Putin Agrees to a Partial Ceasefire Deal, Then Attacks Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to a 30-day pause on energy infrastructure strikes in Ukraine during a phone call with United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday. A few hours later, Russia bombed energy infrastructure in Slovyansk, Ukraine.
Parts of Slovyansk are now without electricity.
According to the Kremlin, Putin ordered the Russian military to halt the air strike on Ukraine’s energy plants after the phone call. But overnight Tuesday, Russia attacked Slovyansk with 145 drones and at least six long-range missiles. In addition to hitting energy infrastructure, the attack targeted Ukrainian hospitals. Several civilians were injured and at least two were killed.
Russian authorities say Ukraine attacked a Russian oil depot overnight Tuesday.
More talks: Putin rejected a full ceasefire in his call with Trump, but after about 90 minutes of talking, the two presidents agreed to the partial deal.
In addition to the supposed end to strikes on energy supplies, Russia and Ukraine also agreed to exchange 175 prisoners of war. Russia also agreed to return 23 wounded Ukrainian soldiers who are currently being treated at Russian hospitals, in what the Kremlin says is a “gesture of goodwill.”
Talks will continue about the “implementation of a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea, full ceasefire and permanent peace.”
Demands: Some of Putin’s demands for a full ceasefire include:
- An end to foreign military and intelligence aid to Ukraine
- No nato membership for Ukraine
- No foreign peacekeepers in Ukraine
- Russia gets to keep land it has annexed from Ukraine
Europe says: According to German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, “Putin is playing a game.”
“We’ve seen that attacks on civilian infrastructure have not eased at all in the first night after this supposedly ground-breaking, great phone call,” he explained.
If you read the two readouts from the call, it is clear that Russia does not really want to make any kind of concessions. What Russia wants is that Ukraine will let all the guards down. If they achieve that no military aid to Ukraine, then they are free to continue, because the Ukrainians can’t defend themselves.
—Kaja Kallas, European Union foreign policy chief
Peacemaker? Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry wrote in our latest magazine issue that President Trump has made some mistakes in his efforts to achieve peace. Some of his peace efforts aren’t working, Mr. Flurry explains, because the president “has a serious blind spot when it comes to peace negotiation and international diplomacy.”
To understand, read Mr. Flurry’s article “Does Donald Trump Know the Way to Peace?”
