President Trump said he had a “very good telephone” call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday, despite accusations between Moscow and Kyiv that the other had violated the terms of a partial cease-fire brokered by the White House a day before.
“We are very much on track,” Trump posted on his Truth Social, in apparent reference to his efforts as an intermediary between Ukraine and Russia. He said details of the one-hour phone call would soon follow.
The conversation between Trump and Zelensky comes a day after the White House said it had brokered with Russian President Vladimir Putin a 30-day pause on attacks against energy infrastructure .
Speaking earlier Wednesday morning, Zelensky said Moscow had launched 145 drones, four cruise missiles and two ballistic missiles into Ukraine overnight, “targeting energy infrastructure among other things,” including two hospitals.
“Putin’s words are very much at odds with reality,” Zelensky said.
Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry said Ukraine launched its own overnight attack on Russian oil infrastructure in the country’s southern Krasnodar region. In comments carried by state news agencies, the Kremlin said the strike undermined efforts by Trump and Putin to achieve peace.
Neither the Kremlin nor Ukraine’s Defense Ministry responded to requests for comment.
The dueling accusations highlighted the uncertainty about the implementation and enforcement of any cease-fire, including when it would take effect.
Trump envoy Steve Witkoff largely repeated Russian talking points when asked about the alleged cease-fire violations in a Wednesday interview with Bloomberg TV. He said Putin had given an order to cease attacks on energy infrastructure minutes after the call with Trump–an echo of the Kremlin’s readout of the call.
“I tend to believe that President Putin is operating in good faith,” Witkoff said.
After a phone call with Putin on Tuesday, Trump posted on social media that they had “agreed to an immediate Ceasefire on all Energy and Infrastructure, with an understanding that we will be working quickly to have a Complete Ceasefire and, ultimately, an END to this very horrible War between Russia and Ukraine.”
A week earlier, Zelensky agreed to a much broader 30-day cease-fire , which Putin batted away.
Write to Ian Lovett at ian.lovett@wsj.com and Alexander Osipovich at alexo@wsj.com
