US President Donald Trump announced he would speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday about a possible end to the war in Ukraine. Kyiv’s territorial concessions and control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant will reportedly be at the center of these talks.
During a flight from Florida to Washington, President Trump told reporters “We want to see if we can bring that war to an end,” adding, “Maybe we can, maybe we can’t, but I think we have a very good chance.”
President Trump stated that much work had been completed over the weekend before Tuesday’s talks.
Last week, Ukraine accepted the US’s 30-day ceasefire proposal, and now the Trump administration is attempting to secure Putin’s support.
Russia and Ukraine exchanged heavy aerial strikes on Monday. Additionally, Russian troops made significant advancements in their effort to push Ukrainian forces out of the western Russian region of Kursk.
President Trump will speak with Vladimir Putin *TOMORROW.*
“I’ll be speaking to President Putin on Tuesday… I want to see if we can bring that war to an end.” pic.twitter.com/WFHTqPKxHA
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) March 17, 2025
US President Donald Trump explained that the concessions discussed in a potential ceasefire include land, power plants, and the division of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear facility under Russian control. This facility is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe.
Trump explained that the concessions to be discussed in a potential ceasefire include land, power plants, and the division of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear facility, which is currently under Russian control. This facility is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe.
Moscow stated last Friday that President Putin had sent a message to President Trump regarding his ceasefire plan, through U.S. diplomatic envoy Steve Witkoff. Mr. Witkoff, who held talks in the Russian capital, expressed “cautious optimism” about a potential peace deal to end the war in Ukraine.
Indeed, US optimism over a potential peace deal has been reinforced since Kyiv accepted the 30-day ceasefire proposal. However, significant challenges must be addressed before a peace deal can be presented.
Continued Kremlin statements demanding that Ukraine cede unoccupied Ukrainian territory indicate that the Kremlin and Putin maintain their maximalist territorial claims over all occupied Ukraine and significant parts of unoccupied Ukraine despite ongoing negotiations.
(1/2)… https://t.co/0Hvjpnx0vX pic.twitter.com/4hSXv3wFgE
— Institute for the Study of War (@TheStudyofWar) March 17, 2025
Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has emphasized that Ukraine’s sovereignty is non-negotiable, and Russia must return the territory it has seized. This includes Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, as well as Ukraine’s eastern regions that Moscow has captured since the beginning of the invasion in 2022.
Russia will reportedly seek “ironclad” guarantees, including Ukraine’s exclusion from NATO membership, and they remain neutral. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said on Russian media, “We will demand that ironclad security guarantees become part of this agreement.”
