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Amy Goodman

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Russia Bombs Ukraine Hours After Trump Discusses Ceasefire Plan with Putin

HeadlineMar 19, 2025

Russia’s military launched fresh attacks on Ukraine overnight, firing dozens of drones toward the capital region and bombing the eastern city of Sumy, where a drone strike on a hospital forced the evacuation of more than 100 patients. Meanwhile, Russian officials said a Ukrainian drone attack triggered a fire at an oil terminal in the southern region of Krasnodar. The violence came just hours after Russia said President Vladimir Putin had agreed to pause attacks on energy targets temporarily, during a two-hour phone call with President Trump. According to the Kremlin, Putin declined to endorse a full 30-day ceasefire and emphasized that any deal is contingent on the U.S. and its allies halting all military aid and intelligence to Ukraine. The Kremlin’s readout of the call directly contradicts this comment by President Trump on Fox News.

President Donald Trump: “We didn’t talk about aid. Actually, we didn’t talk about aid at all. We talked about a lot of things, but aid was never discussed.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he would likely support the new, more limited ceasefire, though he was waiting for more information about it; Zelensky is scheduled to speak by phone with Trump later today.
Meanwhile, Germany’s outgoing government has agreed to send an additional 3 billion euros’ worth of military aid to Ukraine. Germany’s defense minister blasted Trump’s agreement with Putin, saying it counts for “nothing,” and said Trump would have to win greater concessions.

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