Zelensky offers partial ceasefire with Russia to restart peace talks
KYIV - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky proposed a new framework for a partial ceasefire with Russia on Tuesday, posting on X that Kyiv would be willing to release prisoners and agree to a truce that would ban long range attacks on civilian and energy infrastructure.
The offer came after the Trump administration declared that Zelensky was not ready for peace and froze the U.S. military assistance that Ukraine has been relying on to battle the Russian invasion.
“Then we want to move very fast through all next stages and to work with the U.S. to agree a strong final deal,” Zelensky wrote.
The post, which made no mention of halting ground operations on either side, came after President Donald Trump’s decision to pause aid sent shock waves across Ukraine and Europe, stoking concerns about how the move might weaken Kyiv on the battlefield and fueling calls for Europeans to step up to fill the gaps that would emerge.
Washington’s decision to pause aid - applicable to all future deliveries of U.S. military assistance to Kyiv - could be reversed if Zelensky demonstrates a good-faith effort to participate in peace talks with Russia, The Washington Post reported, citing a U.S. official.
In his long message on Tuesday, Zelensky also reiterated appreciation for American support following days of Republican criticism that he did not adequately display thankfulness on his trip to Washington last week, where an Oval Office meeting erupted into an argument between him, Trump and Vice President JD Vance.
Zelensky has repeatedly thanked Americans for their contributions to Ukraine’s war effort and many in Ukraine and Europe saw the meeting as an intentional effort to ambush Zelensky. Republicans insist that Zelensky is at fault and should apologize.
He stopped short of doing so in his post, but acknowledged the way the meeting unfolded was “regrettable.”
“It is time to make things right. We would like future cooperation and communication to be constructive,” he wrote.
The pause in aid shocked Ukraine, which has relied heavily on U.S. weapons over the past three years of war. Military analysts say it has enough equipment at least for the next few months to hold the line. Sustaining the fight over the long run, however, will be a struggle without additional sources of weaponry.
Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said Tuesday in a news conference - which included profuse thanks for U.S. efforts to date - that the country was rallying funding to build up its own defense capabilities. Ukraine is already producing 30 percent of weaponry and equipment used on the front line, and by the end of the year, it will produce 50 percent, he said.
“We have to be self-reliant,” he said. “Our existence is at stake.” He added that Kyiv remains ready to sign the minerals agreement with the United States, which was planned last week before the Oval Office clash between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“The U.S. is a very important financial military and economic partner of Ukraine, and we need to preserve this partnership,” he said. “We need to find ways to continue our joint work to attain just peace.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov welcomed reports of the U.S. pause in his daily news briefing Tuesday, calling it “a decision that can really push the Kyiv regime toward the peace process” and “the best contribution” to accelerating the war’s end.
Officials familiar with the military situation in Ukraine said the country has adequate stocks of some munitions such as artillery shells and could source others elsewhere, but the pause would leave a dangerous void in the battle against the waves of Russia’s missiles and drones.
Roman Kostenko, a member of the parliament’s national security committee and a former commander in the army, said the missiles for systems like the Patriot air defense would be hard to replace.
“These are the only missiles, practically the only ones, that can shoot down ballistic missiles, that can protect our infrastructure,” he said. Ukraine has some stockpiles, “but if they realize that our partners are not supplying us and increase the intensity of their missiles, our air defense will be exhausted faster.”
A Ukrainian security official said it remains unclear what the U.S. pause would mean exactly, since there have not been any official statements explaining it. But he agreed that in the immediate term, air defense systems would be hardest hit.
Ukrainian troops would be able to hold the front line for several more months if Europe is not immediately able to fill gaps left by the United States. “There will be an immediate impact on the air defense,” the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. “But in terms of our ability to keep fighting in Donbas and in the south, it’s not nice, but it’s not like we are going to collapse because of that.”
He said what was most critical for the ability of Ukraine’s armed forces to fight is the provision of satellite intelligence and that if this is not impacted, the fallout for now would be minimal.
Michael Kofman, a defense analyst with the Carnegie Endowment noted that the Ukrainians are less dependent than they used to be on U.S. equipment, especially as the nature of the fighting has changed. “Most of the casualties are now inflicted with mines, and drones, which are produced in Ukraine,” he posted on X.
Malcolm Chalmers, deputy director general of the London-based defense think tank the Royal United Services Institute, agreed that a Ukrainian collapse on the front line is not imminent, but he said it would be affected in the long term.
“Recent estimates suggest that only 20 percent of total military hardware supplied to Ukrainian forces is now from the U.S.,” and an additional 25 percent is from Europe and elsewhere around the world. “But the 20 percent is the most lethal and important.”
European leaders have reiterated promises to keep supporting Ukraine, although it is unclear if they could totally compensate for the U.S. pause.
Officials and analysts say already-pledged aid for 2025, including from Europe, put Ukraine on a solid financial footing for the year. And Kyiv’s European backers could rally more funds for military aid with enough political momentum, but they could not match key U.S. capabilities in air defense and long-range strike capabilities.
“There’s a question of money and then a question of capacities. On the question of money, the answer is yes,” said Nathalie Tocci, director of the Rome-based Institute of International Affairs and a former E.U. foreign policy adviser. “It is clear that Europeans lack some of the capacities the U.S. provided.”
“It will be really tough times, in between when we are able to fill in those capacities that currently we don’t have, and Ukraine will kind of pay a price,” she said.
European Union officials have sought to mobilize a new military package for Ukraine worth more than $20 billion. Those efforts are running up against economic woes among member states and objections from some states, notably Moscow-friendly Hungary - which has often tried to hold up E.U. aid for Kyiv.
Trump’s move toward realignment with Russia has also driven a push in European capitals this week to speed up plans to bolster their own defenses.
The European Union’s executive branch on Tuesday proposed a package to allow European capitals to draw on about $157 billion in loans for investment in defense. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said such a plan, which will help European states “pool demand and buy together,” could also free up room to provide military equipment for Ukraine.
“A new era is upon us,” she wrote in a letter to E.U. leaders addressing broader concerns about the moment. “Europe faces a clear and present danger on a scale that none of us has seen in our adult lifetime.”
Tuesday’s proposal includes relaxing rules to allow more defense spending, repurposing some funds, and drawing on private capital.
On Friday, Trump and Vice President JD Vance publicly castigated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House, demanding he display what they called respect and gratitude. Zelensky drew another rebuke from Trump on Monday for saying that a deal to end the war between Russia and Ukraine “is still very, very far away.” In a post on Truth Social, Trump berated Zelensky and accused him of not wanting peace.
Since the start of the war in 2022, the United States has provided over $100 billion in military and economic aid to Ukraine, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy. Most of this funding has gone to U.S. defense companies to purchase weapons made in the United States.
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Sands and Belton reported from London, Francis from Brussels. Serhii Korolchuk in Kyiv and Niha Masih in Seoul contributed to this report.
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Video: President Donald Trump paused all deliveries of U.S. military assistance to Ukraine on March 3, stoking fear and concern across Europe and Kyiv.(c) 2025 , The Washington Post
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Video: See key moments from the heated argument between President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Feb. 28.(c) 2025 , The Washington Post
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