Key developments on March 15-16:
- Ukraine confirms withdrawal from Sudzha in Russia's Kursk Oblast
- Ukraine appoints Andrii Hnatov as new chief of General Staff
- Russia readying to attack Sumy as Donbas front stabilizes, Zelensky says
- Trump-Putin phone call expected this week, US hopes for ceasefire within weeks, envoy says
- UK proposes Western peacekeeping mission of 10,000 troops in Ukraine
Ukraine's General Staff on March 16 confirmed Ukrainian troops' withdrawal from the logistics hub of Sudzha in Russia's Kursk Oblast, days after Moscow claimed its capture.
Instead of confirming the withdrawal with a statement, the General Staff posted the latest battlefield maps on social media, which showed a complete retreat from Sudzha.
The confirmation comes as Russian troops scale up their offensive in the Russian border region, where Ukraine launched a surprise incursion in August 2024 in hopes of using the captured territories as a bargaining chip for potential peace negotiations.
Kyiv has held on to its gradually shrinking foothold in Kursk Oblast despite a deteriorating logistics situation caused by Russia's intense use of artillery, drones, and glide bombs.
As unconfirmed reports of a Ukrainian encirclement circulated online, U.S. President Donald Trump urged his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on March 14 to "spare" allegedly surrounded Ukrainian troops.
Ukraine has denied the claims of encirclement.
The Russian Defense Ministry claimed on March 13 that its troops had captured Sudzha.
The claim came a day after Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi confirmed ongoing battles in the suburbs of Sudzha and the surrounding areas.
"In the most difficult situation, my priority has been and remains to save the lives of Ukrainian soldiers. To do this, the units of (Ukraine's) Defense Forces, if necessary, are maneuvering to more favorable positions," Syrskyi said.
Ukraine appoints Andrii Hnatov as new chief of General Staff
Ukraine on March 16 appointed Andrii Hnatov as the new chief of the General Staff, promoting the major general as part of what Kyiv hailed as "a military reform."
Hnatov, who was formerly appointed as the deputy chief of the General Staff in February, will be replacing Anatolii Barhylevych, who took the role in February 2024.
"We are systematically transforming the Armed Forces of Ukraine to enhance their combat effectiveness," Ukraine's Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said in a Facebook post, applauding a promotion that he said came at his recommendation.
Hnatov has over 27 years of experience in the military. He previously commanded a marine brigade, Operational Command East formation, and the Joint Forces of Ukraine's Armed Forces.
Umerov added that Ukraine appointed Lieutenant General Barhylevych as the Defense Ministry's chief inspector. His role is to oversee military standards and boost discipline in the Armed Forces, according to the minister.
More than three years into the full-scale war, Ukraine is slowly withdrawing on multiple fronts amid a critical manpower shortage. Kyiv is trying to modernize the army in an attempt to solve long-standing issues, such as command culture and resource management.
"Transformation continues," Umerov wrote in the same Facebook post.
Yana Prots
Russia readying to attack Sumy as Donbas front stabilizes, Zelensky says
Russian soldiers are amassing at the border to prepare to launch an attack on Ukraine's northeastern Sumy region, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on March 15.
Zelensky said in a post on Telegram that Ukraine has observed areas along its eastern border where the Russian army is amassing force. "This speaks to a desire to deliver a strike to our Sumy Oblast," Zelensky wrote. "We understand this and will take countermeasures."
The Ukrainian president also wrote that he hopes foreign leaders would note "that in Moscow they are preparing to ignore diplomacy."
U.S. diplomats were in Moscow this week to hash out a ceasefire deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who remains maximalist in his public demands for concessions from Ukraine. After talks in Saudi Arabia between the U.S. and Ukraine, Kyiv said it was ready to move forward with a ceasefire, provided Russia did the same.
Zelensky also wrote that "the situation on the Pokrovsk front has stabilized" after several months during which the city in Donetsk Oblast had been at the center of fighting and periodic threats of Russian encirclement.
"Thanks to our Ukrainian forces, a significant quantity of Russian forces were pulled away from other fronts to Kursk Oblast," Zelensky wrote.
Trump-Putin phone call expected this week, US hopes for ceasefire within weeks, envoy says
U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to hold a phone call with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin this week, Steve Witkoff, Trump's special envoy to the Middle East, said on March 16.
"I expect that there will be a call with both presidents this week, and we're also continuing to engage and have a conversation with the Ukrainians,” Witkoff told CNN after meeting Putin in Moscow on March 13.
Witkoff also said that the U.S. hopes to "see a ceasefire within weeks," as cited by Axios.
The expected phone call comes as Trump tries to end the war at any cost. European allies and Ukraine have warned that a rushed peace deal without adequate security guarantees won't result in lasting peace.
Witkoff said the talks with Putin lasted a few hours and went well. He added that he expected the phone call between the two presidents to be "really good and positive."
"We're bridging the gap between two sides," he said.
"The four regions are of critical importance here," Witkoff said, referring to Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts, which are partially occupied by Russian troops.
Witkoff also said that the U.S. is holding discussions with Ukraine, Russia, and European allies, including France, the U.K., Finland, and Norway.
He claimed that Putin accepts "Trump's philosophy" on ending Russia's war in Ukraine, Axios reported.
"The two sides are a lot closer today than they were a few weeks ago. We narrowed the differences," Witkoff said.
Kyiv agreed to a 30-day ceasefire proposed by the U.S. during talks in Jeddah on March 11, after which Washington resumed military and intelligence support for Ukraine.
Russia is ready to agree to the U.S.-proposed ceasefire in Ukraine but demands guarantees that Kyiv will not mobilize or train troops or receive military aid during the truce, Putin said on March 13.
Meanwhile, U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz said on March 16 that Ukraine was expected to exchange territories for security guarantees.
"This is going to be some type of territory for future security guarantees, the future status of – of Ukraine," Waltz said on ABC News.
He also said that "a permanent pathway into NATO, or a permanent membership into NATO for Ukraine is incredibly unlikely."
The Kyiv Independent news desk
UK proposes Western peacekeeping mission of 10,000 troops in Ukraine
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer presented plans to send 10,000 peacekeeping troops to Ukraine at a high-level virtual summit in London on March 15.
The summit, which included 29 international leaders, was organized by the U.K. with the purpose of creating a "coalition of the willing" that could secure Ukraine in the event of a peace deal with Russia.
Starmer's proposed peacekeeping contingent would include around 10,000 troops, mostly provided by the U.K. and France, U.K. military sources told the Sunday Times. Thirty-five countries have agreed to supply the peacekeeping mission with weapons, logistics, and intelligence support.
The peacekeeping mission will be "a significant force with a significant number of countries providing troops and a much larger group contributing in other ways," a senior government source said.
In addition to European nations, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand joined the call, as did NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
The proposed force of 10,000 is significantly smaller than the 30,000 troops Starmer reportedly pitched to U.S. President Donald Trump during their White House meeting on Feb. 20.
Previously, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that European partners would need to station 100,000 to 150,000 troops on Ukraine's front lines to effectively deter Russia.
U.K. defense sources told the Guardian on Feb. 18 that a much smaller European-led peacekeeping forcec ould instead rely on intelligence, surveillance, and long-range monitoring to enforce a ceasefire.
Following the virtual summit, Starmer announced that "troops on the ground and planes in the sky" would provide security guarantees for Ukraine following a future peace deal.
The allied coalition will hold a second round of military talks on March 20, Starmer said.
While France and the U.K. have been the most vocal about sending troops to Ukraine, some countries, including Italy and Finland, have expressed reservations. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni attended the summit and vocalized support for Ukraine, but said that Italy does not plan to participate in the proposed peacekeeping force.
Oleg Sukhov
