Kremlin Says US Stopping Ukraine Aid is a ‘Key Condition’ of a Ceasefire

The Kremlin on Tuesday stated that the cessation of foreign aid to Ukraine was a “key condition” of a potential ceasefire.

Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin spoke on the phone for over an hour to discuss bringing an end to Russia’s war with Ukraine. Following their call, the Russian government released a readout of the conversation detailing the items discussed.

Translated from Russian, it said:

In the context of the US President’s initiative to introduce a 30-day ceasefire, the Russian side outlined a number of significant points concerning ensuring effective control over a possible ceasefire along the entire line of combat contact, the need to stop forced mobilization in Ukraine and rearm the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Serious risks associated with the inability to negotiate of the Kyiv regime, which has repeatedly sabotaged and violated the agreements reached, were also noted. Attention was drawn to the barbaric terrorist crimes committed by Ukrainian militants against the civilian population of the Kursk region.

It was emphasized that the key condition for preventing the escalation of the conflict and working towards its resolution through political and diplomatic means should be the complete cessation of foreign military aid and the provision of intelligence information to Kyiv.

At the end of the readout, the Kremlin also mentioned the possibility of bringing American and Russian hockey players together for exhibition matches — an idea that came from Putin.

“Donald Trump supported Vladimir Putin’s idea to organize hockey matches in the USA and Russia between Russian and American players playing in the NHL and KHL,” the statement read.