On a day of diplomatic posturing, a test drone flew 3,000 kilometers as Ukraine fortifies its bargaining position with homegrown military technology, while Trump prepares for a pivotal call with Putin that could reshape the war’s endgame
Summary of the Day – March 17, 2025
The diplomatic chess match intensified Monday as President Trump announced a scheduled call with Vladimir Putin while Ukraine’s Foreign Minister drew clear battle lines for any peace negotiations. Military operations continued across multiple fronts, with Russia claiming—and Ukraine denying—the capture of Stepove in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Meanwhile, long-range Ukrainian drones struck deep into Russian territory, hitting critical fuel infrastructure in Astrakhan Oblast, nearly 800 kilometers from the front. As both sides position themselves for potential peace talks, the fundamental tensions of the conflict—territorial integrity versus Russian demands, Ukraine’s sovereign right to choose alliances, and the future security architecture of Europe—remain unresolved and seemingly unbridgeable.
The Peace Illusion: Trump Reaches for the Endgame
President Donald Trump announced he will speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday in what may be the most significant diplomatic engagement on Ukraine since the war began. “We will see if we can bring that war to an end,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One, adding ominously that discussions would include “dividing up certain assets” and “talking about land.”
The scheduled call follows a flurry of diplomatic activity, including Saudi-hosted negotiations that produced a proposed 30-day ceasefire which Ukraine accepted on March 11. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed the administration is “on the 10-yard line of peace,” using an American football analogy to suggest a resolution is within reach.
But the path to peace remains fraught with fundamental disagreements. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha delineated three non-negotiable positions: Ukraine’s territorial integrity (including refusal to recognize Russian-occupied territories), Ukraine’s right to choose its alliances, and no restrictions on Ukraine’s military capabilities. “These are fundamental things that cannot be touched upon,” Sybiha emphasized in an interview with RBC-Ukraine.
Putin, meanwhile, appears to be holding the ceasefire proposal hostage to extract concessions. On March 13, he said Russia was willing to accept the U.S.-proposed ceasefire but demanded guarantees that Kyiv would halt mobilization, military training, and foreign aid deliveries during any truce—conditions that could leave Ukraine vulnerable to renewed aggression.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt conducts a news conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
The Atlantic Rift: Europe Steps Up as America Steps Back
As Washington’s commitment to Ukraine comes under question, European powers are moving to fill the potential void. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock announced a historic decision to allocate an additional €3 billion ($3.3 billion) for Ukraine by amending Germany’s constitution, bringing Berlin’s total aid for 2025 to €7 billion.
“It is important not only to strengthen our defense capabilities but also to take a quick and ambitious decision at the level of EU leaders and governments to provide military support,” Baerbock stated before the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels.
EU discussions about a possible €20 billion military aid package for Ukraine continued despite Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto’s vocal opposition. “We won’t be dragged into this; we will not allow Hungarian taxpayers’ money to be used to finance arms shipments to Ukraine,” Szijjarto declared, maintaining Budapest’s pro-Moscow stance.
The European Council approved €3.5 billion ($3.8 billion) in grants and loans for Ukraine’s macro-financial stability, reconstruction, and modernization through the Ukraine Facility program, bringing the total disbursed to €19.6 billion ($21.4 billion) since February 2024.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration has reportedly decided to withdraw from the International Center for the Prosecution of Crimes of Aggression against Ukraine and scale back the U.S. Justice Department’s War Crimes Accountability Team—moves that signal a unilateral concession to Russia without corresponding Russian compromises.
Long-Range Innovations: Ukraine’s Technological Response
President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that a Ukrainian-made long-range drone has successfully completed a 3,000-kilometer (1,864-mile) test flight, significantly expanding Ukraine’s strike capability against distant Russian targets. “There is good news about long-range drones. Our drone has passed a 3,000-kilometer test,” Zelensky said after a meeting of Ukraine’s Supreme Commander-in-Chief Headquarters.
The successful test comes as Ukraine continues to target Russia’s energy infrastructure with drone strikes. Ukrainian drones reportedly attacked a fuel and energy facility in Russia’s Astrakhan Oblast overnight, causing a fire according to regional governor Igor Babushkin. Located nearly 800 kilometers from the front lines, Astrakhan represents one of the deepest strikes into Russian territory.
Ukrainian long-range strikes have increasingly focused on Russian refineries, oil depots, and defense industry sites, aiming to degrade Moscow’s ability to sustain its full-scale invasion. During the same headquarters meeting, Ukrainian officials also discussed a new long-range missile developed by Ukraine, the Long Neptune. “We need to produce more missiles, more drones, and we will be talking about this with our partners this week,” Zelensky said. Navy spokesperson Dmytro Pletenchuk had earlier noted that the Ukrainian Navy is the only branch of the Armed Forces that uses the Long Neptune missiles.
Zaporizhzhia Contested: Competing Claims on the Southern Front
The Russian Defense Ministry claimed to have captured the small Ukrainian village of Stepove in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, continuing the incremental advances that have characterized recent fighting. However, Ukraine’s Southern Defense Forces spokesperson Vladyslav Voloshyn explicitly denied the claim.
“This is a method of information warfare—the enemy claims that it is there before it has entered,” Voloshyn told the Kyiv Independent. “I do not confirm the information that Russia entered the settlements of Stepove, Mali Shcherbaky, or Shcherbaky and took them under control.”
According to Voloshyn, “fierce fighting” continues in the area as Russian forces attempt to alter the configuration of the combat line in their favor. Since the beginning of March, Russian forces have intensified their assaults in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, with over 130 clashes registered in the Orikhiv sector alone.
The contested area near Stepove was the main axis of Ukraine’s southern counteroffensive in 2023, which led to the liberation of Robotyne but failed to achieve a major breakthrough through heavily fortified Russian defenses.
The Baltic Anxiety: Lithuania Prepares for the Worst
Lithuania’s geographic vulnerability—sharing borders with Belarus and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad—has prompted intensifying preparations for a potential conflict. Defense Minister Dovile Sakaliene told the Kyiv Independent that increasing military capabilities and strengthening alliances is “of utmost importance” for the Baltic nation.
“War won’t come tomorrow, but we are reinventing our defense in order to be ready to fight tonight,” Sakaliene said. Lithuania has committed to spending between 5% and 6% of its GDP on defense annually until at least 2030.
For many Lithuanians, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has revived painful historical memories of Soviet occupation and deportations. Emilija Sikorskyite, a 23-year-old teacher in Vilnius, recounted how her great-grandfather was deported to Siberia by Soviet authorities during World War II because he was a teacher. “He never came back. He died there,” she said.
Despite Lithuania’s NATO membership, Trump’s perceived hostility toward the alliance has eroded confidence in collective security guarantees. The infamous Oval Office confrontation between Trump and Zelensky caused “total panic” among Lithuanians, according to cultural journalist Ignas Zalieckas, with many feeling that “NATO is kind of gone.”
Military Leadership Shuffle: Zelensky Appoints New Chief of Staff
President Zelensky replaced Chief of General Staff Lieutenant General Anatoliy Barhylevych with Major General Andriy Hnatov, a 45-year-old marine officer with over 27 years of military service and substantial combat experience. Hnatov’s appointment signals a shift toward combat-tested leadership within Ukraine’s military hierarchy.
Originally trained as a tank platoon commander, Hnatov first saw combat as a staff officer and later commander of the elite 36th Marine Brigade during Russia’s initial invasion of Ukraine. He established a reputation as a fierce defender while leading increasingly larger commands in Kherson, Bakhmut, and joint forces east sectors.
Hnatov replaced Lieutenant General Barhylevych, an officer without battle command experience who had served in senior Armed Forces of Ukraine staff positions since the 2010s. Barhylevych will now take command of the Main Inspectorate of the Ministry of Defense.
The leadership change comes amid intensifying Russian pressure across multiple fronts and follows criticism of the General Staff’s handling of Ukraine’s cross-border operation into Russia’s Kursk Oblast, which ultimately failed to achieve its strategic objectives.
The North Korean Complication: POWs Create Diplomatic Opening
Ukraine is negotiating with South Korea to hand over two North Korean soldiers taken prisoner, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported. South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha discussed the potential transfer during a phone call.
Under South Korea’s Constitution, North Koreans are considered South Korean citizens, though the prisoners must express a desire to relocate. The potential transfer represents an interesting diplomatic development in the increasingly internationalized conflict.
Up to 12,000 North Korean troops were deployed to Russia’s Kursk Oblast last fall to counter Ukraine’s cross-border incursion launched in August 2024. According to President Zelensky, these forces have suffered 4,000 casualties, with two-thirds being soldiers killed.
Ukraine’s military intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, attributed the high losses to North Korea’s lack of combat experience and its use of human wave attacks with limited equipment.
Legal Authority Expanded: New Law Permits Ukrainian Troops Abroad
President Zelensky signed a law allowing Ukrainian Armed Forces to be deployed abroad during martial law, enhancing defense cooperation with partner nations and enabling Ukrainian forces to participate in training and receive military equipment outside the country.
The legislation permits Ukrainian military units to be sent to other countries for national security purposes, including repelling armed aggression, protecting sovereignty and territorial integrity, and exercising the right to self-defense under international law. The law does not authorize the deployment of Ukrainian troops for combat operations on Russian territory.
The decision to send military personnel abroad will be made by the president but requires approval from the Ukrainian parliament. Deployments will be subject to a formal request detailing the mission’s objectives, troop numbers, weaponry, and the conditions of their stay abroad.
Zelensky had previously vetoed the bill in January and returned it to parliament with amendments clarifying the decision-making process and ensuring compliance with international law.
The Human Toll Continues: Civilians Under Fire
Russian attacks across Ukraine killed at least three civilians and injured at least 12 over the past day, regional authorities reported. Ukrainian air defenses shot down 90 of the 174 attack and decoy drones launched by Russia overnight, while 70 other decoy drones reportedly disappeared from radars, likely due to Ukrainian electronic warfare interference.
Russian attacks in Donetsk Oblast killed one civilian in Myrnohrad and injured one in Siversk. Five civilians were injured in Russian attacks against Kharkiv Oblast, with an airstrike against Kupiansk damaging 22 houses and another strike against Velyka Shapkivka injuring four people.
Volunteers of East SOS Charity Foundation help an elderly woman to walk as she is evacuated from her house, as the result of constant air attacks, in Kostyantynivka, Donetsk Oblast. (Roman Pilipey/AFP via Getty Images)
One civilian was killed and three injured during Russian strikes in Kherson Oblast, while drone attacks against the Odesa district injured a woman and damaged a kindergarten, a house, a shop, and a car. In Sumy Oblast, Russian attacks killed one civilian and injured two.
Firefighters putting out a fire that broke out in Odesa Oblast Ukraine, following a Russian drone strike overnight. (State Emergency Service/Telegram)
The continued civilian casualties underscore the human cost of the war as it approaches its fourth year, with little immediate prospect for genuine safety for those living near the front lines despite the diplomatic maneuvering toward a potential ceasefire.
The View from Moscow: Putin’s Unchanging Demands
Russian officials continue to insist on conditions that would effectively destroy Ukrainian sovereignty, demonstrating that Russia’s war aims remain unchanged since before the full-scale invasion in 2022. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko claimed in an interview with Kremlin-affiliated outlet Izvestiya that Russia continues to demand that Ukraine be a neutral state and that NATO refuse to accept Ukraine as a member—the same demands Russia made in 2021 before its full-scale invasion.
The Kremlin also continues to reject the prospect of European peacekeepers in Ukraine. Grushko stated that Russia will not accept peacekeepers from the EU, NATO, or individual Western states in post-war Ukraine, considering all of these possible contingents to be “NATO contingents.” He claimed that any talks about peacekeeping missions should only occur after the conclusion of a final peace agreement.
These positions directly contradict U.S. and Ukrainian stances on post-war security arrangements. Trump stated on February 26 that Europe should be responsible for security guarantees for Ukraine, while the joint U.S.-Ukrainian March 11 statement outlined that European partners should be involved in the peace process. Foreign Minister Sybiha stressed the importance of European support in monitoring and enforcing any permanent ceasefire.
The fundamental incompatibility of these positions—Ukrainian insistence on sovereignty and territorial integrity versus Russian demands for neutrality and territorial concessions—suggests that despite diplomatic activity, the gap between the warring parties remains substantial and possibly unbridgeable.
The Long Shadow of Accountability: U.S. Withdraws from War Crimes Monitoring
In a move signaling a shift in U.S. policy, the Trump administration has reportedly decided to withdraw from the International Center for the Prosecution of Crimes of Aggression against Ukraine and scale back the U.S. Justice Department’s War Crimes Accountability Team.
The decision, expected to be announced in an email to the group’s parent organization, the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust), represents a unilateral concession to Russia without corresponding Russian compromises.
The Hague-based center supports national investigations into the crime of aggression committed by the Russian leadership, including President Putin. While the group primarily consists of specialists from Ukraine, Poland, Romania, and the Baltic countries, the Biden administration had appointed a special prosecutor to support its activities in 2023.
Ukraine is investigating more than 150,000 possible war crimes committed by Russia during the full-scale invasion, including summary executions of prisoners and targeted aerial strikes against civilians. The U.S. withdrawal from accountability mechanisms may complicate these efforts and signal diminished international support for holding Russia responsible for its actions in Ukraine.
The Economic Battlefield: Sanctions and Funding
Western sanctions against Russia could eventually be relaxed if such steps ensure security and justice for Ukraine, top Ukrainian sanctions official Vladyslav Vlasiuk told Politico. He noted that sanctions are designed to push Russia to cease its aggression and commit to lasting peace rather than being punitive measures.
The U.S., the EU, and other international partners have imposed heavy sanctions against Russia since 2022, targeting its energy sector, which funds a substantial portion of Moscow’s war budget. Later clarifying his statement, Vlasiuk emphasized that it is premature to discuss lifting sanctions, as Russia must take concrete steps first.
Meanwhile, the European Council approved €3.5 billion ($3.8 billion) in grants and loans for Ukraine through the Ukraine Facility program, bringing the total disbursed to €19.6 billion ($21.4 billion) since February 2024. The program aims to support Ukraine’s economy and reconstruction while advancing reforms aligned with EU accession.
Germany has also delivered three Gepard anti-aircraft systems with 10,000 rounds of ammunition, 24 mine protection vehicles, and other military aid to Ukraine. Berlin remains Ukraine’s largest military donor in Europe, second only to the U.S. in terms of defense assistance.
The Psychological Dimension: Preparing for the Worst
As the war grinds on, citizens across Europe are increasingly preparing for potential escalation. In Lithuania, conversations about Russian invasion have become “very common at parties, gatherings, lunch breaks, water cooler talk,” according to Gabija Stasiukyne, a 32-year-old fintech professional in Vilnius.
Many Lithuanians have packed emergency bags and developed evacuation plans, learning from Ukraine’s experience. “A lot of Ukrainians are saying they weren’t prepared at all. We are trying to learn from people’s mistakes,” said Emilija Sikorskyite, who had studied in Kyiv before the full-scale invasion.
The psychological impact extends beyond the Baltics. Eimantas Cesnys, a volunteer soldier from Vilnius who conducts survival courses for ninth-graders, joined the military after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “I thought that I should be prepared,” he said.
This growing anxiety reflects the broader concerns about the war’s potential expansion and the uncertain future of European security, even as diplomatic efforts intensify to find a path toward peace.