Zelenskyy: Lasting Peace Achievable This Year

US President Donald Trump has held what he described as a "very good" hour-long phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a day after speaking to Russia's President Vladimir Putin, BBC reported.

Writing on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump said the call was aimed at aligning Ukraine and Russia "in terms of their requests and needs", adding that ceasefire efforts were on track.

Zelenskyy described his conversation with Trump as "positive", "frank", and "very substantive".

"We believe that together with America, with President Trump, and under American leadership, lasting peace can be achieved this year," he wrote on X.

Speaking during an online briefing on Wednesday, Zelenskyy said he and Trump had discussed possible US ownership of the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia power plant.
 

Zelenskyy admits that Europe's largest power plant, which is on the frontline, could take more than two years to be made operational again and is vital for Ukrainians and Europeans.

He also said that a halt on strikes on energy infrastructure, rail and port facilities could be established quickly as part of a partial ceasefire brokered by Washington and Kyiv—but Zelenskyy warned that Ukraine would retaliate if Moscow violated the terms of the ceasefire.

"I understand that until we agree (with Russia), until there is a corresponding document on even a partial ceasefire, I think that everything will fly," he said, referring to drones and missiles.

He told reporters that he believed Putin would not agree to a full ceasefire while Ukrainian troops remained in Russia's western Kursk region, after Kyiv launched a surprise attack on the region in August last year.