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Stay on top of Russia-Ukraine war 03-18-2025 developments on the ground with KyivPost fact-based news, exclusive video footage, photos and updated war maps.
The two leaders also agreed to set up Russian and American expert groups to work on the issues discussed and “stay in touch on all issues raised.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to a 30-day halt on attacks on energy infrastructure in Ukraine, following a high-stakes call with US President Donald Trump, the Kremlin said in a statement on social media.
“Vladimir Putin responded positively to this initiative and immediately gave the Russian military the appropriate command,” the statement read.
Female Ukrainian students will be required to take the classroom part of the training, but they would have to volunteer for practical field training on tactics and marksmanship.
Ukraine will launch mandatory basic military training (BMT) for all students attending institutes of higher education like universities and technical colleges, starting with the upcoming Fall 2025 semester, a Defense Ministry official said.
The program, set to start Sept. 1, will oblige all students with Ukrainian citizenship – male or female – to complete 90 academic course hours of basic military education in order to receive any degree, Brig. Gen. Serhiy Melnyk, the vice defense minister, said in a Defense Ministry interview.
Trump has already made clear that he is ready to discuss what parts of occupied Ukraine that Russia will be allowed to keep
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will visit Helsinki on Wednesday, a day after US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin held a phone call about a potential ceasefire.
Zelensky will meet Finnish President Alexander Stubb for talks, to be followed by discussions with Prime Minister Petteri Orpo and the speaker of parliament Jussi Halla-aho.
A letter on X signed by the defense ministers of the four nations has recommended withdrawal from the anti-personnel landmine convention because of the deterioration in regional security.
The Lithuanian Ministry of Defense has published a copy of a letter signed by its defense minister and those of, Poland, Latvia and Estonia calling for their withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention on anti-personnel landmines.
The joint statement said the security situation in the region had “significantly deteriorated” and military threats to NATO member states bordering Russia and Belarus had “significantly increased.”
The American and Russian presidents discussed Ukraine’s future in the lengthy call. The White House said steps towards a ceasefire at sea and on energy and infrastructure should begin “immediately.”
US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin held an almost two-hour-long call on the future of Ukraine on Tuesday morning, where they “agreed this conflict needs to end with a lasting peace,” according to a White House statement after the call.
Several aspects of a possible peace deal were negotiated.
“It is a war against Europe and not just a war against the territorial integrity of Ukraine” – Merz
German lawmakers on Tuesday voted for a colossal defense and infrastructure spending package proposed by chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz following concern over the US stance on the Ukraine war and Europe’s security.
Local media have labeled the plans – which could pave the way for more than one trillion euros in spending over the next decade – as a fiscal “bazooka” for Europe’s top economy.
Trump will learn business solutions won’t solve intractable, cultural, religious, and ideological conflicts. He also must take sides.
American and Israeli officials are approaching African countries about taking in two million Palestinians so the Gaza Strip can be developed into a “Riviera of the Middle East.”
This followed Donald Trump’s Feb. 15 suggestion that the warzone be vacated and turned into a major real estate development that America would own.
China, Russia and Iran are “investing hundreds of millions of dollars” pumping out anti-American propaganda and disinformation.
As President Donald Trump moves to axe Voice of America and other US-funded media, China and Russia are eager to fill the void.
The targeting of VOA, Radio Free Europe and Radio Free Asia not only freezes some of the most dogged reporting on countries with heavily restricted media, but it comes after years of concerted efforts by Beijing and Moscow to promote their own worldview on the global media landscape.
The agenda by Trump seems to be to deliver all of Putin’s demands as Trump seems desperate to normalize US - Russia relations at all costs
Trump’s peace plan is proceeding at breakneck pace but the problem is that it is Ukraine’s neck that is on the line here.
There is little evidence to suggest that Trump is taking any of Ukraine’s interests into account.
The Center for Countering Disinformation says widespread pro-Kremlin milblogger reports of a Ukrainian “invasion” of Belgorod were intended to portray Ukrainian escalation ahead of “the call.”
From early morning on Tuesday, March18, Russian milbloggers began to post reports of increased fighting on the border between Ukraine and the Russian Belgorod region. The pro-Kremlin social media portrayed it either as a new Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU) cross-border offensive or a diversionary attack to allow Kyiv’s forces to escape from encirclement in the adjacent Kursk region or simply a “publicity stunt.”
The milblogger “War Gonzo” claimed on Telegram that the AFU had launched a suicidal attack to draw forces from Kursk, had lost several armored vehicles to Russian artillery strikes and its infantry had retreated on foot into the forest and were under artillery attack.
Ukraine’s forces reportedly crushed Russian offensives in Donbas, destroying tanks and wiping out troops with drones. Russian assaults near Toretsk and Pokrovsk ended in chaos and with heavy losses.
Ukrainian forces repelled two Russian offensives in the Donetsk region, thwarting an attempted breakthrough near Toretsk and an assault on the Pokrovsk sector, according to the “Khortytsia” operational-strategic grouping of troops.
“Khortytsia” shared a video on Telegram on Tuesday from the 28th Separate Mechanized Brigade named after the Knights of the Winter Crusade, captioned: “Tank in a ditch, drone battle, and destroyed infantry: Ukraine’s defenders crush the enemy near Toretsk.”
Former Navy SEAL Team 6 Squadron Leader Chuck argues that Ukraine’s position is far stronger than some may think
The main weapons used were explosives, blunt or edged instruments, and electronic attack.
Russia has stepped up a sabotage campaign against European as well as US targets on the continent, the Center for Strategic and International Studies think-tank said in a report Tuesday.
“The number of Russian attacks in Europe nearly tripled between 2023 (12 attacks) and 2024 (34 attacks),” according to the CSIS report, which said these actions “complement Russia’s brutal conventional war in Ukraine.”
The EU needs to become as strong in military production as the US – before Russia expands its invasion to other European countries, EU Commissioner for Defense Andrius Kubilius said.
The European Union is launching the ReArm Europe program, allocating €800 billion ($873.4 billion) to boost its defense industry and to get EU defense spending up to 3.5% of GDP by 2027 – when there are fears that Russia will expand its invasion beyond Ukraine.
The EU defense spending ramp-up also comes in the wake of the US, under President Donald Trump showing declining interest in Ukrainian and European defense.
While Russia is seeking a complete cessation of Western arms deliveries, sources said the Kremlin’s “minimum goal” is to negotiate an end to US military assistance.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin has reportedly demanded a halt to all arms shipments to Ukraine during a proposed 30-day truce. Speaking to US President Donald Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, who visited Moscow on March 13, Putin reportedly put the halt on the table as a prerequisite for signing an armistice.
The ceasefire proposal was put forward by the United States as part of ongoing diplomatic efforts to end Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, now stretching into its fourth year.
Merz’s CDU/CSU and their likely future coalition partners plan to exempt defence spending from Germany’s debt rules and to set up a 500-billion-euro fund for infrastructure investments over 12 years.
Germany’s chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz on Tuesday urged lawmakers to pass a huge spending package for defence and infrastructure to strengthen the country over what he called Russia’s “war of aggression against Europe”.
“It is a war against Europe and not just a war against the territorial integrity of Ukraine,” Merz told parliament ahead of a vote expected around 1330 GMT on what local media have labelled a fiscal “bazooka” worth many hundreds of billions of euros.
The WHO Director-General warned that disruptions to HIV programs due to cuts in US overseas aid could undo 20 years of progress and potentially lead to three million deaths.
Ukraine and seven other countries could soon run out of HIV drugs due to cuts in foreign aid under the Trump administration, according to data released by the United Nation’s World Health Organization (WHO).
According to Reuters, countries including Haiti, Kenya, Lesotho, South Sudan, Burkina Faso, Mali, Nigeria, and Ukraine could run out of their HIV drug supplies within a few months.
An image and a fleeting video captured by a Russian drone of the previously unidentified high-speed UAV suggests yet another stage in Kyiv’s development of unmanned aerial weapons.
The pro-Kremlin milblogger BPLA Inform published a photograph and a brief video clip on its Telegram channel of an unknown Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that was captured on screen as it flew past a Russian drone in an undisclosed location.
Military analysts from a number of outlets including Ukraine’s Militarnyi and BulgarianMilitary.com also began to immediately speculate on the purpose and design of the drone which had a particularly unconventional layout.
HUR says Russia is expanding its PSYOPS units to manipulate the Ukrainian public.
Russia is increasing the number of psychological operations (PSYOPS) units within its armed forces, Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR) reported on Tuesday, March 18.
According to HUR, specialized information warfare units have been established within the 3rd and 51st Combined Arms Armies of the Russian Armed Forces.
Trump administration officials have openly discussed the idea that Ukraine may need to cede territory to Russia as part of a peace deal to end the three-year war.
The administration of US President Donald Trump might consider recognizing the annexed Crimea peninsula as part of Russia as part of a potential peace agreement to end the war in Ukraine.
According to the sources cited by Semafor, the White House is also discussing the possibility of requesting the United Nations to officially recognise Crimea as Russian territory.
The Pentagon has selected four companies to participate in its Artemis long-range kamikaze drone program, two of which are a collaboration between Ukrainian and US manufacturers.
The Washington. DC-based defense issues website the Defense Post reported on Monday that the Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), which was set up to develop new technologies for the US military, has selected four US companies, two of which are partnered with Ukrainian firms, to develop long-range, one-way attack drone prototypes under its Artemis program.
The four chosen companies to produce prototypes for operational assessment and evaluation following a competitive tenders process are AeroVironment, Dragoon, Swan, and Auterion; the latter two are partnered with unnamed Ukrainian drone manufacturers. The solicitation received more than 160 offers to produce prototypes by the end of 2025.
Loio announces transformative changes to streamline document workflows, making legal processes more accessible and efficient.
In an effort to facilitate the management of legal documents, Loio, a legaltech platform, is providing automated solutions to both individuals and businesses. By simplifying contract and form creation, Loio helps users create documents that meet their specific needs without the inconvenience of manual drafting.
Creating legal contracts on Loio Templates is straightforward: instead of writing complex agreements from scratch, users are guided through a step-by-step interview process. By answering a series of relevant questions, they can generate customized contracts that reflect their demands. The system automatically integrates responses into the document, ensuring clarity and legal accuracy.
Musk this month called his satellite-internet service the “backbone of the Ukrainian army” fighting Russia and said “their entire front line would collapse if I turned it off”.
European satellite operator Eutelsat is under the spotlight like never before because of fears that Elon Musk’s Starlink could pull its crucial service from Ukraine.
Musk this month called his satellite-internet service the “backbone of the Ukrainian army” fighting Russia and said “their entire front line would collapse if I turned it off”.
Government bonds interest rates increased, hryvnia weakened, monthly inflation slowed markedly in February, and market relief after ceasefire news. Weekly Insight for March 10.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Finance(MoF) increased interest rates for military bonds after the NBU hiked its key policy rate a week ago. In March, the MoF will continue to offer the same military securities, implying it’s unlikely to raise substantial funds even with higher yields.
Last week, the MoF increased interest rates for military bills by 50bp or half of the increase of the NBU’s key policy rate. Higher rates allowed the MoF to borrow almost UAH3.5bn, the largest weekly proceeds from placement of military bonds YTD. Also, the MoF sold UAH5bn worth of reserve bonds with marginal changes in interest rates.
Ukraine withdrew troops from one section of the front to take more advantageous positions, strengthening defense, reducing enemy attacks, and inflicting significant Russian losses.
Ukraine’s military command has decided to withdraw its troops from one section of the front line to allow soldiers to take up more advantageous positions. This move was necessary to preserve the lives of Ukrainian troops, according to former Commander of the Joint Forces of the AFU, Lt. Gen. Serhiy Naiev.
“A decision has been made to withdraw forces and assets from unfavorable positions on one section of the front. This has not only allowed us to preserve our soldiers but also to strengthen our defense. The enemy is suffering losses, and we now have the opportunity to act more effectively,” Naiev stated.
As Trump tries to decide Ukraine’s future over its head and appease Putin, he and his team need to be reminded of their responsibilities under international law.
Neither Putin nor Trump respects the UN. Still, as they prepare to “chat” on the phone today about carving up Ukraine, here’s a reminder of what the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on the third anniversary of Russia’s barbaric, full-scale, invasion of Ukraine:
“On this tragic occasion, I reaffirm the urgent need for a just, sustainable and comprehensive peace – one that fully upholds Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders, in accordance with the UN Charter, international law and resolutions of the General Assembly.”
Kyiv and Moscow have recently escalated cross-border drone and missile attacks despite a US-led proposal for a 30-day ceasefire to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Thousands of people in central Ukraine were left without electricity on Tuesday following a countrywide Russian attack involving more than 130 drones that damaged critical infrastructure.
Kyiv and Moscow have recently escalated cross-border drone and missile attacks despite a US-led proposal for a 30-day ceasefire to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Kremlin said a highly-anticipated phone call between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump will take place between 3:00 pm and 5:00 pm Kyiv time.
Ukraine’s foreign minister on Tuesday, March 18, urged Russia to agree to a 30-day ceasefire proposed by Kyiv and Washington, ahead of a telephone call between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump.
“It is time for Russia to show whether it really wants peace. Ukraine supported the US proposal for a temporary ceasefire for 30 days. We expect the Russian side to unconditionally agree to this proposal,” Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said.
In the face of assessments that Trump is “getting played” by Putin, the Americans must wake up to the reality that much of the turmoil in the Middle East originates in the Kremlin.
Washington is quickly being taught what Kyiv already knows. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine is being fought by an ‘Axis of Evil.’ Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, Chechnya – and yes, even the Houthis – are allies.
Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, admitted as much on Sunday when, during a telephone call with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, he demanded an “immediate cessation of the use of force and the importance for all sides to engage in political dialogue” concerning ongoing US airstrikes in Yemen.
Trump repeated false claims that Ukrainian troops are surrounded in Kursk, and that the US gave Ukraine $350B, while the EU gave $100B as a repayable loan – figures that contradict official data.
US President Donald Trump hinted that his heated exchange with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during their Oval Office meeting was part of a strategy to pressure Ukraine into making certain decisions, saying: “We had to get Ukraine to do the right thing.”
Speaking to reporters at the Kennedy Center on Monday, March 17, Trump began by saying:
Kallas’ plan includes spending €5 billion on 2 million rounds of large-calibre artillery ammunition this year.
BRUSSELS – EU countries are hashing out the details of a new multi-billion Ukraine military aid plan, but key sticking points on participation and calculating contributions remain.
EU foreign ministers on Monday discussed the latest draft of the plan, circulated among EU member states and reported by Euractiv last week, which has pitched mobilising between €20 and €40 billion worth of military aid to Ukraine this year.
Zelensky also disclosed missile strikes with Long Neptune were effective: “We need to produce more missiles, more drones.”
Ukraine has successfully tested a long-range drone capable of covering 3,000 km, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced. In his evening address on Monday, March 17, he said:
“I held a Staff meeting. There were several key issues, but the most important one is drones. We need all types of drones. And there is good news—our drone has passed the 3,000 km test.”
The hastily drawn plans represent a radical departure for a country traditionally reluctant to take on large amounts of debt or to spend heavily on the military, given the horrors of its Nazi past.
German lawmakers will vote Tuesday on a massive spending boost for defence and infrastructure proposed by chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz amid concern over the United States’ commitment to Europe’s security.
The hastily drawn plans represent a radical departure for a country traditionally reluctant to take on large amounts of debt or to spend heavily on the military, given the horrors of its Nazi past.
Since the Cold War, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has played a key role as an independent voice in autocracies and dictatorships worldwide. Ukrainian and Russian commentators fear the worst.
Donald Trump has issued a presidential order decreeing massive cuts to Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and other US international broadcasters. According to media reports, around 1,300 employees have already been placed on administrative leave. Since the Cold War, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has played a key role as an independent voice in autocracies and dictatorships worldwide. Ukrainian and Russian commentators fear the worst.
Voice of truth stifled
The last few weeks have been full of twists and turns, with uncertainty surrounding the future of US support for Ukraine and the prospect of an American-Russian reset.
In the past few weeks, Americans have shown that they don’t want the same thing as Ukraine and Europe. “Zelensky – a dictator with minimal public support”: these words, spoken by President Trump a few weeks ago, made the world hold its breath.
The last few weeks have been full of twists and turns, with uncertainty surrounding the future of US support for Ukraine and the prospect of an American-Russian reset. Statements from members of the MAGA administration only intensify the tension.
The White House confirmed that Israel consulted US President Donald Trump’s administration before launching the wave of strikes, which rescuers said killed mostly women, children and elderly.
Israel on Tuesday unleashed its most intense strikes on the Gaza Strip since a January ceasefire, with rescuers reporting 220 people killed, and Hamas accusing Benjamin Netanyahu of deciding to “resume war” after a deadlock on extending the truce.
The White House confirmed that Israel consulted US President Donald Trump’s administration before launching the wave of strikes, which rescuers said killed mostly women, children and elderly.
Ukrainian Gas Entrepreneur Zinoviy Kozytskyy opened a new art gallery in Lviv, paying an extra $2 million as collateral for leased artworks, including Banksy’s “Woman in a Gas Mask.”
Ukrainian gas entrepreneur Zinoviy Kozytskyi invested Hr.271 million (almost $7 million) to open the Zenyk Art Gallery (ZAG) in Lviv, which features works by top Ukrainian artists and a Banksy graffiti piece, Forbes Ukraine reported.
Kozytskyi named the gallery after his grandson, who studied cultural studies and passed away from cancer in 2024, just months before the gallery’s opening.
More than a year after Ukraine shot down two of Moscow’s key surveillance assets the aircraft’s reemergence coincided with the US announcement that it was withholding intelligence to Kyiv.
The pro-Kremlin “Russian Weapons,” “Novomoskovsk News,” and “Voevoda Broadcasts” milbloggers reported that at least one of the Russian Aerospace Forces remaining six A-50U Beriev (NATO: Mainstay) airborne early warning and control aircraft (AEW&C) had resumed operations targeted on Ukraine in early March.
These reports were also apparently confirmed by Ukraine’s Air Force, which had spotted the aircraft over the western Russian Orlovska region close to the border with Ukraine’s Sumy region. According to the milbloggers the aircraft could have been identified by air-to-air electronic systems carried on the Mirage-2000 and F-16 fighter aircraft supplied to Ukraine by its Western allies.
Latest from the Institute for the Study of War.
Key Takeaways from the ISW:
As Trump foreshadows that nuclear power plant could be a major focus of his upcoming call with the Kremlin leader, Britain and France lean in: “The guns must fall silent,” says Macron.
As US President Donald Trump and Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin conduct a planned phone call about a proposed peace plan in Ukraine on Tuesday, with the nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia as a potential focal point of negotiations, European leaders who have been left out of the talks could only pressure Putin from the sidelines.
UK Foreign Minister David Lammy told the British parliament, “Now it is Putin who stands in the spotlight; Putin who must answer; Putin, who must choose. Are you serious, Mr Putin, about peace?”
As Trump slashes funds and walks away from providing international leadership, European leaders try to fill the void the best they can after the White House silences Radio Liberty / Radio Free Europe.
At a time when EU leaders have been forced to step up defense spending, humanitarian aid and other assistance once provided by the United States, top diplomats in Brussels are now looking to support media in Eastern Europe that promote the values of democracy, as the US administration of Donald Trump has eschewed such principles at home and abroad.
During a meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council on Monday, foreign ministers discussed the situation of Radio Liberty / Radio Free Europe (RL/RFE), which essentially has been de-funded by the Trump regime in Washington.
“Kremlin’s terrorist nature confirmed once again. It’s clear who we are dealing with,” Vilnius claims.
Lithuanian prosecutors on Monday blamed the Russian military intelligence service for an arson attack on an Ikea store in Vilnius last year, calling it “an act of terrorism”.
Lithuania, a Baltic state and NATO member, has been a staunch ally of Kyiv since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022, and has frequently warned against sabotage attempts inspired by Russia.
