Trump and Putin agree to an immediate ceasefire for energy infrastructure in Ukraine conflict

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed during a lengthy call Tuesday to an immediate pause in strikes against energy infrastructure in the Ukraine war, but the Russian leader stopped short of backing a broader 30-day pause in fighting that the U.S. administration is pressing for.

The White House described it as the first step in a “movement to peace” that it hopes will include a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea and eventually a full and lasting end to the fighting. But there was no indication that Putin has backed away from his conditions for a prospective peace deal, which are fiercely opposed by Kyiv. And shortly after the call ended, air raid alerts sounded in Kyiv, followed by explosions in the city. Local officials urged people to seek shelter.

Putin during the call reiterated his demand for an end to foreign military and intelligence assistance to Ukraine, according to the Kremlin. Trump, though, denied that the subject came up during an interview with Fox News on Tuesday.

“We didn’t talk about aid," Trump said. “We didn’t talk about aid at all.”

Russia also wants Ukraine to pull back its troops from the four regions that Moscow has annexed but never fully captured, renounce any prospect of joining the NATO military alliance and sharply cut its army.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters that Ukraine is open to any proposals that lead to a sustainable and just peace, but stressed the need for full transparency in discussions.

Zelenskyy said he was seeking more details on what Putin and Trump agreed on, but rejected Putin’s demand for halting military aid and intelligence sharing to Ukraine, warning that such a move would weaken Ukraine.

“We need to understand what the conversation is about," Zelenskyy said. “What are the details? And hopefully, we will be fully informed, and our partners will discuss everything with us.”

He added: “There are two sides in this war — Russia and Ukraine. Trying to negotiate without Ukraine, in my view, will not be productive."

Ukrainian officials earlier this month proposed a ceasefire covering the Black Sea and long-range missile strikes and the release of prisoners.

Trump immediately cheered Tuesday's development as a major step toward his ultimate goal of ending the biggest land war in Europe since World War II.

“We agreed to an immediate Ceasefire on all Energy and Infrastructure, with an understanding that we will be working quickly to have a Complete Ceasefire and, ultimately, an END to this very horrible War between Russia and Ukraine,” Trump said on social media.

Putin also told Trump that Russia and Ukraine are set to exchange 175 prisoners of war each on Wednesday, and Russia will also hand over to Ukraine 23 badly wounded soldiers, the Kremlin said.

The limited pause comes as Trump still hopes to get Russia to sign off on his 30-day ceasefire proposal aimed at ending the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Ukrainian officials last week agreed to the 30-day ceasefire proposal during talks in Saudi Arabia led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. White House special envoy Steve Witkoff then met with Putin in Moscow to discuss the proposal.

Zelenskyy, however, remains skeptical that Putin is ready for peace as Russian forces continue to pound Ukraine.

“This is not a game where only Putin dictates the rules,” Zelenskyy said, making clear he remains doubtful that Putin was serious about wanting peace.

The Trump-Putin engagement is just the latest turn in dramatically shifting U.S.-Russia relations as Trump made quickly ending the conflict a top priority — even at the expense of straining ties with longtime American allies who want Putin to pay a price for the invasion.

Trump has at moments boasted of his relationship with Putin and blamed Ukraine for Russia’s unprovoked invasion, all while accusing Zelenskyy of unnecessarily prolonging the biggest land war in Europe since World War II.

Trump has said Washington and Moscow have already begun discussing “dividing up certain assets” between Ukraine and Russia as part of a deal to end the conflict.

He said before the call that control of land and power plants would be part of the conversation, which came on the anniversary of Russia annexing Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula 11 years ago. That bold land grab by Russia set the stage for Russia to invade its neighbor in 2022.

But neither the White House nor Kremlin made any mention of land or power plants in their post-call statements.

Witkoff on Sunday suggested that U.S. and Russian officials have discussed the fate of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant — Europe's largest — in southern Ukraine. Russian troops seized the plant early in the war and it has been caught in the crossfire, fueling fears of a potential nuclear catastrophe.

The plant is a significant asset, producing nearly a quarter of Ukraine’s electricity in the year before the war.

After a disastrous Feb. 28 White House meeting with Zelenskyy, Trump temporarily cut off some military intelligence-sharing and aid to Ukraine. It was restored after the Ukrainians last week signed off on the Trump administration's 30-day ceasefire proposal.

In his dealings with Zelenskyy and Putin, Trump has frequently focused on who has the leverage. Putin has “the cards” and Zelenskyy does not, Trump has said repeatedly.

Trump, who has long shown admiration for Putin, has also made clear he'd like to see the U.S.-Russia relationship return to a more normal footing.

The president during his recent contentious meeting with Zelenskyy grumbled that “Putin went through a hell of a lot with me," a reference to the federal investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election in which he beat Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Trump on Tuesday again underscored his view that Ukraine is not in a strong negotiating position. He said Russian forces have surrounded Ukrainian troops in Russia's Kursk region — amplifying an assertion made by Russian officials that's been disputed by Zelenskyy.

“They are nicely encircled, and that’s not good,” said Trump, according to excerpts of an interview on Fox News Channel's "Ingraham Angle." “And we want to get it over with.”

Ukraine’s army stunned Russia in August last year by attacking across the border and taking control of an estimated 1,300 square kilometers (500 square miles) of land. But Ukraine’s forces are now in retreat and it has all but lost a valuable bargaining chip, as momentum builds for a ceasefire with Russia.

The White House said Trump and Putin also discussed the situation in the Middle East and agreed “Iran should never be in a position to destroy Israel.”

U.S. officials have previously said that Iran has provided Russia with short-range ballistic missiles and attack drones for the war in Ukraine. The U.S. has also said that Iran has assisted Russia with building a drone-manufacturing factory.

The Kremlin said that Trump also expressed support for an idea floated by Putin to organize hockey matches in the United States and Russia between Russian and American players from the National Hockey League, which has U.S. and Canadian teams, and the Kontinental Hockey League, which includes teams from Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and China.

Isachenkov reported from Moscow. AP writer Hanna Arhirova in Kyiv contributed reporting.

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks with Irina Gekht, the newly appointed governor of Nenets Autonomous District, during their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (Mikhail Metzel, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov attends a press conference following the meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Tajik President Emomali Rahmon at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Monday, March 17, 2025. (Yury Kochetkov/Pool Photo via AP)

"Peace to the world", a painting created by Russian artist Alexei Sergienko showing a combination of faces of Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump, is on display at the Sergienko's gallery in St. Petersburg, Russia, Friday, March 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

In this combination of file photos, President Donald Trump, left, and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, center, are seen at the Elysee Palace, Dec. 7, 2024 in Paris, and President Vladimir Putin, right, addresses a Technology Forum in Moscow, Russia, Feb. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard, left and center, Pavel Bednyakov, right)

FILE - President Donald Trump, right, shakes hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan, June 28, 2019. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkish police on Wednesday arrested Istanbul’s mayor — a popular opposition leader and key rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan — and several other prominent figures as part of investigations into alleged corruption and terror links. It was a dramatic escalation in an ongoing crackdown on the opposition and dissenting voices in Turkey.

The state-run Anadolu Agency said prosecutors issued detention warrants for the mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, and some 100 other people. Among those detained was Imamoglu's close aide, Murat Ongun.

Authorities also closed several roads around Istanbul and banned demonstrations in the city for four days in an apparent effort to prevent protests following the arrest. Private NTV television said two Istanbul district mayors were among those detained.

Critics say the crackdown follows significant losses by Erdogan’s ruling party in local elections last year amid growing calls for early national elections. Government officials insist that the courts operate independently and reject claims that legal actions against opposition figures are politically motivated.

“We are facing great tyranny, but I want you to know that I will not be discouraged,” Imamoglu said earlier in the day in a video post on social media.

Germany criticized the arrests, with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Sebastian Fischer describing them as “a serious setback for democracy.”

Erdogan, a populist with increasingly authoritarian tendencies, has led Turkey as prime minister or president for more than 20 years and is now the longest-serving leader in the Turkish republic’s history. His current term runs until 2028 but he has indicated he'd like to serve longer — something he could achieve with the help of a friendly parliament.

Imamoglu was arrested as police searched his home, but it wasn't immediately clear if anything was confiscated. His wife, Dilek Imamoglu, told the private Now television that police arrived at their residence before dawn and that the mayor was taken around 7:30 a.m.

The Istanbul Stock Exchange’s main index dropped by 7% over the news of his arrest, automatically triggering a temporary halt in trading to prevent panic selling and stabilize the market. Trading later resumed but was again halted in the afternoon. The Turkish lira lost some 7% of its value against the dollar.

Anadolu, the news agency, said that Ekrem Imamoglu and several others are suspected of extortion, money laundering and irregularities concerning tenders and procurements, among other crimes.

Imamoglu is also suspected of aiding the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, by allegedly forming an alliance with a Kurdish umbrella organization for the Istanbul municipal elections, the report said. The PKK has waged a decadeslong insurgency within Turkey and is designated a terrorist organization by Ankara, Washington and other allies.

A day earlier, Istanbul University invalidated Imamoglu's diploma, effectively disqualifying him from running in the next presidential race — a university degree is a requisite for running in elections under Turkish law.

The mayor’s party — the main opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP — was to hold a primary on Sunday where Imamoglu was expected to be chosen for its candidate in future presidential elections.

With all the arrests Wednesday, that vote was in doubt but party chairman Ozgur Ozel told the opposition-aligned Halik TV channel that it would go ahead as planned. Ozel said Imamoglu’s detention was “an attempted coup against our next president.”

In a social media post in English, Imamoglu said: “The will of the people cannot be silenced through intimidation or unlawful acts. I stand resolute, entrusting myself not only to the 16 million residents of Istanbul but to the 86 million citizens" of Turkey.

Turkey’s pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party condemned the detentions and called for the immediate release of all taken into custody.

The dawn raid on Imamoglu's home and his arrest was a "disgrace that will not be forgotten for centuries. This operation, which shatters faith in justice, is an attempt to redesign politics through the judiciary,” Tulay Hatimogullari, the party’s co-chairwoman, wrote on X.

As he was being arrested, Ongun, the mayor's aide, appealed for support on X, though he at the time did not appear to know that the mayor was also being taken into custody.

“They think they can silence us and prevent us from defending and supporting Ekrem Imamoglu,” Ongun said. “I entrust Ekrem Imamoglu to the Turkish nation. Protect, watch over and support him. They cannot be defeat the nation.”

Separately, police also detained a prominent investigative journalist, Ismail Saymaz, for questioning, the opposition-aligned Halk TV reported.

Meanwhile, internet-access advocacy group netblocks.org reported Wednesday that access has been restricted in Turkey to popular social media platforms.

In nullifying Imamoglu’s diploma, the university cited alleged irregularities in his 1990 transfer from a private university in northern Cyprus to its Faculty of Business Administration. Imamoglu said he would challenge the decision.

Later Wednesday, students at the university held a protest to denounce Imamoglu's arrest. No violence was immediately reported.

Imamoglu faces multiple lawsuits, including allegations of trying to influence a judicial expert investigating opposition-led municipalities. The cases could result in prison sentences and a political ban.

He is also appealing a 2022 conviction of insulting members of Turkey’s Supreme Electoral Council, a case that could result in a political ban.

Imamoglu was elected mayor of Turkey’s largest city in March 2019 in a historic blow to Erdogan and the president’s Justice and Development Party, which had controlled Istanbul for a quarter-century. The party pushed to void the municipal election results in the city of 16 million, alleging irregularities.

The challenge resulted in a repeat of the election a few months later, which Imamoglu also won. The mayor retained his seat following local elections last year, during which his party made significant gains against Erdogan’s governing party.

Devlet Bahceli, an Erdogan ally from the Nationalist Movement Party, slammed the opposition on X, saying Wednesday that to “oppose the judiciary and law, even to debate it, is an invitation to discord and violence” and adding it was “important to accept whatever decision was made by the courts.”

Fraser reported from Ankara, Turkey. Associated Press writers Lorian Belanger in Bangkok and Cinar Kiper in Bodrum, Turkey, contributed to this report.

FILE.- Istanbul Mayor and Republican People's Party, or CHP, candidate Ekrem Imamoglu take photographs with supporters during a campaign rally in Istanbul, Turkey, Thursday, March 21, 2024.(AP Photo/Francisco Seco, File)

FILE - Istanbul's Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu addresses his supporters in front of the Istanbul courthouse, in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, Jan. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel, file)