This handout photograph published in the official Telegram channel of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on March 19, 2025, shows people greeting Ukrainian prisoners of war wrapped with national flags, following an exchange at an undisclosed location, amid the Russian invasion in Ukraine. The Russian defence ministry said it had handed over 175 Ukrainian prisoners of war and 22 "seriously wounded" Ukrainian captives while Kyiv had delivered 175 Russian prisoners in return. Prisoner swaps and the exchange of remains of killed soldiers is one of the only areas of cooperation between the warring countries since the Kremlin launched the Russian invasion of Ukraine in early 2022.
Image: Photo by Handout / Telegram / @Volodymyr Zelensky / AFP
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky held talks with Donald Trump to hear details about the US leader's call with Russia's Vladimir Putin for a lasting ceasefire to end the grinding three-year conflict.
Kyiv said Zelensky was being briefed about Tuesday's 90-minute call between Trump and Putin that saw the Kremlin leader agree to a limited 30-day halt on strikes against Ukraine's power grid.
Despite both Ukraine and Russia saying they backed a temporary truce, each accused the other of failing to adhere to halt strikes on energy infrastructure.
Ukraine's defence ministry said an overnight barrage of Russian missiles and drones struck the war-battered nation, killing one person and damaging two hospitals.
"Today Putin effectively rejected the proposal for a full ceasefire," said Zelensky.
Ukraine's national railway service said the barrage had 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 they said was aimed at "derailing" Trump's attempts to broker an end to the fighting.
"These attacks are countering our common efforts," added Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, referring to the US-Russian talks.
In Washington, US envoy Steve Witkoff said technical talks on a possible deal to end the war would begin in Saudi Arabia on Monday. He predicted that a ceasefire agreement could be reached "within a couple of weeks".
He told Bloomberg Television that a meeting in the kingdom between Trump and Putin was "likely" but offered no timeline.
Zelensky warned before his call with Trump 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 countered that it would be left vulnerable to further Russian attacks. It wants the United States to oversee a ceasefire against energy infrastructure.
The two countries exchanged 372 prisoners, Moscow said Wednesday, which was planned "as a goodwill gesture".
Trump's overtures to Putin and indications Washington will no longer guarantee European security have spooked the United States' NATO allies and prompted moves towards a steep increase in domestic defence spending.
Zelensky has accused Russia of not being "ready to end this war" and in Kyiv, war-weary Ukrainians were prone to agree.
Trump, who says he has an "understanding" with Putin, stunned the world in February when he started direct talks with Russia to end the conflict, sparking fears among allies that he would capitulate to Moscow's demands.
Trump hailed the call with Putin as "good and productive".
The Kremlin statement after the talks referred to "energy infrastructure". Trump's interpretation is the broader "energy and infrastructure" which would include all civil infrastructure and not just energy-specific sites like power stations, transformers, and oil installations.
Cape Times