Emergency personnel assess the damage and deal with the aftermath of a fire following a Russian strike in Sumy, Ukraine on March 19, 2025.
State Emergency Service of Ukraine | Anadolu | Getty Images
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Wednesday his intention to engage in discussions with White House leader Donald Trump, as both Moscow and Kyiv reported attacks that occurred overnight, just hours after the Kremlin consented to a Washington-mediated partial ceasefire.
“Today I will speak with President Trump. We will go over the specifics of our next steps. Our teams had a productive meeting in Jeddah. Everything seemed to go well, except for Russia, which isn’t pleased whenever things progress positively,” Zelenskyy stated on Wednesday during a press conference in Helsinki, as reported by Ukrainian news outlet Ukrinform through Google translation.
On Tuesday, Moscow and Kyiv seemed to have made a breakthrough, with Russian President Vladimir Putin agreeing to a U.S.-facilitated immediate ceasefire targeting specific objectives — a more limited truce than initially discussed by Trump and Zelenskyy, yet a significant initial step towards reducing the relentless fighting that has plagued Ukraine for over three years.
“We have agreed to an immediate ceasefire concerning all Energy and Infrastructure,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post following his Tuesday conversation with Putin, emphasizing that this agreement paves the way for broader discussions about a permanent ceasefire to begin in the Middle East.
However, both Moscow and Kyiv quickly reported continued clashes within hours of the ceasefire announcement, with the Kremlin alleging that Ukraine attacked an oil depot in the Krasnodar region with drones shortly after the Trump-Putin call, according to a Google-translated update from the Russian Ministry of Defense on Telegram. Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov remarked that there was no sign of reciprocation from Kyiv in adhering to the 30-day ceasefire, which he emphasized pertains solely to energy facilities and not other types of infrastructure, as per comments translated by Russian state outlet Tass.
In Ukraine, officials in the northeastern region of Sumy stated in a Google-translated Telegram update that local hospital buildings were damaged during “massive air attacks” executed by Russian drones. Additionally, Kyiv officials reported damage to 18 homes, 20 townhouse apartments, and 19 vehicles from an overnight assault, with Zelenskyy urging for increased pressure on Russia in a Google-translated social media message.
“These night attacks by Russia devastate our energy systems, our infrastructure, and disrupt the daily lives of Ukrainians. The fact that this night was no exception shows that we must keep applying pressure on Russia in the pursuit of peace,” he commented.
Reports of ongoing hostilities expose the delicate nature of trust between the conflicting parties, amidst skepticism from analysts regarding Moscow’s commitment to peace, even under the auspices of Washington’s mediation.
Both Moscow and Kyiv have sought to win the unpredictable support of Trump, who distanced himself from his predecessor Joe Biden’s administration earlier this year by improving relations with a predominantly isolated Kremlin — though he briefly halted military support for Ukraine after a contentious interaction with Zelenskyy at the White House. Since then, the U.S. and Ukraine have reached ceasefire terms contingent on Russia’s acceptance.
Moscow’s prior conditions have included Ukraine’s capitulation of four regions that were unlawfully annexed during the conflict and Kyiv’s abandonment of its NATO aspirations, which the Kremlin views as a security threat. In contrast, Kyiv has shown reluctance to concede territory and is instead seeking security guarantees that Russia will not resume its military actions in the future.
“The persistence of Putin’s demands for Ukraine to surrender indicates that he is not genuinely interested in negotiating in good faith to achieve Trump’s articulated objective of securing a lasting peace in Ukraine,” stated the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War on Wednesday, adding that they “continue to assess that Putin is attempting to leverage the temporary ceasefire proposal to extract preemptive concessions ahead of formal negotiations aimed at concluding the war.”
