As expected, nothing sensational happened in Saudi Arabia, as specified by the United States before the summit: they were there to listen to the two parties that met separately. As stated by the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio: “We will be more in listening mode than in conversation mode”. The meeting also started late because the Americans took it easy. Not only did the Ukrainians show up after a drone attack on Moscow to put pressure on Russia but on the side of the Russian Federation, more than putting pressure, they only got yet another halt to the negotiations.
Jeddah will therefore be the first city where the two delegations, even if not together, will talk three years after the start of the conflict. Secretary of State Rubio has specified that he has no scheduled conversation with Zelenskyj in Saudi Arabia, and the date of a meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin is not even close, as confirmed by the US Secretary of State: “The date of the meeting between Putin and Trump has not yet been set”.
According to US Secretary of State Rubio, “in any peace agreement for Ukraine, Kiev must cede territory”. According to Bloomberg, Trump’s special representative for Ukraine and Russia, Steve Witkoff, will go to Moscow, expected this week, and perhaps he will be the one to meet the Russian president.
At the table in Jeddah for the United States, Rubio and Waltz and for Ukraine, Andrj Yermak, Andrii Sibiga and Rustem Umerov sat.
In the meantime, the European Union will be able to meet the needs of the Ukrainian Armed Forces for satellite Internet communications in the event of the closure of the American Starlink system, but this can be done on the basis of commercial contracts, the European Commission said.
The ceasefire plan for Ukraine was presented in Geneva: Buffer zone – it is proposed to create a 10 km zone between the armies, which will be patrolled by 5,000 civilian officials and police. UN contingent – to ensure security they intend to send 10,000 foreign soldiers under a UN mandate. General commission – will consist of Ukrainian and Russian military personnel along with international observers. The commission must monitor compliance with the terms of the ceasefire, resolve issues related to the exchange of prisoners, demining and the creation of humanitarian corridors. The main obstacle to the implementation of the plan may be the Kremlin’s position: Putin may not respect the terms of the ceasefire, according to the EU.
Yesterday in Paris, the United States did not invite military representatives to the summit for Ukraine, source Associated Press. According to the Agency, the meeting was discussing the creation of international security forces for Kiev. Washington was not invited to the round table because Europe wants to demonstrate its ability to take responsibility for maintaining peace in Ukraine. Croatia and Montenegro were also not invited. The remaining countries are members of NATO.
From Ukraine, the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine said that “massive strikes by Ukrainian drones in the Moscow region are a “signal” sent to Putin about the need for a ceasefire in the air.” This was stated by the head of the Center for Countering Disinformation, Kovalenko.
According to the Ukrainians, for long-term peace in Ukraine it is necessary to fulfill a number of conditions, in particular, increasing pressure on Russia and providing security guarantees to Kiev, – said the head of the office of the president of Ukraine Andriy Ermak in an article for The Guardian. His other theses: A ceasefire in Ukraine will not happen only through diplomatic initiatives. Ukraine must be provided with security guarantees that will ensure confidence in a future ceasefire agreement. Europe must act decisively to strengthen sanctions against Russia. Europe cannot allow a ceasefire that will only serve to allow Russia to rearm, rebuild its forces and regain more Ukrainian land and resources. One of the most powerful tools in the European arsenal is the 300 billion euros of frozen Russian assets. These assets should remain under embargo and the proceeds from them should be used to support Ukraine’s financial renewal.
From Russia, a government Tu-204-300 flew to Simferopol, the airport has been recruiting personnel since the end of last year. Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov visited the frontline in the Kursk region, to thank the Russian military for the success in this direction in recent days. Also from press sources we learn that Putin has extended the civil service term of Deputy Foreign Minister A.V. Grushko until April 26, 2026.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in his morning press conference: “So many weapons have been brought to Ukraine that they will last for many months after the end of supplies.” He also specified that “if Musk disconnects Ukraine from Starlink, the Kiev militants will quickly receive an alternative.” As a result of a drone strike on the Moscow region, 18 people were injured, including three children, and three people were killed, the Russian Ministry of Health reported; it also specified that there are currently 6 people hospitalized.
And now a look at the front line updated to 15:30 on March 11.
In the northwest of Russia, a Polish Saab 340 ISR reconnaissance aircraft was detected. Russian social media sources report that the logistics corridor of the Ukrainian Armed Forces is being attacked with FPV drone nets in the Sumy region, the idea was adopted by Russian troops.
Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Syrsky has indeed confirmed the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops in the Kursk region, Ukrainian media write. “The units are taking timely measures to maneuver to advantageous defense lines,” Syrsky said.
Three people were killed and 9 injured in an attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on a shopping center in the settlement of Belaya in the Kursk region. In the region, Russian forces have captured 12 settlements, according to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation: Bogdanovka, Bondarevka, Dmitryukov, Zazulevka, Ivashkovsky, Kolmakov, Kubatkin, Martynovka, Mikhailovka, Pravda, Yuzhny.
Russian forces attacked targets in the Odessa region and reported explosions in Zhytomyr, Chernihiv, Kiev and Kramatorsk.
Massive drone strike in Russian regions, the largest strike since the beginning of the conflict: 337 drones of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were destroyed and intercepted by air defense forces on the night of March 11. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, 91 drones were destroyed on the territory of the Moscow region, 126 in the Kursk region, 38 UAVs in the Bryansk region, 25 drones in the Belgorod region and 22 in the Ryazan region. In addition, several more drones were shot down in the territories of Kaluga, Lipetsk, Oryol, Voronezh and Nizhny Novgorod regions. Of these, 73 were shot down while traveling to Moscow, Mayor Sobyanin reported.
Debris from UAVs fell in the area of the Domodedovo railway station, damaging part of the tracks, a high-rise building in Ramenskoye, and seven apartments, hitting high-rise buildings in Vidnoye. Calls about damage from UAVs came from Kolomna, Zaraysk, Serebryanye Prudy, Serpukhov, Ramenskoye, Voskresensk, Lukhovitsy, Bronnitsy, Domodedovo, Leninsky, Podolsk, Elektrostal and Kotelnikov.
OSCE Secretary General Feridun Sinirlioglu, who is in Moscow, was taken to the site of the crash of the Ukrainian Armed Forces drones, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry.
From the direction of Kupyansk, counteractions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces near Synkivka are reported.
The confrontation also continues in Toretsk. The Ukrainian Armed Forces continue to send reserves to urban areas.
There are battles going on near Pokrovsk, both sides are trying to seize the initiative. East of Pokrovsk, information about a large formation of attack aircraft of the 33rd Motorized Rifle Division of the 20th Motorized Rifle Division, which had previously operated successfully south of the Kurachove direction, unexpectedly appeared in the public field. The Russians are rushing north from Vozdvyzhenka in the direction of Tarasivka, and at the exit to the highway Pokrovs’k-Kostyantynivka.
On the Zaporizhia front, Russian forces are trying to advance along the same line, and Russian aviation is supporting from the air in the Kamyanka-Dniprovs’ka area and on the coast in the municipal district where the areas have been subjected to massive shelling by the Ukrainian forces. A shell exploded near the clinic department of the central district hospital in Kamyanka-Dniprovs’ka.
Mutual attacks continue in the direction of Kherson.
Graziella Giangiulio
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