Trump to speak with Putin as Ukraine ceasefire deal continues

• President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are expected to talk this week amid the ongoing ceasefire in the Ukraine war. Putin supports a ceasefire but has reservations about the proposed American deal accepted by Ukraine, which includes a 30-day ceasefire.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced personnel changes to Ukraine’s armed forces, appointing Andriy Hnatov as the new chief of the general staff to maximize combat experience.
• Both Russia and Ukraine continue fighting, with conflicting claims about the encirclement of Ukrainian troops in the Kursk region.

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President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are expected to talk sometime this week amid the ongoing ceasefire in the Ukraine war. The announcement was made by U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff on CNN on Sunday, March 16.

What’s the latest on the ceasefire?

Putin has said he supports a ceasefire but hasn’t agreed to the proposed American deal that was accepted by Ukraine. The deal would include a 30-day ceasefire as the two countries work to finalize an end to the war.

The deal was brokered by U.S. officials in Saudi Arabia and later accepted by Ukraine. However, Putin said he has reservations about the deal.

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Putin said the biggest issues are the logistics of how the ceasefire would be enforced and if Ukraine would be given time to rebuild its troops.

The Russian president also repeatedly talked about needing to eliminate the “root causes” of the war. By “root causes,” experts said he meant NATO’s expansion into Eastern Europe. Putin also questioned Ukraine’s sovereignty.

Zelenskyy introduces changes to military command

On Sunday afternoon, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced he was making personnel changes to Ukraine’s armed forces. He appointed Andriy Hnatov as the new chief of the general staff.

Zelenskyy said Hnatov was a “combat guy” and his appointment would maximize the combat experience of the Ukrainian military. He said Hnatov would plan offensive and defensive operations and would actively develop the corps system.

President Zelenskyy also said he spoke with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and thanked him for his support of Ukraine.

What’s next in the deal?

If Trump speaks to Putin, it would be the second discussion between the U.S. president and the Russian president since the war began in 2022. Trump previously spoke to Putin over the phone in February.

Witkoff personally met with Putin on Thursday, March 13, in Moscow. He declined to mention what was talked about but said it was positive.

“As the president said, he really expects there to be some sort of deal in the coming weeks,” Witkoff said. “And I believe that that’s the case.”

Both Russia and Ukraine have continued fighting on both Ukrainian soil and Russian. Putin claimed that Ukrainian troops in the Kursk region of Russia had been encircled. However, Zelenskyy claimed that was untrue.

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President Trump echoed Putin’s claim that thousands of Ukrainian troops were encircled by Russia in the Kursk region. He also said that he had requested that Putin not kill the thousands of Ukrainian troops in the area.