Zelenskyy: Ukraine Ready for Ceasefire 03/26 06:21

   Ukraine is ready to proceed with a ceasefire prohibiting attacks on energy 
infrastructure, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, in line with a deal that 
was brokered by the United States during three days of negotiations with 
Ukrainian and Russian officials in the Saudi capital.

   KYIV, Ukraine (AP) -- Ukraine is ready to proceed with a ceasefire 
prohibiting attacks on energy infrastructure, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy 
said, in line with a deal that was brokered by the United States during three 
days of negotiations with Ukrainian and Russian officials in the Saudi capital.

   Speaking in a video address late Tuesday, Zelenskyy said Ukraine had agreed 
with U.S. negotiators "that a ceasefire for energy infrastructure can start 
today." But, he warned, any strikes on Ukraine's energy facilities by Moscow 
would draw "strong retaliation."

   The comments underscored the tenuous agreements that came out of the three 
days of separate U.S-Ukrainian and U.S.-Russian talks in Riyadh. Washington 
said it had agreed with the warring parties to implement a pause on attacks on 
energy infrastructure as well as taking steps to ensure safe navigation for 
ships in the Black Sea.

   Those talks were part of a broader effort by President Donald Trump's 
administration toward a limited, 30-day ceasefire that Moscow and Kyiv agreed 
to in principle last week, but has thus far failed to materialize as both sides 
continue to launch drone and rocket attacks against the other.

   While Zelenskyy on Tuesday thanked the U.S. for its efforts to strike an 
agreement, questions remained over some key details, and a comprehensive peace 
deal to end the three-year war still looked distant.

   Russia links the Black Sea deal to sanctions relief

   On Tuesday, the White House said in separate statements that the sides had 
"agreed to ensure safe navigation, eliminate the use of force, and prevent the 
use of commercial vessels for military purposes in the Black Sea."

   Details of the prospective deal were not released, but it appeared to mark 
another attempt to ensure safe Black Sea shipping after a 2022 agreement that 
was brokered by the U.N. and Turkey but halted by Russia the next year.

   After the White House issued its statement Tuesday, the Kremlin warned that 
a potential Black Sea deal could only be implemented after sanctions against 
the Russian Agricultural Bank and other financial organizations involved in 
food and fertilizer trade are lifted and their access to the SWIFT system of 
international payments is ensured.

   Zelenskyy on Tuesday evening reacted to those demands, casting them as an 
example of Moscow "manipulating, twisting agreements, and lying" about the 
terms of the agreement.

   "There are absolutely clear statements that have been published by the White 
House, everyone can see what is stated there," Zelenskyy said. "And there is 
something that the Kremlin is lying about again: that supposedly the 
(ceasefire) in the Black Sea depends on the issue of sanctions."

   In an apparent reference to Moscow's demands, the White House said Tuesday 
the U.S. "will help restore Russia's access to the world market for 
agricultural and fertilizer exports, lower maritime insurance costs, and 
enhance access to ports and payment systems for such transactions."

   When asked about when Washington might help Moscow achieve those ambitions, 
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday that contacts between Russia and 
the U.S. "continue quite intensively," and that authorities are "satisfied with 
how pragmatic, constructive and productive our dialogue is."

   Peskov said the 2022 Black Sea Grain initiative could be revived if Russia's 
demands regarding agricultural and fertilizer exports are met. He said that 
those are the same demands that Russia initially put forward in the grain deal 
and that weren't being fulfilled.

   Moscow claims compliance with pause on energy strikes

   Peskov said that Putin's order to pause strikes on Ukraine's energy 
infrastructure for 30 days, given on March 18 per an agreement with Trump, 
still stands, and that Russian forces are complying with it. He accused Kyiv of 
continuing to target Russia's energy infrastructure but added that "we still 
believe that this moratorium (on strikes) should be observed."

   Ukrainian officials have reported multiple strikes against their energy 
sites since March 18. In a post on X on Tuesday, Zelenskyy's communications 
adviser Dmytro Lytvyn said Moscow was "lying" about observing a ceasefire on 
energy infrastructure.

   "They've been hitting our energy sites with bombs, attack drones, and FPV 
drones. We're not going into all the details, but there have already been 8 
confirmed hits on energy facilities," Lytvyn wrote. "Every night our air 
defense forces shoot down nearly a hundred attack drones -- and many of those 
drones were likely targeting other energy facilities."

   Russia launches drone attack on Zelenskyy's hometown

   Kryvyi Rih, Zelenskyy's hometown, came under the "most massive kamikaze 
drone attack since the beginning of the war" on Tuesday night, the city 
administration head, Oleksandr Vilkul, wrote on Telegram.

   Although no people were killed or injured, civilian infrastructure was 
widely targeted, Vikul said, including an administration building, warehouses, 
an industrial enterprise and a fire station. Multiple fires were sparked across 
the city, he said.

   "Everyone is alive, thank God. It's truly a miracle. The destruction is 
significant," Vilkul said.

   Civilian infrastructure also came under strike in the Sumy, Cherkasy, and 
Kirovohrad regions, local authorities said. There were no immediate reports on 
any injuries.

   Overall, Russian forces launched 117 Shahed and decoy drones overnight, 
Ukraine's air force said Wednesday morning, adding that 56 drones were 
destroyed and 48 more jammed by the defense forces.