The United States said Tuesday it has reached a tentative agreement with Ukraine and Russia to pause attacks and ensure safe navigation in the Black Sea.
In a statement announcing the agreement, the White House said that both sides agreed to “develop measures” to enforce a previously established ban on targeting each other’s energy infrastructure and continue efforts toward a “durable and lasting peace.”
The White House said that Russia and Ukraine also “agreed to ensure safe navigation, eliminate the use of force and prevent the use of commercial vessels for military purposes in the Black Sea.”
The announcement came as the U.S. concluded three days of talks with Ukrainian and Russian delegations in Saudi Arabia, aimed at laying the groundwork for a limited ceasefire.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the recent development. “These are the first steps — not the very first but initial ones — with this presidential administration toward completely ending the war and the possibility of a full ceasefire.”
Zelenskyy however cautioned that Russia’s response to the ceasefire would be closely watched. “How Russia behaves in the coming days will reveal a lot—if not everything. If there are air raid alerts again, if there is renewed military activity in the Black Sea, if Russian manipulations and threats continue—then new measures will need to be taken, specifically against Moscow,” he said in a post on X.
How Russia behaves in the coming days will reveal a lot—if not everything. If there are air raid alerts again, if there is renewed military activity in the Black Sea, if Russian manipulations and threats continue—then new measures will need to be taken, specifically against… pic.twitter.com/godMMN8d3K
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) March 25, 2025
The U.S. has not disclosed full details or the timeline for implementing the ceasefire, but according to Zelenskyy, the entire agreement took effect immediately.
However, Moscow maintained that the Black Sea truce would only begin once specific sanctions, including those on its state-owned agricultural bank, were lifted. Russia also claimed that the pause in attacks on energy infrastructure had already been in effect since last week.
A ceasefire was initially agreed upon during a call last week between U.S.President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, but within hours of its announcement, both Moscow and Kyiv accused each other of violating it.
Earlier on Tuesday, Russia accused Ukraine of striking its civilian energy infrastructure even as peace talks were underway in Riyadh.
Ukraine reported that Russia launched 139 drones and a ballistic missile overnight. In response, Kyiv said it conducted an airstrike on a military facility in Kursk, killing up to 30 Russian troops.
