Conversations about Ukraine that do not include Ukraine will bring no results
En una llamada de más de dos horas, Donald Trump y Vladimir Putin alcanzaron el primer acuerdo concreto desde el inicio de la guerra: una tregua de treinta días sobre ataques a infraestructuras energéticas y un intercambio de prisioneros. Es un pacto estrecho, pero en medio de un conflicto que ha resistido toda resolución, incluso lo pequeño adquiere peso histórico. Volodymyr Zelenski lo acepta con cautela, consciente de que la paz verdadera no puede construirse sobre la renuncia a los medios de supervivencia de su nación.
- Por primera vez en el conflicto, Trump y Putin produjeron un acuerdo tangible: cese de ataques energéticos durante treinta días y liberación de 175 prisioneros por bando.
- Zelenski apoya la tregua energética, pero rechaza con firmeza la exigencia rusa de que Occidente deje de enviar armas e inteligencia a Ucrania, calificándola de maniobra para debilitarlo.
- Mientras los diplomáticos negocian, los generales se mueven: Rusia acumula tropas en Sumy, Zaporizhzhia y Járkov, señalando que la presión militar no cede pese al diálogo.
- Zelenski insiste en que cualquier negociación sobre el futuro de Ucrania debe contar con Ucrania, una condición que Macron y Scholz también han respaldado.
- El acuerdo energético aliviaría a los civiles ucranianos del frío y la oscuridad provocados por los bombardeos sistemáticos, pero no detiene el avance terrestre ruso.
Donald Trump y Vladimir Putin hablaron por teléfono durante más de dos horas y alcanzaron el primer acuerdo concreto de la guerra: una tregua de treinta días sobre ataques a infraestructuras energéticas, acompañada de un intercambio de 175 prisioneros por cada parte. Es un pacto limitado, centrado en una sola categoría de objetivos, pero es el primero.
Desde Finlandia, Zelenski dijo que apoyaría la tregua energética y que esperaba hablar pronto con Trump para conocer los detalles. Sin embargo, dejó claro que Ucrania no aceptará la condición rusa para una paz más amplia: el fin de la ayuda militar y el intercambio de inteligencia con Occidente. "Putin solo busca debilitarnos", afirmó. También subrayó que cualquier negociación sobre el futuro del país debe incluir a Ucrania, una posición que Macron y Scholz respaldaron en conversaciones posteriores.
Mientras tanto, el panorama militar se ensombreció. Zelenski advirtió de una concentración de tropas rusas en Sumy, región fronteriza con Kursk, donde Ucrania lanzó una audaz incursión en agosto de 2024 que Rusia ha revertido casi por completo. Moscú prepara ahora nuevas ofensivas en tres frentes: Zaporizhzhia, Járkov y Sumy.
La posición de Zelenski refleja la encrucijada de Ucrania: aceptar la tregua energética protege a los civiles del frío y la oscuridad que han marcado este invierno, pero ceder el apoyo militar equivaldría a una derrota encubierta. Dice sí al acuerdo estrecho y no a la capitulación más amplia que Putin persigue. Si esa distinción resistirá el peso de las negociaciones es la pregunta que lo define todo.
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin spent more than two hours on the phone this afternoon and emerged with the first concrete agreement of the war: a thirty-day ceasefire on attacks against energy infrastructure. The accord also includes a prisoner exchange—175 captives from each side would be released. It is a narrow agreement, focused on a single category of targets, but it is an agreement nonetheless.
Volodymyr Zelenski, speaking from Finland, said he would support the energy infrastructure truce. He has been waiting to hear the details directly from Trump and plans to call him soon. But Zelenski made clear that Ukraine will not accept what Putin is demanding in exchange for a broader, permanent peace: the cessation of military aid and intelligence sharing from Western allies. "Putin only seeks to weaken us," Zelenski said. He will not trade the lifeline of foreign support for the promise of negotiations.
The Ukrainian president framed his position carefully. He said Ukraine would back any proposal that leads to a just and lasting peace. He acknowledged the prisoner exchange as a potential gesture of good faith—if Russia were to free all Ukrainian captives, that would demonstrate sincerity at the negotiating table. He also emphasized that any talks about Ukraine's future must include Ukraine itself. "Conversations about Ukraine that do not include Ukraine will bring no results," he said, echoing statements made earlier by Emmanuel Macron and Olaf Scholz, with whom he had spoken after Trump and Putin hung up.
But even as diplomacy moved forward, the military picture darkened. Zelenski reported a buildup of Russian troops in Sumy, the Ukrainian region that borders Russia's Kursk region to the north. Ukraine had invaded Kursk in August 2024 in a bold cross-border operation; Russia has since reclaimed nearly all of that territory. Now, Zelenski warned, Russia is preparing new offensives in three directions: Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, and Sumy. The ceasefire on energy infrastructure may be a first step, but it does not stop the grinding forward movement of Russian forces.
Zelenski's position reflects the bind Ukraine faces. A ceasefire on energy attacks would spare civilians from the winter darkness and cold that have defined this war—the targeting of power plants and heating systems has been relentless and devastating. To accept that much is rational. But to surrender the military and intelligence support that allows Ukraine to resist would be to accept defeat by another name. Zelenski is saying yes to the narrow agreement and no to the larger capitulation Putin is seeking. Whether that distinction holds as negotiations continue remains the central question.
Citações Notáveis
Putin only seeks to weaken us— Volodymyr Zelenski, on Putin's demand to cut military aid
Ukraine will support any proposal that leads to a just and lasting peace— Volodymyr Zelenski
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why would Zelenski accept a ceasefire on energy infrastructure but reject the broader demands?
Because one saves lives in winter and the other ends the war on Russia's terms. The energy truce is a humanitarian measure. The demand to cut military aid is a surrender condition dressed up as a peace term.
Does Trump's agreement with Putin suggest he's pushing Zelenski toward concessions?
It's unclear. Trump negotiated the energy ceasefire and prisoner exchange without Ukraine at the table. That's what worries Zelenski—decisions being made about Ukraine without Ukraine's voice. But the energy truce itself is something Zelenski can live with.
What does the Russian troop buildup in Sumy mean for these negotiations?
It means Russia is negotiating from a position of military momentum. They're preparing new offensives even as they talk peace. It's a signal: we're willing to discuss terms, but we're also ready to keep fighting if the terms don't suit us.
Is the prisoner exchange significant?
It's a small opening. One hundred seventy-five people from each side. It's not nothing—those are real people going home. But it's also a modest gesture compared to the scale of the war. Zelenski is right to see it as a test of good faith.
What happens if Russia launches those new offensives while talks continue?
Then the ceasefire becomes a question of whether it holds. A thirty-day pause on energy infrastructure doesn't stop ground combat. Ukraine could find itself fighting on the ground while negotiating at the table, which is where it's been all along.