These are important developments on the 1,114th day of Russia’s Ukrainian War.
This is the situation for Friday, March 14th:
Fineting
Russian President Vladimir Putin said his forces had locked up Ukrainian soldiers still remaining in the country’s western Kursk region. There, after Kiev’s army made a bold invasion, they clinged to one of the important battles of the war for more than seven months. Putin told a news conference that Kursk’s situation was “fully under our control, and the groups that invaded our territory are isolated.” Ukrainian military leaders have denied that their troops are under siege, but said the rest of the Kursk region have adopted a better defensive position. According to the Russian military, Ukraine currently holds less than 200 square kilometers (77 square miles) in Kursk, falling from 1,300 square kilometers (500 square miles) at the peak of the invasion. The map published by Deep State, the prestigious Ukrainian source that charts the frontlines of war, shows a dramatic reduction in Ukraine’s territory in the past week, but has largely remained unchanged in the past 24 hours. Ukrainian general staff said five Russian attacks in Kursk have been repelled and clashes continue at four locations. A Russian war correspondent reported a Ukrainian cannon fire in the town of Suja, Kursk, which Russia had recaptured on Wednesday. The battle is reportedly ongoing in the area of Suda as some Ukrainian soldiers leave Kursk and try to fight back to nearby Ukraine, the Associated Press (AP) news agency said. A video clip of Sudzha, published by Russian media and military bloggers, showed scenes of devastation from seven months of combat in burnt-out cars, roofless buildings and mountains of tiled rubs.
Ukrainian soldiers and commanders fear that the superiority of the Russian air will allow them to wipe out logistics routes essential to keeping soldiers still in Kursk, the AP reports. To retreat from Kursk, Ukrainian soldiers must walk several tens of kilometers to return to Ukraine, avoiding the Russian troops.
Ceasefire
Putin has in principle agreed to the US proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine, but warned that the terms have not yet been resolved. “The idea itself is correct and we certainly support it,” Putin said at a press conference in Moscow. “But there’s an issue that we need to discuss. I think we’ll have to talk to our American colleagues and partners about it, and maybe we’ll have to call President Trump and talk with him,” Putin said that Russian forces are moving forward along the entire frontline, and the ceasefire must ensure that Ukraine doesn’t try to use it simply to reorganize. “How and how can we guarantee that nothing like this will happen? How do we control it? [of the ceasefire] Will it be organized? ” Putin said. “These are all serious questions,” US President Donald Trump said there was a “good signal” coming out of Russia, offering guarded optimism about Putin’s statement. Trump said Putin “issued a very promising statement, but it wasn’t perfect.” Ukrainian President Voldy Mie Zelensky characterized Putin’s response to the ceasefire program as “operation,” saying he “in fact is he’s prepared to reject it.” In an evening video message, Zelensky said Putin had not dared to publicly tell Trump that he wanted to continue the war.
Now we all hear from Russian Putin’s very predictable and manipulative words that he is actually prepared to reject it, responding to the idea of a frontline ceasefire.
Of course, Putin is afraid to tell President Trump directly what he wants…pic.twitter.com/swbywmga46
– volodymyr Zelenskyy /волододир work зеленсkana (@zelenskyyua) March 13, 2025
Andri Yamak, the Ukrainian president’s chief of staff, said his country would not agree to a freeze-up conflict with Russia. Russia is where ceasefires are not resolved properly and occasionally fights Rumble with eruptions. British Foreign Secretary David Lamy said Putin’s condition for a ceasefire is “wrong” and that a pause in the fight would be the “first step” to launch a “complete settlement” speech to end the war. Trump envoy Steve Witkov arrived in Moscow to discuss ceasefire plans. Top Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said Witkov would meet Putin when the president “gives a signal,” Russian news agency reported.
Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said that if Russia reaches an agreement with the US in a ceasefire, Europe and Ukraine will “take.” Lukashenko said Moscow and Washington would hold the fate of Europe “in their hands.” “If Russia refuses this test and fails, it’s clear who wants war and who wants peace.” Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told Putin in a call that his kingdom is committed to promoting dialogue and supporting a political solution to the Ukrainian crisis, the Saudi Arabian State News reported.
Military
The US is poised to resume shipping long-range bombs known as ground-fired small-diameter bombs (GLSDBs) to Ukraine after being upgraded to better counter Russia’s electronic jamming technology. The ammunition arrives amid reports that Ukraine has run out of supply of Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMs) in similar range. Sweden has announced a new military aid package worth 3 billion Swedish Krona ($294 million) to enhance Ukraine’s artillery capabilities, reported Turkish news agency Anadoru. Air National Guard Jack Teisheyla, who sparked an international fuss when he leaked highly classified US documents about the war in Ukraine, used his court dramatic hearing to describe himself as a “proud patriot” who “exposes and corrects lies perpetrated by the Biden administration.”
Politics and diplomacy
German Foreign Minister Annalena Bearbock, a group of seven (G7) foreign ministers in eastern Canada, emphasized the importance of Western unity despite tensions with the US over approach to Russia. NATO Executive Director Mark Latte praised Trump when they met in the oval office and said he welcomed fellow members of the military alliance to the president’s efforts to strengthen their defensive spending.
Principality
The US Treasury Department has confirmed that the license to allow wind energy trading with Russian financial institutions has expired, as scheduled this week under severe sanctions imposed on the final day of Joe Biden’s presidency. On January 10, the Biden administration banned energy financing transactions with Russian banks, including Sberbank, VTB and the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, and granted them a license to clear the remaining transactions.
