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What Ukraine's politics looked like on 25 March 2025
Summary
A look back at the political backdrop in the days before 25 March 2025: peace talks, ceasefire accusations and a farewell to Ukraine's first prime minister.
What was the political mood in Kyiv on 25 March 2025? The reports from the days just before that date point to a mix of diplomacy, mutual accusations and mourning.
On 19 March 2025, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia was trying to discredit the peace negotiations led by U.S. President Donald Trump. His remarks followed overnight Russian drone attacks on Kyiv, launched after talks between the United States and Russia.
The same day, the Russian Ministry of Defense accused Ukraine of violating the energy infrastructure ceasefire reached by Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. It said Ukraine had launched a drone attack on an oil depot in Krasnodar Krai.
A moment of mourning
On 20 March 2025, Vitold Fokin, the first prime minister of modern-day Ukraine, died at the age of 92. Zelenskyy mourned him, saying his death was a sense of loss for all Ukrainians.
The picture on 25 March
By 25 March 2025, then, the political agenda was shaped by competing claims over an energy ceasefire and by the question of whether the U.S.-led negotiations could move forward, while the country marked the passing of a founding-era political figure.
