Earlier this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy both agreed to a partial ceasefire on energy infrastructure. The accepted deal is lesser than what US President Donald Trump originally proposed to Ukraine last week which, if agreed upon, would have led to a full ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia.
According to The Guardian, Putin agreed to a limited ceasefire on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure following a phone-call with Trump. The Kremlin has stated that the reason for only a partial ceasefire being agreed to is because Putin has demanded that the West fully cease its military aid to Ukraine before a full ceasefire can be discussed. The partial ceasefire marks the first time since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 that a ceasefire of any kind will go into effect.
Zelenskyy’s phone call with Trump has reportedly gone well. According to The Guardian, both leaders described their meetings as productive and positive. Zelenskyy also expressed that Ukraine was open to the limited ceasefire. The US has also reportedly promised to deliver more air defense batteries to Ukraine. The tone of the phone call stands in stark contrast to the two leaders’ meeting in February, following which the US stopped supplying Ukraine with military aid. According to The AP, the February meeting, which abruptly ended after the two leaders argued about the war, led to the United States stopping the stream of military assistance that Ukraine has enjoyed. The US only reversed its decision after Ukraine agreed to the original 30-day full ceasefire that America proposed.
According to The Guardian, if the original full ceasefire deal was accepted by Russia, it would have marked the first time since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 that the fighting between the two nations would have stopped completely. The Trump administration previously stated that it hoped that Putin would be open to the full ceasefire in order to prevent more death and bloodshed in the region. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters that if Russia declined the offer, then their intentions will become much clearer as they refuse peace.
Last week, many European leaders expressed their support for the full ceasefire proposal. According to The AP, Zelenskyy hoped that the ceasefire would have valuable time to draw up a permanent solution for peace, in which security is guaranteed to Ukraine. According to The Guardian, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated that he believed that the deal would be instrumental to securing peace and Ukraine’s lasting security. French President Emmanuel Macron stated that while Ukraine’s security needed to be guaranteed, the proposal was nonetheless a step forward. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk also expressed his support for the proposal. However, now that the ceasefire has been reduced to a partial one, many European leaders now have differing opinions on the matter. According to The Guardian, these developments came after Russia launched more attacks on Ukraine just hours after it had reportedly agreed to the partial ceasefire. German Chancellor Olaf Sholz and Macron both said that Germany and France would continue sending aid to Ukraine. The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, also expressed skepticism at the limited ceasefire deal, stating that Russia did not desire any kind of peace. Many leaders have said that Putin’s demands for western aid to Kyiv to stop is outrageous.
In between the agreement of the deal, according to The Guardian, the Russian Army used the time to launch an offensive into the Kursk region of Russia, where it seeks to get rid of the Ukrainian Army. Kyiv has stated that the operation was to get a bargaining chip in future peace negotiations. Around the same time, Ukraine also launched its biggest drone attack on Moscow to date, with a reported 337 drones launched.
While this partial ceasefire on both country’s energy infrastructure is a significant development, the conflict is still a long way from being completely over. As each nation continues to levy attacks on each other, and as distrust between world leaders still remains, the continuation of the war is pretty much guaranteed. Only the resolve to move past this distrust and a desire to go beyond temporary solutions can result in an end to the conflict.
