What did 24 March 2025 show about talks and strikes?
A look back at a day when US–Russia talks on a Black Sea ceasefire ended as a Russian missile attack hit Sumy.
Could negotiations and bombardment really run side by side? On 24 March 2025, the answer seemed to be yes. The United States and Russia concluded talks focusing on a ceasefire for the Black Sea between Kyiv and Moscow, while a Russian missile attack struck the Ukrainian city of Sumy.
Talks on the Black Sea
The negotiations were part of the wider peace efforts surrounding the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The talks that ended on 24 March 2025 concentrated on a ceasefire in the Black Sea between Kyiv and Moscow.
Sumy under fire
On the same day, a Russian missile attack hit a hospital, a school and a residential area in Sumy. Ninety people were injured, including 17 children. Russian forces had occupied parts of Sumy Oblast after the full-scale invasion of 24 February 2022 and failed to capture the oblast capital, though some settlements, such as Trostianets, were taken.
A weekend of strikes
The attack followed other strikes in the preceding days. On 22 March 2025, an overnight Russian drone attack on Zaporizhzhia killed three people and wounded twelve, with several apartments in residential areas targeted. Overnight drone strikes on 23 March 2025 killed seven people and injured dozens across Ukraine, including three civilians killed in Kyiv.
The front line saw some movement as well. On 23 March 2025, Ukrainian troops reportedly recaptured the village of Nadiia in Luhansk Oblast.
Taken together, the reports from 22 to 24 March 2025 set a diplomatic track focused on the Black Sea against continuing attacks on civilian areas in Ukrainian cities.
