Ukraine Ready to Provide Register of Protected Sites – Zelensky

Ukraine is prepared to compile a list of civilian and infrastructure sites that must not be targeted and share it with its partners as part of the partial ceasefire that Trump and Putin were supposed to have agreed, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced.

However, speaking at a press conference in Helsinki alongside Finnish leader Alexander Stubb, Zelensky dismissed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s pledge to halt attacks on energy infrastructure.

He pointed out that, despite such assurances, Russia launched 145 drone strikes, fired four S-300 missiles, and two Iskander ballistic missiles at Ukraine just hours after the US and Russian leaders got off the phone.

The president stressed that words alone are insufficient for real security - effective oversight of agreements is necessary, that should include US participation.

In respect of the list of protected sites, Zelensky reiterated that Ukraine would institute mutual restraint alongside Moscow:

“If the Russians do not hit our objects, we will definitely not hit theirs,” he said.

Germany accused Putin of “playing a game” after Russian strikes hit Ukrainian civilian infrastructure just hours after Putin said he had agreed to pause attacks on energy facilities.

“We’ve seen that attacks on civilian infrastructure have not eased at all,” German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said, referring to Putin’s call with Donald Trump. “Putin is playing a game.”

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It is crystal clear what Trump’s intentions are with regard to Russia’s war against Ukraine. He wants to return to business as usual with Russia and will readily sacrifice Ukraine to do it.

In the 90-minute call, Putin agreed to halt strikes on energy sites for 30 days but refused a full ceasefire. After the new attacks, Zelensky said Moscow had effectively rejected the US-backed truce proposal.

Pistorius dismissed Putin’s pledge as “basically nothing,” arguing Ukraine’s energy infrastructure is already well protected.

Despite Pistorius’ claims, on the evening of March 18 - less than an hour after Trump and Putin spoke - Russia launched an airstrike on Slovyansk’s energy infrastructure, leaving parts of the city without power, Kyiv Post military sources confirmed.

Russian guided KAB bombs also hit residential areas of Kramatorsk.

Later, Russian forces launched 145 drones and six missiles, targeting multiple Ukrainian regions. Two hospitals in the border region of Sumy were struck, while Odesa, Poltava, Dnipropetrovsk, Kyiv, and Chernihiv regions also sustained damage.