The what, when and how of securing a limited ceasefire

Ukraine and Russia have agreed in principle to a limited ceasefire after the US president, Donald Trump, spoke with the countries' leaders last week. But uncertainty remains about how or when this will take effect as Ukraine and Russia prepare to send delegations to Riyadh this week for parallel talks with the US.

- Pjotr Sauer

What have the US, Russia and Ukraine actually agreed so far?

The three sides offered strikingly different interpretations of the limited ceasefire pact: the White House described it as covering attacks on energy and infrastructure, the Kremlin framed it more narrowly as focused on energy infrastructure, while Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed hope that it would also include railways and ports.

When is the ceasefire supposed to take effect?

There is also uncertainty on when the ceasefire was meant to go into effect. After Tuesday's call with Trump, Vladimir Putin gave the impression that the limited ceasefire would take effect immediately, reportedly ordering his military to stop all strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

Just hours later, Ukraine accused Russia of breaking its promises, with Zelenskyy reporting strikes on civilian infrastructure including a hospital in Sumy. It remains unclear, however, whether Russia also targeted Ukraine's energy facilities.