A local woman, holding a dog in her arms, stands near the site of a Russian aerial bombardment of a high-rise residential building in the Shevchenkivskyi district on March 27, 2024 in Kharkiv, Ukraine. (Oleksandra Novosel/Suspilne Ukraine/JSC “UA:PBC”/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
Air Force: Ukraine can down Zircon hypersonic missile with Patriot, SAMP/T. Air Force spokesperson Ilia Yevlash’s statement came after reports that Russian troops had used Zircon ballistic missiles in a March 25 attack on Kyiv. The researchers continue to examine the debris to determine what type of missile was launched.
Russian attacks on Dnipro hydroelectric plant caused $3.5 million in environmental damage. Russia’s attack on the Dnipro Hydroelectric Power Plant on March 22 caused at least $3.5 million in environmental damage, although that figure is expected to rise, Ukraine’s Environment and Natural Resources Minister Ruslan Strilets said on March 27.
SBU: 2 alleged Russian agents caught helping FSB plan missile strikes in Kyiv and Odesa. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has detained two Ukrainian men accused of helping Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) plan missile strikes on military installations and communications infrastructure including the Kyiv TV tower, the service said on March 27.
Zelensky visits Sumy Oblast, inspects fortifications. President Volodymyr Zelensky was briefed on the project for the construction of a platoon stronghold near Sumy, which includes reinforced concrete structures, firing positions for tanks and infantry fighting vehicles, and corrugated steel shelters.
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Defense Ministry list key points in updated mobilization bill. The draft law on mobilization, which is being amended by lawmakers, proposes to lower the enlistment age and introduce basic military training for adults, according to Ukraine’s Defense Ministry.
Partisans: Russia constructing barriers to prevent further strikes on Black Sea fleet. Russian forces in occupied Crimea are constructing barriers at the entrance to Sevastopol Bay to prevent further Ukrainian strikes on the Black Sea fleet, the partisan group Atesh reported on March 27.
Reuters: Russia turns to Belarusian gasoline amid decreasing domestic supplies. Russia is increasing imports of gasoline from Belarus to avert possible shortages connected to recent Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries, Reuters reported on March 27, citing four undisclosed trade and industry sources.
Ukraine war latest: Russia attacks civilians in Kharkiv; Zelensky inspects fortifications
Russian troops attacked a residential neighborhood in Kharkiv on March 27, killing one civilian man and injuring at least 19 other people, including four children, Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported.
Photo: Oleh Syniehubov/Telegram
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How thousands of Ukrainian children cope with losing parents to war
Almost 1,800 Ukrainian children have been made orphans by the war, the National Social Service of Ukraine said in a comment to the Kyiv Independent. At a young age, these children have to learn to cope with the loss and live without their parents’ support.
Photo: Viacheslav Ratynskyi / The Kyiv Independent
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In Putin’s Russia, state violence is on full display
When the men accused of committing last week’s terrorist attack in Moscow appeared in front of a Russian court, their battered faces told a story of physical torture.
Photo: Tatyana Makeyeva/AFP via Getty Images
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Russian attack on Kharkiv Oblast town kills 12-year-old child. Russia attacked the town of Borova in Kharkiv Oblast on the evening of March 27, killing a 12-year-old boy, the Kharkiv Oblast Prosecutor’s Office reported.
Russian drone attack in Kherson Oblast kills woman. Mykhailivka, a small village on the western bank of the Dnipro River, has been hit by Russian attacks numerous times since it was liberated from Russian occupation in the fall of 2022.
Russian attack on Kharkiv residential area kills 1, injures at least 19, including children. Russian troops attacked a residential neighborhood in Kharkiv on March 27, killing one civilian man and injuring at least 16 other people, including four children, Mayor Ihor Terekhov reported.
Russian attacks on Nikopol, Donetsk Oblast kill man, injure 3 civilians. Russian troops attacked Nikopol in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast and Ukrainsk in Donetsk Oblast, killing a man and injuring three other people, including a 49-year-old woman, according to the authorities.
Opinion: Ukraine may have no choice but to lower its fighting age
“Ukraine’s politicians have been reluctant to lower the fighting age because it would be unpopular. Many defend the relatively high combat age as a social virtue to protect Ukraine’s young adults from the battlefield unless they volunteer,” writes Brian Bonner, former chief editor of the Kyiv Post.
Photo: Jose Colon/Anadolu via Getty Images
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Opinion: Russia’s policy of torture on show in Moscow terror ‘trial’
“When Russian security forces apprehended one of the terror suspects, they cut off his ear and reportedly forced him to eat it. The suspect’s mutilation was celebrated on Russian social media,” writes Daniil Ukhorskiy,
litigation officer at Legal Action Worldwide.
Photo: Olga Maltseva/AFP via Getty Images
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UK general admits military ‘couldn’t fight Russia for more than a couple of months.’ The striking admission was the latest warning from U.K. defense and military officials cautioning that the country is unprepared for armed conflict.
Bloomberg: US in talks with Turkey for more explosives to boost shell production. The U.S. is negotiating to increase purchases of explosives from Turkey to boost the production of artillery shells amid allies’ efforts to provide Ukraine with ammunition, Bloomberg reported on March 27, citing unnamed officials familiar with the matter.
General: Germany to hand over 10,000 artillery shells to Ukraine in coming days. Germany will hand over 10,000 artillery rounds from its own military stocks to Ukraine in the next coming days, German General Christian Freuding said in an interview with Deutsche Welle (DW) published on March 27.
Poland doubles its contribution to Czech ammunition initiative for Kyiv. Poland has decided to double its donation to the Czech-led initiative to purchase artillery shells for Ukraine, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said in Riga on March 27, without providing a specific figure.
Council of Europe Development Bank to lend almost $110 million to Ukraine for housing. Council of Europe Development Bank has allocated a loan of 100 million euros ($108 million) to restore housing for Ukrainians, Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said on March 27.
UK defense secretary calls on Europe not to curb Ukrainian imports. U.K. Defense Secretary Grant Shapps urged Europe not to restrict imports from Ukraine, pointing out London’s decision to extend tariff-free and quota-free imports from Ukraine for most goods for another five years.
EU ambassadors agree on ‘new compromise’ regarding extension of Ukraine trade deal. EU ambassadors “agreed on a new compromise” regarding the extension of the trade agreement with Ukraine, ensuring a “balanced approach between support for Ukraine and protection of EU agricultural markets,” the Belgian presidency of the EU Council announced on March 27.
Budanov: Russia knew about terror attack preparations at least since Feb. 15. According to Kyrylo Budanov, Russia knew from where the attackers would come and through which two countries they would enter Russian territory. “Don’t let them tell you stories on how this (attack) appeared out of nowhere,” the intelligence chief commented.
Top judicial official, previously accused of holding Russian citizenship, resigns. The High Qualification Commission, one of Ukraine’s key judicial bodies, approved on March 27 the request of its chair Roman Ihnatov to be dismissed from the commission.
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]]>Ukrainian soldiers conduct combat drills in woodland as the war between Russia and Ukraine continues in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine on March 23, 2024. Photo by Wolfgang Schwan/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Putin seeking to blame Ukraine for Moscow shooting, despite ISIS taking responsibility. Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that the detained suspected perpetrators of the Moscow shooting allegedly planned to flee to Ukraine without providing any evidence. In his address, the Russian president did not mention the fact that the terrorist group Islamic State (ISIS) claimed responsibility for the shooting, nor the warnings of Western countries about a possible terrorist attack in Moscow.
Kyiv dismisses Putin’s allegations of Ukraine’s involvement in Moscow shooting. Andriy Yusov, spokesperson of Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, denied Russia’s claims that seek to accuse Ukraine of involvement in the shooting. “The version that the perpetrators of the terrorist attack were fleeing toward Ukraine does not withstand any criticism,” he said on national television.
Russia claims it detained suspected perpetrators of Moscow shooting that killed over 100 people. Russia’s security services detained 11 people allegedly involved in the March 22 mass shooting at a concert venue near Moscow, including four perpetrators, the Kremlin’s press service reported on March 23.
Zelensky on Moscow shooting: Putin’s attempts to link it to Ukraine ‘absolutely predictable’. “Putin and his thugs are just trying to blame somebody else… It has happened before. There were blown-up houses, shootings, explosions, and they always blame others,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his address.
Ukrhydroenergo: Dnipro Hydroelectric Power Plant lost a third of generation capacity after Russian strike. Zaporizhzhia’s Dnipro Hydroelectric Power Plant lost about a third of its generation capacity after a Russian missile strike, the head of Ukrainian state-owned energy company Ukrhydroenergo Ihor Syrota told the Associated Press.
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Minister: If Russia seeks to destroy Zaporizhzhia’s Dnipro Dam, attacks will continue. “It is necessary to understand whether it was a deliberate strike against the dam or whether it simply… (aimed at) the hydroelectric station,” Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said.
Ministry: Situation at Zaporizhzhia’s Dnipro Dam under control, no danger of breach. The situation at Zaporizhzhia’s Dnipro Dam is under control, and there is no danger of a breach following a Russian missile attack, the Environment Ministry said on March 23.
Deputy Minister: Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy grid have led to $11.5 billion in losses. Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, Russian attacks on energy infrastructure have amounted to at least $11.5 billion in losses for Ukraine, Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Energy Svitlana Hrynchuk said on air on March 23.
Military intelligence: Partisans attack Russian soldiers, equipment in occupied Melitopol. “According to preliminary data, about 20 Russian soldiers, two Kamaz trucks, and a UAZ Patriot pickup truck were at the epicenter of the explosions,” Ukraine’s military intelligence agency wrote on Telegram.
Russia claims missile attack on Sevastopol in occupied Crimea. The Russian proxy leader in Sevastopol in occupied Crimea, Mikhail Razvozhayev, claimed on March 23 that “several air targets were shot down” over the city in the evening.
Evidence shows recent presidential elections most rigged in Russia’s modern history.
The March 15-17 presidential election was the most rigged in Russia’s modern history, according to evidence published by election experts, observers, and media.
Photo: Natalia Kolesnikova / AFP via Getty Images
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Authorities: 3 injured in Russian attack on relief center in Kherson Oblast. Russian troops struck a relief center in a village in Kherson Oblast on the morning of March 23, wounding three people, the regional administration reported.
Russian drone attack on Beryslav in Kherson Oblast injures 2. One of the victims suffered a blast injury and shrapnel wounds to his legs. The other suffered a contusion and multiple injuries to the head, face, and legs, officials said.
Russia attacks 8 communities in Sumy Oblast. Russian forces attacked Sumy Oblast 115 times in 31 separate attacks throughout the day, the Sumy Oblast Military Administration reported on March 23.
Bloomberg: Russian oil trade feels pressure of Western sanctions in India. Russia’s oil industry is starting to feel the pressure of Western sanctions as Indian refineries no longer accept tankers of Moscow’s state-owned state-run Sovcomflot shipping company, Bloomberg reported on March 23.
US Congress approves $228 million in military aid for Baltic countries. “Support from the U.S. has significantly helped Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania fast-track several military infrastructure and capability development projects,” Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur said in a statement.
Biden signs $1.2 trillion US spending bill, urges action on Ukraine aid. U.S. President Joe Biden signed on March 23 a $1.2 trillion spending package that keeps the government funded until the autumn after it cleared Congress hours earlier.
Military: Energy facilities damaged in Russia’s overnight drone attack against Ukraine. Russia’s overnight drone attack against Ukraine damaged energy facilities in Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts, the Southern Defense Forces reported on March 23.
Russian governor confirms fire at Kuibyshev oil refinery, claims drone attack. A fire that broke out at the Kuibyshev oil refinery in Russia’s Samara region overnight on March 23 had been caused by a drone attack, the regional government told Russian state-controlled news agency Interfax, citing Governor Dmitry Azarov.
UK Defense Ministry: Russia might lose at least 10% of its refinery capacity after drone attacks. Drone attacks on Russia’s oil refineries are likely to have disrupted at least 10% of the country’s refinery capacity, the U.K. Defense Ministry said in its latest report. In the past weeks, Ukrainian forces have launched a series of drone strikes aimed at damaging Russia’s oil industry.
Poland scrambles fighter jets amid drone, missile attacks on Ukraine. Poland scrambled fighter jets to protect Polish airspace during Russia’s drone and missile attack against Ukraine on March 24, the Polish army’s Operational Command reported on X.
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]]>The aftermath of a Russian strike on the Dnipro Dam in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on March 22, 2024. Russia overnight launched its largest attack against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure since the beginning of the full-scale war. (Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal/Telegram)
Almost 1.5 million people suffer outages following Russia’s ‘largest attack’ on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. Russia launched over 150 drones and missiles against Ukrainian cities and infrastructure in what has been called “the largest mass attack on Ukraine’s energy grid” throughout the full-scale war.
Ukrhydroenergo: One station of Dnipro Hydroelectric Power Plant in critical state. “We do not know to what extent the HPS-2 would operate (after the attack),” Syrota said, adding that HPS-1 also does not work as of around 10:00 a.m. local time on March 22.
White House condemns ‘brutal strikes’ against Ukraine, calls for more air defense. The White House on March 22 condemned Russia’s “brutal strikes overnight against Ukraine’s cities and civilian infrastructure,” after a series of attacks killed at least five people and left almost 1.5 million people without electricity.
ISW: Russia hopes to collapse Ukraine’s energy grid amid air defense shortage.
“Russian strikes on energy infrastructure in early Spring 2024 likely aim to collapse the energy grid in part to stall Ukrainian efforts to rapidly expand its (defense-industrial base),” the ISW said.
Commander: Russia gathers 100,000-strong force, possibly for summer offensive. Russian troops are creating a force of 100,000 soldiers, possibly to conduct an offensive in early summer, Ukraine’s Ground Forces Commander Oleksandr Pavliuk said on national television on March 22.
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Deputy PM says Russian oil refineries are ‘legitimate targets’ after alleged US warning. The oil refineries in Russia that have been attacked by Ukraine are “absolutely legitimate targets” from a military point of view, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna said at the Kyiv Security Forum on March 22.
Fire breaks out at Russia’s Kuibyshev oil refinery. A fire broke out at the Kiubyshev oil refinery in Russia’s Samara Oblast overnight on March 23, Russian media outlets claimed.
Military Intelligence: Anti-Kremlin militias’ raid thwarts Russia’s plans for potential new attack. The recent incursion into Russia by Russian anti-Kremlin militias made Moscow “change plans” on a possible new attack in Ukraine’s northern sector, Andrii Yusov, a spokesperson of Ukraine’s military Intelligence told the Kyiv Independent on March 22.
Kremlin admits Russia ‘de facto’ at war, calls Ukraine ‘occupying force.’ Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov later clarified his words, saying that “de jure” it remained a “military operation,” but “de facto” had become a war.
UK Defense Ministry: First 10 Ukrainian pilots complete RAF flight training. According to the U.K. Defense Ministry’s report, the cohort completed basic training and will move to advanced flying training provided by the French Air Force before learning to fly F-16 fighter jets.
Ukraine war latest: Russia hits Ukraine’s largest Hydroelectric Power Plant, kills civilians
“The enemy launched one of the largest attacks on the Ukrainian energy sector in recent weeks,” Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko wrote on Facebook. “The goal is not just to damage it, but, just like last year, to cause a large-scale disruption in the country’s energy system.”
Photo: Denys Shmyhal / Telegram
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War Crimes Investigations Unit: Is Russia committing genocide in Ukraine?
A regular theme of Russian propaganda is the need to “erase the Ukrainian nation,” and murdering those who don’t agree to become Russian.The Kyiv Independent’s new documentary “Destroy, in Whole or in Part,” tries to answer the question – do Russian actions in Ukraine constitute genocide?
Photo: Dmytro Koval / Facebook
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Ukraine’s ‘angels’ who look after, evacuate civilians in front-line Donbas
The White Angels frequently return to Torske, now directly in the line of Russia’s offensives following its capture of Avdiivka, to see if anyone left behind has changed their mind about staying.
Photo: Alexander Khrebet / The Kyiv Independent
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Russia’s war effort may not be as formidable as it looks
Russia’s war machine has shown remarkable stamina despite the hundreds of thousands of troops it is estimated to have lost in Ukraine. But under the hood, it may be less resilient than it looks.
Photo: Alexander Manzyuk/Anadolu Agency
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3 killed, 29 injured in Zaporizhzhia as rescue operations conclude. Search and rescue operations at the sites of a Russian missile attack on Zaporizhzhia on March 22 have ended, the State Emergency Service reported. The attack killed three people and injured 29.
Russian attacks on Chernihiv, Kherson oblasts kill 1, injure 3. Russian troops struck Chernihiv and Kherson oblasts, killing one person and injuring at least three, local authorities reported on March 22.
Russia claims 1 killed, 2 injured in Ukrainian rocket attack on Belgorod.
The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that its forces downed eight projectiles launched from the RM-70 Vampire rocket launcher against Belgorod Oblast at around 7:30 a.m. local time.
General Staff: Russia has lost 434,710 troops in Ukraine since Feb 24, 2022. This number includes 870 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.
Danylo Mokryk: Say the word ‘genocide’
“It’s not surprising that some Western politicians and officials not only avoid using the term to describe Russia’s atrocities in Ukraine today but also outright deny that it is taking place. The term is often extremely undesirable for politicians as it imposes a certain pressure to act,” writes Danylo Mokryk, a Kyiv Independent investigative reporter.
Photo: Pierre Crom/Getty Images
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The Counteroffensive: Russia’s rising chemical weapons use in Ukraine
“Earlier this month, the Ukrainian military claimed that Russia has used chemical weapons 1,068 times since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine began two years ago. This includes allegations that Russia used chloroacetophenone, a chemical comparable to tear gas but with higher toxicity,” writes The Counteroffensive’s Tim Mak.
Photo: Pavlo Kyrylenko/Telegram
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EU moves toward plan to use profits from frozen Russian assets for arms for Ukraine. “I am confident that we can act very quickly,” said European Council President Charles Michel.
Reuters: France, Germany reportedly oppose using bonds to maximize profits from frozen Russian assets. At the same time, the EU moved closer on March 21 to finalizing a plan to use 90% of the profits generated from the frozen funds to purchase weapons for Kyiv and allocate the remaining 10% to the EU budget to support Ukraine’s defense industry.
European Council urges swift adoption of Ukraine’s negotiation framework.
The European Council urged EU leaders to “swiftly adopt” the negotiating frameworks for Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova after the first day of the Euro Summit on March 21.
European Commission proposes tariffs on Russian, Belarusian grain. The measure would impose a 95 euro ($103) per ton on corn and wheat, as opposed to zero tariffs imposed today, Business Insider reported. Other products, namely oilseeds, would be subject to an “ad valorem duty” of 50%.
UK announces more air defense systems, surveillance drones for Ukraine. The U.K. has announced a further 60 million pounds ($75.5 million) in military aid for Ukraine that will provide new surveillance drones and air defense systems, the U.K. Defense Ministry said on March 22.
Bloomberg: Germany allocates $325 million to Czech-led initiative for Ukraine. Berlin has pledged 300 million euros ($325 million) to a Czech-led initiative to provide Ukraine with hundreds of thousands of artillery shells, Bloomberg reported on March 21, citing people familiar with the decision.
Dutch PM: Ukraine to get large amount of shells ‘in the near future.’ A large amount of ammunition will be sent to Ukraine “in the near future” within the Czech-led initiative to provide Kyiv with hundreds of thousands of artillery shells, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on March 22.
Media: Czechia sends Ukraine its last Soviet Mi-24 helicopters. This is the third time Czechia has supplied Ukraine with helicopters. Prague sent four Mi-24 helicopters in July 2022 and then sent more in July 2023 without specifying the numbers and models.
FT: US reportedly tells Ukraine to stop striking Russian oil refineries. The sources told the Financial Times that the U.S. is concerned Russia could potentially retaliate by striking energy infrastructure used by the West, which could result in higher energy prices globally.
Over 60 killed in mass shooting at Moscow concert hall. According to the most recent reports, 60 people were killed and more than 140 wounded after gunmen opened fire at a concert venue in Moscow on March 22.
Islamic State claims responsibility for Moscow terrorist attack. The terrorist group Islamic State (IS) has claimed responsibility for the mass shooting at a concert hall in Moscow on March 22 that has left at least 60 people dead.
European Council sanctions 33 people over ‘slow killing’ of Alexei Navalny. The European Council has sanctioned 33 people and two entities over the death of former Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny last month, it was announced on March 22.
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]]>A man hugs a woman on the site of Russia’s morning missile attack on March 21, 2024, in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Tanya Dzafarowa/Suspilne Ukraine/JSC “UA: PBC”/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
Zelensky: Russian missiles used in recent attack on Kyiv have estimated 1,500 foreign-made parts. The missiles that Russia launched in a mass attack against Kyiv on March 21 had an estimated total of 1,500 foreign components, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his evening address.
Syrskyi: Ukraine’s forces ‘stabilize situation’ in the east. The Ukrainian forces managed to “stabilize the situation” in the country’s east, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said on March 21.
Russia targets energy infrastructure in Kharkiv. Russian forces attacked energy infrastructure in the city of Kharkiv overnight on March 22, causing at least 15 explosions and multiple power outages across the city.
Military intelligence: Russia’s railway to Crimea is ‘important target’ for Ukraine. The railway Russia is constructing in the occupied territories of Ukraine, which leads to Crimea, is “a serious challenge” and “an important target” for Kyiv, Andrii Yusov, a spokesperson of Ukraine’s military intelligence, said on March 21.
Zelensky urges EU leaders to give Ukraine shells, air defense systems in address to European Council. President Volodymyr Zelensky delivered an address to the European Council summit on March 21, urging EU leaders to provide Ukraine with more weapons, namely ammunition and air defense systems.
Ukrhydroenergo’s losses due to Russian attacks amount to over $3 billion. According to Ukrhydroenergo, Russia’s destruction of the Kakhovka dam has caused over 2.5 billion euros ($2.7 billion) in damages to Ukraine. Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukrhydroenergo’s stations cost around 500 million euros ($545.5 million).
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Official: Russia fires at occupied Kherson Oblast infrastructure in ‘provocation’ act, causes outages. Russian troops struck energy infrastructure in Kherson Oblast, leaving the city of Kakhovka without gas, electricity, and water supply, said Yurii Sobolevskyi, the first deputy head of the Kherson Oblast Council, on March 21.
Russia continues to redeploy Black Sea Fleet from Crimea, Ukraine promises ‘new steps’ to target it. Russia is continuing the redeployment of its Black Sea Fleet from occupied Crimea to the relative safety of Novorossiysk after yet more successful strikes on its ships, Ukraine’s military intelligence reported on March 21.
Media: Russian Navy accidentally hits fishing boat, authorities try to cover it up. A Russian fishing trawler was hit by a missile during Russia’s Baltic Fleet military exercises, killing three and injuring four others, a relative of one of the dead men claimed to the Russian TV Rain on March 21.
Russian media: Krasnodar Krai to close 2 prisons after inmates leave to fight in Ukraine. The number of inmates joining the Russian army has led the authorities in Krasnodar Krai to decide to close two prison colonies, Russian state media outlet Kommersant reported on March 21, citing Mark Denisov, the regional commissioner for human rights.
Ukraine war latest: Mass attack on Kyiv injures at least 13, including child
Russian forces launched dozens of missiles towards Kyiv early in the morning of March 21, injuring at least 13 people and causing damage to homes and infrastructure throughout the city.
Photo: State Emergency Service/Telegram
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‘Lives are falling apart:’ Kyiv residents shook by another mass missile attack
Hours after the attack, in the early afternoon, local residents and business owners rushed in and out, taking out the glass and other litter from their properties.
Photo: Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images
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Anti-Kremlin militias say incursions into Russia thwart Kremlin’s ability to launch new attacks
Following over a week of cross-border raids, the Ukrainian-equipped anti-Kremlin militias held a joint press conference in downtown Kyiv to have their voices heard.
Photo: Anatolii Stepanov/AFP via Getty Images
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Dutch defense minister: You don’t start negotiations with gun pointed at your head
Europe needs to make great strides in increasing the capacity of its defense industry, and can only do this by working together within the EU and with Ukraine, Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren told the Kyiv Independent on March 20.
Photo: Oleh Tymoshenko / The Kyiv Independent
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Russian attack on Mykolaiv kills 1, injures 6. A Russian attack against the southern city of Mykolaiv killed one woman and injured four other civilians, Mykolaiv Oblast Governor Vitalii Kim reported on March 21.
Russian missile attack on Kyiv injures at least 13, including child. Russian forces launched a missile attack on Kyiv early in the morning of March 21, injuring at least 13 people and causing damage to homes and infrastructure throughout the city.
Russian attacks against Ukraine kill 9, injure 37 over past day. Civilian casualties were reported in Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Sumy, and Kherson Oblasts.
NATO military delegation visits Kyiv for first time since start of full-scale invasion. Admiral Rob Bauer gave a speech at the Kyiv Security Forum, in which he said that his visit “is testament to the fact that NATO and Ukraine are closer than they have ever been.”
IMF approves $880 million loan payment for Ukraine. The executive board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a third review of Ukraine’s $15.6 billion loan program. This decision enables the release of $880 million designated for budget support.
French army chief: Putin needs to know West could send troops to Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin needs to understand that Western support for Ukraine could extend to troops on the ground, the chief of France’s Armed Forces, General Thierry Burkhard, said on March 21, as reported by AFP.
Estonian minister unveils $22 million defense package during Kyiv visit.
“The package includes recoilless anti-tank guns, explosives, various types of artillery ammunition, gas masks, sniper equipment, smaller caliber ammunition, and more,” Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur said.
Estonian PM: Russian defeat will help prevent WWIII. “We want to have peace, but we want to have sustainable peace and peace on Russia’s terms is not sustainable,” Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said.
Austrian chancellor opposes profits from frozen Russian assets being used to buy weapons for Ukraine. While some leaders, such as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo backed the idea, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer publicly voiced opposition to the proposal.
Hungary’s Orban congratulates Putin on election ‘win.’ Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban congratulated Vladimir Putin on his presidential election win in a letter lauding their countries’ cooperation “based on mutual respect.”
Kyiv Independent editor-in-chief on Ukrainska Pravda’s Power of Women list.
Kyiv Independent Editor-in-Chief Olga Rudenko has been selected for the list of Ukrainska Pravda’s Power of Women, a list of 100 Ukrainian women who are bringing “victory closer with daily work, self-sacrifice, and care for the next generations of Ukrainians.”
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]]>Fire extinguishing efforts continue as fire breaks out after a Russian shelling on an industrial building in Kharkiv on March 20, 2024. At least 5 people were killed and 13 injured. (Yevhen Titov/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Russian missile attack on Kyiv injures at least 10, including child. At least 10 residents were injured in a Russian missile attack on Kyiv the morning of March 21. Two of the victims were hospitalized, and one of the victims was a child.
Police: Russia attacked Kharkiv with Kh-35 anti-ship missile. Russia used a Kh-35 anti-ship missile in an attack on Kharkiv on March 20 that killed five civilians, Volodymyr Tymoshko, the head of the National Police in Kharkiv Oblast, reported on social media.
US: Russia attacked Ukraine with North Korean missiles at least 10 times. North Korea has been shaping up as Russia’s leading weapons supplier, reportedly providing Moscow with extensive military packages, including ballistic missiles and over 3 million artillery shells.
UN: Russia creating ‘stifling climate of fear’ in occupied territories. Russia is committing widespread violations of international law, including unlawful detention and torture, to create a “stifling climate of fear” in occupied areas of Ukraine, the UN said on March 20.
Putin orders FSB to hunt Russians who fight for Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin said that all Russians who fight for Ukraine must be tracked down and “punished…without any statute of limitations, wherever they may be located.”
ISW: Economic, military indicators suggest Russia is preparing for large-scale war with NATO. Although not an imminent threat, the ISW assesses that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s emphasis on growing Russia’s economic and military capabilities is an indication that Russia is gearing up for conflict beyond “a protracted war in Ukraine.”
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Parliamentary committee proposes renaming of 5 cities, 104 villages. Ukraine’s Parliamentary Committee on Regional Development adopted a decision to rename five cities and 104 villages that were given Russian or Soviet names, lawmaker Roman Lozynskyi announced on social media on March 20.
Russia threatens to target US spy satellites made by SpaceX. Russia said on March 20 that U.S. spy satellites launched in collaboration with private companies such as SpaceX would be a “legitimate target for retaliatory measures, including military ones.”
Russia’s ‘exit tax’ nets Kremlin $385 million from foreign firms in 2024 alone. A Russian ‘exit tax’ on foreign companies leaving the country has netted the Kremlin $385 million since the start of 2024, already surpassing predictions for the full year, Reuters reported on March 20.
Reuters: Posterchild of Russia’s Ukrainian children deportation program says he was threatened. Denys Kostev, a teenage orphan, was taken from Kherson to occupied Crimea by Russian authorities in fall 2022.
Shmyhal submits Ukraine reform plan to European Commission. “This is an important step for the implementation of reforms and financial stability on Ukraine’s path to the EU,” Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on X.
Defense Ministry: Ukraine plans to open 27 new recruitment centers in first half of 2024. Ministry of Defense advisor on recruiting issues Oleksiy Bezhevets announced on March 19 that 27 new-type recruitment centers are planned to be opened in big cities and regional centers in the first half of 2024, the Defense Ministry’s press service reported.
Ukraine war latest: Situation near Robotyne ‘in flux’ but not critical, military says
The line of contact near the village of Robotyne in Zaporizhzhia Oblast is “in flux,” but the situation is “not critical” despite Russian assaults in the area, Nataliia Humeniuk, spokesperson of Ukraine’s Southern Operational Command said on March 20.
Photo: Ukrinform/NurPhoto via Getty Images
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5 things to know about the latest weapons being sent to Ukraine
While the latest assistance pledged is unlikely to make a significant difference to the front lines on its own, there are some badly needed weapons making their way to Kyiv.
Photo: Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
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What we know about anti-Kremlin militias’ raids into Russia
In the early hours of March 12, three anti-Kremlin Russian groups announced they had crossed the border into Russia, promising “to fight the criminal Russian regime” with “weapons in hand.”
Photo: Andrew Kravchenko/Bloomberg via Getty Images
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Opinion: Another election at gunpoint in occupied Ukraine
“This year, the Russian presidential election was held in two countries: Russia and the Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine’s Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, and Luhansk oblasts, as well as Crimea. That the election of Russia’s president was held within Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders should be condemned loudly and clearly, with sanctions to follow,” writes Anna Mykytenko, a senior legal advisor and the Ukraine Country Manager at Global Rights Compliance
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5 dead, 5 missing after Russian missile attack on Kharkiv. Five people are still missing after the afternoon attack on Kharkiv, the city’s mayor Ihor Terekhov reported at 10:15 p.m. local time on March 20. Five people were killed in the strike.
Russian troops attack civilian car in Kherson Oblast, kill 2. This is the second case of Russia attacking a civilian car on the road between these villages over the past day.
Russian authorities claim airstrike on Belgorod Oblast kills 1, injures 2. Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of Russia’s Belgorod Oblast, claimed at around 12:20 p.m. local time on March 20 that the Belgorod district, including the city of Belgorod, was under attack and the air defense system was operating.
General Staff: Russia has lost 433,090 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022. This number includes 700 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.
Pentagon: Recent $300 million in US aid was ‘onetime’ deal, Congress must approve further funding. The $300 million was the first tranche of U.S. aid since December 2023 and was only something that the Pentagon was “able to find” based on savings from already completed contracts, General Pat Ryder said.
Sullivan vows US will deliver $60 billion aid package during visit to Kyiv. During his surprise visit to Kyiv on March 20, U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan vowed that the United States would deliver a $60 billion aid package to Ukraine despite its current impasse in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.
US Senator: Failure to pass Ukraine aid could cause ‘worst atrocity in history.’ “We can’t let Ukraine go through this, if it comes through the spring and we haven’t helped Ukraine, God help us,” Senator Joe Manchin said onstage during Axios’ annual What’s Next Summit.
European Commission delivers $4.8 billion to Ukraine in first tranche of macro-financial assistance. “Today we also made the first payment of 4.5 billion euros under the Ukraine Facility, our 50 billion euro ($54 billion) package to support the recovery, reconstruction and modernization of Ukraine,” said Josep Borrell, the EU’s top diplomat.
Lithuania allocates $38 million to buy shells for Ukraine via Czech initiative. Lithuania had pledged 35 million euros (around $38 million) for the Czech initiative to buy 800,000 artillery shells for Ukraine, Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte said on March 20.
Netherlands to procure $164 million in F-16 munitions for Ukraine. The Netherlands will procure 150 million euros ($164 million) worth of munitions for Ukraine’s F-16 jets, Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren announced on March 20.
New ICC chief on Putin: ‘Heaven’s vengeance is slow but sure.’ The new Head of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Tomoko Akane told Kyodo News on March 20 that “Heaven’s vengeance is slow but sure” when asked what fate awaits Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Russia accuses Olympic Committee of ‘racism and neo-Nazism’ over opening ceremony decision. The Kremlin has accused the International Olympic Committee (IOC) of “racism and neo-Nazism” over its decision to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from participating in the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics this summer.
Ukraine closing public access to ‘International War Sponsors’ list. Ukraine is removing its ‘International War Sponsors’ list from the website of the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption after representatives from several countries raised concerns, the Cabinet of Ministers announced on March 20.
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]]>As a result of the blast waves from Russian shelling in the evening of March 17, residential houses were damaged in one of the villages of the Starokostiantyniv community in Khmelnytskyi Oblast. Windows, doors, walls, and roof were damaged in this house. The woman, the owner of the house, is in the hospital with minor injuries. The destruction of the house is shown by her son Oleh. (Svitlana Krentovska/Suspilne Ukraine/JSC “UA:PBC”/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
Deputy minister: Russia fires 7 times more shells than Ukraine. “(Ukraine’s) stocks of ammunition of certain types are falling to a critical level,” Lieutenant General Ivan Havryliuk, Ukraine’s deputy defense minister, said.
US Senator Graham in Kyiv: ‘If you want aid to Ukraine, you’d better start talking to American taxpayers.’ At a press conference in Kyiv, U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham said 70% of Republicans in the Senate understand the need for aid for Ukraine, adding that if Russian President Vladimir Putin is not to be stopped now, there will be “a war between Russia and NATO.” Yet, he added that as political leaders, they need to address their own people, too.
Putin holds rally on Red Square following elections, promises to continue the war. Putin took the stage in the company of his “rivals,” Kremlin-friendly lawmakers Vladislav Davankov, Nikolai Kharitonov, and Leonid Slutsky, who ran against Putin in the election. All three praised Putin and offered their support.
Syrskyi calls unmanned systems ‘priority,’ seeks solutions for advantage over Russia. “The most important task that technology and innovation must fulfill is to save the lives of our soldiers,” Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said.
Ukrainian government allocating $128 million for procurement of attack drones. The Ukrainian government is allocating an additional Hr 5 billion (around $128 million) to purchase attack drones for the military, Economy Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko announced on March 18.
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Kyiv adopts plan for ‘Ukraine Facility,’ structural reforms to be implemented. Ukraine has adopted a plan for a series of reforms that will allow the EU to provide up to €50 billion over the next four years, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on March 18.
PM Shmyhal: Ukraine hopes EU accession talks will begin in first half of 2024. The Ukrainian government believes the negotiations on the country’s accession to the European Union can start in the first half of 2024, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal told Euractiv in an interview published on March 18.
WSJ: Ammunition suppliers for Czech-led initiative to aid Ukraine include Russian allies, Czech officials say. The ammunition suppliers taking part in the Czech-led initiative to provide Ukraine with artillery shells include “some allies of Russia,” the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported, citing unnamed Czech officials.
Military intelligence: Mobilization in Russia can occur more ‘openly’ with election over. At the same time, Andrii Yusov, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s military intelligence said that mobilization has continued in Russia throughout the campaign and election.
Ukraine war latest: EU gives final approval of $5.5 billion in defense aid to Kyiv
EU foreign ministers agreed to allocate additional 5 billion euros ($5.5 billion) in defense assistance for Ukraine in 2024 within the framework of the European Peace Facility, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba announced on March 18.
Photo: Monika Skolimowska/picture alliance via Getty Images
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Ukrainian drones hit one Russian oil refinery after another
According to The Insider, there have been 15 drone attacks against 13 oil refineries in nine regions of Russia in 2024. Multiple refineries reportedly lost some capacity after the attacks, with the latest series continuing for the majority of March.
Photo: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg via Getty Images
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Taurus missiles: Why Ukraine wants what Germany is reluctant to give
Ukraine officially asked Berlin to provide one of the most powerful long-range missiles at the end of May 2023. Taurus is a joint German-Swedish-made cruise missile that can travel up to over 500 kilometers.
Photo: Leonhard Simon/Getty Images
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3 men killed in Kherson Oblast while disassembling found drone. According to the local governor, three men aged 45, 55, and 67 found a first-person view (FPV) kamikaze drone in a yard and began to disassemble it when the munition detonated.
Russian March 17 attack on Mykolaiv kills 1, injures 9, including 2 children.
Russia’s March 17 missile attack against Ukraine’s southern city of Mykolaiv killed one person and injured nine, including two children, according to the latest update by the regional governor published on March 18.
Senator Graham: US should designate Russia state sponsor of terrorism. U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham has called on the U.S. presidential administration to support Russia’s inclusion in the list of countries sponsoring terrorism.
‘It was not unpredictable’ – While House condemns Putin’s sham election victory. There was “nothing free or fair” about Vladimir Putin’s presidential election victory, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on March 18, highlighting the extreme lengths the Kremlin went to to get the result it needed.
EU condemns Russia’s illegal election in occupied Ukraine, organizers to ‘face consequences.’ The results of Russia’s election in occupied territories of Ukraine are “null and void,” and the election organizers “will face consequences of these illegal actions,” Josep Borrell, the European Union’s top diplomat, said in a statement on behalf of EU member states on March 18.
EU gives final approval to $5.5 billion for military aid to Ukraine. EU foreign ministers finally agreed to allocate an additional 5 billion euros ($5.5 billion) in defense assistance for Ukraine in 2024 within the European Peace Facility (EPF) framework, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba announced on March 18.
Charles Michel: ‘Europe must prepare for war.’ If Europe wants to exist in peace it must shift to a “war economy” mode and significantly bolster defense capabilities in the face of the threat posed by Russia, European Council President Charles Michel said on March 18.
Bloomberg: China on track to receive record levels of Russian oil imports in March. While India has also remained a critical market for Russian oil, payment issues, in part related to Western sanctions, have caused delays in the trade of oil between the two countries.
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]]>Yulia Navalnaya, widow of Alexei Navalny, stands in a line outside the Russian embassy in Berlin, Germany to cast her vote in the rigged Russian presidential election on March 17, 2024. (Carsten Koall/picture alliance via Getty Images)
Putin ‘wins’ rigged Russian election; Ukrainians in occupied territories vote at gunpoint. Russian authorities on March 15-17 held a presidential election in two countries – Russia and the regions of Ukraine brutally occupied by the Kremlin. The voting was neither free nor fair, with the result known in advance.
‘Noon Against Putin’ protest in Russia dies down, no major opposition on election’s last day. Russia’s presidential election entered its third and last day on March 17, with the state-controlled news agency Interfax reporting over 70% voter turnout as of 3 p.m. local time in Moscow.
Zelensky: ‘Putin fears justice and must end up in The Hague.’ “He is afraid of only one thing – justice,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said. “(Putin) must end up in The Hague. That is what we must ensure, everyone in the world who values life and integrity.”
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Media: 12 Russian oil refineries successfully hit in recent attacks by Ukraine. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) drones have recently successfully attacked 12 oil refineries in Russia, a source told Ukrainska Pravda, including an overnight attack on March 17 of an oil refinery in Slavyansk-on-Kuban in Krasnodar Krai.
WP: Ukraine may be forced to aim to down only 1 in 5 missiles targeting cities due to ammunition shortage. Munitions for some of Ukraine’s air defense systems may be nearly used up by the end of March, the Washington Post reported on March 15, citing unnamed Western officials.
Ukrainian forces stop 3 Russian saboteur groups from advancing in Sumy Oblast. Border guards and Ukrainian troops in Sumy Oblast stopped three groups of Russian saboteurs from advancing, Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service reported on March 17.
Anti-Kremlin militia claims it captured local administration in Russia’s Belgorod Oblast. Russian volunteer fighters from the Siberian Battalion claimed to have entered the Gorkovsky settlement in Russia’s Belgorod Oblast and taken control of the local administration building, the militia said on March 17.
Ukraine war latest: 12 Russian oil refineries reportedly hit in recent attacks by Ukraine
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) drones have recently successfully attacked 12 oil refineries in Russia, a source told Ukrainska Pravda, including an overnight attack on March 17 of an oil refinery in Slavyansk-on-Kuban in Krasnodar Krai.
Photo: Christophe Gateau/picture alliance via Getty Images
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1 killed, 6 injured, including child, in Russian attack on Mykolaiv. Russian forces attacked the southern city of Mykolaiv twice with missiles earlier in the day.
1 killed, 1 injured in Russian attacks on Sumy Oblast. One person was killed and another injured as a result of Russian aerial bomb attacks on Velyka Pysarivka in Sumy Oblast, the local military administration said on March 17 in its evening update.
Local authorities: Russian forces strike Sumy infrastructure twice, no casualties reported yet. Russian forces struck Sumy twice, attacking undisclosed infrastructure in the northern city, the regional military administration reported on March 17.
Russia launches attacks against several regions, hits infrastructure. Russian troops launched an attack against several Ukrainian regions, including Sumy and Kharkiv oblasts, on the evening of March 17, local authorities reported.
Russian attacks on Nikopol in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast injure 5. Russian drone attacks on Nikopol in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast injured five people on March 17, Regional Governor Serhii Lysak said.
Mediazona confirms identities of over 47,700 Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine. Through open source research, Mediazona, a Russian independent media outlet, together with BBC Russia, confirmed the names of 47,701 Russian soldiers who had been killed since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Czechia to propose EU-wide grain import ban on Russia, Belarus. Czechia is planning to propose a ban on grain imports from Russia and Belarus into European Union countries at next week’s European Council meeting, Czech Agriculture Minister Marek Vyborny said on March 17.
Macron promises to visit Kyiv with ‘specific solutions’ for the war. “I will definitely come. I have a rule that my visit should be as useful as possible for Ukraine,” French President Emmanuel Macron said in an interview published on March 16.
UK Defense Ministry: Russia’s arms exports drop due to war and sanctions-related customer decline. In its daily intelligence bulletin published on X, the ministry cited research conducted by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), which revealed that Russia’s arms exports fell by 53% between 2019-2023 compared to the previous four-year period.
Drone reportedly hits military base in Russian-controlled Transnistria. A drone hit a military base in Transnistria, in the Russian-controlled region of Moldova, local Telegram channel “Pervyi Prydnestrovskyi” claimed on March 17.
The Counteroffensive: Inside Kharkiv’s underground metro schools
There’s a low rumbling that never quite stops below Kharkiv’s iconic Independence Square. This morning, the sound is a metro train thundering into Universytet Station, just underneath the school children learning the basics of the four seasons and the seven days of the week.
Photo: Ozge Elif Kizil/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
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CNN: Ukraine dismisses Russian claim about killing hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers with a ‘vacuum bomb.’ After Russia claimed on March 16 that it killed up to 300 Ukrainian soldiers using a so-called “vacuum bomb,” a spokesperson for the military intelligence of Ukraine (HUR) told CNN that the claims were “absolute nonsense and propaganda.”
Shoigu calls for better Navy defense in visit to Black Sea Fleet, Russian Defense Ministry says. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu ordered increased training and more weapons to repel Ukraine’s attacks on the Black Sea Fleet, according to a statement by Russia’s Defense Ministry on March 17.
Authorities have uncovered nearly 400 networks aiding draft evaders since start of war. Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, law enforcement agencies have uncovered nearly 400 criminal networks that help individuals evade military service by aiding them in fleeing abroad, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service announced on March 17.
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]]>A woman in Odesa lights lamps near an impromptu memorial to the victims of a Russian missile attack. The region observed a day of mourning on March 16, 2024. According to the latest information, 21 people were killed and more than 70 were injured as a result of a double Russian strike on Odesa the morning of March 15, 2024. (Viacheslav Onyshchenko/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Russian media: Oil refinery in Krasnodar Krai hit by drones. A fire broke out at an oil refinery in Slavyansk-on-Kuban in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, amid reports of explosions and a possible drone attack overnight on March 17.
Zelensky: Ukrainian strikes reveal Russia’s military vulnerabilities. “These weeks have demonstrated to many that the Russian war machine has vulnerabilities that we can reach with our weapons,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his evening address on March 16.
National Resistance Center: Resistance disrupts ‘voting’ in occupied Skadovsk, injures 5 Russian troops. The explosion reportedly occurred at 3 p.m. local time on the central square near the polling station while Russian forces were patrolling nearby.
Media: At least 15 criminal cases opened on first day of Russian presidential election. At least 15 criminal cases on alleged “obstruction of the electoral comissions’ work” had been opened during the first day of the Russian presidential election, Russian media outlet Novaya Gazeta Europe reported on March 15, citing regional investigation committees.
Anti-Kremlin militia claims to have captured 25 Russian troops. In a video published on Telegram early on March 16, the Russian Volunteer Corps’s commander Denys Nikitin, also known by his nom de guerre “White Rex,” talks to a man introduced as captured Russian senior lieutenant Alexei Volkov.
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Budanov: Ukraine to continue to support anti-Kremlin militias. Ukraine’s military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov said on March 26 on national television that anti-Kremlin militias were becoming “a force” and Ukraine would help them “to the extent possible.”
Russia claims another rocket attack on Belgorod Oblast. Earlier the same day, Russian anti-Kremlin militias warned Belgorod residents that a “massive strike will be carried out against military facilities and Russian military positions” in the city at 5 p.m. local time.
Kuleba calls Blinken to discuss unblocking Ukraine aid stalled in Congress. Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on X on March 16 that he held a telephone call with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to discuss the potential unblocking of aid for Ukraine that has been stuck in Congress since autumn 2023.
Update: 1 person remains missing as rescue operations concluded after March 13 strike on Sumy. Three people were killed, 12 were hospitalized, and one person is still missing as the emergency services have finished clearing the debris after the Russian March 13 attack on Sumy, the local military administration reported.
Court releases ex-Defense Ministry official charged with weapons procurement fraud without bail. Oleksandr Liyev was arrested in February 2024 in charges related to a corruption scheme revealed by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) in January that involved the procurement of almost 100,000 mortar shells, amounting to almost Hr 1.5 billion ($40 million).
Opinion: How many planes does Russia have?
“The Ukrainian military shot down five Russian military aircraft in the span of three days in early March, begging the question: How many planes does Russia have?” Military historian Andrii Kharuk analyzes the data on Russia’s aircraft.
Photo: Russian Defense Ministry/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images
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Update: Death toll in Russian missile strike on Odesa rises to 21, at least 73 injured. Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said on March 16 that the death toll had risen to 21 after another wounded person died in the hospital.
Russian shelling of Donetsk Oblast village kills civilian, injures another. Russia launched an artillery strike against the village of Novoselivka Persha in Donetsk Oblast’s Ocheretyne community on March 16, killing a 51-year-old man and injuring another resident, Governor Vadym Filashkin said.
Russian governor claims 2 killed in missile attack on Belgorod. Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov claimed that a man and a woman had been killed in the strikes, and that three others had been injured and sent to the hospital.
General Staff: Russia has lost 429,580 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022. This number includes 1,160 casualties Russian forces suffered over the past day.
Politico: Finnish FM does not rule out sending Western troops to Ukraine. At the same time, Finland is not currently willing to send troops or even ready to discuss it, Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen said.
Western countries denounce Russia holding election in occupied Ukrainian territories. “Russia has no legitimate basis to hold elections on the sovereign Ukrainian territory of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Luhansk, and Crimea. These areas are a part of Ukraine,” the U.K. Foreign Office said on X.
EU pressures European importers to cut down Russian LNG purchases in 2024. “My message was that this year must bring further disengagement from Russian exports,” Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson told Bloomberg following an EU-U.S. Energy Council meeting in Washington.
Tusk urges House speaker Johnson to ‘take decision’ on stalled Ukraine aid after Russian attack on Odesa. “Look at Odesa! How many more arguments do you need to take a decision?” Tusk wrote on X on March 16, tagging Johnson.
Media: Latvia investigates MEP accused of spying for Russia. Latvia’s State Security Service (VDD) began investigating Tatjana Zdanoka, a Latvian member of the European Parliament accused of spying for Russia, the Latvian news outlet Delfi reported on March 16.
Media: UK defense secretary canceled planned Odesa visit due to Russian threat. U.K. Defense Secretary Grant Shapps’ scheduled visit to Odesa was canceled after U.K. intelligence officials informed him that Moscow was aware of his travel plans.
Czech President: Russia ‘has no right’ to set conditions for peace in Ukraine. “The Kremlin has presented its list of conditions that it as an aggressor has no right to put forward,” Czech President Petr Pavel said on March 16.
Police open investigation over attempted suicide in Zakarpattia Oblast enlistment office. The police launched an investigation into the circumstances of a supposed attempted suicide by a man in the Khust military enlistment office in Zakarpattia Oblast, Hromadske reported on March 16, citing a statement from the police.
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]]>Members of an election commission, representing the Russian proxy authorities in occupied Donetsk, visit potential voters alongside armed soldiers during early voting in Russia’s presidential election on March 14, 2024. Ukraine has declared Russia’s elections in occupied territories illegitimate. (Stringer/AFP via Getty Images)
Anti-Kremlin militias warn of new attacks, again call on civilians to evacuate. The Freedom of Russia Legion, the Siberian Battalion, and the Russian Volunteer Corps published the appeal on their Telegram channels in today’s evening, promising to maintain a humanitarian corridor from 9 p.m. on March 14 until 7 a.m. on March 15.
Russian reconnaissance troops forced to retreat after failed attempt to cross Dnipro, Ukraine says. According to the Southern Operational Command, a boat carrying Moscow’s forces attempted to land on the western bank near the Antonivskyi Bridge.
Military: Russian troops intensify attacks in Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk sectors. Russian forces intensified their assaults in the Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk sectors of the front, Dmytro Lykhovii, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s Tavria group of forces, said on national television on March 14.
Russia claims fighting in Kursk, Belgorod oblasts amid ongoing anti-Kremlin militia raid. The Russian National Guard claimed it was repelling an attack near the village of Tyotkino in Kursk Oblast allegedly carried out by “sabotage groups” on March 14.
Russian governor claims Belgorod hit by three strikes during day. Belgorod Oblast Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov claimed at around 5:30 p.m. local time on March 14 that the air defense system over the city of Belgorod was operating, marking the third report of a strike on the city since that morning.
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Reuters: Russia believed to have jammed signal on plane carrying UK defense minister. Russia is believed to have jammed the satellite signal of a Royal Air Force aircraft used to transport U.K. Defence Minister Grant Shapps, a government source and journalists travelling with Shapps told Reuters on March 14.
Prosecutors: Russia has launched around 50 North Korean missiles at Ukraine. Russia has used around 50 North Korean missiles to attack six Ukrainian regions since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Oleksandr Filchakov, head of the Kharkiv Oblast prosecutor’s office, said on March 14 during a press conference.
Zelensky calls Scholz, discusses further Ukrainian-German cooperation. President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on his Telegram on March 14 that he held a telephone call with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to discuss further political, economic, and defense cooperation between the two states.
Ukrainian embassy appeals to France over ‘cultural appropriation’ at Russian film festival. The Ukrainian embassy in France appealed to local authorities after the “Another Russia” (Une autre Russie) organization included the Ukrainian film “Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors” by Sergei Parajanov into the program of the Russian film festival in Paris and Taverny, the embassy’s press service reported on Facebook on March 13.
SBU detains alleged Russian agent planning to blow up Kharkiv railway. A Ukrainian man suspected of working with Russian military intelligence and planning to blow up a railway in Kharkiv Oblast has been detained, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) announced on March 14.
Ukraine war latest: Ukrainian units begin rotation, Syrskyi says
“On the positive side, despite the quite difficult situation across the front line, we have managed to launch the process of rotating and replacing battalions and units that have been performing combat missions on the front line for a long time,” Syrskyi said.
Photo: Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu/Getty Images
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Ukraine wants to reopen airports during war. Will its ambitions take off?
Plans of resuming passenger flights have been in the air in recent months. In late February, Presidential Office Head Andriy Yermak announced that Ukraine was working on “restoring operations at one of the country’s airports once security issues are addressed.”
Photo: STR/NurPhoto via Getty Imagess
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Ukraine’s judicial reform relaunch shows mixed results so far
In late 2023, Ukraine finally re-launched the process of vetting judges as part of a long anticipated judicial reform – a key condition for Ukraine’s accession to the European Union. Four months later, the results are mixed.
Photo: Yan Dobronosov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images
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Drone attack in Vinnytsia Oblast kills 1, injures 4. A Russian drone hit a residential building in Vinnytsia Oblast on the evening of March 14, killing one person and injuring at least four others, Governor Serhii Borzov reported on Telegram.
Update: Russian March 13 attack on residential building in Sumy kills 3, injures 12. The body of a resident was pulled from the rubble after the rescue operation had resumed at 6 a.m. local time, State Emergency Service reported. Two more people killed were found the day before.
General Staff: Russia has lost 427,840 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022. This number includes 970 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.
The Counteroffensive: Crimean Tatars are observing this Ramadan in exile
“The story of Crimean Tatars and how they used Islam to protect their heritage and culture is one chapter in a wider story of how people in Ukraine are protecting and preserving their identity and heritage against Russian aggression,” writes The Counteroffensive’s Tim Mak.
Photo: Max Vetrov/AFP via Getty Image
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The Guardian: EU to propose funneling billions in profits generated by Russian assets to Ukraine. The commission’s officials plan to put forward a “legally robust proposal” for consideration by the member states, possibly before a meeting of prime ministers on March 21, the outlet said.
Bundestag votes against Taurus missiles for Ukraine for third time in 2024. Of the 687 lawmakers who participated in the vote, 494 voted against the delivery, with 188 voting in favor and five abstaining.
Macron: Russia’s war against Ukraine ‘existential’ for France, Europe. French President Emmanuel Macron on March 14 again refused to rule out the potential presence of Western troops in Ukraine but stressed that the current situation does not call for it.
The Hill: Johnson signals potential change in stance on Ukraine to Republican senators. House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson addressed Republican senators at their annual retreat on March 13, where he floated the idea that the long-obstructed Ukraine aid package could be made into a loan or lend-lease program for the benefit of U.S. taxpayers, the Hill reported on March 14.
Sweden pledges $33 million to Czech ammunition initiative for Ukraine. Sweden joined the Czech-led initiative to supply Ukraine with hundreds of thousands of artillery shells, pledging 30 million euros ($32.6 million) to the cause, the Swedish embassy in Czechia announced on March 14.
Bulgaria confirms long-awaited armored personnel carriers headed to Ukraine. After months of delays, 100 Bulgarian armored personnel carriers are on their way to Ukraine by rail, Bulgaria’s Defense Minister Todor Tagarev confirmed on March 14.
Ambassador: Poland ‘absolutely neutral’ whether refugees stay or return to Ukraine. Warsaw will neither encourage nor prevent the return of Ukrainian refugees to Ukraine, Polish Ambassador to Kyiv Jaroslaw Guzy said in an interview with Deutsche Welle published on March 13. Poland hosts around 1 million Ukrainians who fled from Russia’s all-out war, the highest number of all countries.
Rheinmetall plans to open at least 4 plants in Ukraine. German arms manufacturer plans to open at least four plans in Ukraine to produce artillery shells, military vehicles, gunpowder, and anti-aircraft weapons, the AFP reported on March 14.
Ukrainian campaign in US, Canada to commemorate Mariupol theater bombing. The Ukrainian project DE TY is organizing an international awareness campaign on March 16 in the U.S. and Canada to mark the second anniversary of a Russian strike against the Mariupol Drama Theater and draw attention to children suffering due to Russia’s war.
Russian Mi-8 helicopter crashes in Magadan region, two people reported dead. The aircraft was reportedly transporting 17 gold mine workers and three crew members when it made a “hard landing” 75 km from the village of Evensk, the Russian Far Eastern Transport Prosecutor’s Office said in a post on Telegram.
Russia bans entry to over 200 US policy makers, business leaders, journalists. The Russian Foreign Ministry added another 227 U.S. citizens to its list of those who are banned from entering Russia, state news agency TASS reported on March 14.
International journalist federations call for probe into detainment of Ukrainian journalists in Poland. The International and the European Federations of Journalists (IFJ-EFJ) urged Polish authorities to investigate after two separate instances of Ukrainian journalists being detained in Poland were reported in recent weeks.
Border Guard: Krakovets border crossing remains open for trucks going to Poland. The Korczowa-Krakovets crossing on the Polish-Ukrainian border remains open for trucks heading to Poland despite initial reports that Polish protesters would resume the blockade on March 13, Border Guard Service spokesperson Andrii Demchenko said on March 14.
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]]>Ukrainian soldiers of 79th brigade are seen in the front-line city of Vuhledar in Donetsk Oblast on March 12 as Russia-Ukraine war continues. (Wolfgang Schwan/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Russia claims it has taken control of Nevelske in Donetsk Oblast. The potential loss of the village, which has not been confirmed by Ukraine, would create the possibility for Russian forces to attack the embattled city of Krasnohorivka.
Russian anti-Kremlin militia break into Russia, claim to occupy villages. The Freedom of Russia Legion and the Siberian Battalion crossed the border into Russia from Ukraine on March 12 to conduct combat operations, according to the Russian anti-Kremlin armed groups.
Kyiv to receive $6.5 billion in EU transitional financing under Ukraine Facility. Based on the newly signed agreement, Ukraine’s state budget should receive 4.5 billion euros ($4.9 billion) in transitional financing in March and the remaining 1.5 billion euros ($1.6 billion) in April “after the European Commission evaluates the completed indicators.”
Governor: At least 2 years required to de-mine Ukrainian-controlled territory in Kherson Oblast. Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said that only 1/3rd of the territory in Kherson Oblast liberated from Russian occupation has been surveyed. More than 150,000 mines or other explosives were discovered in this area alone, he added.
Minister: Ukraine to mass-produce robots to ‘minimize human involvement on battlefield.’ Ukraine plans to mass-produce mobile robots capable of mining, demining, operating attack drones, evacuating wounded soldiers, and transporting ammunition, Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov announced on March 12.
Poll: Vast majority of Ukrainians against Russian as official or state language. The poll reflects changes in Ukrainians’ perception of the Russian language outside the domestic sphere since the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Zelensky signs law on allowing soldiers to preserve reproductive cells for free. Ukrainian soldiers will be able to preserve their reproductive cells for free, allowing them to have children in case of death or injury, according to a law signed by President Volodymyr Zelensky on March 12.
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Vatican says Russia should take first steps toward negotiations with Ukraine.
The first condition for peace in Ukraine is for Russia to cease its hostilities, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state, said on March 11.
SBU uncovers pro-Russian disinformation group connected to Moscow-linked Ukrainian church. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) neutralized a pro-Russian disinformation group in Kyiv whose members included a senior cleric of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP), the SBU’s press service said on March 12.
Russia summons Swiss ambassador over parliament’s motions to funnel frozen Russian assets to Ukraine. “In the case of the practical implementation of such plans by Bern, retaliatory measures by the Russian side will be inevitable,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said on its official Telegram channel.
Russian media: Russian Il-76 military transport plane crashes in central Russia, 15 reportedly killed. The confirmation came after Telegram channels shared videos of a plane on fire in the sky. The 112 Telegram channel claimed that all eight crew members and seven passengers died in the crash.
Russia claims it downed Ukrainian drones over 7 regions. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Russian air defense shot down two drones over Moscow Oblast, one over Leningrad Oblast, seven over Belgorod Oblast, 11 over Kursk Oblast, one over Bryansk Oblast, one over Tula Oblast, and two over Oryol Oblast.
Ukraine war latest: Russian anti-Kremlin militia break into Russia, claim to occupy villages
The Freedom of Russia Legion and the Siberian Battalion crossed the border into Russia on March 12 to conduct combat operations, according to the Russian anti-Kremlin armed groups. The Legion claimed it had taken control of the village of Tyotkino in Russia’s Kursk Oblast.
Photo: Getty Images
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What do we know about the ‘Siberian Battalion’ that reportedly crossed into Russia?
The Siberian Battalion was the third unit established by Ukraine for Russian nationals who want to join the fight against the Kremlin. The battalion was meant primarily for ethnic minorities coming from Siberia, including Buryats, Yakuts, Tuvans, and others.
Photo: Maxym Marusenko/NurPhoto via Getty Images
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Inside the electronic warfare arms race that could shape course of war in Ukraine
When Ukraine received Excalibur artillery shells in March 2022 from the U.S. shortly after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, it was immediately the military’s weapon of choice.
Photo: Kostiantyn Liberov/Libkos/Getty Images
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The man who refuses to leave his museum-like house in front-line Chasiv Yar
In the small town of Chasiv Yar, just several kilometers away from the eastern front of Russia’s war in Ukraine, a rare house has remained intact. Most of the residents have fled to safer areas.
Photo: Olena Zashko / The Kyiv Independent
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Russia claims killing 234 fighters while thwarting incursion from Ukraine. The Russian Defense Ministry reported on March 12 that Moscow’s military and security forces killed 234 combatants while thwarting a border incursion it blames on Ukraine.
Russian missile attack on Kryvyi Rih kills 3, injures 44. The strike started a fire in a multi-story building. Multiple injuries have been reported, according to Governor Serhii Lysak.
Russian attack near Kupiansk kills 1 civilian, injures 3. Two 46-year-old men and a 38-year-old man were injured and one person was killed, according to Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov’s update.
Russian shelling of Zaporizhzhia Oblast village injures 2. Russia carried out an artillery attack against the village of Huliaipole in Zaporizhzhia Oblast in the afternoon on March 12, injuring two women aged 63 and 77, Governor Ivan Fedorov reported.
Russia strikes Sumy Oblast, injuring 5 children, 1 adult. Russian forces fired at Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy Oblast 82 times on March 12, striking 14 communities. Five children were wounded in the Velyka Pysarivka community, and one man received injuries following Russia’s shelling of Myropillia village, the local military administration reported.
US announces $300 million defense aid package for Ukraine. This is the first package since last December, as U.S. funds for Kyiv have been blocked by disputes in Congress.
Denmark announces new military aid package for Ukraine worth $336 million. The newest package contains Caesar self-propelled artillery systems, self-propelled 120-mm mortars, and associated ammunition. The funds will also be used as part of the Czech-led initiative to purchase artillery shells for Ukraine.
Czech PM: Czech initiative receives commitments for 200,000 more artillery shells.
The Czech-led initiative to provide Ukraine with artillery ammunition received “non-binding commitments” for a further 200,000 shells, in addition to the confirmed purchase of 300,000 rounds, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said on March 12, according to the Czech Press Agency (CTK).
FT: EU nears agreement on $5.5 billion defense aid package for Ukraine. EU countries are close to a deal to add 5 billion euros ($5.5 billion) to a fund used to provide military assistance to Ukraine, the Financial Times reported on March 12, citing four unnamed officials briefed on the discussions.
European Commission proposes draft framework for Ukraine’s EU accession talks. The proposed frameworks detail the “principles governing the accession negotiations, (the) substance of the negotiations, and (the) negotiations procedure.”
US House Democrats start gathering signatures to force vote on Ukraine aid. U.S. House of Representatives Democrats began collecting signatures on March 12 to bypass House Speaker Mike Johnson and force a vote on a Ukraine aid bill via a discharge petition, Reuters reported.
Lithuania seizes first car with Russian number plates after change in rules. Lithuania has seized the first Russian-registered car since a change in rules requiring Russian vehicles to be re-registered in Lithuania, Lithuanian Customs announced on March 12.
French parliament supports bilateral security agreement with Ukraine. In total, 372 lawmakers voted in favor of the deal, 99 were against, and 106 abstained or were not present. The far-left France Unbowed party voted against the agreement, while the far-right National Rally party abstained.
Hungary hosts Rosatom head on 25th anniversary of NATO accession. Hungary hosted the head of the Russian nuclear energy company Rosatom, Alexey Likhachev, on March 12, the 25th anniversary of Budapest’s accession to NATO.
Navalny’s ex-chief of staff reportedly attacked near his home in Lithuania. Leonid Volkov, who worked as the chief of staff of late Russian oppositionist Alexei Navalny, was physically assaulted near his home in Lithuania, Navalny’s former spokesperson Kira Yarmysh said.
DBR: Criminal case against anti-corruption activist Shabunin in accordance with court’s decision. The State Bureau of Investigation (DBR) had opened a criminal case against Vitalii Shabunin, the head of the board of the Anti-Corruption Action Center, based on a decision of the Shevchenkivskyi court in Kyiv, the bureau’s official told RFE/RL on March 12.
Another 47 Ukrainians evacuated from Gaza. A plane with 47 Ukrainians on board who have been evacuated from Gaza arrived in Moldova, Ukraine’s military intelligence agency reported on March 12.
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]]>in Lviv, cadets and residents of the city hold the flag of Ukraine during the celebration of the National Anthem Day of Ukraine. On March 11, Ukraine celebrates the 159th anniversary of the first public performance of the National Anthem of Ukraine. (Olena Znak/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Zelensky: As long as Ukraine holds, French army can stay in France. Zelensky was addressing French President Emmanuel Macron’s recent comments that sending Western troops into Ukraine cannot be “ruled out.”
CNN: Russia producing 3 times more shells than US, Europe can provide to Ukraine. Russia is set to produce nearly three times as many artillery munitions as the U.S. and Europe this year, CNN reported on March 11, citing NATO intelligence estimates and unnamed sources familiar with the matter.
Foreign Ministry summons Vatican envoy following Pope’s call for Ukraine to negotiate with Russia. Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry summoned Apostolic Nuncio to Ukraine Visvaldas Kulbokas on March 11 concerning Pope Francis’ recent call for Kyiv to “not be ashamed to negotiate” with Moscow.
Kherson Governor: 5 children returned from Russian captivity. The NGO Save Ukraine has returned five children and an 18-year-old orphan from Russian-occupied territories, Kherson Oblast Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported on March 11.
Zelensky: Ukraine building 2,000 kilometers of fortifications. The construction of 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles) of fortifications across three lines of defense is “a massive task, but the pace is good,” Zelensky said.
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Minister: Ukraine starts talks with US, EU regulators to restore air service.
Kyiv is waiting for the first round of official feedback from regulators and is currently in talks with three Ukrainian companies that have confirmed they “want to fly,” Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov told RBC-Ukraine in an interview.
SBU detains spouse of former regional official, suspected of spying for Russia. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) detained a woman, the wife of a former local council head in Vinnytsia Oblast, for allegedly detailing sensitive data on Ukrainian positions to Russia, the SBU announced in a press release on March 11.
Russian lawmakers propose draft bill declaring ‘illegal’ return of Crimea to Ukraine in 1954. Lawmakers of the ruling United Russia political party submitted a draft law to the Russian State Duma on March 11 declaring Russia’s 1954 return of Crimea to the Ukrainian Soviet Republic “illegal.”
Ukraine war latest: Russia producing 3 times more shells than US, Europe can provide to Ukraine, CNN says
Russia is set to produce nearly three times as many artillery munitions as the U.S. and Europe can send to Ukraine, CNN reported, citing NATO intelligence estimates and unnamed sources.
Photo: Francis Farrell/The Kyiv Independent
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5 children killed in single attack: ‘We should never forget what Russia did’
In the early hours of March 2, Russia attacked Odesa with drones, hitting a multi-storied apartment building in one of the city’s residential neighborhoods, killing a total of 12 people, including the five children.
Photo: Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images
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Russian attacks against Kharkiv Oblast injure 4 civilians. Russian attacks against Kharkiv Oblast during the afternoon injured four people, Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported on Telegram on March 11.
Russian attacks against Ukraine kill 3, injure 13 over past day. Russia launched 25 Shahed drones at Ukraine overnight, 15 of which were shot down by Ukrainian air defenses, the General Staff reported in a post on Facebook.
Judge who issued warrant for Putin becomes head of International Criminal Court. International Criminal Court (ICC) Judge Tomoko Akane, who was placed on a Russian wanted list after issuing an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin in March 2023, was elected president of the ICC on March 11.
Pope’s call for Ukraine’s surrender receives criticism from Scholz, Stoltenberg. Pope Francis’ call for Ukraine to “not be ashamed to negotiate” with Russia received critical responses from German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and NATO General Jens Stoltenberg on March 11.
Baerbock says Taurus-Storm Shadow missiles swap ‘an option.’ Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said she was open to a deal in which London supplies Ukraine with additional Storm Shadow missiles in exchange for Germany backfilling British long-range missile stocks.
Orban: Trump will stop funding Ukraine if elected. Echoing previous comments by the former president about his plans to negotiate peace in Ukraine within 24 hours, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that former U.S. President Donald Trump would end the supply of weapons from the U.S., a move that he said would mark the end of the war.
Media: International electronics companies that suspended operations in Russia resume advertising. Leading international electronics companies, including Samsung and Xiaomi, have resumed advertising in Russia after suspending product promotion after the start of the full-scale invasion, Russian state media outlet Kommersant reported, citing TelecomDaily data.
Opinion: Europe has a Russian fossil fuel addiction
“In spite of 13 sanctions packages against Russia and endless words of solidarity for Ukraine, recent data has revealed that many European Union countries continue to import massive amounts of liquified natural gas, propping up Russian President Vladimir Putin’s genocidal regime,” writes Svitlana Romanko, a founder and director of Razom We Stand.
Photo: Andreas Rentz/Getty Images
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Deputy PM: Ukraine meets requirements to approve framework for EU accession negotiations. Ukraine has implemented all four recommendations needed for the European Commission to approve Ukraine’s framework for accession negotiations, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanishyna told reporters at an anti-corruption event in Kyiv on March 11.
Ex-Foreign Ministry spokesperson appointed as Toronto consul general. Oleh Nikolenko, who had been a spokesperson for over three years, announced his resignation on March 8, saying he was about to start “a new diplomatic chapter.”
Ukrainian consul visits Polish border, sees no signs of blockade. Ukrainian consul in Poland Serhii Tsaruk visited the Dorohusk crossing on March 11 and reported that he did not see any blocked buses, following conflicting reports that Polish protesters were preventing buses from crossing the border.
Russian media: South Korean arrested in Russia on suspicion of spying for first time. A South Korean citizen has been arrested in Russia for the first time on alleged espionage charges, Russian state-owned news agency TASS said on March 11.
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]]>Raney Aronson-Rath, Mstyslav Chernov, and Michelle Mizner accept the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature Film for “20 Days in Mariupol” onstage during the 96th Annual Academy Awards at Dolby Theatre on March 10, 2024 in Hollywood, California. The film documents the Russian siege of Mariupol in Donetsk Oblast from the perspective of Chernov and his crew during the first weeks of the full-scale invasion. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
‘20 Days in Mariupol’ wins Oscar for Best Documentary. The film “20 Days in Mariupol,” directed by Ukrainian journalist Mstyslav Chernov, won the Oscar for Best Documentary at the 96th Academy Awards on March 10, marking the first time a Ukrainian film has received an Oscar.
Zelensky dismisses pope’s call for Ukraine to raise white flag. “Russian murderers and torturers are not moving further into Europe only because they are being held back by Ukrainians with weapons in their hands and under the blue and yellow flag,” he said.
UK Defense Ministry: Ukraine increasing fortifications along the front line. Ukraine has “almost certainly” accelerated the construction of defensive fortifications along several areas of the front line, the U.K. Defense Ministry wrote in its March 10 report.
Military: Russia steps up use of poisonous chemicals in Ukraine. Over the past week, Russian forces have dropped grenades with suffocating and tear gas from drones about 50 times, and 15 such drops of ammunition have been recorded over the past day alone, he said.
Media: Commander of Russian Navy replaced. Yevmenov, who has been the Russian Navy Commander since May 2019, is still listed on the Defense Ministry’s website. The Russian Defense Ministry did not comment on the alleged replacement.
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Massive Russian drone attack damages infrastructure, homes in Odesa. The attack hit an infrastructure facility in Odesa and caused a fire, which emergency workers extinguished. The attack also damaged administrative buildings in the city and smashed the windows of multiple homes.
Ukrenergo: 2 energy substations damaged by Russian drone strikes in past day. Two energy substations in southern and central Ukraine were damaged by Russian kamikaze drone attacks on March 9, state electricity grid operator Ukrenergo reported on March 10.
Anti-corruption activist accuses authorities of fabricating political cases against him. Shabunin, who joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine as a volunteer at the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, denied the accusations and said the cases were fabricated. He believes the cases to be a political vendetta against him by President Volodymyr Zelensky’s deputy chief of staff Oleh Tatarov.
Russian media: St Petersburg airport suspends operations after drone attack. Leningrad Oblast Governor Aleksandr Drozdenko reported a drone was downed near the village of Fornovoso south of Pulkovo Airport without casualties on the ground.
Governor: Fire breaks out at oil depot in Russia’s Kursk Oblast. A fire broke out at an oil depot in Russia’s Kursk Oblast after a Ukrainian drone was shot down over its grounds, Roman Starovoit, the region’s governor, claimed on March 10.
Ukraine war latest: US reportedly prepared for potential Russian nuclear strike in Ukraine in 2022
Washington was “preparing rigorously” for a possible Russian nuclear strike in Ukraine in late 2022, which would have been the first nuclear attack in a war since the Hiroshima and Nagasaki 1945 bombings, CNN reported on March 9, citing two unnamed U.S. officials.
Photo: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg
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Russian drone attack on Dobropillia in Donetsk Oblast kills 2. Russian troops hit a residential area in Dobropillia with Shahed drones overnight on March 10, killing two people, regional governor Vadym Filashkin reported.
Ukrainian fighter jet pilot reportedly killed in action in Donetsk Oblast. Tkachenko was killed during a combat mission on March 8, 2024.
2 Georgian volunteers killed fighting for Ukraine. Georgian volunteer fighters Nodar Nasirov and Giorgi Gogiashvili have been killed in Ukraine, the Georgian Legion reported on March 9.
City official: 10 injured in Russian missile attack on Myrnohrad in Donetsk Oblast. Ten people were injured after Russian forces targeted the city of Myrnohrad in Donetsk Oblast overnight on March 10 with three missiles, Yurii Tretiak, acting head of the local city administration, told Suspilne.
General Staff: Russia has lost 424,060 troops in Ukraine. Russia has lost 424,060 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported on March 10. This number includes 900 casualties Russian forces suffered over the past day.
Italian minister says he’s against deploying Western troops in Ukraine. The comments came after French President Emmanuel Macron recently said that Western military presence in Ukraine cannot be “ruled out” in the future. The U.S. and multiple European allies, as well as NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, have distanced themselves from Macron’s statement.
Poland’s Duda, Tusk to visit US to lobby for Ukraine. Polish President Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister Donald Tusk will visit the United States on March 12, the 25th anniversary of Poland’s NATO accession, to advocate for continued U.S. military aid to Ukraine.
Orban: Trump is ‘man of peace.’ Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that Trump’s plans for an end to the war “are quite detailed” and align with Hungary’s national interests.
US, Japan hope to accelerate joint defense production at April summit. The leaders of Japan and the United States will meet in Washington, D.C. on April 10 to “strengthen the joint production system” for defense equipment in order to ship more arms to Ukraine, according to unnamed officials cited by the Japanese news outlet Yomiuri.
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]]>Pope Francis attends the Penitential Service in the Roman parish of St Pius V on March 08, 2024 in Vatican City. (Photo by Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images)
Pope Francis says Ukraine should have ‘courage’ to negotiate peace with Russia. “Don’t be ashamed to negotiate before things get worse,” Pope Francis said in an interview when asked whether Ukraine’s potential negotiations with Russia would legitimize the aggressor.
CNN: US prepared ‘rigorously’ for potential Russian nuclear strike in Ukraine in 2022. Washington was “preparing rigorously” for a possible Russian nuclear strike in Ukraine in late 2022, which would have been the first nuclear attack in a war since the Hiroshima and Nagasaki 1945 bombings, CNN reported on March 9, citing two unnamed U.S. officials.
Cameron opposes deploying Western troops in Ukraine, including for training. According to U.K. Foreign Secretary David Cameron, deploying foreign soldiers in Ukraine would create additional “targets” for Russia.
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Armenia considering applying for EU membership amid growing tensions with Russia. Armenia is considering applying for membership in the European Union, aiming to strengthen ties with Western countries amid growing tensions with Russia, Armenia’s Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan revealed in an interview on March 9.
NBC: House Republicans float idea of new Ukraine aid package as a loan. House Republicans are working on their own version of an aid bill to Ukraine to speed up the delivery of assistance to the country, with one version including treating nonmilitary aid to Ukraine as a loan, NBC reported on March 9.
Tusk meets Polish farmers, no agreement on ending border protests reached. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk failed to reach an agreement with Polish farmers to end protests against Ukrainian agricultural imports during a meeting on March 9, Polskie Radio reported.
After 10 years of war, Krasnohorivka in new danger as Russia advances in the east.
On the streets of the small industrial city of Krasnohorivka, just outside occupied Donetsk, the term “full-scale invasion” is rarely heard among locals.
Photo: Francis Farrell/The Kyiv Independent
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Explaining Ukraine: Taras Shevchenko, Ukrainian poet and national hero.
In nearly every village, town, and city across Ukraine today, you can spot some kind of monument to the 19th-century poet and artist Taras Shevchenko.
Illustration: Mari Kinovych/The Kyiv Independent
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Russian attacks in Donetsk Oblast kill 1, injure 4. Russian forces struck Chasiv Yar and Ocheretynе in Donetsk Oblast, killing a person and injuring four others, Donetsk Oblast Prosecutor’s Office reported on March 9.
Governor: Russian shelling in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast kills 16-year-old boy. Russian forces shelled a settlement near Nikopol in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast early on March 9, killing a 16-year-old boy and injuring another person, Governor Serhii Lysak reported.
Prosecutor’s Office: 3 injured in Russian strike on Kherson. Russian forces struck Ukraine’s southern city of Kherson on the morning of March 9, wounding three civilians, the Kherson Oblast Prosecutor’s Office reported.
Russia attacks 11 communities in Sumy Oblast. Russian forces fired at Sumy Oblast 45 times on March 9, striking 11 communities, the Sumy Oblast Military Administration reported.
Orban meets Trump in US, urges him to ‘come back and bring us peace’. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban met with Donald Trump, who is set to become the Republican nominee for the general U.S. presidential election, during his trip to the U.S. on March 8, and supported Trump’s presidential bid.
Polish protestors to temporarily unblock traffic at one border crossing. Demchenko said on the national telethon that the border blockade could end on March 13, but remained cautious about whether or not the protestors will resume traffic flow after the date.
Media: Next Ramstein summit to be held on March 19 in Germany. The next Ramstein-format summit of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) will be held on March 19 at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany, the U.S. Air Force in Europe’s press service told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL).
Russian student jailed for renaming Wi-Fi network to pro-Ukraine salute. A Russian student at Moscow State University received a 10-day jail sentence for renaming a Wi-Fi network name to “Slava Ukraini” - a Ukrainian national salute that means “Glory to Ukraine,“ Moscow court documents revealed on March 9.
Air Force: Ukraine downs 35 drones overnight. Ukrainian air defense units destroyed 35 of the 39 Shahed drones Russia launched overnight, the Air Force reported on March 10.
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]]>President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks to the media as President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky listens on during a joint press conference on March 08, 2024 in Istanbul, Turkey. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)
Erdogan offers to host Ukraine-Russia peace summit after meeting Zelensky. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey is ready to host a peace summit between Ukraine and Russia after the meeting with his counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky on March 8 in Istanbul.
Zelensky arrives in Turkey, meets Erdogan. President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Turkey on March 8 to meet his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Zelensky is also expected to visit the shipyard where corvettes for the Ukrainian Navy are being built and meet with representatives of Turkish defense companies.
Governor: Explosions reported in Russian occupied cities in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Zaporizhzhia Oblast Governor Ivan Fedorov said that an explosion had been reported near a Russian military base in Tokmak, and another at a warehouse in Melitopol used by Russian forces to store ammunition.
US Embassy in Russia issues warning of potential terror attack in Moscow over next 48 hours. The embassy did not specify what kind of threats they referred to, or who might be behind them. The U.K.’s Embassy in Russia also repeated the advisory issued by the U.S.
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Zelensky urges Erdogan to bring Crimean Tatars back from Russian captivity. President Volodymyr Zelensky passed to his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan the list of Ukrainian citizens, including Crimean Tatars, captured by Russia after their meeting on March 8 in Istanbul.
Russian missile hits 300-400 meters away from Zelensky and Greek PM, president says. The Russian attack occurred when President Volodymyr Zelensky and his staff were giving Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis a tour around Odesa’s port.
Foreign Ministry confirms Zara, other fashion brands to return to Ukraine. Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry announced on March 8 that Spanish Inditex, a multinational clothing company, is preparing to reopen its stores in Ukraine following the two-year closure amid Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Air Force: Ukraine attacks Russian planes at distance of over 150 kilometers. The recent uptick in the number of downed aircraft led to a “significant” reduction in the number of Russia’s guided bomb strikes, Air Force Commander Mykola Oleschuk said.
The Kyiv Independent sat down for an interview with Dr. Jade McGlynn to discuss Russia’s distortion of history on Feb. 28 in Kyiv. Dr. McGlynn has dedicated years to researching and analyzing the political manipulation of history in Russia under Putin’s rule.
Photo: Alexey Druzhinn /SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images
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President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Turkey on March 8 to meet his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Among the topics the Ukrainian and Turkish leaders were planning to discuss were Ukraine’s peace formula, the safety of navigation in the Black Sea, as well as the release of Ukrainian prisoners held by Russia.
Photo: The Ukrainian Presidential Office
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On the occasion of International Women’s Day, the Kyiv Independent’s business editor Liliane Bivings interviewed three female leaders in Ukraine’s tech industry. Anna Apostol, Yelyzaveta Cherednychenko, and Eugenia Zhovnach have stayed in Ukraine amid Russia’s war despite opportunities abroad and are invested in the country’s economic growth.
Photo: Mate academy’s press service
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President Zelensky announced recently that 31,000 Ukrainian troops have been killed in the war against Russia.
The figure is significantly lower than some recent estimates published by sources outside the government in the absence of official data.
Photo: Kostiantyn Liberov/Libkos
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Russian forces strike Kherson, injuring 7-year-old. Russian forces attacked Kherson, injuring a seven-year-old boy, the Kherson Oblast Military Administration reported via Telegram on March 8.
Governor: Russian drone attacks car in Vovchansk in Kharkiv Oblast, kills 2. The strike was carried out by a first-person view (FPV) kamikaze drone, killing a 58-year-old man and a 53-year-old woman, the regional governor said.
Update: Russia’s March 7 missile strike on Sumy kills 2, injures 26. Russia launched missiles at Sumy at around 2:40 p.m. local time, damaging a school, a central hospital, a regional emergency medical center, and a water utility facility. It was the first missile attack against the regional capital since July.
Update: Russian missile strike on Chuhuiv in Kharkiv Oblast injures 7, including 3-year-old girl. Governor Oleh Syniehubov previously reported that two were injured in the attack, which damaged a nine-story residential building, a shopping mall, a bank, a shop, and a hotel.
General Staff: Russia has lost 422,310 troops in Ukraine. This number includes 880 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.
US Congress passes second government funding bill without Ukraine aid. Both chambers of the U.S. Congress approved a short-term stopgap spending bill to avoid a partial government shutdown through the fall, sending it for signature to President Joe Biden.
Ukraine signs agreement with Turkey simplifying bilateral trade. Ukraine’s Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and Turkish Trade Minister Omer Bolat signed the document after the meeting of President Volodymyr Zelensky and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul on March 8.
Estonian FM announces imminent signing of security agreement with Ukraine. Estonia plans to sign a bilateral agreement on security guarantees under the Group of Seven (G7) Joint Declaration of Support for Ukraine, Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said on March 8 during the joint press conference in Vilnius.
Czech official: Allies yet to collect full funding for 800,000 shells earmarked for Ukraine. Czech National Security Advisor Tomas Pojar argued Czech President Petr Pavel’s statement about finishing the funds’ allocation for purchasing 800,000 artillery shells for Ukraine, Czech outlet Denik reported on March 8.
Polish FM: ‘NATO forces presence in Ukraine is not unthinkable.’ “The presence of NATO forces in Ukraine is not unthinkable,” Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said. “Because it is about (Russian President Vladimir) Putin being afraid, not us being afraid of Putin,” he added.
Polish parliament calls on European Commission to ban agricultural goods from Russia, Belarus. Calling the European Commission to impose sanctions on Russian agricultural goods was one of the suggestions proposed by Ukraine to Poland to solve the ongoing blockade led by Polish farmers.
UK Defense Secretary Shapps visits Kyiv to ‘raise alarm for democratic world.’ U.K. Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said on March 8 that the U.K. has “stepped up to do more than ever” and pushed for other Western allies to do the same.
Luxembourg joins Czech-led ammunition initiative for Ukraine. Luxembourg’s Defense Minister Yuriko Backes also said that the defense ministry had recently delivered 6,000 155mm shells to Ukraine.
Swiss parliament backs measures to confiscate frozen Russian assets for Ukraine reconstruction. The Swiss government estimated in December 2023 that it had frozen $8.8 billion in Russian state assets as part of its sanctions against Russia.
Top Chinese envoy visits Kyiv, meets Ukrainian officials. Ukrainian officials briefed the Chinese delegation on the situation on the battlefield, the work of the Black Sea grain corridor, the return of prisoners of war, Russia’s violation of the Geneva Convention relative to the treatment of POWs, measures to implement Ukraine’s peace formula, and preparations for the first Global Peace Summit in Switzerland.
India identifies ‘major human trafficking network’ luring Indians to fight for Russia in Ukraine. The news came after multiple media reports said that Indian men who came to Russia for work or tourism were then coerced into joining the war against Ukraine.
French defense minister says no plans to deploy combat troops in Ukraine. French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu said that while the deployment of combat troops is not currently being discussed, there is the possibility that France will send military personnel to Ukraine to train Ukrainian troops or participate in mine-clearing operations.
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]]>A member of a Ukrainian “Leleka” reconnaissance drone unit from the 80th Air Assault Brigade shows a photograph of a previous successful strike on Russian forces at a position in Donbas. Drones have been an essential part of warfare since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb, 24, 2022. (Laurel Chor/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Biden: We will not walk away from Ukraine. Congress needs to stand up to Vladimir Putin, President Joe Biden said during the annual State of the Union address on March 7. “I say this to Congress,” Biden announced. “We have to stand up to Putin. Send me a bipartisan natural security bill. History is watching.”
US Treasury Secretary: Congressional inaction on Ukraine aid is ’gift’ to Putin. “As the House continues to stall, Russia is gaining ground and Ukraine is being forced to ration ammunition and supplies,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on March 7.
Border guards stop Russian sabotage group in Sumy Oblast. Ukrainian border guards defended against a Russian sabotage and reconnaissance group in Sumy Oblast overnight, the State Border Guard Service reported on Telegram on March 7.
Governor announces mandatory evacuation from near Kupiansk. Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov announced on March 7 that local authorities would conduct mandatory evacuation of residents living in communities near Kupiansk.
Zelensky to meet Erdogan in Turkey on March 8. President Volodymyr Zelensky will meet his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on March 8 in Turkey, the Turkish Presidency said on X. The two leaders will discuss Russia’s war, the Black Sea grain deal, and bilateral relations, according to the announcement.
Zaluzhnyi appointed as Ukrainian ambassador to UK. Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the former commander-in-chief, has been approved by President Volodymyr Zelensky to be the next Ukrainian ambassador to the U.K., Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry announced on March 7.
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Military: Russian forces intensify attacks near Robotyne in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Russian forces began more active in the Orikhiv direction in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, attempting to cut off the Robotyne salient, said Dmytro Lykhovii, a spokesperson of the Tavria group of forces, on March 7.
Zelensky signs decree on transferring some conscripts to reserve in spring 2024. President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree on March 7 ordering to transfer some conscripts of compulsory basic military service to the reserve in the spring of 2024.
Russia summons US ambassador, threatens diplomats with expulsion. The Russian Foreign Ministry announced on March 7 that it had summoned U.S. Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy, and warned against “attempts to interfere in the internal affairs of the Russian Federation,” ahead of Russia’s presidential election.
US Democratic congressmen open investigation into Musk’s SpaceX, Russian alleged usage of Starlink. The letter by congressmen Jamie Raskin and Robert Garcia warned SpaceX’s president, Gwynne Shotwell, that the alleged use of Starlink by Russian forces represented “a serious threat to Ukraine’s security, Ukrainian lives, and U.S. national security.”
Ukraine war latest: Allies collect funding to purchase 800,000 shells for Ukraine, Czech PM says
Prague launched its military aid initiative in February, as it had found 500,000 155 mm shells and 300,000 122 mm shells outside Europe that could be sent to Ukraine after the necessary funds were allocated to the initiative.
Photo: Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
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Russia attacks 11 communities in Sumy Oblast, injuring 1. Russian forces fired at the Sumy Oblast border 32 times on March 7, striking 11 communities, the regional military administration reported. A civilian was injured in Sumy as a result of shelling.
Governor: 4 people hospitalized after Russian missile strike on Sumy. “Nearly 10 people” were injured, with four of them hospitalized, in Russia’s missile strike against Sumy on March 7, Sumy Oblast Governor Volodymyr Artiukh said on television.
Russian bombing in Kharkiv Oblast kills 1, injures 1. A 40-year-old woman was killed after the guided aerial bomb directly struck her home, and a 67-year-old woman suffered light injuries and did not need to be hospitalized, Governor Oleh Synehiubov said.
Russian attack on Kupiansk kills 2. Russian forces struck Kupiansk with multiple rocket launchers on March 7, killing a man and a woman, Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported.
Russian airstrike on Toretsk in Donetsk Oblast wounds 3. A Russian airstrike on Toretsk in Donetsk Oblast wounded three civilians, the Donetsk Regional Prosecutor’s Office reported on March 7.
Lithuania transfers 155-mm artillery shells to Ukraine. The Lithuanian Ministry of Defense announced the transfer of 155-mm artillery shells to Ukraine on March 7. Artillery shells are among the most crucial military supplies for Kyiv, as they are used daily in high numbers on the Ukrainian battlefields.
US House may start gathering signatures to bypass speaker on Ukraine aid. Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick said he keeps working with House Speaker Mike Johnson’s office to hold a vote through regular channels but will start collecting signatures to bypass the speaker if he does not comply.
Norway pledges over $150 million to Czech ammunition initiative for Ukraine. “Ukraine urgently needs large quantities of artillery ammunition to withstand the Russian war of aggression,” Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said.
UK pledges $416 million to buy 10,000 drones for Ukraine. The U.K. will allocate 325 million pounds ($416 million) to purchase over 10,000 “cutting-edge” drones for Ukraine, the U.K. Defense Ministry announced on March 7.
Pavel: Allies collect required funding to purchase 800,000 shells for Ukraine. Czech President Petr Pavel said on March 7 that after Norway had joined the Czech-led allied initiative on purchasing 800,000 artillery shells for Ukraine, the required funds were collected, Czech outlet CT24 reported.
Sweden officially joins NATO. Sweden’s accession to the alliance was officially completed when Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson handed the so-called “instruments of accession” to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington.
Moldova signs defense deal with France, Macron pledges ‘unwavering support’ against Russian threat. The bilateral defense pact lays the groundwork for future military training, intelligence sharing, and increased defense consultation between the two countries.
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