Putin's demand ahead of Trump call: 'Halt arms supply to Ukraine for 30 days'

Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump in 2019. Photographer: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

Russian President Vladimir Putin has demanded that all weapons deliveries to Ukraine must cease as a condition for supporting a 30-day ceasefire proposed by former US President Donald Trump, according to a Bloomberg report.

The Kremlin confirmed that Putin and Trump are scheduled to hold a phone conversation on Tuesday evening (IST) to discuss potential steps toward ending the war in Ukraine. The call is expected to take place between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. Moscow time.

Putin is insisting that not only the US but also European nations halt military aid to Ukraine during the proposed ceasefire. A senior European official and three sources familiar with Russia’s stance indicated that Moscow considers this a prerequisite for agreeing to the truce. However, Europe remains reluctant to comply with this demand, fearing it could leave Ukraine vulnerable while allowing Russia to rearm.

While Kyiv has accepted the ceasefire unconditionally, Ukrainian officials have expressed concern over Russia's attempt to attach conditions, including the suspension of military aid. An official in Kyiv stated that a truce could be reached within a week if Moscow genuinely agreed to stop its military operations.

The UK and the European Union are actively working on new military aid packages for Ukraine, with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer emphasizing that Ukraine must be placed in the "strongest possible position" to achieve a lasting peace. Starmer also spoke with Trump ahead of his conversation with Putin.

The Trump administration had initially paused arms supplies and intelligence-sharing to pressure Ukraine into agreeing to diplomatic talks. However, the US has since lifted the week-long halt on these supplies.

Trump has also expressed willingness to meet Putin as part of his efforts to broker an end to Russia’s three-year-long invasion of Ukraine, the largest European conflict since World War II. However, European officials remain skeptical, fearing that any deal Trump strikes with Putin may leave Ukraine weakened.

In addition to the ceasefire proposal, the two leaders are also expected to discuss the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe’s largest, which has remained under Russian control since the early days of the invasion.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the power plant, which lies deep inside southeastern Ukraine, is “on the border” between Russia and Ukraine. That stoked speculation about potential territorial concessions to Russia as part of the peace process.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has, meanwhile, warned that Putin does not genuinely seek peace but is instead trying to secure a military advantage before agreeing to any ceasefire.

Despite increasing domestic weapons production, Ukraine remains heavily dependent on external military aid, with Europe providing 30 percent and the US supplying 40 percent of its defense needs.

The US and Ukraine announced the ceasefire plan last week after a day of talks in Saudi Arabia. The Trump administration also said it was lifting a roughly week-long halt to arms supplies and intelligence-sharing that it had imposed to pressure Ukraine into agreeing to diplomatic efforts.

Trump has offered to meet Putin as part of his bid to end the three-year-long Russian invasion of Ukraine that triggered the biggest conflict in Europe since World War II and a spiraling confrontation with the West. The truce would be the first step toward a comprehensive peace agreement.

The Trump administration has effectively already conceded Russian demands to keep control of occupied Ukrainian territory and for Kyiv to abandon its ambition to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. That has fueled European concerns that any deal the US president strikes with Putin will leave Ukraine weakened and vulnerable to Russia in the future.

The US is also likely to want Ukraine to accept effective neutral status and some limits on its army and weapons, in line with Russian demands, said Cliff Kupchan, a former senior State Department official who’s chairman of the New York-based Eurasia Group.

The suspension of arms supplies sought by Putin would be temporary, with weapons flows resuming after a peace accord in which Ukraine should agree to limits on its military capability, said one person in Moscow.