Key developments on March 11:
- Ukraine agrees to 30-day ceasefire if Russia abides by it, Kyiv says
- US to 'immediately' resume security assistance, intelligence sharing to Ukraine
- Ukraine targets Russian oil facilities in Moscow, Oryol oblasts in mass strike overnight, military claims
- Putin unwilling to compromise on Ukraine, sets maximalist demands, Bloomberg reports
- Russia claims to recapture 12 Kursk Oblast settlements amid new offensive
Kyiv is ready to accept Washington's proposal to immediately implement a temporary, 30-day ceasefire, which can be extended by mutual agreement, the Presidential Office announced on March 11 after the talks with the U.S. in Saudi Arabia.
Ukraine is ready to take such a step only if Russia adheres to the terms of the ceasefire in the same way.
"Ukrainian proposal for this meeting with the Americans was three things: ceasefire in the sky — missiles, bombs, long-range drones — and ceasefire at sea, as well as measures to establish trust to this process, first of all – the release of prisoners," President Volodymyr Zelensky said following the meeting.
"The American side understands our arguments, accepts our proposals, I want to thank President (Donald) Trump for the constructiveness of our teams' conversation," he added.
And today, there was a proposal from the American side to take the first step right away and attempt to establish a complete ceasefire for 30 days, not only regarding missiles, drones, and bombs, not only in the Black Sea but also along the entire front line," Zelensky said.
"Ukraine accepts this proposal." Zelensky added that the U.S. "must convince Russia" to abide by it. The president added that as part of the deal, the U.S. agreed to resume intelligence sharing with Ukraine.
During the talks, the Ukrainian delegation proposed to implement a partial truce in the sky and at sea, while the U.S. side wanted "to try to do more," a source close to the Presidential Office told the Kyiv Independent.
Russia's stance toward a partial ceasefire is unclear, the source added. Moscow has repeatedly rejected freezing hostilities along the current front line, believing it has the upper hand on the battlefield.
"Within a certain period, we will prepare a final agreement on how to end the war. Now, the discussions concern only the first steps," the source said.
Kateryna Hodunova
US to 'immediately' resume security assistance, intelligence sharing to Ukraine
The United States will immediately lift the pause on intelligence sharing and resume security assistance to Ukraine, Ukraine's Presidential Office announced on March 11.
The U.S. has suspended military aid and intelligence to Ukraine after a meeting between President Volodymyr Zelensky, U.S. President Donald Trump, and U.S. Vice President JD Vance in the White House that ended in a heated argument.
The freeze on military aid has drawn criticism even from members of Trump's own party. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said that pulling aid from Ukraine in the midst of Russia's war would "be worse than Afghanistan."
U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz confirmed during a joint press conference in Jeddah that Washington will continue to provide military assistance to Ukraine under the so-called Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA) program.
The delegations also discussed the essential role of humanitarian efforts in achieving peace, including the exchange of prisoners of war, the release of detained civilians and the return of forcibly displaced Ukrainian children.
The delegates will determine the composition of their negotiating teams to begin further negotiations to achieve a sustainable peace that will ensure Ukraine's long-term security, the Presidential Office's statement read.
Andreas Umland
Ukraine targets Russian oil facilities in Moscow, Oryol oblasts in mass strike overnight, military claims
Ukrainian forces successfully attacked the Moscow Oil Refinery and a Druzhba oil pipeline facility in Oryol Oblast overnight on March 11, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported.
The statement comes after Russia claimed to have downed over 330 Ukrainian drones in the Moscow, Oryol, and eight other oblasts in a massive drone strike.
The attack was carried out by Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces in cooperation with the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and military intelligence (HUR), the General Staff said.
The operation "struck a number of Russian strategic objects, enabling armed aggression against Ukraine," the military said. Ukraine has repeatedly targeted industrial and military facilities in Russia's rear to undermine Moscow's ability to wage its war.
Multiple hits were recorded at the Moscow Oil Refinery, which is capable of processing 11 million metric tons of oil per year and covers 40-50% of Moscow's gasoline and diesel supplies, according to the statement.
Explosions were also reported at the Stalnoy Kon fuel facility in Oryol Oblast. This facility is a key part of the Druzhba oil pipeline infrastructure and ensures oil supplies to the Ust-Luga port in Leningrad Oblast.
The facility lies around 170 kilometers (100 miles) from the Russia-Ukraine border.
Russia's Defense Ministry claimed its forces had intercepted a massive strike of 337 Ukrainian drones across multiple regions, including 91 over Moscow Oblast, 126 over Kursk Oblast, 38 over Bryansk Oblast, eight over Oryol Oblast, and others over the Belgorod, Ryazan, Kaluga, Lipetsk, Voronezh, and Nizhny Novgorod regions.
This would mark Ukraine's most extensive drone strike against Moscow and Russia throughout the full-scale war.
Russian officials did not report hits against any strategic targets but claimed that civilian sites were damaged across Moscow Oblast. Three people were allegedly killed by drone debris, while 18 were wounded, Moscow claims.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify the claims.
The Ukrainian military said it has "detailed information about the strategic facilities" enabling Russian aggression and "adheres to the norms of international humanitarian law and takes measures to protect the civilian population as much as possible."
Natalia Yermak
Putin unwilling to compromise on Ukraine, sets maximalist demands, Bloomberg reports
Russian President Vladimir Putin remains unwilling to compromise in peace talks, complicating U.S. President Donald Trump's efforts to secure a settlement, Bloomberg reported on March 10, citing undisclosed Western security officials.
Putin has deliberately set "maximalist" demands on territory, peacekeepers, and Ukraine's neutrality, knowing they will likely be unacceptable to Kyiv and European nations, the outlet wrote.
In June 2024, Putin insisted Ukraine must withdraw from the four partially occupied regions — Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia — as a precondition for negotiations.
Despite Trump's claim on Feb. 24 that Putin would allow European peacekeepers in Ukraine as part of a deal, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has rejected the idea.
Putin, according to Western officials, is prepared to continue the war if his conditions are not met, raising doubts about his seriousness regarding a settlement.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov dismissed the claims in a comment for Bloomberg, insisting that Russia remains open to diplomatic negotiations.
"Russia is open for peace efforts and prefers to reach our goals through peaceful and diplomatic means," he told Bloomberg.
Oleg Sukhov
Russia claims to recapture 12 Kursk Oblast settlements amid new offensive
Russian forces have recaptured 12 settlements and 100 square kilometers (40 square miles) in Kursk Oblast previously held by Ukrainian troops, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed on March 11.
The Ukrainian military has not commented on the claims, which could not be independently verified.
The statement comes after Moscow launched a new offensive in the Russian border region, reportedly achieving a breakthrough south of the key town of Sudzha in an effort to encircle the Ukrainian salient.
Russia recaptured the settlements of Agronom, Bogdanovka, Bondarevka, Dmitryukov, Zazulevka, Ivashkovsky, Kolmakov, Kubatkin, Martynovka, Mikhailovka, Pravda, and Yuzhny in recent military operations, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed.
The DeepState monitoring group confirmed significant territorial losses on Ukraine's part in Kursk Oblast since Russia launched its offensive last week.
Russian troops and their North Korean allies have also reportedly begun launching attacks in the Sudzha area. Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi, claimed that there is currently no threat of encirclement as Ukrainian troops are moving to "favorable defense lines."
Syrskyi added that some of the settlements Russia claims to have retaken "no longer exist" as they have been destroyed by Russian fire.
Ukraine's commander-in-chief added that he had decided to reinforce Ukrainian troops in Kursk Oblast with "the necessary forces and means," including electronic warfare and drones.
Concerns about the Ukrainian operation in Kursk Oblast, ongoing since August 2024, have mounted over the weekend amid reports of Russian advances. The development came shortly after the U.S. cut off military and intelligence support for Ukraine, allegedly to push Kyiv to the negotiating table.
Note from the author:
Ukraine War Latest is put together by the Kyiv Independent news desk team, who keep you informed 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you value our work and want to ensure we have the resources to continue, join the Kyiv Independent community.
