Zelenskyy: Enforcing limited truce could be quick
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Wednesday that a halt on energy strikes in the war with Russia could be established quickly, but warned Ukraine would respond in kind if Moscow violated the terms of the limited ceasefire.
After speaking to US President Donald Trump on Wednesday for the first time since their disastrous Oval Office talks, Zelenskyy said Kyiv would draw up a list of facilities that could be subject to a partial ceasefire brokered by Washington.
That list could include not only energy, but also rail and port infrastructure, he said, a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to Trump and agreed to pause attacks on energy infrastructure.
“I understand that until we agree (with Russia), until there is a corresponding document on even a partial ceasefire, I think that everything will fly,” Zelenskyy said, referring to drones and missiles.
‘Most substantive’
As Zelenskyy’s online briefing with reporters drew to a close, regional authorities reported a mass drone attack on the central Ukrainian city of Kropyvnytskyi, with footage on social media showing large fires and damage to apartment buildings.
The Ukrainian leader, who looked tired as he spoke to reporters, described his phone call with Trump as “probably his most substantive and positive” talks yet and added that he had not felt under pressure.
Also on Wednesday, Russia and Ukraine said they had each swapped 175 prisoners in one of the largest exchanges of the war.
Severely wounded soldiers and fighters were among those released, Zelenskyy said.
