The Evening: Trump-Putin Call, Russian Sabotage Escalates, Bertha, and More

Email not displaying correctly?

View it in your browser

[link removed]

.

Good Evening,

It's Tuesday, March 18th.

Trump-Putin Call

Vladimir Putin agreed to a limited cease-fire against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure during a phone call with President Trump on Tuesday, but remained resistant to a longer-lasting peace plan, as the WSJ reports

[link removed]

.

Russia Escalated Sabotage to Pressure U.S. and Allies on Ukraine

Russia significantly stepped up its sabotage campaign over the past two years as it sought to pressure Europe and the United States to curb their support for Ukraine, according to a new study by CSIS released today, as the NYT reports

[link removed]

.

Yemen's Houthis Won't 'Dial Down' Under U.S. Pressure or Iranian Appeals

Yemen's Houthis will not "dial down" their action against Israeli shipping in the Red Sea in response to U.S. military pressure or appeals from the group's allies such as Iran, the Yemeni militant group's foreign minister said, as Reuters reports

[link removed]

.

Executive Education

Develop agile responses to unprecedented challenges. Join Global Foresight: Preparing for Future Trends

[link removed]

from April 8-11 to gain strategic foresight tools—from identifying drivers of change to modeling future scenarios—and learn to anticipate external challenges. Register

[link removed]

by March 26.

Audio Briefs

CSIS experts give short, spoken-word summaries on the biggest takeaways from their latest reports, white papers, and commentaries—in their own words.

Listen here: "Russia’s Shadow War Against the West

[link removed]

" with CSIS's Seth Jones.

In That Number

319

U.S. President Donald Trump launched large-scale military strikes against Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis on Saturday over the group's attacks against Red Sea shipping. A Pentagon spokesperson said the Houthis have attacked U.S. warships and commercial vessels 319 times since 2023.

​​​Source: ​​​Reuters

[link removed]

Critical Quote

"There will be no talk of any dialing down of operations before ending the aid blockade in Gaza. Iran is not interfering in our decision but what is happening is that it mediates sometimes but it cannot dictate things."

—Jamal Amer, Houthi foreign minister

iDeas Lab

[link removed]

Russia is conducting a violent and escalating campaign of sabotage and subversion against European and U.S. targets in Europe led by Russian military intelligence, according to a new CSIS database. The number of Russian attacks nearly tripled between 2023 and 2024, after quadrupling between 2022 and 2023. Read the full analysis here.

[link removed]

The Andreas C. Dracopoulos iDeas Lab at CSIS enhances our research with the latest in cutting-edge web technologies, design, and multimedia.

Optics

(Photo credit: Roman Pilipey/AFP/Getty Images.) Members of the 24th Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Military take part in a trench field training exercise in an undisclosed location in the eastern region of Ukraine, on March 18, 2025.

Recommended Reading

​​​​​​"Russia’s Shadow War Against the West

[link removed]

" by CSIS's Seth G. Jones.

This Town Tomorrow

At 10:00 a.m.

[link removed]

, the CSIS Japan Chair explores dimensions of Japan's approach to shaping rules and norms in new technological domains, specifically cyber and AI.

Later, at 11:00 a.m.

[link removed]

, the CSIS Wadhwani AI Center discusses how state and local governments are approaching AI regulation.

And, at 4:00 p.m.

[link removed]

, CSIS welcomes former White House Director of Political Affairs Frank Lavin for a conversation on his new book, Inside the Reagan White House.

Video

Today, the CSIS Economics Program and Scholl Chair in International Business hosted a conversation with Paul Blustein about his new book, King Dollar: The Past and Future of the World's Dominant Currency. Watch the full video here.

[link removed]

Podcasts

CSIS’s new Scholl Chair in International Business, Dr. Philip Luck, joins the podcast to provide an update on tariffs on Canada and Mexico and to discuss the Mar-a-Lago Accords.

Listen on Spotify

[link removed]

& Apple Podcasts

[link removed]

.

Smiles

I know you all enjoyed the clip posted yesterday from the shows in New York “Unbroken Chain: A Celebration of the Life and Music of Phil Lesh.” Here’s Phil’s son Grahame Lesh & Friends expertly covering the Grateful Dead’s “Bertha

[link removed]

.”

I invite you to email me at [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

and follow me on Twitter @handrewschwartz

[link removed]

The Evening is my daily guide to key insights CSIS brings to the events of the day. It is composed by Lauren Adler, Ava Rose, and the External Relations team.

Follow CSIS

[link removed]



[link removed]



[link removed]



[link removed]



[link removed]



Connect w/ H. Andrew Schwartz



[link removed]



[link removed]



mailto:[email protected]?subject=Evening CSIS

Copyright © 2025 CSIS, All rights reserved.

202-887-0200 | www.CSIS.org

[link removed]

1616 Rhode Island Ave NW

Washington, DC 20036

Click here to edit your subscription preferences

[link removed]

or Click here to stop receiving all emails from CSIS.

[link removed]