Tensions between Russia and Ukraine continue to escalate as Russian president Vladimir Putin appears to use Kyiv’s troops in Kursk as leverage, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky prepares a team to monitor the ceasefire, and President Donald Trump takes Ukraine’s NATO bid “off the table.”
Here is the daily briefing:
Trump Hints at Call with Putin
Trump posted on Truth Social that the U.S. communicated with Putin on March 13, and he wrote, “We had very good and productive discussions with President Vladimir Putin of Russia yesterday, and there is a very good chance that this horrible, bloody war can finally come to an end — BUT, AT THIS VERY MOMENT, THOUSANDS OF UKRAINIAN TROOPS ARE COMPLETELY SURROUNDED BY THE RUSSIAN MILITARY, AND IN A VERY BAD AND VULNERABLE POSITION. I have strongly requested to President Putin that their lives be spared. This would be a horrible massacre, one not seen since World War II. God bless them all!!!”
It is not clear from his post if Trump spoke with Putin directly, or if this update is in reference to his envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff’s visit with the Russian president, as it was reported that Trump’s envoy to the Middle East travelled to Moscow on Thursday.
Evan Vucci/Associated Press
During their meeting, Witkoff and Putin were meant to discuss the partial ceasefire proposal put forward by Ukraine and the U.S. following their discussions in Saudi Arabia.
The Russian president’s reported talk with Trump swiftly followed Putin’s aide, Yuri Ushakov’s rejection of the proposed 30-day ceasefire deal discussed in Jeddah.
In an interview with the Russia-1 TV channel, Ushakov said, “We believe that our goal is a long-term peaceful settlement, we strive for this, a peaceful settlement that takes into account the legitimate interests of our country, our well-known concerns. It seems to me that no one needs any steps that imitate peaceful actions in this situation,” and he specified that this was his “personal position.”
The Russian president spoke about the ceasefire proposal during his news conference on March 13 and said that he supported the idea but emphasized that it must lead to long-term peace and address the “root causes” of the war, according to Reuters.
Putin has mentioned the idea of the “root causes” of the war on numerous occasions. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov most recently said this was in reference to both “the need to eliminate threats to Russia’s security from the Ukrainian and Western directions in general, which have arisen as a result of NATO expansion to the east,” and the allegation that Ukraine is “exterminating everything that is in one way or another connected with Russia and the Russian world.”
Putin to Use Ukrainian Troops Trapped in Kursk as Leverage
The Russian president appears to be aiming to use the Ukrainian troops trapped in Kursk as leverage in the ongoing peace negotiations with Kyiv.
Throughout this week, Russia has continued to quickly advance in and around the town of Sudzha, the last significant Ukrainian-held settlement in Kursk, where the conflict has been escalating since Kyiv launched an offensive campaign in August 2024.
Putin said on March 13 that Moscow had trapped the remaining Ukrainian troops in western Kursk, and that he has instructed his troops to push Kyiv’s troops out as quickly as possible.
The Russian leader has said that Kursk was “completely under our control, and the group that invaded our territory is in isolation,” and that “if a physical blockade occurs in the coming days, then no one will be able to leave at all, there will be only two ways—to surrender or die.”
Ukrainian military leaders have denied Russia’s reports that they are surrounded, and Kyiv’s general staff said on Thursday that five Russian attacks had been repelled, and clashes were ongoing in four locations.
Zelensky Reportedly Preparing Team to Monitor Ceasefire
The Ukrainian president is reportedly preparing a team that will be charged with overseeing that a ceasefire agreement with Russia is adhered to, according to Pravda.
In a joint press conference with the Federal Minister for European and International Affairs of Austria Beate Meinl-Reisinger on March 14, Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andriy Sybiga said, “We have already essentially started forming the national team that will develop the appropriate action plans to ensure proper control over a possible ceasefire. This is a very complex process.”
Sybiga referenced the previous ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine which Moscow violated at least 25 times in 2015, which came about during negotiations in Minsk to end fighting in eastern Ukraine.
The Ukrainian Foreign Minister added, “Now everything will be directed towards ensuring that the Ukrainian side has its teams and relevant preparations ready. I mean, including the future vision of agreements or a plan of action to achieve a just, lasting peace for Ukraine. And, of course, the parameters and scope of the security guarantees package for Ukraine.”
Trump Took Ukraine’s NATO Bid “Off The Table”
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte told Bloomberg that Trump took Ukraine’s bid to join the intergovernmental alliance “off the table” during peace negotiations.
During the interview on the TV program Bloomberg Surveillance on March 14, when asked a question regarding whether Trump had removed Kyiv’s NATO bid from the negotiating table, once an integral part of Zelensky’s “Victory Plan,” Rutte made a non-verbal sound of agreement.
The NATO Secretary General also noted that relations with Russia should be restored after the war and said that “It’s normal if the war would have stopped for Europe somehow, step by step, and also for the US, step by step, to restore normal relations with Russia. But we are absolutely not there yet, we have to maintain the pressure on them to make sure that they are willing to engage seriously in talks with the American administration and of course, also with the Ukrainians.”
Rutte’s TV interview followed his visit with Trump at the White House on March 13, where the two discussed the ceasefire proposal and the American president pushed for Russia to accept the 30-day truce with Kyiv.
Ukraine has historically been staunch in its position about joining NATO and obtaining security guarantees before ending the war with Russia.
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