Russia-Ukraine War Update for March 17: Trump Announces Call With Putin

Peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine are fully underway as President Donald Trump announced his upcoming call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kyiv noted its red lines for peace, and France and the U.K. vowed to send peacekeepers to Ukraine.

Here is the daily briefing:

What Has Trump Said About the Upcoming Talks?

Trump has said that he will call Putin on Tuesday to discuss ending the war with Ukraine, according to the Associated Press.

Speaking to reporters while flying from Florida to Washington on Air Force One on Sunday night, the president said, “I’ll be speaking to President Putin on Tuesday. A lot of work has been done over the weekend. We want to see if we can end this war. Maybe we can, maybe we can’t, but I think we have a very good chance.”

When asked about possible concessions that Putin could make, Trump said that the two leaders would be talking about land and power plants.

He added, “But I think we have a lot of it already discussed, very much by both sides,” specifying that he meant Ukraine and Russia, and stating that they are talking about “dividing up certain assets.”

Trump’s upcoming call with Putin swiftly follows the Russian president’s meeting with U.S. envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff on March 13, after which Putin’s aide, Yuri Ushakov, told Russian media that Moscow did not consider him to be Washington’s mediator for war discussions.

The American president’s talk with Putin also comes just one week after the U.S.’s meeting with Ukraine in Jeddah, in which they proposed a 30-day ceasefire.

Has Putin Responded?

The Kremlin has not responded to Trump’s announcement of his upcoming call with Putin, but the Russian president has spoken out about the U.S. and Ukraine’s ceasefire proposal.

Regarding the temporary truce between Moscow and Kyiv, Putin agreed in principle with the proposition, but emphasized that any agreement should lead to lasting peace and address the root causes of the conflict.

Ushakov, Putin’s aide, rejected the ceasefire offer and said that Moscow was only interested in a long-term resolution to the war.

Ukraine’s Red Lines for Peace

In an interview with The Independent, several unnamed high-level Ukrainian sources spoke about Kyiv’s red lines for peace ahead of ongoing peace talks with Russia and the U.S.

In order for full-scale war with Moscow to end, Kyiv’s terms include that no further territory be ceded, thousands of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia be returned, thousands of civilians held illegally by Russia (not considered prisoners of war) be returned, and international security guarantees in the event that Russia violates the terms of the ceasefire.

A senior unidentified Ukrainian source told the outlet, “We are really willing to make peace, but we need a long-lasting peace, not a short ceasefire. We do not want our children fighting this battle.”

They added, “Putin is playing games. We have made a strong move—now it is his turn. We have proved we are reasonable; we are willing to have peace—if Russia doesn’t agree, the whole world will see they are liars.”

Ukraine’s condition regarding not ceding any more territory follows Putin’s push for Kyiv to give up control over occupied regions including Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Luhansk.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has reiterated this point regarding Kyiv’s ceding territory and said on March 12 that Ukraine “will not recognize any occupied territories as Russia’s” as part of a future peace deal, adding that “this is the most important red line,” according to the Kyiv Independent.

Kyiv’s peace condition regarding the return of abducted Ukrainian children refers to Russia’s kidnapping 20,000 children from the occupied territories of Ukraine since the start of the war as part of a program to eradicate Ukrainian identity, according to Kyiv’s government.

After being taken by Russian authorities, Kyiv has said that the Ukrainian children are taken to camps and foster homes, indoctrinated to Russian customs and brainwashed into turning against Ukraine. Researchers at Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL) were aiding in the efforts to reunite these children with their families, but the U.S. has since paused funding for their work.

Ukraine’s terms also refer to Russia’s abduction of civilians who alongside prisoners of war, have been subjected to torture, enforced disappearance, and prolonged incommunicado detention, according to Amnesty International. The human rights organization has said that the exact number of civilians detained in Russia are not known, although in combination with the prisoners of war, it is likely thousands.

Kyiv’s final condition for peace regarding security guarantees has been one of the most crucial terms for Ukraine that Zelensky has pushed on numerous occasions.

UK and France Vowed To Deploy Troops After Ceasefire

The U.K. and France have vowed to deploy troops to act as peacekeepers after a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine has been achieved, according to Reuters.

Following a virtual meeting with 29 other world leaders to discuss ending the Russia-Ukraine war, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Saturday that Western allies are increasing their preparations to support Kyiv.

Starmer said, “Our militaries will meet on Thursday this week here in the United Kingdom to put strong and robust plans in place to swing in behind a peace deal and guarantee Ukraine’s future security,” and has referred to Ukraine’s allies as the “coalition of the willing.”

In an interview with the French outlet Le Parisien, French President Emmanuel Macron said that the decision to send British and French peacekeeping troops to Ukraine is one for Kyiv and not Moscow.

Macron also said that the goal in sending soldiers to Ukraine is “not to have a mass (of soldiers),” noting that “the largest European army is the Ukrainian army (1 million soldiers).” He said that “deploying a few thousand men per nation, in key locations, to conduct training programs” and “showing our long-term support,” will be crucial in aiding Ukraine.

The U.K. and France have led efforts to aid Ukraine in fighting continued Russian aggression.

In early March, the two countries agreed to work together with Ukraine to draft a ceasefire plan to present to the U.S. following Trump’s explosive meeting with Zelensky at the White House on February 28.

France also hosted a security summit with more than 30 nations to discuss creating an international security force for Ukraine on March 11, and did not invite the U.S.

For the latest updates on the Russia-Ukraine War, visit Newsweek.