Zelenskiy says he had substantive call with Trump discussing partial ceasefire, air defences

(Reuters) - Ukrainian and U.S. teams could meet in Saudi Arabia in the coming days to discuss technicalities of partial ceasefire, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said after what he described as "very substantive" call with U.S. counterpart Donald Trump.

"We instructed our teams to resolve technical issues related to implementing and expanding the partial ceasefire. Ukrainian and American teams are ready to meet in Saudi Arabia in the coming days to continue coordinating steps toward peace," Zelenskiy said on X.

He described his conversation with Trump as "positive, very substantive, and frank".

The Ukrainian leader said he also confirmed Ukraine's readiness to halt strikes on Russian infrastructure and a commitment to unconditional ceasefire on the frontline proposed earlier by the U.S. team.

"One of the first steps toward fully ending the war could be ending strikes on energy and other civilian infrastructure. I supported this step, and Ukraine confirmed that we are ready to implement it," he said.

Zelenskiy said he was briefed by Trump about his call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday after which Moscow said a halt on energy strikes was ordered. Ukrainian officials, however, said on Wednesday Russian strikes hit railway infrastructure.

The possibility of strengthening Ukraine's air defences, which are highly reliant on allied supplies, was also discussed on the call, Zelenskiy added.

"We spoke about the situation in the Kursk region, touched on the issue of the release of POWs, and the return of Ukrainian children who were taken by Russian forces," Ukrainian president said.

(Reporting by Yuliia Dysa; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Toby Chopra)