These are the key developments on day 1,118 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Here is the roundup of key events on Tuesday, March 18.
Fighting
One person was injured and a fire broke out in an oil refinery in Russia’s Astrakhan following a Ukrainian drone attack, the region’s governor, Igor Babushkin, said.
Moscow’s Ministry of Defence said its forces destroyed 72 Ukrainian drones over various Russian regions overnight, including 36 over the Kursk area. Russian troops also seized the village of Stepove in Ukraine’s Zaporizhia region, the ministry said.
The Ukrainian Air Force said its air defence units shot down 90 of 174 Russian drones overnight. A further 70 drones were “lost” due to electronic warfare mechanisms. One civilian was reported injured in the attacks, which also damaged a kindergarten, a home, a shop and a car in Odesa, the region’s governor, Oleh Kiper, said.
Politics and diplomacy
United States President Donald Trump told reporters that he plans to speak with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, on Tuesday. “We want to see if we can bring that war to an end. Maybe [we] can, maybe we can’t, but I think we have a very good chance,” he said.
The White House said Trump is expected to discuss a power plant bordering Ukraine and Russia in his call to Putin.
European Union’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Russia’s conditions for a ceasefire with Ukraine demonstrate its reluctance to declare peace because those are their “ultimate goals that they want to achieve from the war”.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ratified a bill allowing Ukrainian troops to be deployed in other countries during martial law. According to an explanatory note submitted along with the legislation, Kyiv said it would ensure “national security and defence as well as repelling and determining armed aggression against Ukraine”.
British prime minister’s spokesman Dave Pares told reporters that the United Kingdom expects that more than 30 European countries would be willing to send their troops. “Obviously, the contribution capabilities will vary, but this will be a significant force, with a significant number of countries,” he said.
French President Emmanuel Macron said Trump is committed to the conditions set forth by Russia for a 30-day ceasefire. However, Macron said on X that it was up to Russia to prove that it really wanted peace.
Zelenskyy said Putin has been unable to “force out a simple yes” to the ceasefire deal, despite it being almost a week after a deal was proposed.