What comes after the Russia-Ukraine ceasefire negotiations?

A decision was made by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday to halt the attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. Nevertheless, the 30-day ceasefire does not address several crucial matters still pending.

The temporary halt does not provide any safeguards for the soldiers engaged in battle or the Ukrainian civilians enduring continuous aerial assaults from Russia.

Following a 90-minute phone call with President Donald Trump, Putin’s initial agreement was reached, with Trump later taking to social media to label it as “very good” and “productive.”

President Donald Trump, right, meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office at the White House, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025, in Washington.  (Mystyslav Chernov/AP Photo)

Zelenskyy said his delegation had also discussed the “release of prisoners of war and detainees — both military and civilian — and the return of Ukrainian children who were forcibly transferred to Russia.”

While the Kremlin on Tuesday said Putin had agreed to a 175-prisoner swap with Ukraine, there was no mention of the 20,000 Ukrainian children Kyiv has reported to have been forcibly abducted, largely from Luhansk and Donetsk, and then funneled through adoption schemes in Russia.

There are a litany of issues that still need to be negotiated between Ukraine and Russia, which the U.S. has said Europe will also be a part of.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and former NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speak during a press conference at the NATO summit in Washington, on July 11, 2024. (Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo)

Putin has already made clear Ukraine should not be allowed to join NATO — which the Trump administration has also backed over concerns it could not only perpetuate but escalate the nature of Russia’s war.

European leaders and Zelenskyy have argued that peacekeeping troops should then be placed in Ukraine to prevent Russia from launching a future invasion — but Moscow has also already signaled this will be viewed as a threat to Russia.

Issues over Western arms supplies, international observance of Russian occupied lands, Ukraine’s future security, Ukrainian troops in Kursk and Russia’s continued aerial campaigns over civilian populations all remain major issues that need to be negotiated. 

“Putin doesn’t share Trump’s abhorrence of war,” former CIA Moscow Station Chief Dan Hoffman told Fox News Digital. “At this point there’s no indication that he’s going to do anything else but negotiate with an eye towards ensuring Ukraine can’t deter future Russian attacks.”

Hoffman also argued that the Trump administration needs to be careful about finding itself in a situation where Washington wants a ceasefire more than Moscow.

President Donald Trump is shown meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the first day of the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan on June 28, 2019. (Kremlin Press Office/Handout/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

“The strategic objective is still to destroy Ukraine,” Hoffman said. “The question is, Putin has not agreed to a ceasefire, so what are you going to do about?” 

“Define success by what serves U.S. national security interests. A bad deal would not serve our interests,” he added. 

“Let them go negotiate,” Hoffman said.