Russia Pauses Peace Talks, Ukraine Ramps Up Attacks

0:00On March 20th, Russia has paused peace talks, aimed at ending its war in Ukraine, citing the ongoing U.S. and Israeli conflict with Iran as the main reason. Kremlin officials call it a short-term break that could lift once the U.S. shifts focus back to Ukraine. Meanwhile, Ukraine and President Volodymyr Zelensky says it's time to resume negotiations noting positive signals from the U.S. A Ukrainian team is already traveling there for weekend discussions, though details on the format remain unclear. Tensions are flaring on the ground, with Ukraine wrapping up attacks on Russian gas compressor stations tied to key pipelines like Turkstream and Blue. Stream, which supply Europe through Turkey. Russia has condemned these as threats to energy routes and reports repelling them so far. Russia keeps hitting Ukraine's power grid and gas fields almost daily, while Ukraine stocks up gas for winter after its own infrastructure took hits. U.S. intelligence director Tulsi Gavir told lawmakers that Moscow holds the upper hand

1:01in this grinding war of attrition. Putin says he's open to peace if Ukraine drops NATO ambitions and pulls out a four claimed regions, but Zelensky insists on no-land concessions. Economic talks between Russia and the U.S. press on unaffected, leaving the future of negotiations up in the air.