Zelenskyy holds phone call with Trump

Trump wrote about this on the social network TruthSocial.

According to the American leader, he spoke with Zelenskyy for about an hour.

"Just completed a very good telephone call with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine. It lasted approximately one hour. Much of the discussion was based on the call made yesterday with President Putin in order to align both Russia and Ukraine in terms of their requests and needs. We are very much on track, and I will ask Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and National Security Advisor Michael Waltz, to give an accurate description of the points discussed. That Statement will be put out shortly," Trump wrote.

Later, White House spokeswoman Caroline Leavitt said during a briefing that the U.S. president wants to end the war in Ukraine "once and for all."

"President Trump discussed with President Zelenskyy this morning the need to bring Ukraine and Russia to common ground. And President Trump repeatedly emphasized that the valuable lives and money Ukraine and Russia are spending on this war would be better directed toward other goals. This terrible conflict would never have started if President Trump had been head of state at that time," she stated.

According to her, Trump also told Zelenskyy that he would "ensure that children are returned home."

Following the conversation, Leavitt also confirmed that the U.S. would continue intelligence-sharing with Kyiv in the defense sector. Additionally, she mentioned that Zelensky asked for protection of civilians with Patriot missiles, and Trump agreed to consider the request.

At the same time, as Leavitt noted, the head of the White House assured the Ukrainian president of the U.S.'s readiness to assist in managing electrical and nuclear power stations.

"We have never been closer to peace than we are today," Leavitt declared, emphasizing that the U.S.'s priority now is a ceasefire, rather than a deal concerning Ukraine’s rare earth minerals.

Zelenskyy: We believe that together with the U.S., we can achieve lasting peace

Following his conversation with his American counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the discussion was "very substantive and candid."

"We agreed that Ukraine and the U.S. must continue working together to achieve a real end to the war and establish lasting peace. We believe that together with America, with President Trump, and under American leadership, it is possible to achieve long-term peace this year," the President of Ukraine wrote.

According to him, Trump shared details of his dialogue with Putin. Zelenskyy emphasized that Kyiv supports halting strikes on energy and other civilian infrastructure and is ready to implement this measure.

"The American side also proposed an unconditional ceasefire along the front line, and Ukraine has accepted this proposal. We will continue working to make it happen... I also provided updated information on the battlefield situation and the consequences of Russian strikes. We discussed the situation in the Kursk region, raised the issue of releasing prisoners of war, and the return of Ukrainian children who were taken by Russian forces. Additionally, we talked about the state of Ukraine's air defense and the possibilities for strengthening it to protect lives," he added.

At the same time, Kyiv and Washington have tasked their teams with addressing the implementation and expansion of the partial ceasefire. According to Zelensky, both the American and Ukrainian teams are ready to meet in Saudi Arabia in the coming days to coordinate steps toward peace.

"I emphasized the importance of President Trump's concept of peace through strength. We agreed to maintain continuous contact, including at the highest level and through our teams," the Ukrainian leader concluded.

Earlier in the day, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino reported on the social network X:

“President Trump is in the Oval Office on a call with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine,” he wrote at 4:38 p.m.

Earlier, Zelenskyy said during a joint press conference with Finnish President Alexander Stubb that he would have a phone conversation with Trump on March 19.

“Today, I will have contact with President Trump. We will discuss the details of the next steps,” the Ukrainian president stated.

Zelenskyy also recalled the negotiations between American and Ukrainian diplomats in Jeddah, describing them as “a truly very good meeting of our teams.”

“I believe everything was going correctly, if not for Russia, which is always dissatisfied when things go right. We will discuss the details of the next steps, and I think I will hear from him about his conversation with Putin,” he added.

The Ukrainian president also shared that he had received some details of Trump’s conversation with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.

“I have heard some details. In the evening and probably overnight, our teams communicated. But I would prefer to discuss specifics after speaking directly with Trump. Secondly, we are ready to send our technical team for the next steps. When and in what format this meeting will take place, I will be able to say a little later,” Zelenskyy said.

Trump’s conversation with Putin: what is known

On March 18, U.S. President Donald Trump held a phone conversation with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, which lasted about two hours. Both sides agreed that the path to peace should begin with stopping attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. Moscow, however, demanded a halt to Ukraine’s mobilization and the rearmament of the Ukrainian Armed Forces during a possible ceasefire.

Following Trump’s negotiations with Putin, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the Kremlin leader had essentially rejected the proposal for a complete ceasefire.

On Sunday, March 23, representatives of the U.S. and Russia will hold talks in Saudi Arabia regarding the details of stopping attacks on energy and civilian infrastructure in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.