Vladimir Putin has moved closer to achieving his goal of repairing Russia’s relations with the United States and creating a divide between the U.S. and Europe, while contributing only marginally to Donald Trump’s peace initiatives in Ukraine.
Prior to Tuesday’s extended phone call between the two presidents, the U.S. had indicated it would seek Russia’s agreement to a 30-day ceasefire in the war—a proposal that Ukraine had accepted in principle—as a first step toward a comprehensive peace agreement.
Instead, Putin agreed to a much narrower ceasefire, in which Russia and Ukraine would cease attacks on each other’s energy facilities for one month.
He took care to ensure that Trump did not leave empty-handed: this marked the first time in over three years of conflict that both sides had been persuaded to de-escalate, even briefly, and the White House announced that discussions on a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea, as well as a more complete ceasefire, would commence immediately.
Halting attacks on energy infrastructure and at sea would significantly constrain Ukraine, which has inflicted substantial damage on Russia’s oil infrastructure—a key source of war funding—and its larger navy since the conflict began.
However, Russia remains free to pursue its ground offensive, particularly in the western Kursk region, where it is close to dislodging Ukrainian forces who seized a portion of Russian territory in a surprise incursion last August.
Putin reiterated Russia’s conditions for a broader ceasefire: that it must not be exploited by Kyiv to replenish weapons or mobilize additional troops. Ukraine rejects these terms.
Nigel Gould-Davies, a Russia specialist at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, stated that Putin had effectively dismissed the broader truce and was unlikely to consider it seriously unless Trump followed through on threats to intensify
