Russia and Ukraine launched aerial attacks on Tuesday night, targeting energy infrastructure in both countries, just hours after Vladimir Putin agreed to halt strikes on energy facilities.
The Ukrainian Air Force reported that since the evening of March 18, when the U.S. and Russian presidents spoke by phone, Russia had launched two Iskander-M ballistic missiles, four S-300 anti-aircraft guided missiles, 145 Shahed strike drones as well as numerous decoy drones. The assault targeted sites across the country, mostly in the east and south.
The attacks came after Vladimir Putin had told Donald Trump he was prepared to halt strikes on energy infrastructure with immediate effect.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said 57 Ukrainian drones had been intercepted overnight, 35 of them over the southwestern Kursk region, where Russian forces are trying to expel Ukrainian troops following an incursion last year.
In the southern Russian city of Krasnodar, an oil depot was hit by a drone, resulting in a minor fire, the BBC reported.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said Russia’s aerial assault had targeted residential buildings and healthcare facilities as well as other civilian infrastructure.
The Kyiv Post wrote that a medical building had been hit in the northeastern city of Sumy as well as a hospital in nearby Krasnopil. The capital, Kyiv, and its vicinity were also struck overnight, injuring one civilian. No fatalities were reported.
The road to peace
Following a much-anticipated phone call between the U.S. and Russian leaders on Tuesday, Donald Trump posted on his Truth Social network that the conversation had been “very productive” and that “many elements of a Contract for Peace were discussed.”
“We agreed to an immediate Ceasefire on all Energy and Infrastructure, with an understanding that we will be working quickly to have a Complete Ceasefire and, ultimately, an END to this very horrible War between Russia and Ukraine,” Trump wrote.
The White House said in a statement that the energy ceasefire would be a first step on the road to peace, followed by talks aimed at establishing a “maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea, full ceasefire and permanent peace.”
President Zelenskyy remained cautious over the news, however, saying he was in favor of the idea but that it had to be mutually respected.
“It cannot be the case that Russia attacks our energy sector, and we remain silent,” he was quoted by the New York Times as saying. “We will respond.”
During Tuesday’s call between the White House and Kremlin, Putin told Trump a “key condition” to ending the war would be a cessation of U.S. military and intelligence aid to Ukraine, something Kyiv’s allies have rejected on the grounds it would leave Ukraine perpetually vulnerable to Russian attack.
Talks between the U.S. and Russian officials will resume on March 23 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff told Fox News on March 18.
