Ukraine updates: Starmer seeks support in coalition call

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is expected to seek concrete commitments from around 25 world leaders today on supporting Ukraine and increasing pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to end Russia's war in Ukraine. 

In opening remarks, he said that Putin would "sooner or later" have to "come to the table."

This comes after Starmer accused Putin of not being serious about securing a ceasefire with Ukraine.

Below you can review a round-up of significant developments concerning Russia's war in Ukraine from Saturday, March 15.

03/15/2025March 15, 2025

Russia says it has retaken two more Kursk villages

Russia's Defense Ministry has said its troops have taken control of two more villages in the Kursk border region where Ukrainian forces had seized some 100 settlements amid an incursion launched in August.

The ministry said the villages of Zaoleshenka and Rubanshchina were now once more under Russian control.

The news comes after Russia announced earlier in the week that it had retaken the main town of Sudzha.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Saturday that time was running out for Ukrainian troops in Kursk and that an offer made by Russian President Vladimir Putin to spare their lives if they surrendered would not stand indefinitely.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has indicated that the Ukrainian army would have to withdraw from the region.

"The situation is very difficult. I can only thank our fighters for this operation, which has fulfilled its task," he told journalists.

However, several independent sources have said that Russia's claim to have encircled Ukrainian troops in Kursk, which had been repeated by US President Donald Trump, is false and that Kyiv's forces are carrying out an orderly retreat.

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Overnight aerial attacks continue unabated amid ceasefire negotiations

Russia and Ukraine both carried out aerial attacks on each other overnight to Saturday, despite the ongoing deliberations over a US-proposed 30-day ceasefire.

The attacks come less than 24 hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin met with US envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow to discuss details of the ceasefire amid Moscow's full-scale invasion of its neighbor.

Russia's Defense Ministry said it had shot down 126 Ukrainian drones.

Of these, 64 were destroyed over the southern Volgograd region, it said. It said drones were also shot down over the Voronezh, Belgorod, Bryansk, Rostov and Kursk regions.

The governor of the city of Volgograd, the region's administrative center, confirmed that debris from drones had caused a fire in the Krasnoarmeysky district of the city close to a Lukoil oil refinery but gave no further details.

Ukraine's air force said Saturday that Russia had sent 178 drones to attack the country overnight, with 130 shot down and 38 more losing their way and missing their targets, which is often a consequence of electronic jamming operations.  

It said the attacks deployed a mixture of Shahed-type attack drones and imitation drones that are meant to confuse air defenses.

Ukraine's largest private energy provider, DTEK, said the air strikes had damaged its energy facilities in the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa regions, leaving some households without power.

Russia has carried out a series of massive aerial attacks on Ukraine in the more than three years of its invasion, many of them targeting the country's energy infrastructure.

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UK's Starmer slams Kremlin ahead of hosting 'coalition of the willing' meeting

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is expected to hold a video call with up to 25 world leaders whose countries might join in a "coalition of the willing" that could take part in any peacekeeping operation in Ukraine.

During Saturday's call, the leaders will receive updates from countries on the aid they could provide toward ensuring that any peace holds in Ukraine.

Starmer earlier had harsh words to say about the Russian response to an unconditional ceasefire proposal put forward by the US administration and agreed to by Kyiv.

Moscow has answered by setting out a number of conditions it wants fulfilled before any ceasefire goes into effect, including that Ukraine should promise abandon attempts to join NATO and cede control of regions seized by Russia during its full-scale invasion

In remarks made after talking to the French and Norwegian leaders on Friday afternoon, Starmer said:  "We can't allow [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin to play games with [US] President [Donald] Trump's deal."

"The Kremlin's complete disregard for President Trump's ceasefire proposal only serves to demonstrate that Putin is not serious about peace," he added, saying Putin was trying to delay.

"My message to the Kremlin could not be clearer: Stop the barbaric attacks on Ukraine, once and for all, and agree to a ceasefire now. Until then we will keep working around the clock to deliver peace."
 

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Recap of Friday's developments

The European Union extended sanctions against some 2,400 more Russian entities and individuals over the war in Ukraine, in an effort to increase pressure on Moscow. 

On the other hand, Trump said his envoy had a "very good and productive" discussion with Putin and that there was a "very good chance" that the "horrible, bloody war" would soon come to an end. 

Trump said that Russian forces had completely surrounded Ukrainian troops and that Russia was advancing in Kursk. Trump urged Putin to "spare" the lives of Ukrainian soldiers. 

In response, Zelenskyy said that Putin would not end the war out of his own initiative, but "the strength of America is enough to make it happen."

Meanwhile Putin called on Ukrainian soldiers in the Kursk region to surrender.

You can read about Friday's updates in depth here.

03/15/2025March 15, 2025

Welcome to our coverage

United Kingdom's Prime Minister Keir Starmer is set to convene the second meeting — virtual this time — of the 'coalition of the willing' to discuss the developments in Russia's war in Ukraine and to call for their support to increase pressure on Russia to accept a 30-day ceasefire. 

The coalition largely consists of European nations but also includes Canada, Australia and New Zealand, as well as NATO and EU officials. It was formed in the aftermath of the dramatic blowout between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House. 

Relations between Washington and Kyiv have since improved partially as Trump attempts to convince Russia to agree to a 30-day ceasefire — one that Ukraine has agreed to already. 

The call is expected to gauge how countries can help Ukraine in terms of military and finance along with a possible future peacekeeping mission. 

"If Russia finally comes to the table, then we must be ready to monitor a ceasefire to ensure it is a serious, and enduring peace," Starmer is set to tell leaders, in remarks released by his office ahead of the meeting. 

"If they don't, then we need to strain every sinew to ramp up economic pressure on Russia to secure an end to this war," he will say today.