Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a “very good telephone call” on Wednesday afternoon, according to the US president.
Writing on Truth Social, Trump said the conversation lasted one hour and much of it was “based on the call made yesterday with President Putin in order to align both Russia and Ukraine in terms of their requests and needs”.
“We are very much on track,” he added.
The Ukrainian president meanwhile described the conversation as “positive, very substantive and frank”.
“One of the first steps toward fully ending the war could be ending strikes on energy and other civilian infrastructure. I supported this step, and Ukraine confirmed that we are ready to implement it,” Zelenskyy wrote on X.
“Ukrainian and American teams are ready to meet in Saudi Arabia in the coming days to continue coordinating steps toward peace. We instructed our advisors and representatives to carry out this work as quickly as possible,” he added.
The phone call came hours after Russia released 175 Ukrainian soldiers.
The Kremlin said on Tuesday that a prisoner exchange would “be carried out between the Russian and Ukrainian sides – 175 for 175 people”.
The Ukrainian president posted information about the swap, which is “one of the largest”, on social media.
“Among [those released] are severely wounded warriors and those whom Russia persecuted for fabricated crimes. All of them will immediately receive the necessary medical and psychological assistance,” Zelenskyy posted on X.
“I thank our team for their important work in finding Ukrainian prisoners of war and facilitating exchanges, as well as for the results that bring hope. We are also grateful to all our partners, especially the United Arab Emirates, for making today’s exchange possible,” he added.
Trump and Putin had agreed on an immediate pause in strikes against energy and infrastructure targets in Ukraine during the phone call, but Zelenskyy said the vow was “very much at odds with reality” following an overnight barrage of drone strikes across the country.
Overnight, Russia attacked Ukraine with 145 drones, two ballistic missiles, and four anti-aircraft missiles, Ukraine’s Air Force said on Wednesday morning.
The attacks targeted the Sumy, Odesa, Poltava, Dnipropetrovsk, Kyiv and Chernihiv regions, the Air Force said, adding that 72 drones had been shot down.
Civilian infrastructure was struck, including a hospital in the eastern Sumy region and an electricity system powering the railways in Ukraine’s central Dnipropetrovsk region, according to officials and Ukraine’s state railway company Ukrzaliznytsya.
Meanwhile, Russia’s defense ministry said Wednesday it had shot down 57 drones launched by Ukraine overnight, with 35 of those intercepted and destroyed over the Kursk border region.
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