Ukraine and Russia have agreed to a ceasefire deal involving the Black Sea and strikes on energy infrastructure.
It comes after US officials met separately with Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to discuss a partial ceasefire as Moscow’s full-scale invasion has been raging on for more than three years.
The agreement, if implemented, would represent the clearest progress yet toward a wider ceasefire that Washington views as crucial to bringing about a permanent end to the war and has pushed for since Donald Trump began his second administration.
War latest: Ukraine and Russia agree to ceasefire deal
Discussions on Monday were focused on a narrow Black Sea ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia, but Mr Trump said territory and power plant ownership were also on the agenda.
Ukraine’s defence minister Rustem Umerov said his country had agreed to “ensure safe navigation, eliminate the use of force, and prevent the use of commercial vessels for military purposes in the Black Sea”.
In a similarly worded statement to one issued by the White House, he added: “All parties agreed to develop measures for implementing the president’s agreement to ban strikes against energy facilities of Ukraine and Russia.”
Mr Umerov added they were working toward a “durable and lasting peace”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he believed the truce was effective immediately.
Speaking to reporters at a news conference, he said: “If the Russians violate this, then I have a direct question for President Trump.
“If they violate, here is the evidence – we ask for sanctions, we ask for weapons, etc.”
Mr Zelenskyy speaks to reporters after news of the limited ceasefire broke.
Pic: Reuters/Valentyn Ogirenko
Russia: ‘We will need clear guarantees’
This comes after the White House said Russia had agreed to safe navigation in the Black Sea.
The Kremlin itself later confirmed this, saying it also agreed to measures to halt strikes on energy facilities.
It said this was for a period of 30 days that began on 18 March.
Russia claimed it could only trust the deal if the US issued an “order” to Kyiv to respect it.
“We will need clear guarantees. And given the sad experience of agreements with just Kyiv, the guarantees can only be the result of an order from Washington to Zelenskyy and his team to do one thing and not the other,” Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov claimed.
A member of the Russian delegation, senator Grigory Karasin, described the talks as “intense” but “useful”.
He told the TASS news agency: “Everything was discussed – there was an intense, challenging dialogue, but it was very useful for us and for the Americans.”
The White House statement on the talks with Russia said the US would also help “restore Russia’s access to the world market for agricultural and fertiliser exports, lower maritime insurance costs, and enhance access to ports and payment systems for such transactions”.
Mr Zelenskyy warned that America’s agreement to facilitate Russian agricultural exports was a weakening of sanctions.
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On Tuesday morning, Ukraine said it had come under attack overnight from 139 drones, with two hurt.
The talks have taken place against the backdrop of continued fighting.
