Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US counterpart Donald Trump held a telephone call on Thursday, in which the Ukrainian president said he was ready for a total ceasefire.
Zelensky said, in a Telegram post following the call, that he proposed a total ceasefire for 30 days:
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“Thirty days, which could be the beginning of years of peace. It is a ceasefire, lasting and reliable, which would be a real indicator of the movement toward peace. America can help with this. The world needs America just as much as it did 80 years ago.”
Zelensky said that there should be a total ceasefire, including missile and drone attacks, plus assaults at the front.
“The Russians need to respond to this adequately: support the ceasefire. They must prove their readiness to end the war,” Zelensky said.
The leaders’ conversation, which went “very well,” lasted about 20 minutes and included discussion on the Ukraine-US minerals deal, recently ratified by Ukraine’s legislature, the Verkhovna Rada, AFP reported.
Zelensky also reportedly told the US president that he is ready for peace talks with Russia in any format.
The presidents’ call follows a flurry of diplomatic activity in recent weeks, with the White House signalling a potential shift in its posture towards Ukraine and Russia.
The Trump Administration has recently expressed frustration with a lack of Russian cooperation to end the Russo-Ukrainian War. US Vice President JD Vance commented Wednesday on the impasse in negotiations.
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“Right now, the Russians are asking for a certain set of requirements, a certain set of concessions in order to end the conflict. We think they’re asking for too much. Okay?” Vance said.
The US has also been less than impressed with Russia’s overture for a temporary ceasefire from May 8 to 10 to commemorate World War II Victory Day.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on April 28: “I understand [Russian leader] Vladimir Putin this morning offered a temporary ceasefire. The president has made it clear he wants to see a permanent ceasefire first to stop the killing and stop the bloodshed.”
After meeting Zelensky in Rome following the death of Pope Francis, Trump used his Truth Social media platform to criticize Putin for attacks on civilian areas in Ukraine, stating:
“It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!”
Earlier this year, negotiations between the United States and Ukraine to end the war hit a low point following a public blowout between the two leaders in the Oval Office.
This led to a brief pause in US military aid to Ukraine in early March, which is now known to be the second delay in US military aid to Ukraine since Trump took office in January.
Trump’s public statements toward Ukraine have often been incoherent and contradictory.
During the election campaign and in his second term, Trump often repeated Russian narratives that Ukraine was responsible for starting the war, and that the Ukrainians were losing in the battlespace.
Some have described Trump’s foreign policy and approach to trade negotiations as a “madman” theory of foreign relations. This theory emphasizes that, rather than being inconsistent and reckless, Trump’s seemingly contradictory policies are intentionally unpredictable and a way of making enemies disoriented and confused about his true intentions.
The increased criticism of Russia, following the signing of the US-Ukraine minerals agreement, comes as the Trump administration weighs its remaining options for ending the war in Ukraine, a feat he repeatedly promised to accomplish on his first day as president.
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