The pounding of Russian forces in Ukraine continues as they seized territory in Kursk, Ukraine by invading through a gas pipeline. Crucial U.S. talks with Ukraine to end the Russian-Ukrainian war will take place in Saudi Arabia next Tuesday. Russia is willing to discuss a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine, subject to conditions.
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Russia announced on Sunday (March 9th) that Russian military forces recaptured the village of Lebedevka in Russia's Kursk region, while capturing the village of Novencke along the border with Ukraine in the Sumy region.
Russian military forces have been largely absent from the Ukrainian region of Sumy since April 2022, when they withdrew from the reported border province in order to regroup in eastern Ukraine.
According to Reuters, citing reports by Russian bloggers, the Russian military surprised Ukrainian forces by storming the Ukrainian city through a gas pipeline.
Yuri Podolyaka, a Ukrainian-born Russian military blogger, said Russian special forces walked about 15 kilometers along a major gas pipeline and some of them spent several days inside the pipeline before launching a surprise attack on Ukrainian forces from the rear near Shuja.
The pounding continues in Ukraine, with Ukrainian air defenses shooting down 73 of the 119 drones launched by Russia during a night attack, according to a statement from the Ukrainian Air Force.
According to the same statement, 37 drones changed course and "perished" from the use of electronic jamming devices.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces said the damage had been recorded in six regions of Ukraine, without giving further details.
A Ukrainian drone struck an industrial facility overnight in the riverside Chuvashia region of the Volga River, 1,300 kilometers from Ukraine's border, regional governor Oleg Nikolaev said in a post on the Telegram messaging platform on Monday.
It was one of the drone attacks at great depth inside Russian territory, but caused no casualties, according to Nikolaev's post.
Emergency services have been deployed in the area of the strike on the premises of the refrigerated warehouses Kombinat Burevestnik near the regional capital Cheboksari, Nikolaev added.
However, he did not release further details about the air strike or the extent of the damage.
Russian authorities had earlier announced the shooting down of 88 Ukrainian drones overnight, with no injuries or other damage reported.
Amid the Russian pounding, Ukraine and the United States are holding crucial talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday during which they will discuss a possible framework for ending the war. The meeting comes at a crucial time as Russia has stepped up its attacks in an effort to make as much profit as possible and deprive Kiev of any negotiating advantage.
"Russia may have to act against the EU," the Kremlin said
The Kremlin said on Friday that Russia may need to act to respond to what it called the European Union's plans to militarize the bloc, which position Russia as its main rival.
European leaders on Thursday backed plans to spend more on defense and continue to stand with Ukraine in a world upended by Donald Trump's reversal of U.S. policies.
"We see that the European Union is now actively discussing the militarisation of the EU and the development of the defence sector. This is a process that we are following closely because the EU positions Russia as its main adversary," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
"This, of course, could potentially be a matter of deep concern to us and there could be a need to take appropriate measures in response to ensure our safety." And, of course, such confrontational rhetoric and confrontational thinking that we are now seeing in Brussels and European capitals is, in stark contrast to the mood to find a peaceful settlement around Ukraine.
Russia is willing to discuss a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine provided there is progress toward a final peace settlement, according to a report by Bloomberg.
President Vladimir Putin's first message of positive response to his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump's call for a ceasefire was conveyed at last month's talks in Saudi Arabia between top Russian and U.S. officials.
To agree on a cessation of hostilities, there would need to be a clear understanding of the framework principles of the final peace agreement, two people familiar with the matter said. Russia will insist in particular on defining the parameters of a potential peacekeeping mission, including agreeing on which countries will take part, another person familiar with the matter said.
The details emerged as the U.S. and Ukraine plan to meet in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday for their first direct talks since Donald Trump's eventful meeting in the Oval Office with President Volodymyr Zelensky last week. US special envoy Steve Whitkoff said the meeting was aimed at achieving "a framework for a peace agreement and an initial ceasefire".
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Russia has said it will not accept the presence of NATO troops on Ukrainian soil, rejecting a proposal by European countries to form a "coalition of the willing" to help monitor any peace deal. He has no objection to countries such as China that have been neutral in the conflict deploying forces to Ukraine, Bloomberg reports, citing its sources.
Russia is categorically against the idea of deploying European troops on the territory of Ukraine, Mikhail Ulyanov, Moscow's representative to international organizations in Vienna, said on Telegram.
"First of all, the European Union is not impartial, and peacekeepers must be impartial. Secondly, Russia is categorically against the deployment of European troops," the Moscow spokesman said.
