Russian forces conducted a series of drone strikes against Ukraine on the night of March 25 and 26.
Ukrainian troops destroyed a Russian command and observation post in the area between Viktorivka and Uspenivka in Russia's Kursk Oblast, Ukraine’s General Staff reported on March 26. The commander of the 1st Battalion of the 9th Motor Rifle Regiment was killed in the strike, according to the statement.
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⚡️Ukrainian troops destroyed a Russian command post in the area between Viktorovka and Uspenovka in Russia's Kursk Oblast, Ukraine’s General Staff reported on March 26.
The commander of the 1st Battalion of the 9th Motor Rifle Regiment was killed in the strike, according to the statement.
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— The Kyiv Independent (@kyivindependent.com) March 26, 2025 at 11:36 PM
The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russian forces launched 117 Shahed and decoy drones from the directions of Kursk City; Millerovo, Rostov Oblast; Primorsko-Akhtarsk, Krasnodar Krai; and occupied Cape Chauda, Crimea.[71] The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Ukrainian forces downed 56 drones and that 49 were ”lost,” likely due to Ukrainian electronic warfare (EW) interference. Ukrainian officials reported that Russian forces struck infrastructure in Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, Kirovohrad, and Cherkasy oblasts and conducted the largest Shahed strike against Kryvyi Rih, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast since the start of the war in February 2022.[72]
Ukrainian Center for Countering Disinformation Head Lieutenant Andriy Kovalenko reported on March 26 that Russian forces are preparing new Shahed launch sites and expanding Shahed crews to increase the number of Shahed strikes against Ukraine.[73]
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- The details of the ceasefire agreements on energy strikes and maritime operations in the Black Sea that US, Ukrainian, and Russian officials reached on March 24 and 25 remain unclear.
- Russia and Ukraine exchanged accusations of strikes and ceasefire violations, although the ceasefire terms remain unclear.
- Russian officials explicitly rejected US President Donald Trump's recent suggestion that the United States could be involved in operating the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP).
- The European Union (EU) will likely maintain sanctions on Russia despite Russian demands for Western sanctions relief as preconditions for a temporary ceasefire with Ukraine in the Black Sea.
- Russian forces recently advanced in Kursk Oblast, near Toretsk, Velyka Novosilka, and in western Zaporizhia Oblast.
- Ukrainian forces recently advanced in Belgorod Oblast and near Toretsk.
- Russia continues to reorganize drone detachments into new units, likely as part of an ongoing effort to establish the Russian Unmanned Systems Force (USF).
The details of the ceasefire agreements on energy strikes and maritime operations in the Black Sea that US, Ukrainian, and Russian officials reached on March 24 and 25 remain unclear. Russia and Ukraine appear to agree that a ceasefire against strikes on energy infrastructure is active as of March 25, but US and Ukrainian statements continue to make clear that technical negotiations are ongoing.[1] Ukrainian Presidential Office Deputy Head Pavlo Palisa stated on March 26 that Ukraine is still working to develop monitoring mechanisms for the ceasefires, which is consistent with US, Russian, and Ukrainian statements on March 25 jointly agreeing to develop measures to implement the energy infrastructure ceasefire.[2] Palisa stated that both ceasefires on Black Sea operations and strikes against energy infrastructure came into force upon the publication of the joint US-Ukrainian statement on March 25.[3] Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov claimed on March 26 that Russian forces are implementing Russian President Vladimir Putin's March 18 order to adhere to the ceasefire on energy infrastructure strikes.[4] The absence of officially published joint texts of the agreements that Ukraine and Russia signed continues to make evaluating the specifics of these ceasefires difficult, and the ceasefire terms remain unclear.[5]
The European Union (EU) will likely maintain sanctions on Russia despite Russian demands for Western sanctions relief as preconditions for a temporary ceasefire with Ukraine in the Black Sea. European Commission's Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Anitta Hipper stated on March 26 that the EU would consider lifting or amending sanctions against Russia if Russia "end[s] its unprovoked aggression in Ukraine" and "unconditonal[ly] withdraw[s]" all Russian forces from Ukraine.[16] Hipper's statement is likely a response to the Kremlin's recent demand that it will not implement the terms of the ceasefire in the Black Sea with Ukraine until the US lifts sanctions on Russian state-owned agricultural bank Rosselkhozbank and other unspecified financial organizations involved in international food and fertilizer trade.[17] The United States will likely require EU cooperation in order to lift some sanctions and restrictions on Russian agricultural, financial, and trade entities to reconnect Russia to international agricultural and fertilizer markets.
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🚨🚨Russia's "unconditional withdrawal" from Ukraine is one of the main preconditions for changing or lifting EU sanctions, @ec.europa.eu spokesperson Anitta Hipper told Ukrainian media outlet Suspilne today.🧵
kyivindependent.com/lifting-eu-s...
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— Jacob Öberg (@profjacob.bsky.social) March 26, 2025 at 12:12 PM
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Ukrainian security sources have exposed a scheme by Russian billionaire Gennady Timchenko, a close Putin ally, to disguise Russian gas as Central Asian and sell it to the EU, using Uzbek businessman Bakhtiyor Fazilov as a front, sources told NV.
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— The New Voice of Ukraine (@english.nv.ua) March 26, 2025 at 3:13 PM
(I)n the Signal chat, according to the report on it by The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg, Mr. Vance told the other officials that he thought the timing of the Yemen operation was a “mistake.” Mr. Vance argued that European nations overwhelmingly benefited from the U.S. Navy’s efforts to protect shipping lanes from Houthi attacks, and he seemed to question if Mr. Trump understood the potential consequences of the action.
“I am not sure the president is aware how inconsistent this is with his message on Europe right now,” Mr. Vance said. “There’s a further risk that we see a moderate to severe spike in oil prices. I am willing to support the consensus of the team and keep these concerns to myself.”
When others argued in favor of the strikes, Mr. Vance said he would support them but added, “I just hate bailing Europe out again.”
The highly sensitive conversation, held outside a secure government channel, provided an unfiltered glimpse into Mr. Vance’s approach to discussions with national security officials and his frustration with Europe. But the response from his team was another sign of how unwelcome policy disagreements are in an administration that prioritizes loyalty to Mr. Trump.
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Imagine for a moment what would ensue if Biden’s defense secretary accidentally texted attack plans to Sean Hannity
