Wednesday, March 19

United States President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin talked over a long call yesterday to negotiate a potential Ukraine ceasefire deal, with the two making some progress towards an agreement.

Putin quickly rejected the United States' idea of a 30-day ceasefire to make way for negotiations, which had been accepted by Ukraine last week. After the US and Ukraine met in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, they confirmed the idea of a 30-day temporary ceasefire, allowing negotiations for a longer, permanent ceasefire to take place. Russia had not given their opinion on the deal until now, but Putin made it clear yesterday that he does not agree with the plan.

However, after a long discussion with Trump, Putin agreed to a 30-day ceasefire on energy and infrastructure, which is a significant win for Ukraine. Since the beginning of the war, Russia has targeted the Ukrainian electrical grid and major energy generation sites, including nuclear reactors.

In February, a Russian drone struck the outer shell of the Chernobyl reactor damaged in 1986, creating a gaping hole in the protective shell and starting a fire. Thankfully, crews raced to the scene to avoid any leakage of radiation, and radiation levels in the area remained stable. Nevertheless, the incident raised concerns over possible problems with nuclear reactors in the future if Russia continued to target them.

In total, the two presidents spoke for at least an hour and a half, addressing the energy issue and several other topics. Russia confirmed that a prisoner exchange has been scheduled for today, with both Ukraine and Russia releasing 175 troops from the other side. Russia will also be sending back another 23 Ukrainian soldiers who have been severely injured.

Now, the three countries will move back to working on a permanent ceasefire, with negotiations moving back to the Middle East.

Fact of the Day (Reader's Digest): Elephants spend around 80% of their day eating, meaning that they also happen to produce a massive amount of waste-- they poop 12 to 15 times per day! This results in the excretion of over 220 pounds of poop each day, which adds up to around 40 tons of dung per year!

Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): Logic is the foundation of the certainty of all the knowledge we acquire. (Leonard Euler)

Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Admonish (verb, ad-MAH-nish) - To admonish someone is to express warning or disapproval towards them, or to urge them to do something.

In a Sentence: We were admonished for arriving late to the meeting.