Trump and Zelensky talk peace path in Ukraine in ‘very productive’ call: ‘Certainly other wars can be stopped, too’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said during a phone call Saturday that he urged President Trump to broker peace in Ukraine as he has done in the Middle East.

“If a war can be stopped in one region, then surely other wars can be stopped as well – including the Russian war,” Zelensky said. books In a job.

He added: “I have informed President Trump of Russia’s attacks on our energy system – and I appreciate his willingness to support us. We have discussed opportunities to strengthen our air defense, as well as the concrete agreements we are working on to ensure this.”

Russia launched a major airstrike on Friday targeting the Ukrainian power grid, causing power outages across much of the country. On Saturday, electricity was restored to more than 800,000 residents in Kiev; However, officials said local service outages remain.

A White House official confirmed to CBS News that a call took place between the two presidents, but did not provide any additional details.

Relations between the two leaders have improved significantly since February, when they quarreled during a period that has now become notorious Televised meeting In the White House. That meeting was abruptly cancelled, and the Ukrainian leader’s visit was cut short after it descended into insults and chaos. Trump threatened Zelensky to make a deal with Russia or “we’ll be out,” and Vice President J.D. Vance accused the Ukrainian leader of being “disrespectful.”

Trump ever since Named Zelensky is a “nice guy” and has maintained his support for Ukraine, which has been fighting a Russian invasion since 2022.

The two leaders I met recently On the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meetings in New York in September. After this meeting, Mr. Trump said Social truth That Ukraine was in a position to regain all of its territory from Russia.

“Russia has been waging an aimless war for three and a half years that should have taken real military power less than a week to win. This does not define Russia. It makes it look like a paper tiger.”

“I believe that Ukraine, with the support of the European Union, is in a position to fight back and restore all of Ukraine to its original form,” he wrote.

Zelensky said that Ukraine would not give up its territory to Russia.