Trump suggests US could control Ukraine's power plants in call with Zelenskyy

US President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy have said that they had a constructive call on Wednesday about moving towards a ceasefire between Kyiv and Moscow, with the White House suggesting that the US could take control of Ukrainian power plants to ensure their security.

Trump told Zelenskyy that the US could be "very helpful in running those plants with its electricity and utility expertise," according to a White House statement from Secretary of State Marco Rubio and national security adviser Mike Waltz that described the call as "fantastic."

Trump added that "American ownership of those plants could be the best protection for that infrastructure."

The call between Trump and Zelenskyy came a day after Trump held similar talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Trump's call with Zelenskyy was about half the length of his call with Putin, during which the Russian leader agreed not to target Ukraine's energy infrastructure but refused to back a full 30-day ceasefire.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said his call with Zelenskyy was to "align both Russia and Ukraine in terms of their requests and needs" as he seeks to bring a halt to fighting.

"We are very much on track," Trump added, saying Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Advisor Michael Waltz would provide further details of the conversation.

White House showdown

The phone call is the first time the US and Ukrainian leaders have spoken since a fiery spat in the White House in February, in which Trump and his Vice President, JD Vance, berated Zelenskyy for not being grateful enough for US military support.

"You're either going to make a deal or we're out," Trump barked at Zelenskyy in front of reporters.

"I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for Peace if America is involved," Trump wrote in a social media post after Zelenskyy left the White House.

Zelenskyy also took to social media after that meeting, saying the confrontation had been "regrettable" but that Ukraine was ready to work under Trump's "strong leadership" to secure lasting peace.

Following that encounter, European leaders were quick to hurry to Ukraine's support, expressing their solidarity and assuring a shaken Zelenskyy of continued support for Kyiv.

Many leaders in Europe were already unnerved about Trump's perceived pivot to Moscow, leaving them out of peace talks with the Russians and raising fears of striking a Ukraine peace deal that would be more favourable to Russia.

At odds with reality

Prior to his call with Trump, Zelenskyy said Putin's limited ceasefire pledge was "very much at odds with reality" following an overnight barrage of drone strikes across the country.

"Even last night, after Putin's conversation with...Trump, when Putin said that he was allegedly giving orders to stop strikes on Ukrainian energy, there were 150 drones launched overnight, including on energy facilities," Zelenskyy said at a news conference in Helsinki with Finnish President Alexander Stubb.

Russia responded by saying it had halted its targeting of Ukraine's energy facilities and accused Kyiv of attacking equipment near one of its pipelines.

"Unfortunately, we see that for now there is no reciprocity on the part of the Kyiv regime," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

The White House described the call between Trump and Putin as the first step in a "movement to peace" that Washington hopes will include a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea and eventually a full and lasting end to the fighting.

But there was no indication that Putin backed away from his conditions for a prospective peace deal, which are fiercely opposed by Kyiv.

Shortly after the lengthy phone call between Trump and Putin on Tuesday, air raid sirens sounded in Kyiv, followed by explosions as residents took shelter.

Despite efforts to repel the attack, several strikes hit civilian infrastructure, including two hospitals, a railway and more than 20 houses, Zelenskyy said.

Russian drones were reported over Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Sumy, Chernihiv, Poltava, Kharkiv, Kirovohrad, Dnipropetrovsk, and Cherkasy regions.

The Russian Defence Ministry said its military had launched seven drones at power facilities related to the military-industrial complex in Ukraine's southern Mykolaiv region, but that it shot them down after receiving Putin's order to not hit energy infrastructure.

Moscow accused Ukraine of targeting its energy facility in the Krasnodar region bordering the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014, several hours after the Putin and Trump talks.

The ministry said that three drones targeted oil transfer equipment that feeds the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, causing a fire and leading one oil tank to lose pressure.

"It is absolutely clear that we are talking about yet another provocation deliberately concocted by the Kyiv regime, aimed at derailing the peace initiatives of the US president," the ministry said.

Russia said that its air defences intercepted 57 Ukrainian drones over the Azov Sea and several Russian regions — the border provinces of Kursk and Bryansk and the nearby regions of Oryol and Tula.

Zelenskyy said that "words of a ceasefire" weren't enough.

"If the Russians don't hit our facilities, we definitely won't hit theirs," Zelenskyy said.

Zelenskyy rejected Putin's key condition that Western allies stop providing military aid and intelligence to Ukraine. He said that doing so would endanger lives if citizens were blind to incoming air raids and lead to the continuation of the war.

"I don't think anybody should make any concessions in terms of helping Ukraine, but rather, assistance to Ukraine should be increased," Zelenskyy said.

"This will be a signal that Ukraine is ready for any surprises from the Russians."