Vladimir Putin has agreed to a limited 30-day ceasefire in the form of a stop to attacks on energy and infrastructure during a high-stakes phone call with US president Donald Trump. The Russian president refused to commit to the full ceasefire sought by the US to end the war in Ukraine, but Washington said talks aimed at moving toward a broader peace plan would begin “immediately”.

The White House said the two sides agreed to hold “technical negotiations” on a maritime ceasefire, and, further, full ceasefire and permanent peace. While a statement said Putin had indeed issued an order to the Russian military to suspend strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, the Kremlin made clear, maximalist demands for the fighting to end: an end to mobilization of Ukrainians and rearming its armed forces, and an end to all foreign military aid and intelligence sharing for Ukraine.

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, welcomed the proposal to stop strikes on energy targets, something Ukraine had already proposed in its own talks with the US in Saudi Arabia. He said he hoped to speak to Trump to get more details about the talks.

Zelenskyy also told reporters that he hoped Kyiv’s partners would not cut vital military assistance for Ukraine. He said he had spoken on the phone to key allies the French president Emmanuel Macron and German chancellor Olaf Scholz, and was confident assistance would continue.

Macron, Scholz and the UK’s prime minister Keir Starmer welcomed the progress made towards a ceasefire. Amid fears that Washington could prioritise securing a deal over protecting Ukraine’s interests, Scholz insisted a full truce must follow this “important first step”, and he and Macron stressed that Ukraine must be involved in peace talks. Starmer also said the goal of negotiations must be a “just and lasting peace for Ukraine”.

My colleagues Pjotr Sauer and Shaun Walker note that if upheld, a halt to attacks on energy infrastructure would mark the first partial ceasefire in more than three years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. But Russia has given no indication that it plans to halt its own regrouping during the ceasefire, raising fears in Kyiv that Putin may use the pause to prepare for further hostilities. There was also no indication that Putin had abandoned any of his most hardline objectives in the war in Ukraine.