Ukraine Update Day 1,013…New Talks….No New Agreement….

• Talks between the US and Ukraine are due to take place in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh, before similar discussions between the US and Russia tomorrow.

• Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff said on Sunday he expected “some real progress” at the talks in Saudi Arabia, “particularly as it affects a Black Sea ceasefire on ships between both countries, and from that you’ll naturally gravitate into a full-on shooting ceasefire”.

• Bloomberg is reporting that the Trump administration is aiming to secure a broad truce agreement between Russia and Ukraine by April 20.

• Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has said “difficult negotiations” lie ahead and that “we are only at the beginning of this path”.

• Russia launched a barrage of drones across Ukraine overnight, striking Kharkiv, Sumy, Chernihiv, Odesa and the Donetsk regions, as well as the capital Kyiv, according to officials.

• Three people, including a 5-year-old child, were killed and 10 others were injured in a drone attack on Kyiv, the city’s military administration said.

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian attacks across his country continue to be a “daily reality” despite the partial ceasefire agreed to last week. “New decisions and new pressure on Moscow are needed to bring an end to these strikes and this war,” he wrote in a post on X.

• Russian troops reportedly seized the small village of Sribne in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, while Ukraine’s army said its troops had recaptured a small village called Nadia in the eastern Luhansk region.

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British prime minister Keir Starmer and the Dutch prime minister Dick Schoof spoke today about Ukraine over the phone, Downing Street has said.

Downing Street said in a press release:

The prime minister reflected on his attendance at the UK permanent joint headquarters on Thursday, noting the impressive military co-ordination taking place and looking ahead to further planning meetings this week.

Both also agreed that continued political momentum and action, driven by the members of the Coalition of the Willing, is vital to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position for a secure and lasting peace.

Moving on to discuss wider European defence and security, the leaders agreed that all countries must step up to meet the mounting threats we face.

They added that much closer co-operation on our defensive capabilities will be vitally important in the coming decades in order to protect Europe and secure its future.

The so-called “coalition of the willing”, led by the UK and France, could see troops from some European and Nato countries deployed to Ukraine as peacekeepers to deter future Russian aggression.

Starmer’s spokesperson said on Friday that Britain will accelerate plans next week for a potential peacekeeping force in Ukraine.

The UK’s prime minister has said that, in order to deter Vladimir Putin from attacking Ukraine again, there must be a security “backstop” from a reluctant Washington, whose forces, weaponry and logistics are the backbone of the Nato alliance….

More…

ISW…Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, March 23, 2025

• US and Ukrainian officials are meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on the evening of March 23 to discuss the contours of the temporary moratorium on long-range strikes and a possible temporary maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea.
• Unconfirmed reports suggest that there is tension between Russian Central Bank Chairperson Elvira Nabiullina and the Kremlin over Russia’s high interest rate and wartime monetary policies.
• Ukrainian forces recently advanced near Borova, and Russian forces recently advanced near Toretsk and Pokrovsk.

Daily Kos grunt Report for Today….