U.S. National Security Adviser Mike Waltz said on March 23 that the topic of Ukrainian children illegally abducted by Russia will likely be discussed at the peace talks, adding that they will serve as "confidence building measures" for negotiations.
In an interview with Fox News on March 23, U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff discussed negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, expressing his optimism about Russian President Vladimir Putin's commitment to peace.
"Russia's systematic and deliberate terror against civilians contradicts its own statements about peace and undermines peace efforts by the US and other partners," Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on X.
The attacks hit multiple high-rise apartment buildings in the city, causing fires and evacuations. At least two people were killed, Ukraine's State Emergency Service reported.
The White House still believes it could achieve a truce by Easter, a symbolic date as both Western and Orthodox celebrations overlap this year, although it's prepared for a delay given the current impasse, sources told Bloomberg.
"I don't think there's anybody in the world that's going to stop (Putin) except me," Trump said shortly before three people were killed in Kyiv by Russian drones.
"It seems to me that everything has stopped ... the topic has moved from Starlink to the statements of and about the person," Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said.
"The inclusion of China in a 'coalition of the willing' could potentially increase Russia's acceptance of peacekeeping forces in Ukraine," an unnamed EU diplomatic source reportedly told Die Welt.
A U.S. technical team will meet with the Ukrainian delegation in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on March 23, a day before the U.S. plans to mediate "indirect talks" with Ukraine and Russia.
President Volodymyr Zelensky visited front-line troops and held a military command meeting in Kharkiv Oblast on March 22, as Ukraine prepares for a meeting with U.S. officials in Saudi Arabia on March 23.
"A stable energy supply is a condition for the functioning of the economy, critical infrastructure, social and other spheres of life in Ukraine," Deputy Energy Minister Roman Andarak said on March 22.
"If there is a strong group of European nations willing to provide security guarantees to Ukraine, my strong conviction is that (the) Czech Republic should be among them," Czech President Petr Pavel said on March 22.
Russian senator Grigory Karasin, who will lead Moscow’s delegation, told local Zvezda TV that he and FSB advisor Sergey Beseda would enter the negotiations with a "combative and constructive" approach.
Russia attacked the city of Zaporizhzhia on the evening of March 21, killing three people, regional governor Ivan Fedorov reported. The rescue operation concluded at around 1:00 a.m. local time.