These are the key developments on day 1,125 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Here is the roundup of key events on Tuesday, March 25.
Ceasefire
United States and Russian officials wrapped up daylong talks in Saudi Arabia on Monday focused on a narrow proposal for a maritime ceasefire between Kyiv and Moscow in the Black Sea, allowing the free flow of shipping, part of a diplomatic effort that Washington hopes will help pave the way for broader peace negotiations.
A White House source said progress was made in the Riyadh talks and that a “positive announcement” was expected “in the near future”.
Russia was represented at the talks by Grigory Karasin, a former diplomat who is now the chair of the Russian upper house’s Foreign Affairs Committee. Karasin was cited by Russia’s Interfax news agency as saying during a break in the talks that they were progressing “creatively” and that the two sides had discussed issues regarded as “irritants” in bilateral ties.
A joint statement by Washington and Moscow is to be published on Tuesday, Russia’s state-run news agencies TASS and Ria Novosti reported, citing sources from the Russian delegation. No further details were given.
United Kingdom and French defence chiefs met again in London to discuss plans for allied countries to safeguard a potential Ukraine ceasefire as part of UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s so-called “coalition of the willing”. The meeting was the third of its kind since Starmer earlier this month announced he would work to bring together nations who could guarantee any cessation of hostilities between Russia and Ukraine.
Fighting
Russian missiles struck the Ukrainian city of Sumy, injuring more than 80 people. Several high-rise residential blocks were damaged along with a school and hospital, regional Governor Volodymyr Artiukh said. Ukraine’s Public Prosecutor’s Office said 17 minors were among the injured.
A Ukrainian artillery strike killed six people, including three journalists, in eastern Ukraine’s Russian-occupied Luhansk region, the region’s Russian-installed governor, Leonid Pasechnik, said. A 14-year-old child was also killed in the attack, according to Pasechnik.
The attack killed a journalist from Russia’s Izvestia media outlet, Alexander Fedorchak, as well as camera operator Andrei Panov and driver Alexander Sirkeli working for Russian state television channel Zvezda, according to Pasechnik. Zvezda said another correspondent, Nikita Goldin, had been seriously wounded in the attack.
Russian news agencies quoted security sources as saying the strike had been carried out by a HIMARS missile supplied to Ukraine by the US.
Figures from the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine show that 18 Ukrainian and foreign reporters have been killed on assignment during the war. Another 10 journalists have been killed by bombs or shelling while not at work. More than 80 media employees have been killed while serving in the Ukrainian military.
The Ukrainian military said its forces destroyed four Russian military helicopters stationed near the border. The aircraft hit were two Mi-8 transport helicopters and two Ka-52 combat helicopters, it said.
The media office of a Ukrainian special forces unit published images said to show a HIMARS multiple rocket launcher attacking helicopters stationed on an airfield in the Russian border region of Belgorod.
A powerful cyberattack knocked out the online ticketing system for Ukraine’s state railway service, causing long queues at stations in what Kyiv officials said looked like a Russian attempt to “destabilise” the situation. The Ukrainian rail company, which has grappled with Russian missile strikes at various points during the war, did not explicitly say who it thought was behind the attack.
Politics and diplomacy
The Kremlin confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin gifted US President Donald Trump a portrait he commissioned of the US president. Putin gave the painting to Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, in Moscow earlier this month, the Russian president’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said in a response to a journalist’s question, declining further comment.
President Trump said that a strategic raw materials deal with Ukraine is likely to be agreed upon shortly. Trump said US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had told him that the rare earth minerals agreement with Ukraine was as good as finalised. “They’ll sign it shortly,” Trump said.
Regional security
At the meeting of British and French military chiefs in London, Admiral Tony Radakin, the head of the UK’s armed forces, said Europe’s two nuclear powers were “stepping up to forge a stronger and deeper partnership” after a meeting his French counterpart, General Thierry Burkhard. The two chiefs discussed efforts to “galvanise” the European response to the situation in Ukraine.
Austria’s DSN domestic intelligence agency said it had uncovered an extensive Russian disinformation campaign centred around a Bulgarian national accused of spying and disseminating false information about Ukraine. The DSN said the woman had acknowledged working on behalf of Russia, especially in 2022 when Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, to turn public opinion in favour of Russia and against Kyiv.
Russia has started planned exercises involving its Yars intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), the state-run RIA news agency reports, citing the Russian Defence Ministry. The Yars ICBM regiments in Sverdlovsk and Altai regions “will be deployed to field positions”, according to the ministry.
Sanctions
A group of Republican and Democratic US senators has written a letter to push the Trump administration to transfer – and push allies to transfer – more than $300bn of seized Russian assets to help Ukraine, and not just use the debt’s interest to support Kyiv. The letter was described as a rare example of senior Republicans publicly pressing the Trump administration to be tougher with Moscow.
The Czech Republic should finally stop receiving Russian oil supplies through the Druzhba pipeline, the country’s industry minister, Lukas Vlcek, said. The minister said the final decision lies with the refinery operator Orlen Unipetrol, which has been under Polish ownership since 2005. No Russian oil has been flowing through the Druzhba pipeline to the Czech Republic since March 4 because of payment problems due to the US sanctions imposed on Russian banks.
