Current update as of Wednesday, March 12 :
Negotiations for Ceasefire
- Top officials from the United States and Ukraine met in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia for a lengthy nine-hour discussion. Following the talks, Kyiv agreed to a 30-day ceasefire and committed to taking steps towards achieving long-lasting peace with Moscow, as stated in a joint statement by the US and Ukraine.
- US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that it is now up to Russia to respond to the proposal.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy viewed the ceasefire agreement as a positive development and urged the US to convince Russia to accept the terms.
- After the high-level meeting, Washington announced the immediate lifting of all military aid suspensions imposed on Ukraine and the resumption of intelligence sharing. Deputy head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Pavlo Palisa, confirmed the reinstatement of US military assistance.
- In response to the outcome of the US-Ukraine talks in Jeddah, Trump expressed hope that Russia would agree to the ceasefire deal. He also mentioned plans for US officials to meet with their Russian counterparts later in the week.
- Despite the previous disagreements, Trump stated that he would extend an invitation to Zelenskyy to visit the White House once again.
- Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov emphasized Russia’s expectation for the US to provide updates on the talks with Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia regarding the proposed ceasefire.
- Reuters reported that Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, is scheduled to visit Moscow this week to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Conflict
- Russia claimed to have regained control of 12 settlements and over 100sq km of territory in the Kursk region from Ukrainian forces who entered Russia in August 2024 in a surprise military operation.
- The death toll in Russia from Ukraine’s drone attack on Tuesday has now reached three, with a total of 18 individuals sustaining injuries.
- In Kursk, the death toll from a Ukrainian strike on a shopping center has increased from three to five, according to governor Alexander Khinshtein.
- The Russian Ministry of Defence announced that its troops had captured the village of Dachne in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region.
- Donetsk regional Governor Vadym Filashkin reported six fatalities, including two children, and seven injuries from Russian attacks.
- The Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority initially reported on Facebook (later deleted) that a Russian missile strike on a grain vessel in the Black Sea port of Odesa resulted in four casualties and damage to the ship.
- Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko confirmed that Ukraine’s air defense forces were activated to repel an overnight air attack by Russia on the Ukrainian capital.
Political and Diplomatic Updates
- Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Maria Zakharova announced that the visiting secretary-general of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Feridun Sinirlioglu, will be taken to a site in Moscow where Ukrainian drones were shot down during a large raid on Tuesday, as reported by state news agency RIA Novosti.
- Zakharova also stated that Ukraine’s drone attack on Moscow indicated the country’s struggle on the battlefield, leading to direct attacks on civilian areas.
- Russia’s Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov visited troops in Kursk and awarded medals to soldiers for successfully expelling Ukrainian forces from the territory, as announced by the Defence Ministry.
