Kyiv, Ukraine — Overnight drone strikes by Russia hit civilian areas and damaged a hospital in Ukraine, just hours after a phone call between Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, March 18, 2025. During the call, Trump claimed Putin had agreed to immediately stop attacks on “all energy and infrastructure” in Ukraine, though Putin refused a full 30-day ceasefire.
However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported Wednesday that Russia’s assaults on civilian and energy targets persisted, contradicting Putin’s supposed commitment.
Zelenskyy, speaking Tuesday night, said, “This proves we must keep pressing Russia for peace. Only a genuine pause in attacks on civilian infrastructure would show a real intent to end this war and move toward peace.”
He reiterated this stance after a roughly hour-long call with Trump on Wednesday morning, which Trump called “very good” in a Truth Social post. “We discussed aligning Russia and Ukraine’s needs following my call with Putin. We’re on track,” Trump wrote.
The White House framed the Trump-Putin conversation as an initial step toward peace, envisioning a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea and, eventually, a lasting end to the conflict. Yet, there’s no sign Putin has softened his demands—opposed by Kyiv—for a full ceasefire, which include a total halt to U.S. and Western military and intelligence aid to Ukraine, per Russia’s readout of the call.
The White House omitted these terms in its Tuesday statement. Zelenskyy countered Wednesday, “I don’t think we should cut aid to Ukraine; it needs to increase.”
Post-call, air raid sirens blared in Kyiv, followed by explosions as residents sought shelter. Despite defenses, Russian drones struck civilian sites, including a hospital in Sumy and areas in Donetsk, with activity reported over Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Sumy, Chernihiv, Poltava, Kharkiv, Kirovohrad, Dnipropetrovsk, and Cherkasy regions.
In Sumy, emergency services evacuated about 150 patients from the damaged hospital; no deaths were reported. Zelenskyy aide Andriy Yermak first flagged the hospital strike on social media six hours after the Trump-Putin call, writing, “Russia is attacking civilians and infrastructure right now.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov claimed Wednesday that Ukraine was undermining “our joint Russian-American efforts” by targeting Russian infrastructure. He alleged Russia had aborted a planned strike on Ukrainian energy sites post-call, even downing seven of its own drones, and suggested Ukraine could have mirrored this but didn’t.
Russia’s Defense Ministry reported intercepting 57 Ukrainian drones over the Azov Sea and regions like Kursk, Bryansk, Oryol, and Tula. Meanwhile, in Krasnodar—near Russian-controlled Crimea—a drone attack sparked a fire at an oil depot, local officials said.
The overnight strikes underscore the gap between diplomatic overtures and battlefield realities, as Russia’s actions clash with the ceasefire hints Trump touted.
