MOSCOW, Mar 19: Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed on Tuesday to US President Donald Trump's proposal for a month-long halt to strikes against energy infrastructure in Ukraine, a limited ceasefire that Kyiv quickly said it would be willing to consider.
But Moscow stopped short of giving the United States the full 30-day cessation of hostilities it had sought, and experts say Putin could be playing for time as Russian troops advance in eastern Ukraine.
Talks aimed at advancing toward a broader peace plan will begin immediately, the White House said following a lengthy call between the two leaders, but it was unclear whether Ukraine will be involved.
Putin ordered the Russian military to stop attacks against energy sites after speaking with Trump, the Kremlin said in a statement. But he again raised concerns during the call that a temporary ceasefire might allow Ukraine to mobilise more soldiers and rearm itself.
Putin also emphasized that any resolution of the conflict would require an end to all military and intelligence assistance to Ukraine, the Kremlin added.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country would consider supporting the US proposal to stop strikes on energy infrastructure.
"I think it will be right that we will have a conversation with President Trump and we will know in detail what the Russians offered the Americans or what the Americans offered the Russians," Zelensky told reporters during an online briefing.
Meanwhile, Ukraine and Russia on Wednesday accused each other of not respecting a halt on energy infrastructure strikes, after talks between Washington and the Kremlin aimed at ending the grinding three-year conflict.
President Volodymyr Zelensky also said Kyiv supported the moratorium but on Wednesday Ukraine's defence ministry said an overnight barrage of Russian missile and drones struck the war-battered nation.
"Today Putin effectively rejected the proposal for a full ceasefire," said Zelensky.
One person was killed and two hospitals were damaged, the defence ministry reported.
Ukraine's national railway service said the barrage hit railway energy infrastructure in the central Dnipropetrovsk region.
"So much for a pause in the attacks on the energy sector or an energy truce executed by the enemy!" a railway statement added.Russia's defence ministry reported a "deliberate" Ukrainian attack overnight on an oil depot in the south of the country which was aimed at "derailing" Trump's attempts to broker an end to the fighting.
"These attacks are countering our common efforts," added Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, referring to the US-Russian talks.
Zelensky is due to speak to Trump on Wednesday to learn more about the US leader's conversation with Putin and "next steps" in ceasefire talks.
But he warned beforehand against making "any concessions" to Russia after Putin in his call to Trump demanded an end to Western military aid to Ukraine during any ceasefire.
Putin told Trump that for a full ceasefire to work, Ukraine must not be allowed to rearm and must halt mandatory mobilisation.
Kyiv said that would leave the nation vulnerable to further Russian attacks and wants the United States to oversee a ceasefire against energy infrastructure.
Talks on a ceasefire in Russia's war with Ukraine will continue on Sunday in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah, US President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff said Tuesday.
In an interview with Fox News hours after Trump held a lengthy phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Witkoff said talks on a ceasefire deal "will begin on Sunday in Jeddah."
�"REUTERS, AFP
