Hi there, everyone, it's 4 o'clock in New York.

We begin today with a phone call that Ukraine and our allies and those who care about

our standing as the world's leading democracy for now have been waiting anxiously and with bated breath to hear about.

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin spoke for more than an hour and a half today.

Both the White House and the Kremlin have released a readout of the call on their own.

A readout of the call from the Kremlin says that Russia has agreed to a 30-day ceasefire on attacks on energy infrastructure.

The White House also made note of that, saying this, quote, the leaders agreed that the movement

to peace will begin with an energy infrastructure ceasefire, as well as technical negotiations on

implementation of a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea, full ceasefire, and permanent peace.

These negotiations will begin immediately in the Middle East.

The White House also touted the potential for economic cooperation with Russia, as did the Kremlin.

It remains to be seen if Russia keeps its word on refraining from attacking

Ukraine's energy grid and infrastructure, and notably absent from these announcements made after

the call were any signs of any concessions from Russia or any talk of any possible punishment

for Russia. In short, there were carrots, but no sticks. In just the last

few minutes, President Zelensky reacted to that to news of the phone call. He said he's open to a ceasefire

on attacks on energy infrastructure. That Zelensky reiterated that talks about Ukraine without Ukraine

will not bring results.

He also warned that the Kremlin's demand that foreign aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine

come to an end sought to weaken his country.

Former Trump National Security Council staffer Alexander Vindman called it a, quote,

terrible deal, adding this, quote, I don't understand how Trump, who has four years under his belt with Putin, constantly gets played.

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