Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and French President Emmanuel Macron at a press conference in Paris, March 13, 2026
Friday’s Coverage: Trump Administration Suspends Russian Sanctions Until April 11
UPDATE 0900 GMT:
At least seven civilians have been murdered and at least 46 wounded by Russian attacks across Ukraine over the past day.
Air defenses downed 402 of 430 drones and intercepted most of the 58 missiles launched by Russia. Six missiles and 28 drones struck 11 locations.
In the Kyiv region, four people were killed, and 15 injured.
In the Kharkiv region in the northeast, one civilian was slain and 11 injured, including two children.
In the Kherson region in the south, one civilian was murdered and seven injured. In the neighboring Zaporizhzhia region, one person was killed and seven wounded.
Casualties were also reported in the Donetsk and Sumy regions.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky posted:
Efforts to deal with the aftermath of the massive Russian attack are currently underway in the Kyiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Dnipro, and Mykolaiv regions. All necessary services are involved. The main target for the Russians was the energy infrastructure of the Kyiv region, but… pic.twitter.com/ddqRUmQFkt
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) March 14, 2026
UPDATE 0850 GMT:
Ukrainian drones set afire the Afipsky Oil Refinery in Krasnodar Krai in southwest Russia overnight.
Residents reported dozens of explosions around 1 a.m. as air defense systems were activated.
The refinery is one of the largest oil processing facilities in southern Russia, producing gasoline, diesel fuel, gas condensate distillates, heavy petroleum residues, and sulfur.
Afipsky processes around 6.25 million tons of crude annually, about 2% of Russia’s refining output.
Russian authorities also reported a drone attack in the region on the Port Kavkaz facility, injuring three people and damaging a technical vessel
ORIGINAL ENTRY: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has confirmed that the next round of Ukraine-Russia-US talks to end Moscow’s invasion has been postponed.
According to Zelensky, the Trump camp said its negotiators are not allowed to leave the US because of the US-Israel War on Iran. The President said Russia objected to any talks in the US and proposed alternative sites in Switzerland or Turkey.
The postponement followed discussions on Wednesday in Florida between Vladimir Putin’s top financial advisor Kirill Dmitriev and Donald Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
Details were not released. The three men collaborated in late October on a 28-point ultimatum to Ukraine, demanding Russia’s seizure of the Donetsk region in the east and no effective security guarantees for the rest of the country.
Speaking to journalists in Paris on Friday, Zelensky said:
There is nothing good for Ukraine in the war in the Middle East….It’s understandable that the attention of the world [is] moving to [the] Middle East [but] it’s not good for us.
The President added:
The EU’s 20th sanctions package against Russia needs to be unblocked, especially in light of the U.S. decisions to partially ease sanctions on Russian oil that is currently sitting on tankers at sea.
Even this single easing by the U.S. could give Russia roughly ten billion… pic.twitter.com/GrFKNeBD0W
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) March 13, 2026
