Washington is hopeful for a ceasefire by April 20, despite Russia’s ongoing attacks on Ukraine, Bloomberg reported on March 23, citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter.
U.S. President Donald Trump has pushed for a quick end to the war since taking office in January, but so far there has been very little progress.
The White House still believes it could achieve a truce by Easter, a symbolic date as both Western and Orthodox celebrations overlap this year, although it's prepared for a delay given the current impasse, sources told Bloomberg.
So far, the Trump administration has only been able to orchestrate a temporary 30-day ceasefire between Kyiv and Moscow on energy infrastructure.
While Washington celebrated the agreement on March 18, Russia and Ukraine continue to exchange drone strikes, with dozens of Ukrainian civilians killed over the last week.
When asked about the continued attacks on March 21, Trump told reporters: “I believe we’re going to pretty soon have a full ceasefire.”
The latest Russian strike on March 23, killed at least three people in Kyiv, including a five-year-old girl and her father. At least 10 other people were injured.
On March 22 ust hours before the attack on Kyiv, Trump told sports media outlet OutKick that efforts to end the war in Ukraine are "somewhat under control," and that he's had "some very rational discussions" with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
U.S. negotiators are set to separately meet Ukrainian and Russian delegates in Riyadh on March 24 to discuss the partial ceasefire proposal.
Until now, the Trump team has only held bilateral talks with each side separately, including meetings with Russia in Riyadh on Feb. 18 and Istanbul on Feb. 27, and with Ukraine in Jeddah on March 11.
Neither Moscow nor Kyiv have said they will accept each other's demands, including Russia’s call to end arms deliveries to Ukraine. Ukrainian officials have expressed skepticism about any substantial results from the Saudi Arabia talks.
Natalia Yermak
(Updated: )
