Two days after the announcement of a historic ceasefire in Gaza, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky multiplies diplomatic gestures. In a phone call with Donald Trump, he urged the US president to “put pressure on Vladimir Putin” to start talks and end the war that has ravaged Ukraine for more than three years.
“If one war can be stopped in the Middle East, others can be stopped too,” Zelensky said, praising Trump’s “exceptional” role in mediating between Israel and Hamas. The call comes a day after a massive Russian attack on Ukraine’s energy grid, plunging Kyiv and several regions into darkness before power was partially restored.
For several weeks, international attention has shifted to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, relegating the Ukrainian front to the background. kyiv fears that this global focus will offer Moscow strategic space to intensify its strikes, particularly on civilian infrastructure.
Trump, now crowned with unexpected diplomatic success in the Middle East, already met Vladimir Putin in August without achieving a breakthrough in Europe. But the situation could change: according to Zelensky, “the same pressure levers” can now be applied to the Kremlin.
Meanwhile, the war continues to hit civilians. Five people were killed on Saturday, including two in a bombed church in Kostyantynivka. In Odessa, power cuts are increasing, while the DTEK company announces “a partial restoration” of the network.
In his nightly address, Zelensky denounced “Russian opportunism” taking advantage of a world “absorbed by peace in the Middle East” and called for using “frozen Russian assets” to strengthen Ukraine’s defense.
His appeal to Trump, imbued with hope as well as realism, sums up the state of mind of an exhausted country: if peace is possible in Gaza, why should it remain impossible in Kyiv?
