involvement in the negotiation process.

Russia's ruler, Vladimir Putin, on Tuesday agreed for the first time to a “limited” cease-fire that would apply to strikes on energy infrastructure while Ukraine does the same. However, he refused a full-fledged truce at the front, according to an analysis by The New York Times.

Delaying

During a two-hour phone call with President Donald Trump, the Russian dictator rejected a broader 30-day cease-fire proposed by the United States and Ukraine. This means that attacks on civilians, cities and ports will continue.

However, if both sides do stop the strikes on the energy infrastructure, it will be the first mutual step to stop the attacks in three years of war, which the White House sees as the first stage of establishing peace. At the same time, some senior administration officials have acknowledged that Putin is likely dragging out the process by agreeing to only minimal steps to look engaged in peace talks but maintain a battlefield advantage.

Such a cessation of strikes on energy facilities is beneficial not only to Ukraine, which has been under attack on its energy network for years, but also to Russia: Ukraine has inflicted significant strikes on oil and gas facilities in the deep territory of Russia, endangering important revenue streams of the Kremlin.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky expressed readiness for a truce on energy strikes, but stressed that Ukraine cannot remain unanswered by Russian attacks on the energy system. He added that Russia should stop striking the Ukrainian energy infrastructure, but in case of violation of this, Ukraine will be forced to respond.

Zelensky also said that Putin actually rejected the proposal for a complete ceasefire and accused Russia of continuing the attacks, in particular, the defeat of the hospital in Sumy, eastern Ukraine.

Putin put forward the conditions

According to Kremlin and U.S. sources, Putin insisted that lasting peace was possible only if all of the foreign military and intelligence assistance to Ukraine that Kyiv has been receiving from the United States and its allies over the past three years stopped.

Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance criticized the huge sums spent by the U.S. to support Ukraine, but the White House did not disclose details of that part of the conversation.

At the same time, the White House has not released any specific agreements regarding the territories that Russia may retain after the seizure of part of Ukraine, starting with the annexation of Crimea in 2014.

The publication writes that the result of the conversation does not meet Trump's hopes for a relatively quick peace with Russia, despite his public optimism. The talks did not lead to a clear definition of the terms of the meeting between the two leaders or a discussion of the general principles for ending the war.

However, certain "goodwill gestures" were made: Putin announced his readiness to release 23 seriously wounded Ukrainian soldiers and exchange prisoners with Ukraine. According to the Kremlin, the parties agreed to exchange 175 prisoners from each side later this month.

The Kremlin said that Putin supports the idea of a ceasefire, but again put forward conditions unacceptable for Ukraine, in particular, the requirement to stop mobilization and rearmament.

Against this background, Trump expressed hope for a possible discussion of the fate of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which is now under Russian control, although the Kremlin and the White House did not mention this issue in their statements.

Meanwhile, Washington and Moscow discussed the possibility of normalizing relations, as well as cooperation in the energy sector. Trump also agreed with the idea of holding hockey tournaments with the participation of American and Russian players.

Ukrainian officials noted three main demands: Kyiv will not recognize the Russian occupation, will not agree to a neutral status and will not reduce the number of its armed forces. They also demanded security guarantees if an agreement was reached.

Zelensky stressed that Ukraine cannot agree to Russian conditions and does not recognize any occupied territory.

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