President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday agreed to temporarily suspend targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructures following a phone call with American counterpart Donald Trump.

However, Mr Putin insisted that further discussions are needed for the broader 30-day ceasefire deal being put forward by the United States.

The phone call between the two leaders on Tuesday was to discuss the possibility of a temporary ceasefire in the ongoing war after Ukraine agreed to the plan spearheaded by the Trump administration to halt hostilities in the region, with the discussion now apparently falling short of the outcome the U.S. president would have wanted.

According to the New York Times, Mr Putin said the “key condition” to end the conflict and prevent it from escalating was a “complete cessation” of foreign military and intelligence assistance to Kyiv.

Subsequently, Mr Putin agreed to temporarily halt targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, but no agreement on a broader ceasefire was reached, creating a setback for Mr Trump, who had wanted the phone call to yield an immediate pause of military action.

It is unclear how Ukraine would respond to Russia’s decision, which reinforces Kyiv’s claims that Mr Putin is playing a time game to maintain leverage in negotiations and allow Russia time to continue bombarding Ukrainian cities and towns.