Last news • War in Ukraine
Russia seeks to extend peace talks to strengthen its place – media
Russia seeks to delay negotiations with the intention to occupy extra Ukrainian territories. The Kremlin hopes that the West will pressure Kyiv to provide Kherson and Zaporizhzhia areas to Russia.
The Black Sea Initiative is a key subject in ongoing U.S.-Russia talks in Riyadh, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed on March 24, state-owned media outlet TASS reported.
"The matter of the Black Sea Initiative and all the things associated to the initiative's renewal are on the agenda right this moment," Peskov mentioned. He added that Russian President Vladimir Putin can be instantly briefed on the outcomes of the consultations.
The talks, which started on March 24, are a part of U.S. President Donald Trump's ongoing push for a ceasefire and broader peace settlement in Ukraine. U.S. and Ukrainian officers are anticipated to carry a follow-up assembly after the U.S.-Russia discussions.
An identical association to the one mentioned beforehand existed underneath the Black Sea Grain Initiative, a 2022 deal brokered by the U.N. and Turkey that allowed Ukraine to export agricultural merchandise through the Black Sea regardless of the continuing battle.
The settlement helped stabilize international meals costs however collapsed in July 2023 when Moscow withdrew. Since then, Russian forces have repeatedly focused Ukrainian port infrastructure. A Russian ballistic missile struck Odesa's port on March 1, damaging amenities and a Panamanian-flagged civilian ship.
A number of different overseas vessels have been hit, together with in October 2024, when a number of ships sustained injury in separate Russian strikes.
Russian International Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova downplayed the assembly's expectations, saying the negotiations "shouldn’t be anticipated to supply a breakthrough" and that work is ongoing in "a number of instructions," the pro-state media outlet Kommersant quoted her as saying.
In accordance with Reuters, the U.S. delegation in Riyadh is led by Andrew Peek, a senior director on the Nationwide Safety Council, and Michael Anton, a senior State Division official.
Russian representatives embody Grigory Karasin, the Federation Council Committee on Worldwide Affairs chairman, and Sergei Beseda, an advisor to FSB director Alexander Bortnikov.
Karasin later described the talks as continuing in a "inventive approach," saying the U.S. and Russian delegations "perceive one another's views," the Russian pro-government information company Interfax quoted him as saying.
The negotiations come amid rising considerations that Moscow is intentionally stalling peace efforts to strengthen its place. The Kremlin claimed final week that it had ordered a 30-day halt to strikes on Ukraine's vitality infrastructure following a telephone name between Trump and Putin.
Kyiv supported a mutual halt on vitality strikes however later accused Russia of continuous assaults towards Ukraine's civilian targets.
On March 21, Russia additionally accused Ukraine of shelling the Sudzha gasoline metering station in Kursk Oblast, a key transit facility for Russian gasoline exports to Europe. Ukraine's Common Workers denied the declare, accusing Moscow of staging a provocation.
The U.S. and Ukraine initially supported a broader 30-day ceasefire that would come with halting floor operations, however Russia rejected the proposal except it included circumstances undermining Ukraine's protection capabilities, corresponding to a suspension of overseas army assist.
The Moscow Instances reported on March 24 that Russia is intentionally prolonging peace talks on Ukraine to grab extra territory and strengthen its negotiating place with the U.S.
The Kyiv IndependentTim Zadorozhnyy
Zelenskyy known as on the US Vice President to rethink the choice relating to the go to to Ukraine
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy invited US Vice President J. D. Vance to go to Ukraine throughout the struggle.
A Russian Su-25 assault plane crashed throughout a routine coaching flight in Primorye Krai in Russia's Far East, the Russian Protection Ministry mentioned on March 24.
The pilot efficiently ejected and was rescued by a search and rescue crew, in keeping with state-owned information company TASS. A Russian Air Drive fee has been dispatched to research the incident.
"In accordance with preliminary info, the reason for the accident was a technical malfunction," the ministry mentioned in an announcement.
The assault plane was reportedly with out ammunition, so there was no injury on the bottom, the report mentioned.
The Su-25, a Soviet-designed close-air assist plane developed by Sukhoi within the late Nineteen Seventies, is constructed for battlefield survivability. It options heavy armor and may face up to enemy fireplace.
The plane has been broadly utilized in numerous conflicts, together with in Afghanistan, Chechnya, and, extra lately, in Ukraine, the place each Russian and Ukrainian forces function the platform.
Ukraine has downed a number of Russian Su-25s all through the battle. On Feb. 8, Ukraine's army reported capturing down a Russian Su-25 close to the city of Toretsk in Donetsk Oblast.
The Kyiv IndependentTim Zadorozhnyy
The Ministry of Protection introduced a rise within the variety of functions to recruitment facilities
Over the previous week, 1,226 residents utilized to recruitment facilities. Essentially the most energetic areas when it comes to the quantity of people that joined the Armed Forces are Lviv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Zaporizhia areas and Kyiv.
The Chinese language Overseas Ministry has denied claims within the media that it’s contemplating collaborating in a doable peacekeeping mission in Ukraine, China's state-run newspaper World Instances reported on March 24.
The German information outlet Die Welt reported on March 22 that, based on its undisclosed diplomatic sources, Beijing is contemplating becoming a member of the peacekeeping drive as a part of the European-led "coalition of the keen" to safe a ceasefire in Ukraine.
In response to a journalist's query in regards to the story, Chinese language Overseas Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun mentioned at a press briefing that the claims had been fully unfaithful.
The peacekeeping mission, spearheaded by the U.Okay. and France, goals to make sure Ukraine's safety in case of a ceasefire by deploying international troops on the bottom, in addition to aerial and naval help.
Particulars of the mission stay unclear as talks inside the "coalition of the keen" are ongoing. The dialogue comes as U.S. President Donald Trump pushes to dealer a ceasefire in Ukraine whereas rejecting the opportunity of taking a direct half within the European-led mission.
Beijing claims to be a impartial get together within the Russia-Ukraine struggle regardless of being an in depth financial and political accomplice with Moscow. China has performed a big function in serving to Russia resist the influence of Western sanctions and have become its main supply of dual-use items used for army functions.
Formally, China has denied offering army help to both facet and confused the necessity for a peaceable answer.
The Kyiv IndependentMartin Fornusek
DIU: Russians stole no less than 164 artifacts from occupied Crimea
GUR printed knowledge on 14 Russian museum employees concerned within the theft of Ukrainian valuables. 164 artifacts discovered throughout excavations had been taken from occupied Crimea.
At the very least 4 individuals have been killed and 13 others injured in Russian assaults throughout Ukraine over the previous day, regional officers reported on March 24.
Ukraine's air defenses intercepted 57 of the 99 Russian drones launched in a single day, together with Shahed-type assault drones. One other 36 drones reportedly disappeared from radars earlier than reaching their targets, doubtless appearing as decoys to overwhelm Ukraine's air defenses.
Ukrainian anti-aircraft missile models, digital warfare methods, aviation, and cellular hearth teams repelled the assault.
In Donetsk Oblast, two residents have been killed — one in Pokrovsk and one other within the village of Donetske. Two others have been injured, Governor Vadym Filashkin stated.
In Sumy Oblast, Russian assaults killed two civilians, wounded one other, destroyed a home, and broken an academic establishment, the regional army administration reported.
A 25-year-old pregnant girl and a 25-year-old man suffered blast accidents from a Russian drone assault in Kharkiv Oblast.
Each have been hospitalized, Governor Oleh Syniehubov stated. A 55-year-old man was additionally injured by a drone strike within the area and was hospitalized with a blast wound.
In Kherson Oblast, 4 individuals have been injured as Russian forces attacked crucial and social infrastructure, hitting residential areas. The assaults broken a high-rise constructing and 25 homes, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported.
In Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, a 35-year-old man was injured in a Russian assault. The strike additionally broken a medical facility, a kindergarten, an administrative constructing, an industrial enterprise, three residence buildings, and a automobile, Governor Serhii Lysak stated.
A 37-year-old man sustained superficial shrapnel wounds to the stomach, chest, thighs, and head in a Russian assault on Kyiv Oblast, Governor Mykola Kalashnyk reported.
A lady was additionally injured in a Russian assault on the town of Zaporizhzhia, Zaporizhzhia Oblast Governor Ivan Fedorov stated.
The Kyiv IndependentLucy Pakhnyuk
The enemy continues makes an attempt to interrupt via the border in Sumy area: Demchenko on the scenario on the border
Russian troops are attempting to interrupt via the border close to Novenkoye and Zhuravka, however Ukrainian defenders are destroying them. DRGs have additionally change into extra lively, attacking the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Russia launched a drone assault in opposition to Kyiv Oblast on the evening of March 24, injuring a person and inflicting harm to residential and industrial properties, appearing Governor Mykola Kalashnyk reported.
A 37-year-old man within the Fastiv district sustained shrapnel wounds to the stomach, chest, thighs, and head, Kalashnyk mentioned. He has been hospitalized and is receiving medical consideration.
“All needed medical help is being supplied,” Kalashnyk said.
The assault additionally broken two personal homes and sparked a hearth at a industrial enterprise, which firefighters have since extinguished.
No different casualties have been reported. Kalashnyk added that extra detailed info shall be supplied later.
This comes following a mass drone assault on Kyiv the evening prior, through which three folks have been killed and ten others have been injured, in line with the Kyiv Metropolis Army Administration. The fatalities have been the primary in Kyiv in additional than two months.
Russian forces have elevated their drone assaults on Ukraine's capital and surrounding area in current months, frequently launching dozens of assault drones in direction of Kyiv.
The Kyiv IndependentChris York