London – Russian President Vladimir Putin “stole” another week of war in Ukraine with his wave response to a 30-day ceasefire offered by Washington and kyiv last week, Ukrainian President Volodyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday.
Ukraine and Russia seek to avoid the blame for prolonging the 3-year war of Moscow and undergoing the ceasefire and peace talks led by the United States. American negotiators have now met with representatives of kyiv and Moscow in their attempt to make an agreement.
After the United States-Ukraine meeting in Djeddah, Saudi Arabia last week, the two parties offered a full 30-day ceasefire as a springboard for a wider peace agreement. Putin said he was “for” potential frost in the fighting, although he established additional conditions for its implementation and suggested that a break would benefit Ukraine.
Zelenskyy has since published several declarations framing Putin as intentionally hampering cease-fire talks.
“After the talks in Jeddah and the American ceasefire proposal on the front line, Russia has stolen almost a week of war that only Russia wants,” wrote Ukrainian President on social networks on Sunday.
A Ukrainian reservoir rolls on a road in a village in the Dnipropetrovsk region on March 16, 2025.
Roman Pilipey / AFP via Getty Images
“We will do everything to further intensify diplomacy,” he added. “We will do everything to make diplomacy effective.”
Andriy Yermak, the head of the presidential office of Zelenskyy, wrote on Telegram: “Russia continues to attack, Ukraine responds to attacks and will respond until Putin stops war.”
Zelenskyy and his senior officials strive to present Ukraine as a loan for peace, apparently hoping to neutralize repeated – and sometimes misleading – administration of President Donald Trump than kyiv, rather than Moscow, is the main obstacle to an agreement.
Trump said on Sunday that he expects to speak with Putin by phone on Tuesday.
President Donald Trump speaks to journalists before embarking Air Force One while he deviates from the Andrews common base in Maryland, March 14, 2025.
Kevin Lamarque / Reuters
“Lots of work” on a potential agreement was concluded over the weekend, Trump said. “We will see if we have something to announce. Maybe Tuesday.” He said that his administration wanted to “see if we can end this war”.
“Maybe we can.
The fighting continues at key points along the front while the maneuvering parts advantage in other cease-fire talks.
Particular attention was paid to the Western Russian region of Kursk, where the Ukrainian forces seized the territory in a surprise in August 2024 offensive. Russian officials have said that there cannot be peace talks while the region remains partially occupied.
The past few weeks have seen Ukrainian positions there collapse under intense Russian attacks, Putin visiting the region last week and saying that kyiv troops could choose to “go or die”.
Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting of the Security Council at the Novo-Oogaryovo residence outside Moscow, Russia, March 14, 2025.
Mikhail Metzel / Sputnik via AP
The two parties also continued their long -range cross -border strikes. On Monday, the Air Force of Ukraine said that he had shot down 90 of the 174 Russian drones launched in the country during the night, with 70 other drones lost in flight without causing damage. Seven regions were affected by the attack, the Air Force said.
The Russian Defense Ministry, on the other hand, said on Monday that its forces have shot 72 Ukrainian drones since Sunday evening.
Some drones attacked the Astrakhan region in southern Russia, around 500 miles from the territory closest to the Ukrainian.
Igor Babushkin, the regional governor, said that Ukraine “was trying a massive drone attack against installations located in the region, including the fuel and energy complex.”
Babushkin said that the drop in drone debris has triggered a fire in an installation, but did not specify where. “The situation is under control,” wrote the governor on Telegram. “A person was injured in the attack. The victim was now taken to the hospital.”
Andriy Kovalenko, head of the counter-proformation center, operating within the framework of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, said on Telegram that “unknown drones have struck a complex of fuel and energy” in Astrakhan. “The intensity of the work of unknown drones is increasing,” he added.
Nicholas Kerr and Kevin Shalvey of ABC News contributed to this report.
