By The War Zone | Created at 2025-03-19 00:11:26 | Updated at 2025-03-20 15:23:57
1 day ago
Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to a partial 30-day ceasefire during a hotly anticipated phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump. The tentative agreement calls for a halt to attacks on energy infrastructure if Ukraine does the same. It marks the first time Putin has agreed to pause fighting in the full-on war, now in its third year. Shortly after the two men hung up the phone, Russia launched a new attack on Ukraine.
During the 90-minute call with Trump, the Russian leader “declined for now to agree to a broader 30-day halt in fighting that U.S. and Ukrainian officials had proposed, meaning that the attacks on Ukrainian civilians, cities and ports can continue as the two sides vie for territory,” The New York Times reported. Putin also demanded “an end to all of the military support for Ukraine that the United States and its allies have provided for three years,” the publication added.
A Kremlin readout of the call stated that “the Russian side has identified a number of significant issues related to ensuring effective control over a possible ceasefire along the entire line of contact, the need to stop forced mobilization in Ukraine and the rearmament of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.”
There was no specific mention of a key Putin interest – keeping four Ukrainian regions Russia has previously annexed. Russia currently occupies about 20 percent of Ukraine, including Crimea.
Talking to reporters aboard Air Force One earlier this week, Trump suggested any peace deal could involve Ukraine giving up territory. He also hinted that Kyiv might also have to relinquish the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which Russia captured in the early days of this conflict.
President Trump last night on Air Force One: "I'll be speaking to President Putin on Tuesday…I think we'll be talking about land…We'll be talking about power plants…Dividing up certain assets." pic.twitter.com/jpOpgWiPBA
— CSPAN (@cspan) March 17, 2025The agreement between Washington and Moscow follows one the U.S. worked out last week with Ukraine, which called for a total 30-day ceasefire. You can read more about that here.
The general parameters of a deal calling for a mutual pause on power infrastructure attacks have been bandied about for weeks. After his conversation with Putin, Trump took to his Truth Social platform to laud the agreement even though it was less comprehensive than the one worked out with Zelensky.
“My phone conversation today with President Putin of Russia was a very good and productive one,” Trump stated. “We agreed to an immediate Ceasefire on all Energy and Infrastructure, with an understanding that we will be working quickly to have a Complete Ceasefire and, ultimately, an END to this very horrible War between Russia and Ukraine.“
“Many elements of a Contract for Peace were discussed, including the fact that thousands of soldiers are being killed, and both President Putin and President Zelenskyy would like to see it end,” Trump added. “That process is now in full force and effect, and we will, hopefully, for the sake of Humanity, get the job done!”
https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114184931453780675
Despite being less inclusive than what Ukraine had previously signed off on, the tentative agreement ironed out between Trump and Putin offers benefits for both sides. Russia has launched numerous attacks on Ukraine’s power supply infrastructure while Ukraine has repeatedly struck oil facilities throughout Russia, affecting both the supply for the military and the economy. Any cessation of violence can also act as a first step toward a broader peace agreement and a way to gauge the actions, not words, of all parties involved.
It is unclear at the moment whether Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will agree to it. During a press conference following the Putin-Trump call, he said he had “skepticism” but that “if there is a partial ceasefire, this is a positive result.”
However, hammering home the tenuous nature of these talks, air raid alerts sounded in Kyiv shortly after the two leaders finished their call. That was followed by explosions in the city. Local officials urged people to seek shelter. There were attacks across the country, Zelensky said on X.
“Right now, in many regions, you can literally hear what Russia truly needs. Around 40 ‘Shahed’ drones are in our skies, and air defense is active,” he wrote. “Unfortunately, there have been hits, specifically on civilian infrastructure. A direct hit by a ‘Shahed’ drone on a hospital in Sumy, strikes on cities in the Donetsk region, and attack drones currently in the skies over the Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Sumy, Chernihiv, Poltava, Kharkiv, Kirovohrad, Dnipropetrovsk, and Cherkasy regions. It is these types of nighttime attacks by Russia that destroy our energy sector, our infrastructure, and the normal life of Ukrainians. And the fact that this night is no exception shows that the pressure on Russia must continue for the sake of peace.”
“Today, Putin effectively rejected the proposal for a full ceasefire,” he continued. “It would be right for the world to respond by rejecting any attempts by Putin to prolong the war. Sanctions against Russia. Assistance to Ukraine. Strengthening allies in the free world and working toward security guarantees. And only a real cessation of strikes on civilian infrastructure by Russia, as proof of its willingness to end this war, can bring peace closer.”
Right now, in many regions, you can literally hear what Russia truly needs. Around 40 "Shahed" drones are in our skies, and air defense is active.
Unfortunately, there have been hits, specifically on civilian infrastructure. A direct hit by a "Shahed" drone on a hospital in… pic.twitter.com/TKTeB9gaZy
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Little remains of Ukraine’s salient in Russia’s Kursk region. Controlling about 500 square miles at the zenith of this invasion that began in August, Ukraine now holds just small slivers of land along the border. It was pushed out of the key logistics hub of Sudzha last week after a major Russian counteroffensive.
The Russians overwhelmed Ukraine with superior numbers and glide bombs, regained control of the skies for its drones and got a great deal of help from North Korean troops and equipment.
“Without North Korean troops, Russia cannot even hold onto its own territories with its own army,” said Ruslan Mykula, the co-founder of Deep State, a Ukrainian volunteer project that tracks changes on the front line, told The Washington Post. “These were massive waves of reinforcements, much larger than our group. And the harsh reality is, we simply didn’t have enough ammunition and drones to eliminate them all.”
As we previously reported, North Korea sent about 12,000 troops to help Russia’s Kursk effort. After a temporary pause, they returned to the battlefield, helping Russia achieve most of its goal of eliminating the Ukrainian salient.
Beyond that, Ukrainians complained that Trump’s decision to cut off arms supplies and intelligence products helped speed the Russian advance.
Some Ukrainian troops described some of the withdrawal from Kursk as chaos.
“There have been serious losses; the withdrawal was chaotic in parts, and Russia captured at least dozens of prisoners,” The Economist reported. “But the Ukrainians retreated relatively intact and a sizeable force still remains up to 10km inside Russia, having taken up more defensible positions on high ground.”
"Many junior officers decided to flee, with or without equipment, with some retreating 15km on foot. It is not clear whether they all had orders to do so, but their decisions probably made the pullback less damaging…
"There have been serious losses; the withdrawal was chaotic… pic.twitter.com/zJTiVy2yLV
There were few gains elsewhere on the battlefield. Here are some of the key takeaways from the latest Institute for the Study of War assessment:
- Kharkiv: Russian forces continued offensive operations in northern Kharkiv Oblast on March 17 but did not advance.
- Luhansk: Russian forces continued offensive operations in the Borova, Lyman and Kupyansk directions on March 17 but did not make any confirmed advances.
- Donetsk: Russian forces recently advanced in the Velyka Novosilka direction while both sides made gains around Toretsk. Russian forces continued offensive operations in the Chasiv Yar, Kurakhove, Pokrovsk and Siversk directions on March 17 but did not advance.
- Zaporizhzhia: Russian forces recently advanced in western Zaporizhia Oblast.
- Kherson: Neither Ukrainian nor Russian sources reported fighting in the Kherson direction on March 17.
Ukrainian forces recently advanced near Toretsk, and Russian forces recently advanced near Toretsk and Velyka Novosilka and in western Zaporizhia Oblast.
Russian forces continued ground operations to push Ukrainian forces from their remaining positions in Kursk Oblast on March… https://t.co/Xx5S1gfYaO pic.twitter.com/PFeYMd9hsE
Top Ukrainian and South Korean diplomats held phone discussions to discuss the repatriation of North Korean prisoners of war, according to the South Korean Yonhap News Agency, citing Seoul’s foreign ministry.
Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul “discussed the handling of the two North Korean soldiers captured by Ukraine with his Ukrainian counterpart, Andrii Sybiha, over the phone,” the publication reported. “Cho told Sybiha that the captured soldiers are considered South Korean citizens under the country’s Constitution, and will accept their defection if they express such intent.”
Seoul, Kyiv discuss transfer of North Korean POWs to South Korea
Under South Korean law, Seoul considers two Pyongyang soldiers captured in January as South Korean citizens, in line with its recognition of all North Korean residents.https://t.co/jlJFaHZ9ca
There are unconfirmed claims from the Russian Defense Ministry (MoD) and Telegram channels that Ukrainian forces have staged a ground incursion into Russia’s Belgorod region.
“In order to create a negative background around the negotiations between the presidents of the Russian Federation and the United States on the settlement of the hostilities in Ukraine planned for the evening of March 18, 2025, the Kyiv regime attempted to invade Russian territory at morning (5.50 a.m.) in the western part of Belgorod region near Demidovka and Prilesye to discredit the peace initiatives of U.S. President Donald Trump,” the Russian MoD claimed on Telegram. “The Russian Federation prevented all attempts to cross the state border. The enemy suffered severe losses. The provocation of the Kyiv regime was thwarted.”
“The enemy attempted to invade the territory of the Belgorod region in the areas of the settlements of Grafovka and Prilesye,” the Russian Operation Z Telegram channel stated Tuesday.
According to Operation Z, Ukrainian forces attacked in three groups under the cover of tanks and mine-clearing equipment “to make passages in the minefields” of the Northern group of Russian troops.
“The infantry rode on quad bikes under the cover of tanks and artillery. Objective control footage proves that the situation is under the complete control of the Northerners,” Operation Z stated, adding that the incursion was repelled.
Belgorod’s regional governor complained of intense Ukrainian drone and artillery attacks.
https://twitter.com/search?q=belgorod&src=typed_query
A retired high-ranking Ukrainian officer dismissed the incursion claim.
“I do know only about our [drone] attacks on Belgorod overnight,” the retired officer told The War Zone. “If you are talking about land component attacks there, it is routine business as usual I am told, nothing special including ops.”
Zelensky claimed his country has successfully tested a drone that can hit targets up to 3,000 km (about 1,860 miles) away. That would make it the longest-range weapon in the Ukrainian arsenal.
“I am grateful to the developers and manufacturers,” he said during his evening announcement on Monday. “We are advancing a line of long-range capabilities that will help guarantee the security of our state.”
He provided no specifications, a name or even imagery of the drone.
Zelensky also touted the Long Neptune, an indigenously developed variant of the Neptune anti-ship missile converted into a ground attack cruise missile with a range of about 600 miles.
Long Neptune is the latest phase in the development of a long-range strike weapon we were the first to write about in August of 2023.
Ukraine’s Defense Forces receive long-range version of the "Neptune" missile
A fully developed cruise missile based on the "Neptune" anti-ship missile has successfully passed testing. Now, Ukraine’s Defense Forces have missiles capable of striking targets up to 1,000 kilometers… pic.twitter.com/x5rZEeKJBZ
There are claims that Long Neptune was first used last week to strike the Tuapse Oil Refinery in Russia, located about 280 miles from the frontline.
“We can say we are satisfied with the strike results,” Zelensky said. “However, we need to produce more missiles, more drones, and this week, we will discuss this with our partners.”
Today, Ukraine 🇺🇦 carried out its furthest missile strike of the war, using a Ukrainian Neptune Cruise Missile to strike the Tuapse Oil Refinery in Russia, located 450km from the frontline
The Neptune Cruise Missile has been successfully tested with a range of +500km to 1,000km pic.twitter.com/0jmGVp97Uo
Ukraine has run out of its supply of U.S.-donated MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missiles, according to The Associated Press.
The U.S. provided fewer than 40 of those missiles overall and that Ukraine ran out of them in late January, a U.S. official told the wire service. Senior U.S. defense leaders, including the previous Pentagon chief, Lloyd Austin, had made it clear that only a limited number of the ATACMs would be delivered and that the U.S. and NATO allies considered other weapons to be more valuable in the fight.
They were delivered to Ukraine after great debate and first used in August 2023 against Russian targets in occupied territory. The Biden administration ultimately allowed Ukraine to use them on targets inside Russia 13 months later.
You can read more about what ATACMS offered Ukraine in our in-depth story here.
⚡️Ukraine out of ATACMS missiles, AP reports.
The U.S. sent Ukraine less than 40 long-range ATACMS in total, a U.S. official told the AP. According to the official, Kyiv ran out of the missiles in January.https://t.co/BlFuK6ocd0
Ukraine has approved the use of the Lyut uncrewed ground vehicle (UGV) for use by its troops.
The Lyut is a combat-tested electric-powered four-wheeled UGV armed with a 7.62 caliber machine gun and sensors allowing it to operate day or night, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry (MoD) claimed in its approval announcement. The UGV is designed “to perform a wide range of tasks in difficult conditions, in particular, to conduct surveillance and fire support for the actions of our units.”
Back in September, soldiers of the UA_REG unit of the Special Operations Forces “conducted a complex attack using the Lyut near the village of Volfyne in the Kursk region,” according to the Ukrainian Militarnyi media outlet. “FPV drones and a mortar were also involved in the attack. As a result of the battle, some of the Russian soldiers were eliminated, the rest retreated. The ground drone received several hits from a hand-held anti-tank grenade launcher, but it survived, completed the task and successfully returned.”
🔴 Ukraine deploys its first “Lyut” robot soldier! Equipped with a 7.62mm machine gun and night vision, it boosts frontline firepower while keeping soldiers safe. https://t.co/UJAaN8TjKZ
— UNITED24 Media (@United24media) March 18, 2025Speaking of UGVs, a Russian soldier recently intimated that the first battle between Ukrainian and Russian UGVs has already taken place.
During a demonstration of a tracked UGV armed with a machine gun, the soldier said one of his country’s UGVs destroyed a Ukrainian variant.
“There have been cases of defeat of such equipment of the enemy wheeled base,” the soldier said. “Our technique got on such a machine of the enemy, they certainly did not expect, well, and we hit it perfectly.”
He did not say where or when this engagement took place.
The Ukrainian Sky Defenders drone company introduced a new variant of its ZigZag drones with four shotgun barrels mounted on the nose. The drone is designed to take down Russian drones, but can also be used to attack targets on the ground.
The twin-engine, catapult-launched shotgun-firing ZigZags are the latest iteration of Ukrainian drones armed with shotguns and automatic rifles already seeing combat, the Ukrainian Militarnyi media outlet noted.
The drone features a 360-degree rotating camera gimbal, which enhances target acquisition during flight.
Just as Russian drones helped turn the tide in Kursk, Ukraine has used its drones to help stop Russian advances in the eastern part of the country. Russian troops have been pinned down by Ukraine’s drones, making maneuver and supply very difficult.
1/ Ukrainian drones are dominating the skies above exhausted Russian soldiers in the Donetsk region, according to a prominent Russian warblogger. As a result, Russia's progress has virtually halted in the region, even as it advances in Kursk. ⬇️https://t.co/0GXQB06e9n
— ChrisO_wiki (@ChrisO_wiki) March 11, 2025A Russian volunteer bemoaned the success of Ukraine’s large industrial quadcopter drones, nicknamed by the Russians “Baba Yagas” (a reference to the ferocious old woman who eats children in Slavic folklore). They are also known as Vampire heavy drone bombers.
The volunteer noted how Ukrainians use Mavic and other drones during the day to find and track targets, then attack at night with the Baba Yaga/Vampire drones. These are equipped with Starlink internet systems for communications, advanced antennae to overcome jamming and fly pre-determined routes with manual control “at key moments or when striking.”
You can read more about these weapons here.
A Russian volunteer describes the operational specifics of Ukraine's heavy "Vampire" drone bombers, whose primary targets include artillery crews, tanks, and command posts. He notes that the Ukrainian Armed Forces have serious systematic developments in this field, giving them a… pic.twitter.com/7ZGjoxL4td
— WarTranslated (@wartranslated) March 16, 2025Ukraine released video showing one of its German-donated IRIS-T surface-to-air defense systems launching an effector that took down a Russian cruise missile. Ukraine has received two types of IRIS-T-based systems from Germany. The IRIS-T SLS is for short-range protection while the IRIS-T SLM is for medium-range. Both fire variants of the IRIS-T missile were originally designed for air-to-air applications. Germany’s Diehl Defense makes the IRIS-T. Ukraine has received about a dozen of both variants.
Footage of a German-supplied IRIS-T SAM system in Ukrainian service knocking down a Russian cruise missile over western Ukraine this morning. pic.twitter.com/bqu15j56KI
— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) March 12, 2025A call has gone out on social media for more U.S.-donated Humvee-based Avenger short-range air defense (SHORAD) systems to be delivered to Ukraine. The Avengers, which can fire Stinger heat-seeking surface-to-air missiles and engage air and ground targets with an onboard .50 caliber machine gun, were first delivered to Ukraine in late 2022.
The Avenger Air Defense System is highly effective against UAVs. Ukraine 🇺🇦 needs Avengers, and the US 🇺🇸 has hundreds in storage but only sent ~20 to Ukraine
The US has 900 to 975 Avengers available today, with many, ~450 Avengers, sitting in storage, according to estimates pic.twitter.com/Nwx3880p0D
The Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation released a video compilation of four first-person view (FPV) drones attacking Russian Pantsir-S1 air defense systems.
The video shows the drones approaching the Pantsirs until the feed cuts off, presumably at the moment of impact. The video ends with a drone’s eye view of one of the Pantsirs after it was hit.
Russia showed off a U.S.-donated M1 Abrams tank that it captured from Ukraine in Kursk in December. A video shows it being struck by two FPV drones while still pictures show Russian troops near it. Of the 31 Abrams tanks donated to Ukraine, at least 19 are out of commission, according to the Oryx open-source tracking group. That figure includes at least eight destroyed and one captured previously. That figure could be higher because Oryx only tabulates losses for which it has visual confirmation.
A damaged and abandoned Ukrainian M1A1SA "Abrams" captured by the orcs, The tank ws knocked out on December 11, on the road between Malaya Loknya and Leonidovo, Kursk region
51.327552, 35.145835 pic.twitter.com/NUoHjhXmQV
The following video shows Russians towing that tank.
Another video showed an Abrams that was destroyed in Kursk.
Russian Federation 🇷🇺.
Major offensive in the Kursk region.
The Russian Ministry of Defense published a footage of a disabled US Army M1A1 Abrams tank in Kursk . The US Army M1A1 Abrams tank was captured by the Russian Armed Forces & was taken for evaluation.
😍😍😍🫡🫡🫡💞💞💞 pic.twitter.com/GjnL9vjMEA
An image emerged on social media of a fairly intact Stryker Infantry Command Vehicle (ICV) abandoned by Ukraine recently. A Russian soldier is seen walking near the Stryker.
The ICV, armed with a 50-cal machine gun, is one of 10 Styker variants. The U.S. has provided more than 400 Strykers to Ukraine, according to the Pentagon. So far, Ukraine has lost at least 39, or about 10%, according to Oryx. Of those, at least 26 were destroyed and at least three were captured.
Skeet shooting is a widely popular sport enjoyed by many seeking temporary refuge from life’s woes by blasting little clay discs out of the sky with shotguns. In Ukraine, however, there is a far more serious purpose for busting clays. Troops there are using it to learn how to track and successfully shoot down Russian drones.
And finally, we have written frequently about so-called metal cope-cages and other add-on armor both sides have used to protect their vehicles especially from drone strikes. Images emerged on social media showing how they worked as designed on a Ukrainian Kozak-5 armored personnel carrier. The images show a munition, possibly dropped by a drone, stuck in the metal slat covering the passenger’s front windshield without detonating. Of course, luck most likely played a role too, since had the warhead detonated, the vehicle could have suffered damage.
That’s it for now.
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