President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine agreed in a Wednesday phone call with President Trump to accept Russia’s offer for a mutual pause in attacks on energy targets as a step toward a broader cease-fire.
During the call, Mr. Trump also floated the idea of the United States taking control of Ukrainian power plants — an idea that Ukrainian energy experts said was unworkable.
It was not immediately clear how or when a pause in strikes would take hold. As the statements were issued, alarms sounded in Kyiv to warn of Russian drones in the sky.
Even a narrow agreement between Mr. Zelensky and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia would leave a wide chasm between their positions on how the war could end. And Mr. Zelensky has characterized some of the Russian leader’s proposals as stalling tactics as he maneuvers for military advantage and the best possible deal from the American president.
In a social media post, Mr. Zelensky said that Mr. Trump had briefed him on his conversation the day before with Mr. Putin, who proposed that both sides stop targeting one another’s energy sites for 30 days.
“President Trump shared details of his conversation with Putin and the key issues discussed. One of the first steps toward fully ending the war could be ending strikes on energy and other civilian infrastructure,” Mr. Zelensky wrote. “I supported this step, and Ukraine confirmed that we are ready to implement it.”
In an unexpected twist, the Trump administration revealed for the first time that Mr. Trump wants the United States to own Ukraine’s electrical and nuclear facilities, presumably including the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is Europe’s largest.
The statement said technical teams would meet in Saudi Arabia “in the coming days” to discuss broadening the cease-fire on energy sites to one covering activity in the Black Sea, “on the way to a full cease-fire.”
Wednesday was the first time Mr. Trump and Mr. Zelensky have spoken since a dramatic confrontation between the two in the Oval Office last month.
During that meeting, Mr. Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated Mr. Zelensky for showing insufficient gratitude for American support — most it delivered under President Biden. The Trump administration temporarily suspended all military assistance and intelligence sharing with Ukraine in the aftermath of the meeting — and Mr. Zelensky has since sought to smooth over relations.
But Wednesday’s statements from Mr. Zelensky, Mr. Trump and two senior Trump officials suggested there were efforts to make amends.
Mr. Trump said his conversation with Mr. Zelensky had been “very good” and lasted about an hour. A later joint statement from his national security adviser, Mike Waltz, and the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, said the talk “significantly helped in moving toward ending the war.”
Reporting was contributed by David E. Sanger in Washington and Anastasia Kuznietsova and Johanna Lemola in TK.
