During a call between Washington and Moscow on March 18, President Donald Trump proposed a limited pause, in which Russia and Ukraine would each refrain from striking the other’s energy sites.
Following the call, the Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin “responded positively to this initiative and immediately gave the Russian military the corresponding order.”
However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has alleged that Russians have already breached the limited cease-fire to halt energy sector attacks.
“Last night, after Putin’s conversation with ... Trump, when Putin said that he was allegedly giving orders to stop strikes on Ukrainian energy, there were 150 drones launched overnight, including on energy facilities,” he said at a news conference in Finland on March 19.
Zelenskyy said the Russian drone barrage also targeted transportation systems and two hospitals.
“Putin’s words are very different from reality,” the Ukrainian president said.
In a March 19 statement, the Russian defense ministry indicated that some munitions were already in flight, on their way toward targets in Ukraine, when Putin passed down an order to halt attacks on energy sites. The Russian military said at least seven attack drones were targeting Ukrainian energy sites specifically. The military said its air defense forces shot down six of their own drones, and a Russian fighter jet stopped the seventh.
While the Russian military claimed to shoot down its own drones to support the limited cease-fire, the military leadership reported that a trio of Ukrainian drones targeted an energy facility in Russia’s Krasnodar region. Russia’s defense ministry said the targeted energy facility is used to transfer oil from railway tank cars to a pipeline.
Russia’s military leadership said one of the Ukrainian attack drones caused an oil tank to depressurize and catch fire.
Zelenskyy said he would contact Trump later on March 19 about the next steps for peace negotiations. A White House official has confirmed that Trump and Zelenskyy are set to speak by phone on the morning of March 19.
Last week, the Ukrainian leader voiced his support for a U.S.-backed proposal for a 30-day cease-fire covering not just energy sector sites but all aspects of the ongoing Russia–Ukraine war. Putin had expressed willingness to enter into the more expansive temporary cease-fire but raised questions about how the deal would be monitored and enforced.
Following Trump’s and Putin’s call on March 18, the White House said the next round of negotiations would concern a cease-fire at sea, and then a more comprehensive cease-fire and eventual permanent peace.
“These negotiations will begin immediately in the Middle East,” the White House said on March 18.
