Here is the situation on Wednesday, March 12:
Ceasefire Talks
- Senior officials from the United States and Ukraine met in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, for nine hours of talks. Kyiv agreed to an immediate 30-day truce and steps toward long-term peace with Moscow, according to a joint US-Ukraine statement.
- US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that the “ball is now in Russia’s court” following the discussions.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the truce as a “positive” development and urged the US to convince Russia to accept the proposal.
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Washington announced it would immediately lift all military aid suspensions imposed on Ukraine and resume intelligence sharing with Kyiv. Pavlo Palisa, deputy head of the Ukrainian presidential office, confirmed the resumption of US military assistance.
- Former US President Donald Trump expressed hope that Russia would agree to the ceasefire deal and mentioned that US officials would meet their Russian counterparts later this week.
- Despite a recent public clash, Trump said he would invite Zelenskyy back to the White House.
- Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that Russia expects the US to brief Moscow on its 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 Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Fighting
- Russia claimed its forces reclaimed 12 settlements and over 100 square kilometers (38.6 square miles) of territory in the Kursk region from Ukrainian troops who had entered Russia in August 2024.
- The death toll from Ukraine’s drone barrage of 337 drones on Tuesday rose to three, with 18 injured.
- The death toll from a Ukrainian strike on a shopping center in Kursk increased from three to five, according to regional governor Alexander Khinshtein.
- The Russian Ministry of Defence announced the capture of the village of Dachne in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region.
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Donetsk regional Governor Vadym Filashkin reported that six people, including two children, were killed, and seven others were wounded in Russian attacks.
- Ukraine’s Sea Ports Authority stated in a now-deleted Facebook post that a Russian missile attack on a grain vessel in the Black Sea port of Odesa killed four people and damaged the ship.
- Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said Ukraine’s air defense forces were mobilized to repel an overnight Russian air attack on the capital.
Politics and Diplomacy
- Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated that the visiting OSCE Secretary-General Feridun Sinirlioglu would be taken to a site in Moscow where Ukrainian drones were shot down during a large-scale raid on Tuesday.
- Zakharova claimed that Ukraine’s drone attack on Moscow indicated Kyiv’s battlefield losses, prompting direct attacks on civilian areas.
- Russian Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov visited troops in Kursk and awarded medals to soldiers for successfully ousting Ukrainian forces, according to the Defence Ministry.
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