Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump spoke on the telephone for more than an hour and a half on Tuesday, March 18. According to the Kremlin’s readout, shared on Telegram, the Russian and American leaders “continued a detailed and candid exchange of views on the situation surrounding Ukraine,” with Putin thanking Trump “for his efforts to contribute to the noble goal of ending hostilities and preventing further loss of life.” Moscow repeated that any settlement must address “the root causes of the crisis” and “Russia’s legitimate security interests” in Ukraine. The most immediate result of the conversation appears to be Putin’s agreement to a “mutual 30-day suspension of strikes on energy infrastructure.”
Ukraine’s infrastructure strikes have been some of their most cost educative, whereas it’s baffling why Russia is investing so many missiles into infrastructure attacks with so little result. Russia would need to offer concessions to induce a mutual infrastructure attack pause, not the other way around. Makes me think it’s a ploy to look like they’re offering something without actually offering anything.