Ukraine, Russia to pause attacks on energy infrastructure but still divided on peace deal

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• Amna Nawaz:

  Welcome to the "News Hour."

  Today, for the first time in more than three years of war, Ukraine and Russia have both agreed to at least a partial cease-fire, stopping strikes on energy infrastructure for the next month.

• Geoff Bennett:

  And those 30 days could provide a much-needed respite to millions of Ukrainians, who have often spent their nights in darkness and without heating.

  The announcement followed President Trump's call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy today, which Trump officials described as fantastic.

  Here's Nick Schifrin.

• Nick Schifrin:

  For more than three years, this has been the reality, Ukraine's cities going dark, a country of 37 million guided by flashlights, targeting Ukraine's energy infrastructure to try and cut civilians' light and heat to erode their willingness to support the war.

  But, today, a deal agreed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who wrote on X: "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're ready to implement it," and announced by the White House.

• Karoline Leavitt, White House Press Secretary:

  We are at a place of peace. We're at a partial cease-fire, and we're moving towards a full cease-fire and a longstanding peace in this conflict. And that's great news for the American public.

• Nick Schifrin:

  Presidents Trump and Zelenskyy spoke for an hour, and technical teams will meet in Saudi Arabia this weekend to try and extend the truce to the Black Sea, where Ukrainian naval drones have successfully sunk or pushed out Russia's fleet.

  But the U.S. statement also raised Ukraine's nuclear power plants and suggested the U.S. could take them over.

• Karoline Leavitt:

  The United States could be very helpful in running those plants with its electricity and utility expertise. American ownership of those plants would be the best protection for that infrastructure and support for Ukrainian energy infrastructure.

• Nick Schifrin:

  That could include the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe's largest, and since days into the war occupied by Russia. Ukraine operates three additional nuclear power plants, which provide an increasingly large amount of Ukraine's power because of more than 1,000 Russian attacks on Ukraine's infrastructure, including the massive Kakhovka hydroelectric dam, flooding entire cities and towns.

  The attacks have destroyed half of Ukraine's electricity capacity and caused $14.6 billion in damage, as I saw in September 2023, when the father-daughter team of Alexander (ph) and Daria showed me how they were trying to fix this plant and provide rays of hope for the country's future.

• Daria, Power Plant Spokesperson:

  It's kind of like the brave ones who bring the light, because that's what they actually do. That's our future. We want to be free.

• Nick Schifrin:

  But even with a partial cease-fire, that freedom is elusive. Overnight, Ukraine launched its own attacks on Russian energy infrastructure. And Russia launched a large barrage.

  Zelenskyy today asked President Trump for more air defense, particularly the Patriot defense system, which Ukrainian soldiers need to shoot-down Russian ballistic missiles. President Trump agreed to find what was available, particularly in Europe, which has tried to provide Ukraine its own air defenses.

  But providing Ukraine that air defense is easier said than done. European officials tell me they want to help, but are worried about protecting their own capitals and don't have any surplus. The same for the U.S. Even the Biden administration decided it couldn't give Ukraine all the air defense it requested, but it would have come — because it would have come at the cost of U.S. military readiness, Amna.

• Amna Nawaz:

  Nick, bottom line here, how close are we to a larger cease-fire?

• Nick Schifrin:

  As we said in our piece, Trump and Zelenskyy both said that they would work toward expanding the cease-fire into the Black Sea. But the two sides are still far apart on a fundamental point that we saw come out of the Putin-Trump phone call, and that was yesterday.

  President Putin's readout after that call said that he wouldn't expand the cease-fire until Ukraine stopped arming and mobilizing its soldiers and the "complete cessation" — quote, unquote — of any foreign military and intelligence assistance. And Putin also said that the U.S. would have to address the root cause of the crisis. That means moving troops out of Eastern Europe and not allowing Ukraine into NATO.

  None of that is acceptable to Ukraine. None of that is acceptable to Western Europe. And none of that is acceptable to President Trump because he has said specifically that Europe would have to provide Ukraine the security guarantees.

• Amna Nawaz:

  We saw in the readout from U.S. officials about that call that President Trump asked President Zelenskyy about one of the most notorious parts of the war, something you reported a lot on. What should we know about that?

• Nick Schifrin:

  Yes, the readout went out of its way to say that President Trump raised the issue of the tens of thousands of Ukrainian children who have been kidnapped by Russian forces since the beginning of this war.

  The statement reads — quote — "President Trump promised to work closely with both parties to help make sure those children were returned home."

  But here's the thing. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce today confirmed for the first time that the State Department cut off the funding for an outside program that was tracking those children. Bruce did confirm that the data for that program still exists, despite some Democratic lawmakers' concern that the data had been deleted.

  But the bottom line is, the organizers of that program always believed that they were conducting a search-and-rescue mission for all of those children who were trapped inside Russia. And unless Secretary of State Rubio brings back that funding and brings it back soon, frankly, that effort that they have been doing for the last few years, that effort will die.

• Amna Nawaz:

  We know you will continue to follow up that story as well.

  Nick Schifrin, thank you so much.

• Nick Schifrin:

  Thank you.