Key developments on March 8-9:
- Trump won't resume Ukraine military aid after signing minerals deal, NBC News reports
- Ukraine releases video of Russian attack via gas pipeline in Kursk Oblast
- Ukrainian drone reportedly attacks oil depot in Russia's Chuvashia for first time
- France to provide $211 million in military aid to Ukraine backed by frozen Russian assets
- Zelensky names delegation for meeting with US in Saudi Arabia
- US shares intelligence with Ukraine for defense, not for attacks on Russian troops, CNN reports
U.S. President Donald Trump has privately made it clear to his aides that he will not resume providing military aid and intelligence to Ukraine even if Kyiv and Washington sign a minerals deal, NBC News reported on March 9, citing an unnamed Trump administration official and another American official.
U.S. and Ukrainian delegations are planning to meet in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on March 11 to discuss the framework for a potential peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia.
Trump wants to see a change in President Volodymyr Zelensky's stance toward peace talks with Russia and a willingness to make concessions such as giving up occupied territories to Russia, the sources told NBC News.
The U.S. president also reportedly wants Zelensky to make some steps toward elections in Ukraine and possibly step down.
The news comes amid rising tensions between Ukraine and the U.S., as Trump escalates pressure on Zelensky to expedite a peace process.
The tensions culminated in a confrontation during a meeting in the White House Oval Office on Feb. 28 after Zelensky had flown to the U.S. to sign a minerals agreement with the U.S. After being insulted by Trump and his Vice President JD Vance, Zelensky returned to Ukraine without signing the deal.
Since that meeting, Washington has halted its military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine.
Previously, Trump called Zelensky a "dictator," echoing Russian narratives about the democratically elected Ukrainian leader's legitimacy.
Elections are banned in Ukraine during martial law, which has been in force since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022.
Politico reported that Trump's team has been leading secret talks with former Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko and another opposition leader, Yuliia Tymoshenko. The two opposition leaders reportedly tried to position themselves as more flexible partners for the U.S. than Zelensky.
Following the Oval Office clash, Zelensky's approval rating has risen to 68%, according to a poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology published on March 7.
Sonya Bandouil
Ukraine releases video of Russian attack via gas pipeline in Kursk Oblast
Ukrainian troops had repelled an attack by Russian sabotage and assault groups that used a gas pipeline to gain a foothold on the outskirts of Sudzha in Russia's Kursk Oblast, Ukraine's General Staff reported on March 8, releasing footage of the engagement.
The announcement came amid reports that Russian forces had made a breakthrough south of the Ukrainian-held town of Sudzha and tried to breach the Russia-Ukraine border in Sumy Oblast earlier this week. Ukrainian troops fighting in Kursk Oblast told the Kyiv Independent on March 7 that Russia had destroyed their supply chains for ammunition and food, and they faced encirclement.
After Ukrainian airborne assault troops spotted the Russian forces, they launched missile, artillery, and drones to stop the assault, the General Staff said.
"At the moment, Russian special forces are being detected, blocked and destroyed. Enemy losses in the Sudzha area are very heavy," the military claimed on the evening of March 8.
0:00/1:301×The footage shared on March 8, 2025, purporting to show Ukrainian forces repelling a Russian attack in Russia's Kursk Oblast (Ukraine's Air Assault Forces/Telegram)
Ukrainian troops repelled 44 Russian attacks in Kursk Oblast over the past day, the General Staff said in its latest update on March 9.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify these claims.
The press service for Kursk military command told the Kyiv Independent on March 8 that "the most large-scale" Russian assault operations have occurred in the direction from the settlement of Korenevo toward Sudzha, as well as in the areas of Novoivanovka, Malaya Loknya, and south of Sudzha.
The Ukrainian military described the situation as "difficult" but under control, saying that Russia involved North Korean soldiers in the attack.
Ukraine launched a surprise cross-border incursion into Russia's Kursk Oblast in August 2024. After six months of fighting in the region, Russian troops have regained control of about 64% of the territory in the region, the Russian military claimed.
Kyiv has sought to maintain its position in the Russian border region as leverage for possible peace talks.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
Ukraine drone reportedly attacks oil depot in Russia's Chuvashia for first time
A Ukrainian drone attacked an oil depot in Cheboksary in Russia's Chuvashia Republic on the morning of March 9, Governor Oleg Nikolaev reported.
Russian Telegram channels claimed that this is the first drone attack on Chuvashia since the beginning of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine.
The Burevestnik oil depot lies over 900 kilometers (559 miles) from the Ukrainian border. Nikolaev said that the oil depot was under reconstruction. No casualties were reported.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, overnight, Russian air defense shot down 52 drones over Belgorod Oblast, 13 over Lipetsk Oblast, nine over Rostov Oblast, eight over Voronezh Oblast, three over Astrakhan Oblast, one over Ryazan Oblast, one over Kursk Oblast and one over Krashodar Krai.
The Russian Telegram channel Astra reported that Ukrainian drones also targeted oil refineries in Lipetsk and Ryazan oblasts.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify these claims. The Ukrainian military has not commented on Russian reports.
Ukraine considers Russian oil facilities to be valid military targets, as fossil fuel profits supply Moscow's war machine. The Ukrainian military has launched repeated attacks against Russian refineries with long-range drones since 2022.
Dmytro Basmat
France to provide $211 million in military aid to Ukraine backed by frozen Russian assets
France will provide Ukraine with 195 million euros ($211 million) in military aid using the interest accrued from frozen Russian assets, French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu told La Tribune in an interview published March 8.
The additional aid "will enable the delivery of 155-mm shells as well as AASM gliding bombs which arm the Ukrainian Mirage 2000s ," Lecornu said.
Lecornu added that France is accelerating the transfer of older equipment to Ukraine, including tanks and armoured vehicles.
In October 2024, Group of Seven (G7) countries came to an agreement that pledged to provide Ukraine with almost $50 billion loan backed by the revenue from foreign Russian assets.
The announcement from France comes just days after the United Kingdom signed an agreement with Kyiv on March 1 to provide Ukraine with a loan worth 2.26 billion pounds ($2.84 billion) backed by frozen Russian assets.
The loan will go towards "purchasing defense equipment according to Ukraine's needs," the U.K. Finance Ministry said.
While Western countries have frozen $300 billion in Russian assets, they can only access the annual income generated by these funds, approximately $3.2 billion. These profits will back the $50-billion loan to Kyiv, while the vast majority of the assets are frozen in European countries.
France, one of Ukraine's staunchest supporters, has taken steps alongside the U.K. in recent months to provide European leadership in supporting Ukraine, amid Kyiv's tumultuous relationship with the Trump administration.
Trump has repeatedly called for European countries to step up to support Ukraine, including providing additional aid funding, lambasting the previous Biden administration for sending too much aid funding to the embattled nation. On March 4, Trump halted military aid shipments to Ukraine following a heated exchange with President Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on March 2 that a number of European nations, including the U.K. and France, are developing a 'coalition of the willing' that will include "planes in the air and boots on the ground" in an effort to negotiate a successful ceasefire in Ukraine.
Reuters reported on March 6, citing diplomatic sources, that France and the U.K. aim to finalize a peace plan with Ukraine "in days" to present to the United States.
Dmytro Basmat
Zelensky names delegation for meeting with US in Saudi Arabia
President Volodymyr Zelensky announced his delegation to represent Ukraine in upcoming talks with the U.S. in Saudi Arabia on March 8.
Along with Andriy Yermak, Zelensky's chief of staff, Zelensky wrote on X that Ukraine will also be sending Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, and Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Pavlo Palisa.
Zelensky wrote that he would travel to Saudi Arabia on March 10 and would meet with the Crown Prince, while the Ukrainian military and political delegation would stay for a meeting with the American team the following day.
The U.S. delegation will reportedly include U.S. President Donald Trump's envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz.
The scheduled talks come amid rising tensions between Ukraine and the United States, as U.S. President Donald Trump escalates pressure on Zelensky to expedite a peace process.
The tensions culminated in a confrontation during a meeting in the White House Oval Office on Feb. 28 after Zelensky had flown to the U.S. to sign a mineral and natural resources agreement with the U.S. After being insulted by Trump and his Vice President JD Vance, Zelensky returned to Ukraine without signing the deal.
Since that meeting, the United States has ended its military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine, resulting in significant troop losses on the frontlines. The losses have been particularly sharp in the Kursk region that Ukraine has occupied since August 2024, where ten thousand troops are now facing encirclement.
U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz suggested on March 5 that Trump may lift the pause on military aid once peace negotiations are arranged and confidence-building measures are taken, Reuters reported.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
US shares intelligence with Ukraine for defense, not for attacks on Russian troops, CNN reports
The U.S. continues to share some intelligence with Ukraine to assist with defense operations, but not for attacks on Russian troops, CNN reported on March 7, citing two anonymous defense officials.
According to the sources, Washington aims to avoid being seen as directly supporting strikes on Russia. However, the U.S. is not withholding information that could enhance Ukraine's defensive capabilities.
The significant cutting back on U.S. intelligence sharing to Ukraine is part of the Trump administration’s position to pressure Kyiv into quick negotiations with Russia.
The sources also confirmed that Starlink, which the Ukrainian military relies on, is still operating in Ukraine as before.
Starlink is owned by SpaceX, a company belonging to billionaire Elon Musk.
Musk, a key ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, has drawn scrutiny at home and abroad over his repeated inflammatory comments regarding Ukraine.
Dmytro Basmat
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