Russia-Ukraine War: Overview of Key Events on Day 1,113 | Russia-Ukraine Conflict Updates

These are the key developments on day 1,113 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Here is the situation on Thursday, March 13:

Fighting

• Ukrainian officials report that Russia launched a barrage of missiles and drones overnight. One attack on Kryvyi Rih killed a 47-year-old woman and injured nine others, while an attack on Odesa killed four people.
• Russia has claimed significant gains in the Kursk region, with the Russian Ministry of Defence announcing the capture of five additional villages. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated, “the dynamics are good.”
• Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, said Russian forces have retaken approximately 1,100 square kilometers (386 square miles) of territory in the Kursk border region, including 24 settlements, over the past five days.

• Russian President Vladimir Putin, during televised remarks while visiting troops in Kursk, declared that the “region will soon be completely liberated from the enemy.” This marks Putin’s first visit to the region since Ukraine launched a major incursion there in August of last year.
• Putin also stated that any Ukrainian fighters captured in the Kursk region would be treated as “terrorists” and would not be afforded protections under the Geneva Convention’s provisions for prisoners of war, according to Russia’s state-run RIA Novosti news agency.
• Military bloggers from both sides reported that Kyiv’s forces have begun withdrawing from Kursk, losing their hard-won foothold inside the Russian region.

Ceasefire Talks

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he expects “strong steps” from the United States against Russia if Moscow does not accept the 30-day ceasefire proposal, which Ukraine agreed to during talks with US officials in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.
• US President Donald Trump stated that reaching a truce is now “up to Russia.”
• US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US is hopeful for a positive response from Russia, and that a refusal would reveal much about the Kremlin’s true intentions.
• “Here’s what we’d like the world to look like in a few days: Neither side is shooting at each other, not rockets, not missiles, not bullets, nothing … and the talking starts,” Rubio told reporters.
• Russia has reportedly presented Washington with a list of demands for a deal to end the Ukraine war and reset relations with the US.
• Reuters quoted sources saying these demands align with previous Kremlin terms, including no NATO membership for Kyiv, recognition of Russia’s claim to annexed Crimea and four Ukrainian provinces, and an agreement that no foreign troops would be deployed in Ukraine.

Politics and Diplomacy

• French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu stated that a “very broad consensus” is emerging among European nations to bolster Ukraine’s long-term security through its armed forces, following a meeting with the defence ministers of Britain, Germany, Italy, and Poland.
• Polish Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz welcomed a “real unity of the continent” in response to the threat from Russia.
• United Kingdom Defence Secretary John Healey emphasized that Britain and its allies recognize the need to “step up” and re-arm. “We are looking to build a coalition,” he said. “We are accelerating this work.”
• US Secretary of State Rubio indicated that an expected minerals deal with Ukraine would give the US a “vested interest” in Ukraine’s security, though he clarified, “I wouldn’t couch it as a security guarantee.”
• The Polish foreign minister confirmed that US weapons are once again flowing to Ukraine through Poland after the US lifted its pause on military aid to Kyiv.