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Stay on top of Russia-Ukraine war 03-31-2025 developments on the ground with KyivPost fact-based news, exclusive video footage, photos and updated war maps.
The 3rd anniversary of the Bucha Massacre by Russian forces is an embarrassing reminder for Putin and Trump about the perpetrators of aggression and war crimes
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday visited Bucha, where Russia’s army is accused of murdering hundreds of civilians three years ago, urging European allies to unite to prevent fresh massacres.
Following Russia’s retreat from the Kyiv suburb of Bucha after a month-long occupation ending March 31, 2022, AFP journalists saw the bodies of at least 20 civilians lying on a street after being shot dead, some with hands tied behind their backs.
This has not been a peace process. It has not even been appeasement. It has been the US throwing its power on Russia’s side in a war of aggression.
Here is a brief summary of the misnamed Russian-American “peace process” regarding Ukraine.
This has not been a peace process. It has not even been appeasement. It has been the US throwing its power on Russia’s side in a war of aggression.
Authorities have recovered the vehicle six days after the incident when it sank into a peat bog during a training exercise in Lithuania, next to the Belarusian border.
Local authorities have recovered the bodies of three US Army soldiers who went missing at a training exercise in Lithuania on March 25. One soldier remains missing.
“The Soldiers, whose identities are being withheld pending notification of next of kin, went missing in the early morning hours of March 25 in their M88A2 Hercules armored recovery vehicle while conducting a mission to repair and tow an immobilized tactical vehicle,” US Army Europe and Africa (USAREUR-AF) said in a press release on Monday.
Evangelical minister and politician Pastor Mark Burns visited Ukraine and heard testimonies from survivors of Russian occupation, which the Chief Rabbi hopes he will share with the US.
Donald Trump’s personal spiritual advisor, Pastor Mark Burns, has visited Ukraine, Ukraine’s Chief Rabbi Moshe Azman announced on Monday, March 31.
During his visit, Pastor Burns traveled to Bucha, Irpin, and Borodianka in the Kyiv region – cities that had endured Russian occupation. According to Rabbi Azman, Burns was deeply shocked and outraged by what he witnessed, after having heard firsthand testimonies from survivors.
With a new presidential decree, Russia hopes to replenish its forces. The decree also says that soldiers finishing their conscription would be released from service.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin is set to conscript 160,000 Russians for the upcoming summer in a twice-per-year conscription drive.
The fresh troops are set to replace at least part of the troops finishing their mandatory service in Russia, which is 12 months for men aged between 18 and 30 – increased from 27 with a decree in July 2023.
The nearly 60-page draft deal has triggered concern in Kyiv over national sovereignty
On the anniversary of the liberation of Bucha from Russian invasion forces, Zelensky and international guests visited the city. A memorial will soon be built at the site of the massacre.
On March 31, 2022, Russian troops withdrew from Bucha, a city of 30,000 residents 15 kilometers (9 miles) north of Kyiv. Known as a quiet middle-class suburb with forested area nearby, Bucha was left in ruins after fierce fighting not long after the start of Russia’s ongoing full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
During the five weeks of Russian occupation, the city became a living hell.
Technically no – the US has suspended all Russian oil and gas imports since 2022, but some have made their way to US soil via embargo loopholes, whose Russian origins were disguised.
Though the US banned Russian oil and gas imports in March 2022, soon after Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, some have made their way to US soil via embargo loopholes.
So, even though US President Donald Trump threatened additional secondary tariffs Sunday, March 30, on Russian oil to coerce Moscow to the negotiating table, the tariffs would likely be imposed on third nations to discourage them from buying Russian oil rather than on Moscow directly.
Russia’s relations with China have grown far closer since it launched the conflict and faced a barrage of Western sanctions.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to meet China’s top diplomat Wang Yi during his visit to Moscow this week, the Kremlin said on Monday.
Both Moscow and Beijing have said Wang Yi plans to hold talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Ukraine, with China weighing in as Washington tries to push for an end of the three-year conflict.
About $498 million would go towards the Ukrainian defense industry.
Sweden will donate 16 billion kronor ($1.6 billion) in fresh military aid to Ukraine, the government said on Monday – the largest such package from the Nordic country since Russia’s 2022 invasion.
Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson told reporters that Sweden wanted “to send the message now that we are both intensifying our support and increasing its strength and scope.”
The IMF allocated $400 million to Kyiv, afer Ukraine passed the seventh Review of the EFF Program.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) allocated the eighth tranche of $400 million in funding to Ukraine.
The funding is part of the four-year, $15.5 billion, Extended Fund Facility (EFF) Arrangement, Ukrainian Ministry of Finance reported.
A Taiwan-supported initiative - Burn Care Alliance project is helping Ukrainian doctors save burn patients with advanced materials, modern equipment, and global expertise.
When 2-year-old Anichka suffered severe burns in a household accident in Lviv, doctors feared they would have to amputate her legs. But thanks to an innovative synthetic skin treatment—made available through international aid—they managed to save them. Her story is just one example of how a new partnership with the people of Taiwan is quietly reshaping Ukraine’s capacity to treat one of the war’s most devastating categories of injuries.
Burn injuries—once primarily domestic accidents—have surged in Ukraine due to the war, accounting for more than 35% of all burn cases in 2023. With over 10,000 severe cases reported annually and 80% of burn units operating with outdated equipment, the country faces a dual challenge: saving lives today and rebuilding a system capable of long-term care.
Unnamed officials reportedly said preparations are underway for elections after a full ceasefire is introduced, which the White House hopes could happen by April.
President Volodymyr Zelensky is reportedly planning to host elections and run for a second term this summer, according to some unnamed Ukrainian officials quoted in Western media.
The elections could be held as early as July if all developments align.
US arms to Ukraine are still arriving but the pipeline looks like it will go empty soon. A few made-in-USA weapons are badly needed for Ukraine’s war effort, but mostly there are alternates.
The US’ role as Ukraine’s biggest arms supplier is at an end and if Ukraine wants American weapons in the future, it will only be for cash on the barrelhead, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said at a Friday press conference.
The Ukrainian leader, in response to a reporter question about past and future American assistance to Ukraine, said that Kyiv has no expectations of future US assistance without paying for it first.
The world in focus, as seen by Canadian leading global affairs analyst Michael Bociurkiw in a quick review of the biggest news in international media today.
President Donald Trump did not rule out the possibility of seeking a third term in the White House, which is prohibited by the Constitution under the 22nd Amendment, saying in an exclusive interview with NBC News that there were methods for doing so and clarifying that he was “not joking.” He added, “A lot of people want me to do it,” Trump said, referring to his allies. “But, I mean, I basically tell them we have a long way to go, you know, it’s very early in the administration…I’m focused on the current,” Trump added, in some of his most extensive comments to date about serving a third term. When asked whether he wanted another term, the president responded, “I like working…I’m not joking,” Trump said. “But I’m not — it is far too early to think about it.” When asked whether he has been presented with plans to allow him to seek a third term, Trump said, “There are methods which you could do it.” NBC News asked about a possible scenario in which Vice President JD Vance would run for office and then pass the role to Trump. Trump responded that “that’s one” method. “But there are others, too,” Trump added. Amending the Constitution to abolish the two-term limit would be exceedingly difficult, requiring either a two-thirds vote of Congress or two-thirds of the states agreeing to call a constitutional convention to propose changes. Either route would then require ratification from three-quarters of the states.
Myanmar Earthquake
The discovery of a recently downed Russian Shahed UAV equipped with an inert warhead and a 16-element antenna raises the specter of the drones soon being able to avoid Ukraine’s EW defenses.
A YouTube video posted on Saturday showed a recently downed Russian Shahed kamikaze unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) – a drone – brought down somewhere over Ukraine, fitted with a wooden block in place of the usual 30-kilogram (66-pound) explosive warhead. It was fitted with what the military issues website DefenceBlog termed as advanced navigation hardware and a newly developed 16-element antenna.
Moscow’s latest assertion adds more fuel to its long-running narrative that the war in Ukraine was really about Russia protecting itself from Western aggression.
Following the second attack in just over a week on the Sudzha gas metering transit point facility in Russia’s Kursk region on Friday, Russia went one step further in attributing the attacks to Ukraine, despite Kyiv’s continuing denials, alleging the strikes were Kremlin-inspired “false flags.”
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said that Ukraine was not only responsible, but targeting was carried out using French satellite systems and that UK specialists provided the coordinate inputs and carried out the launch of US-made HIMARS missiles. The evidence for the assertion has not yet been forthcoming.
Trump dismissed the notion Russia is stalling, saying he believes Putin “wants to make a deal,” but warns if the Kremlin is “tapping us along, I will not be happy.”
US President Donald Trump said that there is a “psychological deadline” for Russia to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine.
“It’s a psychological deadline,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One when asked if there was a set time frame for Russia to strike a deal.
The world in focus, as seen by Canadian leading global affairs analyst Michael Bociurkiw in a quick review of the biggest news in international media today.
More than 1,700 people have been killed following a huge 7.7 magnitude earthquake on Friday, Myanmar’s military chief says in an update. The UN warns a severe shortage of medical supplies is hampering the response to the disaster, as the search for survivors continues - BBC
Ravaged by four years of civil war, Myanmar is ill-prepared to cope with the destruction brought by the massive earthquake on Friday. The United Nations (UN) and aid agencies have warned that millions were already facing a dire humanitarian crisis before the quake, and are now in urgent need of yet more aid. Much of the country was already plagued by a punishing mix of conflict, poverty and instability after the civil war that left 3.5 million people displaced and smashed the economy. “We have estimated that 19.9 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance, and this is just before the earthquake,” said UN humanitarian coordinator in Myanmar Marcoluigi Corsi. “The situation will be further aggravated.” Before the quake, the World Food Programme (WFP) said more than 15 million out of a population of 51 million were unable to meet their daily food needs. Just two days after the quake, the UN said the aid effort was being hampered by a severe lack of medical supplies, while rescuers on the ground have pleaded for more equipment to comb ruined buildings for survivors. The quake also struck Myanmar at a time when US President Donald Trump has slashed jobs and funding to Washington’s foreign aid agency. Trump has promised US help but one million civilians in Myanmar face WFP aid cuts after he took an axe to the US Agency for International Development - Channel News Asia
Baltic defense ministers warn a Ukraine ceasefire would let Russia rearm and redeploy troops north, doubling forces near Finland and the Baltics - raising security threats to NATO’s eastern flank.
A ceasefire in Ukraine would be used by Moscow as an opportunity to rearm and redeploy forces to the north, raising the security threat to the Baltic states, defense ministers from Estonia and Lithuania have warned.
The senior political figures highlighted that Russian plans to deploy additional troops close to their borders while also rearming rapidly, the Financial Times wrote.
Claes says he is “waiting impatiently” for NATO’s summit in The Hague in June for Trump to give a sign if the alliance will continue in its current form.
When Belgium’s Willy Claes took over as NATO secretary general in 1994, Bill Clinton was US president, the Cold War had ended and Europe still took American protection for granted.
But now, some 30 years after his brief stint in charge, the fierce anti-European stance of Donald Trump’s administration and its outreach to Russia is making the ex-Belgian foreign minister queasy with nerves.
Russian attack drones struck Kharkiv’s Kyivsky district overnight, causing multiple fires and damage to residential buildings, a kindergarten, and cars.
In the early hours of March 31, Russian forces launched a massive attack on Kharkiv, Ukraine’s. According to the city’s mayor, Ihor Terekhov, all enemy kamikaze drones targeted the city’s Kyivsky district.
The strikes caused fires, and emergency services are working at the scenes. As of 5:55 a.m., a sixth explosion had been reported – preliminarily, again in the same area.
Trump initially slams Putin for questioning Zelensky’s credibility but then shifs focus, warning Zelensky of “big, big problems” over Kyiv’s reluctance to accept a US-proposed rare earth deal.
In the course of one day on Sunday, US President Donald Trump criticized and threatened Russian President Vladimir Putin but later directed his frustration and warnings toward Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelensky.
Initially, Trump expressed anger over Putin questioning Zelensky’s credibility as a negotiating partner.
Finnish President Stubb proposed an April 20 ceasefire deadline with sanctions if Russia refuses or violates it.
Finnish President Alexander Stubb, following his meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, stated that the United States’ patience with Russia is “running out.”
That is according to Yle, Ukrinform reports.
Latest from the Institute for the Study of War.
Key Takeaways from the ISW:
It’s paranoia as usual in the Kremlin as guards search other guards, sewer lines checked, and shots fired in Murmansk on Sunday. The perceived threat of the autocrat’s assassination remains palpable.
One of Vladimir Putin’s luxury Aurus limousines (estimated cost: $356,000) caught fire after an explosion near the Federal Security Service (FSB) headquarters in Moscow on Saturday night, and the Kremlin went to an even higher-alert on the protection of its leader.
The fire was thought to have started in the engine, but soon after, the Aurus limousine’s interior was fully engulfed. Black smoke billowed from the chassis as staff from surrounding restaurants rushed outside to help before emergency services arrived.
“Over more than 300 years, a complex myth has been created around the Battle of Poltava,” said Lyudmyla Shendryk, a guide who has worked at the museum for more than 40 years.
The quiet and echoing rooms of the museum in Poltava, dedicated to an 18th-century battle in central Ukraine, belie a struggle in the war-torn country on how far to go in recasting Russia’s role in history.
The Russian invasion has seen Ukraine step up sweeping “de-colonization” measures, including the removal of symbols of tsarist and Soviet domination.
In a rare sign of solidarity with Kyiv, Trump lashed out at Putin and threatened Russia with more sanctions after the Kremlin leader demanded a new Kyiv government. Trump also hinted at a third term.
In a remarkable change of course on Sunday, US President Donald Trump came to Volodymyr Zelensky’s defense after Kremlin autocrat Vladimir Putin questioned the Ukrainian president’s authority and has dragged his heels on a cease-fire.
According to Kristen Welker, host of NBC’s “Meet the Press” news program, Trump called her on Sunday morning to respond to Putin’s remarks before the weekend that Zelensky should be removed from office as part of the peace process. This angered Kyiv and, apparently, Washington, too.
