Ukraine-Russia war latest: Zelensky hails ‘positive’ Trump call despite US offer to take over power plant
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has hailed his phone call with Donald Trump on Wednesday night as a “positive, very substantive and frank conversation”.
It was the first conversation between the two leaders since their infamous public row in the Oval Office of the White House, and came a day after Mr Trump spoke on the phone with Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
Mr Zelensky said a “lasting peace” could be agreed this year as he praised Mr Trump’s leadership, even as the US president proposed his country could take control of Ukraine’s largest power plant – currently occupied by Russia – “for security”.
A White House statement following the call read: “President Trump also discussed Ukraine’s electrical supply and nuclear power plants. He said that the United States could be very helpful in running those plants with its electricity and utility expertise, American ownership of those plants would be the best protection for that infrastructure and support for Ukrainian energy infrastructure.”
Mr Zelensky said that a halt on energy infrastructure attacks, agreed in the Trump-Putin call, could be established quickly, but warned Ukraine will respond in kind if Moscow violated the terms of the limited ceasefire.
The war-time president said Kyiv would draw up a list of facilities that could be subject to a partial ceasefire brokered by Washington.
