Trump rejects Putin's request during ceasefire talks in Ukraine

(Dan Tri) - US President Donald Trump has rejected a proposal from Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding Washington's support for Kiev.

US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin met in Finland in 2018 (Photo: AFP).

At a press briefing on March 19, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the US will continue to share intelligence with Ukraine despite objections from Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin.

“Intelligence sharing to support Ukraine’s defense will continue,” Ms. Leavitt said.

On March 18, US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin had a phone call about the proposed ceasefire in Ukraine. During the call, Mr. Putin pledged that Russia would stop attacking Ukraine's energy infrastructure, instead of supporting a complete ceasefire within 30 days as proposed by Washington.

After the phone call, the Kremlin said that an important condition to prevent the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine must be "a complete cessation of foreign military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine."

Pentagon officials confirmed yesterday that the US has fully restored military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine after a temporary freeze earlier this month.

According to White House press secretary Karoline Leavit, in yesterday's phone call, Mr. Zelensky asked the Trump administration to provide additional air defense systems to protect Ukrainian civilians, especially Patriot missile systems.

President Trump has agreed to help Ukraine seek additional US-made Patriot air defense systems available in Europe.

The Patriot system has played a key role in defending Ukraine’s skies, capable of shooting down even the most advanced Russian ballistic missiles, such as the Kinzhal. However, Mr. Zelensky recently admitted that the Ukrainian military was running out of Patriot missiles. He called for 20 more Patriot batteries, making it clear that US servicemen would not be required to operate them.

The US controls the licensing for Patriot missile systems and the production of missiles for them, which makes it very difficult for many European countries to produce or replicate these systems.

The Trump administration is pushing for talks to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

In a phone call yesterday, Mr Trump and Mr Zelensky agreed that "Ukraine and the United States will continue to work together to end the conflict" and that Ukraine can achieve "lasting peace under the leadership of President Trump".

For his part, Mr. Trump confirmed that he had a very good call with the Ukrainian leader. He said an important part of the discussion was based on his previous conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, aiming to unify "both Russia and Ukraine on their demands and needs."

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-gioi/ong-trump-bac-mot-yeu-cau-cua-ong-putin-khi-thao-luan-ngung-ban-o-ukraine-20250320062607212.htm