Riyadh, March 25, 2025 — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday welcomed a U.S.-brokered agreement between Ukraine and Russia to suspend military strikes in the Black Sea and on energy infrastructure, calling it a “step in the right direction” toward peace.
The deal, finalized after three days of talks in Saudi Arabia, reflects President Donald Trump’s push to end a war that has claimed tens of thousands of lives.
Negotiated separately with delegations in Riyadh, the agreement commits both nations to ensure safe navigation, halt the use of force, and bar commercial vessels from military use in the Black Sea, according to parallel White House statements. The U.S. also pledged to enforce a ban on attacks on energy sites in both countries. In a key concession, Washington offered to ease restrictions on Russian agricultural exports, a move aimed at incentivizing Moscow’s cooperation.
Zelensky, speaking in Kyiv, said the deal’s success remains uncertain but emphasized Ukraine’s commitment to peace. “No one can accuse Ukraine of not moving toward sustainable peace after this,” he told reporters, noting discussions about third-party oversight, with Turkey potentially monitoring the Black Sea and a Middle Eastern nation overseeing energy compliance.
The Kremlin tied the implementation of the Black Sea deal to the lifting of sanctions on its agricultural sector, including reconnecting the Russian Agricultural Bank to the SWIFT payment system. Moscow has long argued that Western policies, not the war, drive global food price hikes, a narrative it pushes to developing nations.
Trump, who spoke directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin after taking office, ended years of Western isolation of the Kremlin leader. The U.S. move to restore Russia’s access to world markets for agriculture and fertilizers—previously hampered by payment system restrictions—marks a first step in this thaw. Zelensky, however, expressed concern, warning that it “weakens sanctions” and the broader diplomatic stance against Russia.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, a participant in the talks, said Black Sea details are still being finalized and cautioned that Ukraine reserves the right to self-defense if Russian warships reposition aggressively. The deal follows Kyiv’s acceptance of a U.S.-proposed ceasefire earlier this month, which Russia rejected, prompting accusations from Ukraine that Moscow seeks battlefield gains first.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, focusing on Black Sea shipping rather than a broader truce, echoed past complaints about a failed UN grain export deal. Before the U.S. agricultural offer, he accused the West of trying to “contain” Russia like “Napoleon and Hitler.”
Meanwhile, fighting intensifies. Ukraine downed 78 of 139 Russian drones on Tuesday, while a strike in Sumy left 101 wounded, including 23 children. Russia claimed two more villages in the south and east, underscoring the ongoing escalation despite diplomatic efforts.
https://greekcitytimes.com/2025/03/26/zelensky-hails-u-s-brokered-deal-as-russia-and-ukraine-agree-to-halt-black-sea-energy-strikes/
[ + ] observation1
[ - ] observation1 8 points 1 monthMar 26, 2025 01:48:37 ago (+8/-0)
[ + ] Crackinjokes
[ - ] Crackinjokes 4 points 1 monthMar 26, 2025 03:11:58 ago (+4/-0)
[ + ] Flanders
[ - ] Flanders [op] 3 points 1 monthMar 26, 2025 02:29:23 ago (+3/-0)
[ + ] Whatthefuck
[ - ] Whatthefuck 4 points 1 monthMar 26, 2025 02:13:03 ago (+4/-0)
I also wonder - how does this apply to the Ukraine using naval drones to release aerial drones closer to their targets? One would assume that it doesn't? Even the Ukrainian's point about Russian warships repositioning is similarly valid. It just seems like a clusterfuck to me.
I can't help but feel the Kremlin is falling into the same trap again and I hope they recognize it and have some larger plan at work. It's hard to believe in any hopium at this point, so I don't. Maybe it's as simple as buying a little breathing room and forcing an economic concession in return. It does have the one small effect of rolling back a sanction for the first time.
[ + ] Flanders
[ - ] Flanders [op] 0 points 1 monthMar 26, 2025 02:36:23 ago (+0/-0)
[ + ] Crackinjokes
[ - ] Crackinjokes 2 points 1 monthMar 26, 2025 03:09:08 ago (+2/-0)
If you think about it doing a ceasefire is just basically like the old Minsk agreements where the former German Chancellor what's her name who let all the immigrants into Europe to destroy the white European population well remember she later came out and said the mystic agreements were all installing tactic to let Ukraine arm itself
So now that Putin and the Russians apparently although this seems to be changing daily apparently have Ukraine on the run I'm really not sure why it's in Putin's interest not to just conquer the whole Eastern side of the country. Now maybe he's not doing as well as sometimes we're being told. Maybe it's completely draining and he's got to stop it. maybe all he really wants is what he always said he wants which was Ukraine to be a neutral country and for zelensky did not have nuclear materials which by the way is why who controls Chernobyl is an important negotiating point as you may have noticed this come up in the newspapers in the media rather. That's important because the whole reason that Putin went into Ukraine was zelensky threatened to have nuclear weapons again and Putin the next day said no the way we've got to stop them from having nuclear weapons again it's to secure the nuclear material so one of the very first places Putin went when he sent his forces in for the special Operation was into Chernobyl to grab the nuclear materials so zielinsky wouldn't have any to make a bomb with.
Most people don't even know zielinsky threatens Russia with nuclear materials two days before Putin decided he finally had to go in having held off all those years.
But again the control of that nuclear power plant the importance of that negotiating point is to prevent zelensky from getting nuclear weapons.
Honestly Putin has been very moderate and his military actions he could have nuked the hell out of Ukraine flattened the whole thing and had it be a neutral country that way. And he didn't you know he sacrificed a lot of Russians in this war which I don't think has helped food and politically although he still remains extremely popular in russia. But Putin it has held back despite many of his hardliners saying they should use the nuclear weapons against Ukraine quite some time ago especially when you crane started shooting missiles deep into russia. So Putin has been very restrained.
But honestly now that Putin has all those men surrounded I'm not sure why he should let them go although I hate to see white Europeans who after all are not there by choice they're dragged off the streets and forced into the military by the Jews alinsky to be killed I got so I'd hate to see them be killed but at the same time Putin can't make the mistake that the Germans did when they let the British troops that were on the coast of Germany and completely defeated they LED those British troops go back to the UK only to see them later come back to Germany and defeat germany. So you know Putin really it's a tough choice there. Not real sure why Putin wants to have much of a ceasefire.
[ + ] HonkyMcNiggerSpic
[ - ] HonkyMcNiggerSpic 0 points 1 monthMar 26, 2025 13:28:56 ago (+0/-0)
[ + ] Belfuro
[ - ] Belfuro 0 points 1 monthMar 26, 2025 04:17:51 ago (+0/-0)
What a fucking retarded op this one is.
Tell us more about the ghost of kiev and how Russia blows up children and yet gets its missiles and drones shot down in droves.
Fuck off