Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has come forward with a concerning update in light of his Russian and American counterparts' call.
On Tuesday (18 March), Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump engaged in a 90-minute discussion over the phone in an attempt to hash out a ceasefire deal - three years since the Russian army invaded their Eastern European neighbours.
Since resuming his presidency a couple of months ago, Trump has prioritised the Ukrainian/Russian conflict and even went as far as to temporarily halt military aid.
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The two political leaders did indeed come to a ceasefire agreement this week, yet Zelenskyy's comments during his latest press conference contradict this positive news.
"After Putin's conversation with the US President Donald Trump, where Putin said he was supposedly giving an order stopping strikes against Ukrainian energy infrastructure, there were 150 drones overnight, targeting energy infrastructure among other things," he announced on Wednesday (19 March).
"There were strikes against transport. Two hospitals were unfortunately hit. In other words, Putin’s words are very much at odds with reality."
Once Trump and Putin had wrapped up their business, the White House published official takeaways from the chat, including the fact Russia agreed to pause military strikes on Ukrainian energy and infrastructure.
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Putin did however reject a proposal for an immediate ceasefire.
A transcript read: "Today, President Trump and President Putin spoke about the need for peace and a ceasefire in the Ukraine war. Both leaders agreed this conflict needs to end with a lasting peace.
"These negotiations will begin immediately in the Middle East. The leaders spoke broadly about the Middle East as a region of potential cooperation to prevent future conflicts."
It went on to reveal how both leaders had spoken of the possibility of 'improved bilateral relations' between the US and Russia, adding: "The blood and treasure that both Ukraine and Russia have been spending in this war would be better spent on the needs of their people. This conflict should never have started and should have been ended long ago with sincere and good faith peace efforts."
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Prior to this meeting, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was extremely vocal in pushing Putin towards peace.
"My feeling is that sooner or later [Putin is] going to have to come to the table and engage in serious discussion, but – and this is a big but for us this morning in our meeting – we can’t sit back and simply wait for that to happen," he said on Saturday (15 March).
"My message to the Kremlin could not be clearer: stop the barbaric attacks on Ukraine, once and for all, and agree to a ceasefire now. Until then we will keep working around the clock to deliver peace."
Topics: Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Vladimir Putin, Politics, Ukraine
Dan Seddon