Ukraine needs clear list of off-limits targets, lawmaker says

Nation

21 March 2025, 11:37 AM

Fedir Venislavskyi, a member of Ukraine’s parliamentary Committee on National Security, Defense, and Intelligence, addressed the preparation of a list of Ukrainian infrastructure sites that Russia would be barred from targeting during a potential temporary ceasefire, as reported by public broadcaster Suspilne on March 21.

He dismissed concerns about sharing such a list, noting that Russia already knows most of these locations.

Venislavskyi emphasized that the list is about verifying ceasefire compliance. 

If Kyiv does not specify which objects both sides agree not to strike, it’ll be hard to tell if the truce is violated, he said. 

“Our infrastructure isn’t a secret to Russia, just as theirs isn’t to us,” he added, but assured that truly classified sites would stay undisclosed.

The lawmaker pointed to confusion stemming from differing interpretations of a Putin-Trump agreement.

"Your questions are the result of a dual understanding of the agreement reached between [Vladimir] Putin and [Donald] Trump," he said.

“If you look at the Russian and American statements, the Russians focus only on energy facilities, while Trump in his statements and posts says that it was generally about infrastructure facilities, i.e. transport, gas, energy infrastructure, and healthcare.”

Venislavskyi emphasized that it is necessary to determine which facilities cannot be attacked and to exchange these lists.

"If this is not done, Russia may claim that some facilities were simply not included in the list and therefore could be attacked," the MP stated.

The U.S. initiative for ceasefire in Ukraine

The 30-day ceasefire initiative was proposed by U.S. representatives during talks with Ukraine in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on March 11. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirms that Ukraine is ready for a temporary truce if Russia agrees.

On March 13, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin says Russia agrees to the proposal to end hostilities, but this should lead to "long-term peace" and "eliminate the cause of the crisis."

Commenting on the dictator's statement, U.S. President Donald Trump called Putin's response "promising" but "incomplete."

In turn, Volodymyr Zelenskyy believes that this response is manipulative and indicates that Putin is preparing to abandon the idea of a ceasefire.

During a conversation with Donald Trump on March 18, dictator Putin did not agree to a comprehensive ceasefire. The Russian leader said that for a 30-day "truce" to be in place, conscription in Ukraine and rearmament of the Armed Forces must be stopped. He also demanded "a complete cessation of foreign military assistance and the provision of intelligence information to Kyiv."

At the same time, during the conversation, the dictator allegedly agreed to stop strikes on "energy infrastructure," while the United States presented this idea as a moratorium on attacks on "energy and infrastructure."

On March 20, Zelenskyy said that he had spoken with Trump about ending attacks on energy infrastructure and other civilian infrastructure. According to him, the United States and Russia agreed on this.

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