Wednesday, March 19
Russia’s war against Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during the plenary session of Russia Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, March 18, 2025, in Moscow, Russia. Putin spoke prior to his telephone call with U.S. President Donald Trump. (Contributor/Getty Images)
Trump-Putin call: Russia agrees to 30-day pause of energy infrastructure strikes. “Vladimir Putin responded positively to this initiative and immediately gave the appropriate command to the Russian military,” the Kremlin said.
Kremlin demands halt to foreign military aid, intelligence to Ukraine as condition for avoiding war escalation. The Kremlin has demanded a complete cessation of foreign military aid and intelligence to Ukraine as a “key condition for avoiding an escalation of the war,” according to a statement released on March 18.
Kyiv supports energy sector ceasefire, expects military aid to continue, Zelensky says. “We will support such a proposal, but we’re very interested in the details,” Zelensky said after the Trump-Putin call.
US announces another round of negotiations in Middle East on war in Ukraine. “This conflict should never have started and should have been ended long ago with sincere and good faith peace efforts,” the White House’s statement read.
‘I don’t want us to be on Putin’s menu’ — Zelensky says negotiations must include Ukraine. “We are an independent state. Without us, I think it’s wrong to negotiate,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said on March 18.
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Putin didn’t mention military aid in phone call, Trump says. Trump also said it was “a great call” and that the U.S. hopes to expand trade with Russia, including deals on “very big forms of rare earth.”
Ukraine withdraws from one front-line sector in Donetsk Oblast, commander says. “This allowed us not only to save our soldiers, but also to improve our defense. (Russia) is suffering losses, and we can act more effectively,” Lieutenant General Serhii Naiev said.
Ukrainian forces attempted to enter Belgorod Oblast, repelled by Russian forces, Russia claims. The Russian Defense Ministry claimed on March 18 that the Ukrainian Armed Forces attempted to enter Russia’s Belgorod Oblast but were repelled by the Russian military.
Zelensky arrives in Finland for official visit to discuss security and strengthen ties. President Volodymyr Zelensky and First Lady Olena Zelenska arrived in Finland for an official visit on March 18. The plane carrying the couple landed at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport in the afternoon.
Russian energy giant Gazprom suffers $13.1 billion loss in 2024. Gazprom’s losses averaged $251 million per week, $35 million per day, or $1.4 million per hour. While the company’s total revenue increased by 11% and its gas revenue by 14%, it still ended the year with a sales loss of 192 billion rubles ($2.3 billion).
Read our exclusives
Meet the Ukrainian fashion brand that’s making heritage trendy
Natalia Kamenska had grown tired of a fashion industry she felt was too focused on mass production and commercial interests, rather than creativity. While in the Carpathian mountains, Kamenska encountered a “gunia,” a traditional western Ukrainian shag fur coat that weighs around six kilos (13 pounds).
Photo: Gunia
Polish right takes hard line on Ukraine ahead of presidential vote
With the Polish presidential elections just two months away, two of the country’s leading right-wing candidates have become increasingly antagonistic toward Ukraine and its leadership. Both men have made headlines by public spats with Ukrainian officials and denounced Kyiv as ungrateful for Polish aid.
Photo: Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Ukraine war latest: Putin, Trump hold 1.5-hour call, discuss ceasefire in Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to a 30-day pause of energy infrastructure strikes during a call with U.S. President Donald Trump, according to a readout of the call issued by the Kremlin on March 18.
Photo: Maxim Shemetov/Pool/AFP via Getty Images
Human cost of Russia’s war
2 killed, 13 injured in Russian attacks across Ukraine over past day. Ukrainian air defenses shot down 63 of the 137 Russian attack and decoy drones overnight over 12 oblasts, the Air Force said. Sixty-four decoy drones reportedly disappeared from radars without causing damage.
General Staff: Russia has lost 897,010 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022. The number includes 1,560 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.
International response
UK reportedly hopes US drones, satellites will help monitor Ukraine ceasefire. The U.S. military has 247 military satellites and thousands of commercial satellites, providing an “unrivaled picture” of eastern Ukraine that European forces would struggle to replicate, the Times wrote.
UK, EU to discuss confiscating Russian assets ahead of Ukraine peace talks, Bloomberg reports. Negotiations will focus on establishing the legal and financial framework to seize Russian assets, despite opposition from some EU member states, particularly Belgium and Germany.
Italy, Spain hesitant on EU’s $43 billion military aid to Ukraine plan. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said the proposal needed further discussion and that Italy was awaiting the outcome of the upcoming call between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Trump boasts of saving ‘surrounded’ Ukrainian soldiers despite Kyiv denying encirclement in Kursk Oblast. U.S. President Donald Trump claimed on March 17 that he took an unspecified action to save “surrounded” Ukrainian soldiers, apparently referring to his earlier and unsubstantiated claims of Kyiv’s troops being encircled in Russia’s Kursk Oblast.
Trump’s aid cuts threaten supply of HIV treatments to Ukraine, 7 more countries, WHO warns. The World Health Organization warned that Kenya, Haiti, Lesotho, Burkina Faso, Mali, Nigeria, South Sudan, and Ukraine could run out of critical antiretroviral drugs in the coming months.
Russian negotiator says he expects talks with Musk on space, tech. Kirill Dmitriev, the CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), said he expects Russia to hold talks with U.S. billionaire and President Donald Trump’s ally, Elon Musk, in the near future, the pro-state news agency RBK reported on March 18.
In other news
Notorious judge dismissed amid accusations of criminal activity, power grab. Judge Pavlo Vovk was held responsible for “committing a significant disciplinary offense, gross or systematic neglect of duties that is incompatible with the status of a judge or revealed his incompatibility with the position he holds.”
France to deploy fighter jets with nuclear warheads on German border by 2035, Macron says. France will deploy Rafale fighter jets equipped with supersonic nuclear warheads along its border with Germany in 2035, French President Emmanuel Macron announced on March 18 at the Luxeuil-Saint-Sauveur Airbase, according to BFMTV.
Telegram CEO Durov returns to Dubai amid French investigation. Pavel Durov, Telegram’s Russian-born founder and CEO, said that the investigating judges allowed him to depart even though the probe is ongoing.
Poland, Baltics to withdraw from anti-personnel mine ban treaty. The defense ministers of the four nations argued that the security situation in the region has “fundamentally deteriorated” and that military threats to NATO member states bordering Russia and Belarus have “significantly increased.”
EU approves over $2 billion in economic support for Moldova. The Reform and Growth Facility, which includes 1.5 billion euros ($1.6 billion) in low-interest loans and 385 million euros ($420 million) in grants, will cover the period of 2025-2027 and is part of the EU’s long-term Moldova Growth Plan.
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