Summary
Talks between the US and Russian delegations were taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as Donald Trump pushes to broker a limited ceasefire that Washington hopes will mark the first step toward lasting peace in Ukraine.
Ukraine and Russia have agreed in principle to a one-month halt on strikes on energy infrastructure after Trump spoke with the countries’ leaders last week. But uncertainty remains. We are pausing this live blog now. Here is the Guardian’s main story on the events of the day. We will continue to cover the talks as they happen in due course.
Here’s where things stand:
Donald Trump said again on Monday that he expects a US-Ukraine revenue-sharing agreement on Ukrainian critical minerals will be signed soon. The US president has been teasing such a deal for a few weeks.
Ukrainian prime minister Denys Shmyhal said the continuing Russian attacks on his country show that Moscow wants to go on with its “terror” despite the partial ceasefire agreed to last week. He said there were children among “casualties” in the latest assault.
A Russian missile attack on an industrial facility in Ukraine’s northeastern city of Sumy on Monday damaged a residential area and a hospital, and injured at least 28 people. At least four children were among the injured, acting Sumy mayor Artem Kobzar said, without identifying the industrial facility.
The talks in Riyadh are centred on the safety of shipping in the Black Sea. Washington has been eyeing a Black Sea ceasefire deal, a major aim of Russia, before securing a wider agreement. The White House wants a maritime ceasefire to allow the free flow of shipping.
Moscow is interested in restoring a deal that allowed Ukraine to export grain from its ports without being attacked, according to reports. If the deal is revived, Russia would export farm produce and fertiliser through the Black Sea, getting relief from sanctions imposed by western countries.
Moscow and Washington believe they have a common understanding on the need to move towards a settlement to end the war. However, Reuters reported that there are still many different aspects of that to be worked out.
Sunday’s talks between Ukraine and the US were technical, related to infrastructure and shipping safety, but “productive and focused” and the Kyiv delegation remains in Saudi Arabia. Ukrainian adviser Serhiy Leshchenko says further talks could take place with the US.
The Kremlin says a suspension on strikes against Ukrainian energy infrastructure, agreed in the Putin-Trump phone call last Tuesday, remains in place. At least seven people were killed in a barrage of strikes from more than 140 drones across Ukraine on Sunday, according to local officials and emergency services.
A war correspondent for Russia’s main pro-Kremlin newspaper, Izvestia, was killed in Ukraine on Monday, the outlet announced.
Izvestia correspondent Alexander Fedorchak was killed in the zone of the special military operation,” Izvestia said, using Moscow’s propaganda term for its invasion of its southern neighbor and the resulting three-year old war.
The man was killed in the Kharkiv region in eastern Ukraine, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports.
The publicity sheet said that its correspondent died “in the Kupyansk direction” - a city that has been under intense Russian attack and where Russian forces have been advancing.
His last report was broadcast literally the day before,” Izvestia said on its website.
Izvestia was previously a Soviet organ focusing on foreign affairs.
Russian war correspondent from "Izvestia" Alexander Fedorchak has been killed in the combat zone on the Kharkiv front in Ukraine.
— Status-6 (Military & Conflict News) (BlueSky too) (@Archer83Able) March 24, 2025
"Izvestia" informed about it on Monday. pic.twitter.com/s7VIgEjhu0
