Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks to the nation, March 13, 2025
EA-Times Radio VideoCast: What Happens If Putin Rejects Ukraine-US Ceasefire Proposal?
Friday’s Coverage: Manipulative” Putin Rejects Ukraine-US Ceasefire Proposal
Map: Institute for the Study of War
UPDATE 1153 GMT:
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky says forces have repelled a months-long attempt by Russia to overrun the logistics hub of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine.
After meeting Ukraine’s military commander-in-chief, Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi said the situation “has been stabilized”.
Zelensky referred to Ukraine’s defense against the Russian offensive in the Kursk region in western Russia, denying the claims of Moscow — supported by Donald Trump — that Kyiv’s troops are encircled.
Also noting a buildup of Russian forces on the border with the Sumy region in northern Ukraine, Zelensky said:
I would like all partners to understand exactly what Putin is planning, what he is preparing for, and what he will be ignoring.
The buildup of Russian forces indicates that Moscow intends to keep ignoring diplomacy. It is clear that Russia is prolonging the war.
UPDATE 1150 GMT:
Ukrainian drones struck an oil depot in the Krasnodar region in southern Russia early Saturday.
Authorities deployed 188 firefighters to put out a blaze at the depot in the Black Sea city of Tuapse.
UPDATE 0841 GMT:
The US State Department has terminated a program transferring evidence to European law enforcement of Russian abductions of Ukrainian children, say “two people familiar with the situation”.
One official with direct knowledge said the termination may hinder the tracking down of kidnapped Ukrainian juveniles and complicate efforts to seek accountability.
The State Department had been underwriting the work of the Yale School of Public Health’s Humanitarian Research Lab, using tools such as satellite imagery and analysis of open-source technology and biometric data, to identify and locate abducted children.
In December, the Lab’s report identified 314 Ukrainian children who had been placed in Russia’s “systematic program of coerced adoption and fostering”. Presenting the findings to the UN Security Council, Executive Director Nathaniel Raymond said the abductions may constitute “crimes against humanity under customary international law”.
The documentation has been shared with the International Criminal Court, which has issued arrest warrants against Vladimir Putin and Russia’s “Children’s Rights” Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova, over the deportations of the minors.
See also Ukraine War, Day 1,015: Putin’s Aircraft and Funds Used in Deportations of Children
The Lab’s dossiers had been transferred to Ukrainian authorities. However, the underlying evidence still needed to be given to Europol, the European Union’s law enforcement arm.
UPDATE 0819 GMT:
Air defenses intercepted 130 of 178 drones launched by Russia overnight. Another 38 were lost to electronic counter-measures.
The Russians also fired two ballistic missiles.
Ukraine’s largest private energy provider, DTEK, said the Russian airstrikes caused “significant” damage to energy facilities in the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa regions, leaving some consumers without power.
UPDATE 0726 GMT:
The US has joined the other G7 countries in warning Russia of expanded sanctions if Moscow does not accept the Ukraine-US proposal for a 30-day interim ceasefire.
The G7 — US, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, Japan, and the UK — also said frozen Russian assets could support Ukraine.
Asked about US sanctions, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Donald Trump “doesn’t want to do that right now, because he’s in the hopes of attracting people on both sides to a process where we can negotiate peace”.
He said of Vladimir Putin’s effective rejection of the Ukraine-US proposal:
The question is, are we actually moving towards a ceasefire, or is this a delay tactic?
I’m not going to answer that because I can’t characterize that for you right now.
UPDATE 0703 GMT:
Two civilians were killed and 18 wounded by Russian shelling of the Kherson region in southern Ukraine on Friday.
Seven multi-story buildings, 27 private houses, gas pipelines, agricultural buildings, warehouses, and private vehicles were damaged.
At least 14 civilians were injured by a Russian attack on a residential area in Kryvyi Rih in south-central Ukraine.
Two boys, aged 2 and 15, are among the wounded. Six people were hospitalized.
Four apartment buildings, four houses, and business facilities were damaged.
UPDATE 0652 GMT:
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer says Vladimir Putin cannot be allowed to undermine the possibility of a ceasefire to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Starmer played to the ego of Donald Trump as the Kremlin tries to turn the reality TV star against the US-Ukraine proposal.
We can’t allow President Putin to play games with President Trump’s deal. The Kremlin’s complete disregard for President Trump’s ceasefire proposal only serves to demonstrate that Putin is not serious about peace.
If Russia finally comes to the table, then we must be ready to monitor a ceasefire to ensure it is a serious, and enduring peace, if they don’t, then we need to strain every sinew to ramp up economic pressure on Russia to secure an end to this war.
Putin is trying to delay, saying there must be a painstaking study before a ceasefire can take place, but the world needs to see action, not a study or empty words and pointless conditions.
On Saturday, Starmer will host a coalition of around 25 global leaders in a discussion of the ceasefire proposal. The Prime Minister said the meeting will press Putin to “finally come to the table” and “stop the barbaric attacks on Ukraine”.
ORIGINAL ENTRY: Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has expressed optimism that a proposal with the US for a 30-day interim ceasefire could stop Russia’s 36 1/2-month invasion.
Zelensky told reporters on Friday that he sees a “good chance to end this war quickly and secure peace” despite Vladimir Putin’s rejection of the ceasefire.
“If there is a strong response from the United States, they will not let them play around,” the President explained.
However, he cautioned, “If there are steps that Russia is not afraid of, they will delay the process.” Putin would “try to drag everyone into endless discussions … while his guns continue to kill people”.
In his national address to the nation, Zelensky said:
Today, I heard many right words about the need to end the war. I heard a lot of approval for Ukraine’s position. We continue our work to unite everyone who can truly help, who can strengthen diplomacy and bring peace closer.
Putin Woos Trump
Earlier in the day, Putin continued his effort to woo Donald Trump into a rejection of the Ukraine-US proposal.
The Russian effectively rebuffed the ceasefire by restating the Kremlin’s ultimata: recognition of Moscow’s annexation of around 25% of Ukraine, demilitarization and no security guarantees for the rest, and a lifting of sanctions on Russia.
Still, Trump hailed Putin’s “very good and productive talks” with US envoy Steve Witkoff on Thursday evening and “a very promising statement” although “it was not complete”.
In response, Putin proclaimed:
We know that the new administration headed by President Trump is doing everything to restore at least something of what was basically destroyed by the previous US administration.
He succeeded in convincing Trump of the falsehood that Ukrainian troops in the Kursk region in western Russia were “completely surrounded”.
While the Ukrainians have pulled back in recent days in the region, part of which they have held since last August, they have avoided being trapped.
Ukraine’s military commanders said, “There is no threat of our units being encircled,” a claim backed by expert assessment. Zelensky said, “The situation in the Kursk region is obviously very difficult.”
But Trump postured that he had asked Putin, through Witkoff, to save the lives of “thousands of Ukrainian troops”.
In a speech at the Justice Department, he rambled:
We’ve had some very good calls today with Russia and with Ukraine.
“They’ve agreed for a ceasefire if we can get it with Russia, and it’s not easy. It’s a tough one. But I think we’re doing it….I think we’ve had some very good results. I haven’t been able to say that to anybody else, I haven’t wanted to say it until just before I came here, I got some pretty good news.
