WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed during a lengthy call Tuesday to an immediate pause in strikes against energy and infrastructure targets in the Ukraine war, but the Russian leader stopped short of backing a broader 30-day pause in fighting that the U.S. administration is pressing for. 

The White House described it as the first step in a “movement to peace” it hopes will eventually include a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea and a full and lasting end to the fighting. 

The White House added negotiations would “begin immediately” in the Middle East on those steps. Shortly after the call between Trump and Putin, air raid alerts sounded in Kyiv, followed by explosions in the city. Local officials urged people to seek shelter. 

It was not immediately clear whether Ukraine is on board with the limited ceasefire plan. 

Ukrainian officials had proposed a ceasefire covering the Black Sea and long-range missile strikes and the release of prisoners at their meeting with the U.S delegation in Saudi Arabia earlier this month. 

“We agreed to an immediate Ceasefire on all Energy and Infrastructure, with an understanding that we will be working quickly to have a Complete Ceasefire and, ultimately, an END to this very horrible War between Russia and Ukraine,” Trump posted on social media following his call. 

The Kremlin said Putin welcomed Trump’s calls for the maritime ceasefire and “agreed to begin negotiations to further work out specific details of such an agreement.” 

Putin also told Trump that Russia and Ukraine are set to exchange 175 prisoners of war each on Wednesday, and Russia will also hand over to Ukraine 23 badly wounded soldiers, the Kremlin said. 

Putin also called on Trump to end foreign military and intelligence assistance to Ukraine as the U.S. looks to bring an end to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to the Kremlin. 

The move comes as the White House pushes for Russia to sign off on its 30-day ceasefire proposal aimed at ending the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 

Ukrainian officials last week agreed to the 30-day ceasefire proposal during talks in Saudi Arabia led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, however, remains skeptical that Putin is ready for peace as Russian forces continue to pound Ukraine. 

In preparation for the Trump-Putin call, White House special envoy Steve Witkoff met last week with Putin in Moscow to discuss the proposal. Rubio had persuaded senior Ukrainian officials during talks in Saudi Arabia to agree to the ceasefire framework. 

Putin last week said he agreed in principle with the U.S. proposal but emphasized that Russia would seek guarantees that Ukraine would not use a break in hostilities to rearm and continue mobilization. The Russian president has also demanded that Ukraine renounce joining the NATO military alliance, sharply cut its army, and protect Russian language and culture to keep the country in Moscow’s orbit. 

The U.S. president said this week that Washington and Moscow have already begun discussing “dividing up certain assets” between Ukraine and Russia as part of a deal to end the conflict. 

Trump, during his campaign, pledged to end the war quickly.  

Trump had said before the call that control of land and power plants would be part of the conversation, which came on the anniversary of Russia annexing Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula 11 years ago. That bold land grab by Russia set the stage for Russia to invade its neighbor in 2022. 

Witkoff suggested that U.S. and Russian officials have discussed the fate of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant — Europe’s largest — in southern Ukraine. 

The plant has been caught in the crossfire since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in 2022 and seized the facility shortly after. The U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency has repeatedly expressed alarm about it, fueling fears of a potential nuclear catastrophe. 

The plant is a significant asset, producing nearly a quarter of Ukraine’s electricity in the year before the war. 

Ukraine’s army stunned Russia in August last year by attacking across the border and taking control of an estimated 1,300 square kilometers (500 square miles) of land. But Ukraine’s forces are now in retreat and it has all but lost a valuable bargaining chip, as momentum builds for a ceasefire with Russia. 

Zelenskyy has acknowledged that the Ukrainians are on their back foot while disputing Russian claims that his troops are encircled in Kursk. 

Trump suggested that he’s taken unspecified action that has kept Russia from slaughtering Ukrainian troops in Kursk. 

“They’re surrounded by Russian soldiers, and I believe if it wasn’t for me they wouldn’t be here any longer,” Trump said. 

The White House said the leaders also discussed the situation in the Middle East and agreed “Iran should never be in a position to destroy Israel.” 

U.S. officials have previously said that Iran has provided Russia with short-range ballistic missiles and attack drones for the war in Ukraine. The U.S. has also said that Iran has assisted the Kremlin with building a drone-manufacturing factory. 

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