Norway Russia massively attacks Ukraine ahead of ceasefire meeting
Shortly before planned negotiations on a limited ceasefire in the war in Ukraine, Russia once again subjected the neighboring country to heavy attacks during the night.
21.03.2025, 05:18
SDA
The southern Ukrainian port city of Odessa was the target of a massive Russian drone attack. "Odessa is on fire, Russian drones hit civilian objects in the city," wrote Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian president's office, on Telegram. There were casualties.
Ukrainian public radio had previously reported more than 15 explosions in the city. Videos on social networks showed suspected impacts and fires. There was a power cut in parts of the city.
The south-eastern Ukrainian industrial city of Zaporizhia was also attacked by drones. According to the state rescue service, at least five people were injured, including a child. Several residential buildings and cars were reportedly set on fire.
Military blog: Advances near Zaporizhia and in Kursk
The Ukrainian military-affiliated blog "DeepState" reported on Russian advances near Zaporizhia and in the Russian region of Kursk during the night. Russia had repeatedly announced that it would completely liberate the Kursk region.
Ukrainian troops invaded the region at the beginning of August to put additional pressure on Russia in its war of aggression. Kiev's troops took control of dozens of villages in the area close to the border, including the city of Sudzha. Russian troops recently liberated individual towns again.
Ukraine has been defending itself against a Russian invasion for over three years. Both warring parties recently declared their willingness in principle to refrain from attacking the enemy's energy infrastructure. Details of the possible agreement are to be worked out during talks with the USA in Saudi Arabia on Monday.
Planned talks on ceasefire
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the planned talks during a visit to Norway. Accordingly, a "technical team" from Ukraine is to travel to Saudi Arabia.
"I understand the structure as follows: there will be a meeting between Ukraine and America and then - as the American partners have said - shuttle diplomacy: then America with Russia," said the Ukrainian in Oslo. The US special envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, told the US broadcaster ABC that the talks could also take place in parallel.
Initially, the subject should be a ceasefire limited to energy facilities. Such a ceasefire could therefore be the first step towards a complete ceasefire and an end to the war. Both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelenskyi had already agreed in principle to a temporary halt to attacks on energy infrastructure in enemy territory in telephone conversations with US President Donald Trump.
Macron invites "coalition of the willing" to new Ukraine summit
Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron has invited supporters of Ukraine to another summit in Paris next Thursday. Macron said at an EU summit in Brussels that the aim was to finalize work to support the Ukrainian armed forces in the presence of Selenskyj and to define what contribution European armed forces could make to security guarantees for the country. The aim was to prevent a renewed Russian invasion.
Macron went on to say that Ukraine needed credible support to ensure that any ceasefire would hold in the future. This would also strengthen its position in possible negotiations.
Ground troops from the UK and France?
The meeting in Paris is intended to build on the progress made during consultations at military level in London on Thursday. A good two dozen European and other states took part in these talks. In addition to heads of state and government of European NATO countries, representatives of Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Turkey have also taken part in previous talks of the "coalition of the willing" at political level.
One of the issues being discussed is whether and under what conditions European armed forces could contribute to securing a ceasefire. Great Britain and France have shown themselves to be open in principle to sending ground troops to Ukraine. However, they are insisting that the USA provide security in the event of an escalation.
EU wants to massively rearm by 2030
Partly due to the ongoing war in Ukraine, the EU wants to massively rearm by the end of the decade. At their spring summit in Brussels, the heads of state and government of the member states decided to do everything in their power to significantly strengthen Europe's defense readiness over the next five years, according to a declaration published in the evening. The background to the plans is that, according to the European Commission, the EU must immediately prepare for the possibility of a large-scale war with Russia. There were initially no new major aid commitments for Ukraine at the summit.
Budget committee votes on billions for Ukraine
In Berlin, the Bundestag's Budget Committee is to decide today on a billion-euro package for additional military aid to Ukraine. The basis for this is a bill from the Federal Ministry of Finance. The package involves an additional three billion euros for this year and up to 8.3 billion euros for 2026 to 2029.
Trump: On the verge of a raw materials deal with Ukraine
Meanwhile, the US President once again held out the prospect of signing an agreement on a strategic raw materials partnership with Ukraine in the near future. "We will soon be signing an agreement on rare earths with Ukraine," Trump said in the White House.
Shortly after taking office in January, Trump linked aid for Ukraine, which is under attack from Russia, to access to its stockpile of rare earths. The exploitation of raw materials in Ukraine is considered strategically important and economically lucrative. A large proportion of the resources are also located in the Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia.
