Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,120

As of Thursday, March 20, this is the top-down of important events.

Fighting

• Russian drone attacks in the Sumy region of northeast Ukraine claimed the lives of two hospitals there, as well as the deaths of a 29-year-old man and three others who were hurt in a separate attack on a residential building.
• A 60-year-old man was hurt when Kremlin drones reportedly damaged several homes close to the Ukrainian capital, according to the governor of the Kyiv region Mykola Kalashnyk.
• Russian forces twice attacked Dnipro’s state railway system, according to Ukraine’s state railway network Ukrzaliznytsia, with the first strike occurring just after Russian President Vladimir Putin had announced a 30-day stop to attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. Four people were hurt in the second attack.
• Andriy Yermak, the chief of staff for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said, “Russia is currently attacking civilian infrastructure and people.”
• Following a call between US President Donald Trump and President Putin, which led to a limited ceasefire, the Kremlin claims its defense units called off a drone attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and shot down seven of its own drones.
• 72 of the 145 Russian drones that were launched at Ukraine overnight were downed by Kyiv’s military, according to the military’s air defense units. Another 56 drones were reportedly “lost” as a result of electronic warfare.
• Just hours after President Trump and President Putin called each other, 40 of those drones were launched into Ukraine, according to President Zelenskyy. Since the start of the ceasefire talks in Saudi Arabia earlier this month, Zelenskyy added that Moscow has also launched more than 1,300 guided bombs, eight missiles, and about 66 long-range strike drones on Kyiv.

• 57 Ukrainian drones were reportedly destroyed by Russia’s Ministry of Defense, 35 of which were over the Kursk region, over the course of one night. Authorities in the southern Krasnodar region reported that a small fire started at a Kavkazskaya oil depot after one of the attacks.
• Ukraine is accused of trying to “derail” the limited ceasefire agreement, calling it a “deliberate” attack on the oil depot, according to Russia’s defense ministry.
• According to Belgorod’s governor Vyacheslav Gladkov, at least one Russian soldier was killed by Ukrainian shelling in the Krasnoyaruzhsky district of the Belgorod region, and four others were hurt as a result.
• A Moscow court handed down five Ukrainian soldiers a maximum sentence of 17 years in prison for their role in Kyiv’s invasion of the Kursk region.

Ceasefire

• President Trump claimed that during one of his earlier conversations with President Putin, he and President Zelenskyy had lengthy conversations on a call. Trump promised to assist with the location of Zelenskyy after the White House stated that the president had consented to the partial ceasefire and that he had requested additional air defense support.
• Additionally, according to the White House, Washington is now entirely focused on securing a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine and has left the previously negotiated rare minerals deal with Kyiv.
• Trump also suggested that the US take control of Ukraine’s power plants, according to Washington, to ensure security for the crucial facilities.

• In spite of recent statements that contradicted them, President Zelenskyy accused President Putin of rejecting the US’s request for a full ceasefire, and urged the world community to stop Moscow’s attempt to continue its conflict with Kyiv.
• Zelenskyy and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer also exchanged phone calls with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and other European allies. We communicate constantly, they say. Zelenskyy reaffirmed his confidence in the partners’ unwillingness to betray them.
• Trump’s Middle East special envoy Steve Witkoff reported to Fox News that a Russian delegation and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz are scheduled to meet in Saudi Arabia over the weekend to continue discussions over Moscow’s war with Ukraine. According to Wittkoff, “energy and infrastructure in general will be covered by peace talks.”

Military

• According to the Reuters news agency, German President Olaf Scholz’s departure from office had previously stymied the extra aid.
• According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the United Arab Emirates brokered a prisoner swap between Russia and Ukraine for 372 soldiers. In addition to providing 175 seriously injured personnel with their return, Kyiv provided 175 soldiers with 175 prisoners of war.