A hospital in Ukraine's northeastern city of Sumy and another in the town of Krasnopillia were hit by drones during a series of attacks on Ukraine, prompting President Volodymyr Zelensky to accuse Vladimir Putin of de facto rejecting a ceasefire.
"We are ready to continue to provide assistance within our capacity according to the wishes of parties involved, which, of course, includes post-war reconstruction," a spokesperson for the China International Development Cooperation Agency said.
"I would commend President Putin for all he did today on that call to move his country close to a final peace deal," Steve Witkoff said after the 1.5-hour phone call between U.S. President Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.
Trump also said it was "a great call" and that the U.S. hopes to expand trade with Russia, including deals on "very big forms of rare earth."
"We are an independent state. Without us, I think it's wrong to negotiate," President Volodymyr Zelensky said on March 18.
"We will support such a proposal, but we're very interested in the details," Zelensky said, in reference to a proposed 30-day ceasefire on energy infrastructure attacks.
Key developments on March 18: * Trump-Putin call: Russia agrees to 30-day pause of energy infrastructure strikes * US announces another round of negotiations in Middle East on war in Ukraine * Ukrainian forces attempted to enter Belgorod Oblast, repelled by Russian forces, Russia claims * Ukraine withdraws from one front-line sector in Donetsk
"I expect that we will have a conversation with President Trump, we will understand the details," Zelensky told Suspilne on March 18. "We have always supported the position of not attacking the energy sector with any weapons."
The Russian Defense Ministry claimed on March 18 that the Ukrainian Armed Forces attempted to enter Russia's Belgorod Oblast but were repelled by the Russian military.
Editor’s note: This is issue 18 of Ukrainian lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak’s weekly "Ukraine Reforms Tracker" covering events from March 10–16, 2025. The digest highlights steps taken in the Ukrainian parliament related to business, economics, and international financial programs. The Kyiv Independent is republishing with permission. Benchmarks and
"Vladimir Putin responded positively to this initiative and immediately gave the appropriate command to the Russian military," the Kremlin said.
The Kremlin has demanded a complete cessation of foreign military aid and intelligence to Ukraine as a "key condition for avoiding an escalation of the war," according to a statement released on March 18.
President Volodymyr Zelensky and First Lady Olena Zelenska arrived in Finland for an official visit on March 18. The plane carrying the couple landed at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport in the afternoon.
Editor’s note: This article is part of a series of profiles highlighting successful Ukrainian startups and businesses. The series is funded by the regional investment fund Ukraine-Moldova American Enterprise Fund (UMAEF) and created in partnership with Spend With Ukraine, a non-profit organization that launched a platform to showcase businesses
With the Polish presidential elections just two months away, two of the country's leading right-wing candidates have become increasingly antagonistic toward Ukraine and its leadership. Kyiv can ill afford another hostile head of state among its key partners, as U.S. President Donald Trump's foreign policy shift has already thrown
Judge Pavlo Vovk was held responsible for "committing a significant disciplinary offense, gross or systematic neglect of duties that is incompatible with the status of a judge or revealed his incompatibility with the position he holds."
The U.S. military has 247 military satellites and thousands of commercial satellites, providing an "unrivaled picture" of eastern Ukraine that European forces would struggle to replicate, the Times wrote.
The Kremlin wants all Western arms supplies to Ukraine to stop during a proposed truce but prioritizes a pause on U.S. arms as its "minimum aim," Bloomberg reported on March 18, citing two undisclosed sources in Moscow.
"This allowed us not only to save our soldiers, but also to improve our defense. (Russia) is suffering losses, and we can act more effectively," Lieutenant General Serhii Naiev said.
World Health Organization warned that Kenya, Haiti, Lesotho, Burkina Faso, Mali, Nigeria, South Sudan, and Ukraine could run out of critical antiretroviral drugs in the coming months.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said the proposal needed further discussion and that Italy was awaiting the outcome of the upcoming call between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
U.S. President Donald Trump claimed on March 17 that he took an unspecified action to save "surrounded" Ukrainian soldiers, apparently referring to his earlier and unsubstantiated claims of Kyiv's troops being encircled in Russia's Kursk Oblast.
Ukrainian air defenses shot down 63 of the 137 Russian attack and decoy drones overnight over 12 oblasts, the Air Force said. Sixty-four decoy drones reportedly disappeared from radars without causing damage.
Russia is not "losing hope" ahead of a planned call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump, Putin's aide Yuri Ushakov told pro-Kremlin news outlet Kommersant on March 18.
Negotiations will focus on establishing the legal and financial framework to seize Russian assets, despite opposition from some EU member states, particularly Belgium and Germany.
The number includes 1,560 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.
The potential move comes as U.S. President Donald Trump prepares for a call with Vladimir Putin on March 18, with a proposed 30-day ceasefire on the table.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on March 17 that the U.S. had to push Ukraine "to do the right thing" regarding efforts to end the war while recalling his public clash with President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office last month.
"The UK expects more than 30 countries to be involved in the coalition of the willing," U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer's spokesperson said on March 17.
The U.S. decision to cut off funding for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty came as a surprise for the outlet’s newsroom, a source in the RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service told the Kyiv Independent. “We understood that the U.S. president, to put it mildly, does not like us,
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said on March 17 that it was his hope that U.S. President Donald Trump will get Russian President Vladimir Putin to abandon "some absurd demands" toward establishing a peace deal in Ukraine.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on March 17 that the Trump administration believes they have "never been closer" to closing a ceasefire deal in Ukraine, ahead of a call scheduled between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin for March 18.
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