Wednesday, March 12

The United States and Ukraine have reached a major ceasefire deal, which could bring some temporary peace to a region ravaged by war over the past three years.

The United States has been working to broker a deal between Ukraine and Russia for some time now, but Europe was being shut out of negotiations. They believed that the US would create a deal favoring Russia due to President Donald Trump's closeness with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but those suspicions have proved incorrect.

Yesterday, the US and Ukraine met for talks in Jeddah, a port city on the west coast of Saudi Arabia. Throughout recent wars, Saudi Arabia has served as a neutral ground for negotiations, as it is neither inclined to support Ukraine nor Russia.

The two countries agreed on a 30-day ceasefire deal that could be extended if both parties agree. This agreement would see Ukraine and Russia take one month to engage in formal talks on a permanent ceasefire, and this period would also allow citizens in war zones to recover and escape.

The United States has provided the most aid and weapons to Ukraine of any country over the past three years. Due to this, Ukraine needs the United States as an ally to keep going in this war, which is why they have followed Trump and his negotiations despite renewed support from Europe.

Since Ukraine has agreed to the proposal, the United States has resumed military aid supplies and the sharing of important information with Ukraine, which was banned several weeks ago by Trump.

The United States has also confirmed that Ukraine has now made a commitment to peace, proving that they are not in this just for the war.

However, the deal still has to be brought to Russia. Several Russian officials have expressed displeasure towards the proposal, claiming that it just gives Ukraine more time to rest and come back stronger into the war. The Kremlin, though, has maintained that they are willing to speak further with the United States government.

Previously, though, Russia has maintained that they are ready to work on a ceasefire on two main conditions. Firstly, they need Ukraine to drop their bid to join NATO, and second, they will be able to keep all of the territory they have gained in the war so far.

It is still unknown whether Russia will accept or decline the ceasefire agreement, but official negotiations between them and the United States will begin later this week.

Fact of the Day (Reader's Digest): The average American believes that they are smarter than the average American. According to a recent poll, 55% of people polled said they thought they were smarter than the average American.

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Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Quark (noun, KWORK) - Quark is a word used in physics to refer to any one of several types of very small particles that make up matter.

In a Sentence: Quarks, which combine together to form protons and neutrons, come in six types, or flavors: up, down, charm, strange, top, and bottom.