Explainer: What Putin and Trump agreed on Ukraine's partial ceasefire – All you need to know

Arabian Business

19-03-2025

Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump agreed to a limited ceasefire in Ukraine during a phone call on Tuesday, but stopped short of the broader 30-day truce that Ukraine had accepted last week.
Here's what you need to know about the agreement and what it could mean for the conflict.
What did Trump and Putin agree to?
After a 90-minute conversation described by the White House as 'productive,' Trump and Putin agreed to an immediate 30-day pause on attacks targeting energy infrastructure in both Ukraine and Russia. This represents a partial ceasefire that would spare power plants, electricity grids, gas facilities and other critical energy sites from bombardment.
Putin also agreed to begin technical negotiations on implementing a potential maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea, although no formal agreement was reached on this point.
Additionally, the Kremlin announced that Russia and Ukraine would exchange 175 prisoners of war each on Wednesday, with Russia also releasing 23 seriously wounded Ukrainian soldiers as what it called a 'gesture of goodwill.'
What the partial ceasefire does not include
Crucially, the agreement does not halt fighting along the front lines, where Russian forces continue to advance in eastern Ukraine.
It also does not address Russian airstrikes against other civilian or military targets outside the energy sector.
Putin refused to endorse the broader 30-day complete ceasefire that Ukraine accepted during negotiations in Saudi Arabia last week.
Trump acknowledged this limitation during a Fox News interview after the call, saying a complete ceasefire 'would have been tough' given the current battlefield situation.
Watch the latest video at foxnews.com
Putin's conditions for a broader peace
The Kremlin statement following the Trump-Putin call said that Putin continues to insist on several major concessions before considering a comprehensive peace deal:
'Complete cessation' of all Western military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine
An end to Ukraine's forced mobilisation of troops
Implementation of effective control mechanisms over any potential ceasefire
These demands align with Putin's long-standing position that Ukraine must be effectively disarmed and left unable to defend itself against future Russian operations. Since the early days of the invasion, Putin has identified the 'demilitarisation' of Ukraine as a primary war aim.
During failed peace negotiations in spring 2022, Russian negotiators demanded Ukraine reduce its armed forces by approximately 95 per cent to just 50,000 troops.
'Ukraine does not have the strategic depth that Russia enjoys, Ukraine doesn't have the industrial depth that Russia enjoys, and Ukraine doesn't have the demographic depth that Russia has,' Nicolas Michelon, Partner at Alagan Partners, told Arabian Business last week.
Ukraine's response to the partial deal
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed cautious optimism tinged with skepticism following the announcement.
'If there is a partial ceasefire, this is a positive result,' Zelenskyy said at a news conference. He added that he hoped to speak directly with Trump to understand 'what the Russians offered the Americans or what the Americans offered the Russians' during the conversation.
Zelenskyy firmly rejected Putin's demand to end Western military support, calling it an attempt to weaken Ukraine's position. He emphasised that any meaningful negotiations must include Ukraine as a direct participant: 'There's two parties in this war, Russia and Ukraine, so without Ukraine I think many negotiations would not result in any help.'
The lead-up: Ukraine's acceptance of the 30-day ceasefire
The partial agreement comes one week after Ukraine unconditionally backed a United States initiative for a complete 30-day ceasefire during talks in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. This meeting, led by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, marked the first high-level diplomatic engagement between the US and Ukraine since a contentious White House meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy on February 28.
Following that difficult Oval Office encounter, the Trump administration temporarily suspended intelligence sharing and military assistance to Ukraine — measures that were reinstated after Ukraine accepted the ceasefire proposal in Saudi Arabia.
According to the joint statement released after the Jeddah talks, the US committed to 'immediately lift the pause on intelligence sharing and resume security assistance' to Ukraine as a result of Kyiv's cooperation.
Trump's diplomatic strategy
Trump has made ending the Ukraine conflict a key priority of his administration, even if it means straining relationships with traditional allies who favour a harder line against Russia.
Following the Putin call, the White House announced that negotiations would begin 'immediately in the Middle East' on implementing the energy infrastructure ceasefire, as well as working toward a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea and potentially a comprehensive peace agreement.
US Special Envoy Steve , Saudi Arabia, led by National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
'I think it's a relatively short distance to a full ceasefire from there,' Witkoff told Fox News, having spent more than seven hours meeting with Putin in the days preceding Trump's call.
Last week's talks in Saudi Arabia also yielded an agreement to pursue humanitarian relief efforts including prisoner exchanges and the return of forcibly transferred Ukrainian children. They also indicated that negotiations on a critical minerals deal between the US and Ukraine would resume, potentially giving Washington access to Ukraine's valuable rare earth mineral reserves.
What happens next?
The immediate focus will be on implementing the energy infrastructure ceasefire and monitoring compliance by both sides. If successful, this could build confidence for expanded ceasefire arrangements.
The Saudi-hosted negotiations beginning Sunday will be critical in determining whether this limited agreement can evolve into a broader ceasefire or potentially a path toward ending the conflict.
However, significant obstacles remain, particularly given the gulf between Putin's demand for Ukraine's effective disarmament and Zelenskyy's insistence on maintaining Western military support.
As geopolitics expert Michelon told Arabian Business last week, Ukraine 'was nothing but a pawn in this conflict from day one, unfortunately, it has been sacrificed.'
The coming weeks will reveal whether the Trump administration can bridge these seemingly irreconcilable positions or whether the energy infrastructure ceasefire represents only a temporary reduction in hostilities rather than a meaningful step toward ending Europe's largest land war since World War II.