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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy challenged Russian President Vladimir Putin’s commitment to halting attacks on energy infrastructure, pointing to a wave of overnight drone strikes that contradicted Putin’s recent assurances.
During a joint press conference with Finnish President Alexander Stubb in Helsinki, Zelenskyy revealed plans to discuss the situation with President Donald Trump, particularly regarding Trump’s recent conversation with Putin about ceasefire possibilities.
“Even last night, after Putin’s conversation with … Trump, when Putin said that he was allegedly giving orders to stop strikes on Ukrainian energy, there were 150 drones launched overnight, including on energy facilities,” Zelenskyy said at a news conference in Helsinki with Finnish President Alexander Stubb.
It seems that Putin is playing cards better than Trump. Not only did the Russian president not agree to the US peace plan, but he also broke the promises he made during a phone call with Donald Trump. Watch the video to find out what the presidents agreed on and what happened. pic.twitter.com/NhWKF38gIp
— Gynter Shnaider 🇺🇦 (@BraunDevis) March 19, 2025
The attacks damaged civilian areas and a hospital, coming after Putin declined to support a comprehensive 30-day ceasefire during his talks with Trump.
While the White House characterized the Trump-Putin call as an initial step toward peace, potentially leading to a Black Sea maritime ceasefire and eventual conflict resolution, Putin showed no signs of softening his stance on conditions that Ukraine firmly rejects.
At the press conference, Zelenskyy addressed the contentious issue of territorial negotiations, making Ukraine’s position clear. “For us, the red line is the recognition of the Ukrainian temporarily occupied territories as Russian,” he said. “We will not go for it.”
The aftermath of the Trump-Putin discussion saw residents of Kyiv rushing to shelters as air raid sirens wailed and explosions rocked the capital. The assault extended beyond Kyiv, with Russian drones targeting multiple regions including Sumy, where a hospital suffered a direct hit, and various cities in Donetsk region. The attacks also reached Zhytomyr, Chernihiv, Poltava, Kharkiv, Kirovohrad, Dnipropetrovsk, and Cherkasy regions.
President Trump just said the United States will start trading much more with Russia.
"With Russia, we don't have that much trade, and they'd like to, and we'd like to also have some very valuable things for us, including very big forms of rare earth."
I think all the Putin=bad… pic.twitter.com/fkp22LTMHf
— George (@BehizyTweets) March 18, 2025
Russian military officials countered with their own report, claiming their air defenses had successfully intercepted 57 Ukrainian drones over the Azov Sea and several Russian regions, including the border areas of Kursk, Bryansk, Oryol, and Tula.
Additionally, officials in the Krasnodar region, which borders the Russian-annexed Crimean Peninsula, reported a drone strike that ignited a fire at an oil storage facility.
