A high-stakes call between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin to try and agree a ceasefire that would help bring an end to the invasion of Ukraine finished with the Russian leader agreeing to halt strikes on Ukraine’s energy grid for 30 days – but without the full battlefield truce that the US and Kyiv have been seeking.
The Kremlin said Putin had given an immediate order to Russia’s military to stop such strikes in the wake of the call. Ukraine will welcome any stoppage to the regular barrages of missiles and drones which can plunge swathes of the country into blackouts – with Kyiv accusing Moscow of terrorising its citizens with the large-scale aerial assaults. But what is clear is that the Kremlin has little intention of a broader peace without testing some of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky’s red lines.
