Splashdown.

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“I start every day pretty much the same way: Coffee and News Items.” — Richard Haass, president emeritus, Council on Foreign Relations.

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1. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW):

Russian President Vladimir Putin did not accept the US-Ukrainian proposal for a temporary ceasefire along the frontline and reiterated his demands for a resolution to the war that amount to Ukrainian capitulation. Putin and US President Donald Trump held a phone call on March 18. The Kremlin's official readout of the call stated that Putin emphasized the need to address the "root causes" of the war. Russian officials have repeatedly defined these root causes as NATO's eastward expansion and Ukraine's alleged violations of the rights of Russian-speaking minorities in Ukraine. Russian officials’ calls for the elimination of these "root causes" amount to Russian demands for Ukraine's permanent neutrality and the installation of a pro-Russian government in Kyiv.

Putin demanded on March 18 that Ukraine stop mobilizing (i.e. recruiting and training) forces during a potential temporary ceasefire. Putin also called for a halt to all foreign military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine but did not discuss Russia's military support from North Korea, the People's Republic of China (PRC), and Iran. Putin claimed that Russia and the United States should continue their efforts toward a peace settlement in "bilateral mode," excluding Ukraine or Europe from future negotiations about the war in Ukraine. Putin's demands on the March 18 call parallel the demands he made on March 13.

ISW continues to assess that Putin is attempting to hold the temporary ceasefire proposal hostage in order to extract preemptive concessions ahead of formal negotiations to end the war. ISW also continues to assess that Putin's demands for the removal of the legitimate government of Ukraine, the weakening of the Ukrainian military such that it cannot defend against future Russian aggression, and the denial of Ukraine's sovereignty and independence remain unchanged. The persistence of Putin's demands for Ukraine's capitulation demonstrates that Putin is not interested in good-faith negotiations to pursue Trump's stated goal of achieving a lasting peace in Ukraine. (Sources: understandingwar.org, en.kremlin.ru, x.com)

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2. Russia bombed Ukraine energy infrastructure just hours after Vladimir Putin told Donald Trump he would halt attacks on the grid. Putin’s forces conducted an airstrike on the energy infrastructure of Slovyansk, a city of 100,000 people in the Donetsk region, according to local reports, leaving part of the city without electricity. It comes after Putin rejected Mr Trump’s proposal for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine, instead agreeing to a 30-day pause in attacks on energy and infrastructure. Putin ordered the Russian military to halt attacks on energy plants in Ukraine without delay, the Kremlin said after the “frank” 90-minute phone call ended. Soon after the call, air raid sirens wailed and explosions rang out in Ukraine. (Source: telegraph.co.uk)