An Incredible Time.

A solar wind.

“Most mornings I learn more from New Items than I do from all of the traditional papers I read combined.” — Michael Blair, Lecturer in Law at Columbia Law School and former presiding partner, Debevoise & Plimpton.

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1. Ukraine has said it is ready to accept a US proposal for an immediate 30-day ceasefire in its war with Russia, prompting Washington to agree to resume military assistance to Kyiv. The proposed ceasefire, which would still need to be agreed by Russia, was announced in a joint statement that capped several hours of talks between US and Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia. Washington said it would immediately restore deliveries of weapons and ammunition and end its suspension of intelligence-sharing, which Kyiv feared would seriously hamper its ability to detect and hit targets beyond the battlefield. US President Donald Trump said he hoped Russia would agree to the ceasefire, and that he planned to speak with Vladimir Putin. “Ukraine has agreed to it, and hopefully Russia will agree to it,” Trump told reporters outside the White House. Maria Zakharova, Russia’s foreign ministry spokesperson, said Moscow did “not exclude contacts with US representatives in the next few days”, according to state newswire Tass. (Source: ft.com)

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2. On the other hand:

Vladimir Putin would find it difficult to accept a US-backed ceasefire deal with Ukraine while his troops are advancing on the frontline, a senior Russian source said.

“It is difficult for Putin to agree to this in its current form,” the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said. “Putin has a strong position because Russia is advancing.”

Russia’s advances in eastern Ukraine, where most of its efforts have been focused, have stalled in recent weeks, according to an analysis. (Source: telegraph.co.uk)

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3. Institute for the Study of War:

Russian ultranationalist voices, including a Russian State Duma deputy, largely rejected the ceasefire proposal on March 11. Russian milbloggers, including Kremlin-coopted milbloggers, rejected the ceasefire proposal because the United States and Ukraine will allegedly "abandon" peace "at the first opportunity" and the war in Ukraine is existential for Russia. One milblogger claimed that accepting the ceasefire would be "pure betrayal and sabotage," and another milblogger questioned the purpose of accepting this ceasefire proposal without achieving Russia's war aims. Russian State Duma Deputy and former 58th Combined Arms Army Commander Lieutenant General Viktor Sobolev stated after the publication of the joint statement that Russia should not agree to the "unacceptable" 30-day ceasefire proposal because it would allow Ukraine to rearm and regroup. (Sources: lowyinstitute.org, understandingwar.org)