Trump holds hour-long call with Zelenskyy, says 'we're very much on track'

Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrap up call day after talks with Russia about possible ceasefire

  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke with US President Donald Trump over the phone spoke for about an hour on Wednesday (March 19) to discuss the next steps and learn details of his conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

 

Following the call, Trump, in a post on Truth Social, said, "Just completed a very good telephone call with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine. It lasted approximately one hour. Much of the discussion was based on the call made yesterday with President Putin in order to align both Russia and Ukraine in terms of their requests and needs. We are very much on track, and I will ask Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and National Security Advisor Michael Waltz, to give an accurate description of the points discussed. That Statement will be put out shortly." 

Earlier on Tuesday, Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin. During the conversation, Putin agreed not to target Ukraine’s energy infrastructure but declined to support a full 30-day ceasefire.   

 

 

Before Wednesday's conversation with Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had criticised Putin’s pledge, calling it inconsistent with recent events. He highlighted a wave of overnight drone strikes across Ukraine, including attacks on energy facilities. Speaking in Helsinki alongside Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Zelenskyy noted that 150 drones had been launched overnight, despite Putin’s assurances.  

 

On the other hand, the Kremlin insisted that it had ceased targeting Ukrainian energy sites, accusing Kyiv of attacking infrastructure near a Russian pipeline. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that Ukraine was not reciprocating efforts toward de-escalation.  

 

Meanwhile, the White House described the Trump-Putin call as an initial step toward peace, with hopes of securing a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea and eventually a broader resolution to the conflict.   

 

Ceasefire talks and political reactions  

 

Washington-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) suggested that Putin was using the ceasefire proposal as leverage to extract concessions before formal negotiations. The think tank described Putin’s demands as tantamount to Ukraine’s surrender.   

 

Finnish President Stubb viewed the discussions as progress but stressed that Russia must end its aggression. He asserted that the US peace proposal required a clear response from Russia — either an acceptance or a refusal without conditions. He also reiterated that Ukraine had agreed to a ceasefire without preconditions and urged greater international support to pressure Russia into negotiations.  

 

White House national security adviser Mike Waltz announced on social media that he and Russian official Yuri Ushakov had agreed to convene talks in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to build on the partial ceasefire Trump had secured. However, details about the delegations and whether Ukraine would participate were unclear.  

 

Russia-Ukraine war: Airstrikes and escalation 

 

Shortly after Trump’s conversation with Putin, air raid sirens rang out in Kyiv, followed by explosions as civilians sought shelter. Several strikes hit civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, a railway, and residential areas, according to Zelenskyy. Reports indicated that Russian drones were seen over multiple Ukrainian regions.  

 

Russia’s Defence Ministry stated that its forces had launched drone strikes on military-linked energy sites in Ukraine’s Mykolaiv region. However, it claimed to have refrained from targeting broader energy infrastructure following Putin’s orders.  

 

Moscow, in turn, accused Ukraine of attacking an energy facility in Russia’s Krasnodar region, near Crimea. According to the Russian Defence Ministry, drones targeted oil transfer equipment linked to the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, causing a fire. Russia condemned the attack as a deliberate provocation by Kyiv aimed at disrupting US-led peace efforts.  

 

Additionally, Russia reported intercepting 57 Ukrainian drones over the Azov Sea and several Russian border regions, including Kursk and Bryansk. Zelenskyy dismissed mere verbal commitments to a ceasefire, stating that if Russian forces halted strikes on Ukraine, Kyiv would do the same.