Zelenskyy agrees to ‘partial ceasefire’ – DW – 03/20/2025

US President Donald Trump has suggested that the United States could take over the operation of Ukrainian power plants in order to guarantee their security.

Trump made the suggestion in a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday, telling him the US could be “very helpful in running those plants with its electricity and utility expertise,” according to a White House statement.

Trump added that “American ownership of those plants could be the best protection for that infrastructure.”

The idea of a vested American economic interest or of the presence of American civilians in Ukraine was also part of the thinking behind the proposed US-Ukraine minerals deal. 

The deal was put on ice after the shouting match between Trump and Zelenskyy in the Oval Office last month.

Wednesday’s approximately one-hour phone call, described in the White House statement as “fantastic,” was the first conversation between the two presidents since that meeting.

It also came just one day after Trump had held a two-hour phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, in which he claimed that Moscow had agreed to halt its bombardment of Ukrainian energy infrastructure for 30 days.

In return, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Zelenskyy had agreed to a “partial ceasefire,” which would include halting retaliatory attacks on Russia’s energy infrastructure.

“One of the first steps towards fully ending the war could be ending strikes on energy and other civilian infrastructure,” Zelenskyy wrote on social media following the call.

“I supported this step, and Ukraine confirmed that we are ready to implement it.”

Zelenskyy described the call with Trump as “very substantive and frank,” saying: “We instructed our teams to resolve technical issues related to implementing and expanding the partial ceasefire. Ukrainian and American teams are ready to meet in Saudi Arabia in the coming days to continue coordinating steps toward peace.”