Key developments on March 13:
- 'Russia needs war,' Zelensky says in response to Putin's preconditions for ceasefire
- Russia claims to retake Sudzha; Ukraine hasn't confirmed
- Ukrainian drones strike covert UAV plant in western Russia, sources claim
- Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant part of peace talks, Trump says
Russian President Vladimir Putin's remarks about a 30-day ceasefire indicate that he is preparing a rejection of the U.S. proposal, President Volodymyr Zelensky said during his evening address on March 13.
"Putin is afraid to say directly to (U.S.) President (Donald) Trump that he wants to continue this war, that he wants to kill Ukrainians. That's why they in Moscow demand such preconditions for a ceasefire that will make it impossible or will (postpone it) as long as possible," Zelensky said.
Kyiv agreed to a temporary truce proposed by Washington during the talks in Jeddah on March 11, provided that Russia did as well. Days after, on March 13, Putin said he was ready to agree to the proposal but demands guarantees that Kyiv will not mobilize or train troops, nor receive military aid during it.
Zelensky described Putin's response as "Russian manipulations."
"Now we have all heard very predictable, very manipulative words from Putin in response to the idea of silence at the front — he is in fact preparing to reject it as of now," Zelensky said.
In his response during a press conference on March 13, Putin mentioned the situation on the battlefield, claiming that a ceasefire would be beneficial to Ukraine now as Russia is advancing along the front line. He also raised the question of who would control the temporary truce along the more than 2,000-kilometer front line.
The American side is ready to organize the oversight and verification of the temporary ceasefire, according to Zelensky. He also argued that a truce would make it possible to address all security issues and "put a plan to end the war on the table."
"We do not set conditions that complicate anything. Russia does that," Zelensky said. "They need a war."
Zelensky called for pressure on Putin by imposing sanctions on Russia. Previously, Trump warned that Moscow could face "devastating" financial consequences if it chooses to continue its all-out war against Ukraine.
Trump said on March 13 that Putin's statement regarding the 30-day ceasefire was "very promising" but "wasn’t complete," adding he is willing to meet with the Russian president.
Kate Tsurkan
Russia claims to retake Sudzha; Ukraine hasn't confirmed
Russian forces have retaken Sudzha, a key stronghold of Ukrainian troops in Russia's Kursk Oblast, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed on March 13.
The Kyiv Independent could not immediately verify the claim. As of late March 12, the Ukrainian military confirmed battles in the Sudzha area.
Ukrainian troops captured Sudzha, a town with a pre-war population of 6,000 some 10 kilometers (6 miles) from Ukraine's border, at the start of the Kursk incursion in August 2024.
Military analysts from the DeepState monitoring group and the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) think tank have also reported that Russia has partially or fully seized Sudzha, as Ukraine is allegedly withdrawing from the town.
Russia's Defense Ministry published a video of the ruined Sudzha after its reported recapture. The Kyiv Independent could not immediately verify the footage's veracity.
"The Russian military almost entirely destroyed Sudzha with airstrikes," said Andrii Kovalenko, an official at Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council.
"The town and its surroundings were destroyed, and few civilian buildings survived."
The news comes at the heels of a rapid Russian advance in the border region that seemed to have greatly diminished the Ukrainian salient.
Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, said on March 12 that Russia has retaken more than 86% of the territory in Kursk Oblast captured by Kyiv in mid-2024.
The Russian Defense Ministry also reported capturing the settlements of Melovoi and Podol as of March 13.
Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi acknowledged the "difficult situation" in the region but said that Ukraine will hold the defenses "as long as reasonable and necessary."
Chris York
Ukrainian drones strike covert UAV plant in western Russia, sources claim
Ukrainian military intelligence (HUR) drones attacked a camouflaged drone production facility in Russia's Kaluga Oblast late on March 12, HUR sources confirmed to the Kyiv Independent.
Drone production lines were located on the grounds of an aerated concrete plant in the village of Obukhovo in Kaluga Oblast's Dzerzhinsky district, one of the sources claimed.
The statement comes after Kaluga Oblast Governor Vladislav Shapsha said that 25 drones were downed over the region overnight, with drone wreckage setting fire to an unspecified industrial facility in Dzerzhinsky district.
One employee suffered minor injuries, and the fire has been extinguished, according to Shapsha.
Locals reported powerful explosions and a fire at the plant on social media. Drone debris also damaged a cell tower and a power line in the Khvastovichsky district, the southernmost part of Kaluga Oblast, Shapsha said.
Russian air defenses downed 77 drones overnight, including 30 over Bryansk Oblast, six over Kursk and Voronezh oblasts each, and five over Rostov and Belgorod oblasts each, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed.
An unspecified infrastructure facility was also damaged on the evening of March 12 in Voronezh Oblast, a region bordering Ukraine's Luhansk Oblast, Governor Alexander Gusev said on his Telegram channel.
The targeted facility was part of the region's gas infrastructure, the Baza Telegram channel reported, citing residents.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify the claims.
Airports in Penza, Saratov, and Volgograd imposed temporary flight restrictions overnight, Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency announced.
Kollen Post
Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant part of peace talks, Trump says
Washington has discussed with Ukraine the control of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant as part of a potential peace deal, U.S. President Donald Trump said on March 13.
Speaking in the Oval Office, Trump said that Ukraine and the U.S. had discussed a lot of details of the final deal, including "concepts of land."
"We have been discussing with Ukraine land and pieces of land that would be kept and lost and all of the other elements of a final agreement," Trump said.
"There's a power plant involved, a very big power plant involved. Who is going to get the power plant, and who is going to get this and that, and so you know it's not an easy process. But phase one is the ceasefire," he added.
The largest nuclear plant in Europe, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in the city of Enerhodar, has been under Russian occupation since 2022. While the facility remains under Russian control, it is not currently generating electricity.
Note from the author:
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Timothy Ash
