London – The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, “stole” another week of war in Ukraine with his vague response to a high 30 -day fire proposed by Washington and kyiv last week, said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday.
Both Ukraine and Russia are trying to avoid the blame of prolonging the 3 -year war of Moscow and undermine the nascent Delenefire and the peace conversations led by the United States. American negotiators have now met with representatives of kyiv and Moscow in their attempt to formulate an agreement.
After the US Uuuu meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, last week, the two parties proposed a high fire of 30 days as a springboard for a broader peace agreement. Putin said it was “for” the possible freezing in the fight, although it established additional conditions for its implementation and suggested that a pause would benefit Ukraine.
Since then, Zelenskyy has published several statements by framing Putin as intentionally hindering the high fire conversations.
“After the conversations in Jeddah and the American proposal for a high fire in the front line, Russia stole almost another week, a week of war that Russia only wants,” wrote the Ukrainian president on social networks on Sunday.
A Ukrainian tank leads on a road in a town in the Dnipropetrovsk region on March 16, 2025.
Roman Pilipey/AFP through Getty Images
“We will do everything to even more intensify diplomacy,” he added. “We will do everything for diplomacy to be effective.”
Andriy Yermak, head of the Zelenskyy presidential office, wrote on Telegram: “Russia continues to attack, Ukraine is responding to the attacks and will respond until Putin stops war.”
Zelenskyy and his senior officials strive to present Ukraine as a list for peace, apparently hoping to neutralize repeated, sometimes misleading, criticism of the administration of President Donald Trump that kyiv, instead of Moscow, is the main obstacle to an agreement.
Trump said Sunday that he hopes to talk to Putin on Tuesday.
President Donald Trump talks to journalists before addressing Air Force One when he departs from the joint base of Andrews in Maryland, on March 14, 2025.
Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
“A lot of work” in a possible agreement was made during the weekend, Trump said. “We will see if we have something to announce. Maybe for Tuesday.” He said his administration wants to “see if we can end that war.”
“Maybe we can. Maybe we can’t, but I think we have a very good opportunity,” said the president, speaking aboard Air Force One when he returned to Washington, DC, Sunday night.
The fighting continues in key points along the front as the parties maneuvery to obtain advantage in more high -fire conversations.
Special attention to the Western Russian region of Kursk has been paid, where Ukrainian forces took territory in a surprise offensive of August 2024. Russian officials have said that there can be no peace conversations, while the area remains partially occupied.
The last weeks have seen Ukrainian positions there collapse under intense Russian attacks, with Putin visiting the region last week and saying that kyiv’s troops there could choose “surrender or die.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin presides over a Security Council meeting at the Novo-Aagatov residence on the outskirts of Moscow, Russia, on March 14, 2025.
Mikhail Metzel/Sputnik through AP
Both parties have also continued their long -range cross -border attacks. On Monday, the Ukraine Air Force said it demolished 90 of 174 Russian drones launched into the country during the night, with another 70 lost drones in flight without causing damage. Seven regions were affected by the attack, said the Air Force.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Ministry of Defense said Monday that its forces knocked 72 Ukrainian drones since Sunday night.
Some drones attacked the Astrakhan region in southern Russia, about 500 miles from the nearest Ukrainian controlled territory.
Igor Babushkin, the regional governor, said that Ukraine “tried a massive drone attack on facilities located in the region, including the fuel and energy complex.”
Babushkin said the fall of drone debris caused a fire in an installation, although he did not specify where. “The situation is under control,” the Governor wrote in Telegram. “A person was injured during the attack. The victim has been taken to the hospital.”
Andriy Kovalenko, head of the counter-decoding center that operates as part of the Ukraine National Security and Defense Council, said in Telegram that “unknown drones hit a fuel and energy complex” in Astrakhan. “The intensity of the work of unknown drones is increasing,” he added.
Nicholas Kerr and Kevin Shalvey of ABC News contributed to this report.
