Zelenskiy offers Putin partial truce for first time to stop air and sea attacks

Ukraine is proposing to Russia a “truce in the sky” – that is, a halt to mutual long-range drone and missile strikes against civilian infrastructure and, above all, against their respective energy industries. The proposal was announced by Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Tuesday via his social networks. The Ukrainian president added that this partial suspension of hostilities would also apply to the naval war and would allow the exchange of prisoners of war held by each side. Zelenskiy’s message seeks above all to regain the trust of U.S. President Donald Trump.

This is the first time that Zelenskiy has publicly proposed a ceasefire, even if only a partial one, to Moscow. Something similar was reported in the American media in the summer of 2024. At the time, according to news agencies such as Bloomberg, the two sides had received mediation from third countries to stop the attacks on the Ukrainian electricity grid and the Russian oil and gas industry. The occupation of part of the Russian province of Kursk in August of that year by the Ukrainian army put a stop to this option, according to the Kremlin.

The two sides also negotiated an end to hostilities with the mediation of Turkey in the spring of 2022, in the first months of the invasion, but Kyiv renounced this option after the scandal caused in public opinion by the Russian war crimes in the offensive on the Ukrainian capital and in a context in which the Armed Forces of Ukraine were managing to push back the invading troops at high speed.

The new proposal announced by Zelenskiy comes two days after French President Emmanuel Macron revealed that he was negotiating with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to offer a partial ceasefire similar to the one detailed by the Ukrainian leader, although only for one month. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot added that the intention of “a truce in the sky, at sea and in the energy infrastructure is to test whether Vladimir Putin has good intentions to seal a truce.”

Trump has repeatedly said over the past week that he feels a greater affinity for the Russian autocrat because the latter “genuinely wants peace” as opposed to Zelenskiy. Relations between the American and Ukrainian leaders are at rock bottom following Trump’s constant attacks on Zelenskiy, most notably the clash at the White House on Friday. Trump warned his Ukrainian counterpart that he is in a weak position, “without any cards.”

The U.S. government announced on Monday that it is suspending its military assistance to Ukraine until Zelenskiy demonstrates that he wants to negotiate peace. Zelenskiy stressed in February that, even if Europe increased its military aid, “without the U.S., Ukraine’s chances of survival are very low.” Washington provides up to 40% of the defense resources with which Ukraine has fought in the three years of invasion.

“Under Trump’s strong leadership”

In his post, Zelensky admitted that “our meeting in Washington, at the White House on Friday, did not go the way it was supposed to be. It is regrettable that it happened this way. It is time to make things right.”

“None of us wants an endless war. Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer. Nobody wants peace more than Ukrainians,” he added, although the word “fair” was missing, an adjective essential to the official Ukrainian argument to make it clear that an agreement with Russia must also recognize Ukraine’s sovereignty in the occupied territories and the Kremlin’s obligation to repair the damage caused.

Zelensky’s statement also omitted mention of the main issue that sparked Friday’s White House row with Trump. The Ukrainian head of state insisted that any ceasefire agreed with Russia requires a U.S. commitment to future defense guarantees for Ukraine. The U.S. president has refused to commit to such aid. Zelenskiy did not mention in his social media message what he has considered in recent weeks to be “essential security guarantees.”

Zelenskiy also makes it clear in his message that he wants to get closer to Trump, even if it means making concessions: “My team and I stand ready to work under President Trump’s strong leadership to get a peace that lasts.” What the Ukrainian leader did not do is apologize for the unexpected turn of events at the Oval Office, an apology that Trump and those closest to him had demanded.

The Ukrainian president’s message also reiterated that “regarding the agreement on minerals and security, Ukraine is ready to sign it in any time and in any convenient format.” The bilateral economic treaty would provide the U.S. with 50% of the income from the exploitation of minerals in Ukraine. This deal was to be ratified last Friday, but the discussion in the White House put it on hold. The Ukrainian side assumes that, although on paper there is no specific mention of what military aid Washington would give in return, there will be a future agreement on defense cooperation.

Russia is attacking military and civilian targets hundreds of kilometers from the front with its missiles and drones on a daily basis. With these bombings, it has disabled 80% of Ukraine’s electricity generation capabilities. The army of the invaded country, for its part, periodically punishes Russia’s gas and oil industry, as well as its military facilities, with its drone bombs, sometimes more than 1,000 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. Zelenskiy’s proposal would be limited only to stopping attacks on civilian, not military, targets.

Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAÍS USA Edition