Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed during talks with US President Donald Trump to halt strikes on Ukraine's energy sector and infrastructure for 30 days as a step toward reaching a full cease-fire.
But the first concession by Russia since it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than three ago still fell short of Trump's goal of an immediate cease-fire across all theaters of the war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy quickly expressed his disappointment with the outcome of the March 18 call, saying the result showed that Putin isn't interested in peace and was determined "to drag out the war." He accused Russia of stepping up infrastructure attacks following the call.
A White House statement on the call said Trump and Putin "agreed that the movement to peace will begin with an energy and infrastructure cease-fire."
Russia has devastated Ukraine's power infrastructure in an attempt to demoralize the country's citizens by depriving them of electricity and heat in the dead of winter.
On his Truth Social platform, Trump described the call as "very good and productive."
"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," he wrote.
"Many elements of a Contract for Peace were discussed, including the fact that thousands of soldiers are being killed, and both President Putin and President Zelenskyy would like to see it end," Trump added.
But Putin put forward preconditions for any further steps, including a halt of military aid and intelligence to Ukraine, demands that Kyiv will almost certainly reject. Ukraine last week agreed to Trump's immediate cease-fire pending Russia's acceptance of the same terms.
Trump and Putin said their respective diplomats will continue discussions to arrive at a full cease-fire, something that could take months. In the meantime, Russia will continue to pursue its invasion of Ukraine on the ground and in the air.
Trump envoy Steve Witkoff later told Fox News that new talks are planned between US and Russian representatives on March 23 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, although he added that details were still to be finalized.
Trump has made ending the war in Ukraine a priority since taking office two months ago, but Moscow and Kyiv are so far apart on key issues such as territorial control and security guarantees that bridging the gap will be difficult. Trump so far has leaned heavily on Ukraine.
The Kremlin said in its readout of the call -- which lasted more than 90 minutes -- that Putin raised a number of issues including effective monitoring of a possible cease-fire along the entire line of combat contact as well as a halt to Ukrainian mobilization and Western military assistance for Kyiv.
"It was emphasized that the key condition for preventing the escalation of the conflict and working toward its resolution through political and diplomatic means should be the complete cessation of foreign military aid and the provision of intelligence information to Kyiv," the Kremlin said.
In comments later to Fox News, Trump said that aid to Ukraine was not discussed in the call.
SEE ALSO: What Will Trump's Game Plan Be In High-Stakes Call With Putin?The Kremlin also said peace talks need "to take into account the absolute need to eliminate the root causes of the crisis, and Russia's legitimate interests in the area of security," a reference to NATO expansion and other issues Moscow uses to justify its invasion.
Speaking to reporters from Finland, where he is on a working trip, Ukraine's Zelenskyy said Putin's demands show he is not interested in a cease-fire but in undermining Ukraine's armed forces.
"When Putin talks about the end of mobilization, he does not speak out of [humanitarian] positions, but in an effort to make our army smaller and weaker - the same is to be said about his demands to stop providing military aid and intelligence to us," Zelenskyy said.
"But one thing he is not talking about is a cease-fire -- as straightforward as that -- without various many issues attached to it," he said.
Zelenskyy later said Russia's continued attacks on infrastructure -- including, he said, at least 40 drone strikes late on March 18 following the call -- showed the need to continue pressure on Russia for "the sake of peace."
"Today, Putin effectively rejected the proposal for a complete cease-fire," Zelenskyy said on Telegram. "It would be right for the world to reject in response any attempts by Putin to drag out the war."
Andriy Yermak, Zelenskiy's chief of staff, posted on Telegram that "Russia is attacking civilian infrastructure and people right now," adding that a hospital had been hit in Sumy. The report could not immediately be confirmed.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin said Ukrainian forces were attempting a cross-border attack in Russia's Belgorod region, where the governor called the situation "difficult."
Experts largely expected Putin to reject Trump's proposal for full-cease fire because the Kremlin leader believes he is winning the war and that time is on his side.
Russia continues to grind forward in eastern Ukraine, but it still doesn't fully control the four regions -- Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson -- that it claims to have annexed in 2022.
A cease-fire now would likely leave Putin short of that goal.
SEE ALSO: Could The EU Become A Military Superpower?The readout made no mention of security guarantees for Ukraine. Zelenskyy has often stressed that for Kyiv to accept any peace deal it must come with security guarantees for Ukraine from its Western partners, including eventual NATO membership.
"I have insisted [on Ukraine's membership in] NATO, but you know what the answers have been," he said in February, suggesting the path to joining the Western military alliance remains obstructed.
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Ukrainians 'Chased' From Sumy Border Villages By Russian Drones
In Berlin, Germany's outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron said they welcomed the vow to end attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, but they said it is only the first step on the road to peace.
"The next step must be a complete cease-fire for Ukraine and as quickly as possible. Of course. it is clear that we both agree on this too," Scholz told a joint news conference with Macron.
Zelenskyy said he had spoken to the German and French leaders following Trump's call with Putin. The British government said Zelenskyy had also spoke with Prime Minister Keir Starmer following the call.