Press digest – Ukraine
12th day of heroic resistance of Ukraine against Russian military invasion
📌 Contrary to previous agreements, on 7 March, the Russian Federation once again disrupted the opening of humanitarian corridors and the evacuation of the civilian population from the encircled cities in Kiev, Kharkov, Donetsk, Sumy and Kherson regions. The armed forces of the Russian Federation continue with missile and bomb strikes on Kiev, Mariupol, Volnovakha, Sumy, Nikolaev, Kharkov and other settlements, which makes it impossible for humanitarian convoys with Ukrainian and foreign citizens to leave safely, as well as to deliver safely medicines and food.
📌Irina Vereshchuk, Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine and Minister for Reintegration of Temporary Occupied Territories, during a briefing on 7 March, stated that the Russians are blocking humanitarian corridors and civilian evacuation and are actually taking foreign students hostage.
⚠️ Currently, there are students from the following countries located in the cities besieged and occupied by Russian troops: India – 659 students, China – 160, Turkey – 144, Nigeria – 400 students. Among the students there are also citizens of the countries of the Middle East, Central Asia, Africa, Southeast Asia, South Africa, Kazakhstan, Singapore and Saudi Arabia.
⚠️ In total, there are 2046 students from 27 countries are now blocked in Sumy due to Russian shelling.
⚠️ ”The Russian side ignores the appeals of these countries mentioned above to provide humanitarian corridors through the territory of Ukraine and simply enjoys the humiliation of these countries. Even appeals coming from countries such as China, India and Turkey.”
⚠️All above enumerated actions demonstrate that the Russian side has completely lost touch with reality.
⚠️The Ukrainian side, however, continues to work on resolving the evacuation of foreign students. “In case on 8 March there will be a possibility to organize a humanitarian corridor from Sumy to Poltava for women and children, students will be taken along it” (c)
📌 During the night, a sea strike was carried out in the Odessa region near the village of Tuzla. The Russian Navy was aiming at Ukraine’s critical infrastructure.
📌 Mykolaiv and Kharkiv were subjected to night shelling on the night of 6-7 March. All strikes were made on residential areas and civilian infrastructure. In addition, on the morning of 7 March, Nikolaev was fired upon by multiple rocket launchers.
📌 During the night battles near Nikolaev, Ukrainian military journalist Viktor Dudar deceased.
📌Mikhail Podolyak, adviser to the Office of President Zelensky, called the Russians barbarians of the 21st century. According to him, in less than 12 days of the war, the Russian invaders troops damaged and/or destroyed 202 schools, 34 hospitals, more than 1,500 residential buildings, including apartment buildings, left more than 900 settlements completely without basic infrastructure (heat, water, electricity). “The Russian army does not know how to fight against other armies. But are excellent at killing civilians ”(c)
📌 In all, WITHOUT EXCEPTION, Ukrainian regions, constant air alerts triggered for the second day in a row.
📌 Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, 1.8 million refugees have left the country.
📌During the provision of humanitarian aid to the residents of Gostomel, Russian invaders killed the Chairman of the city community, Yuri Prilipko, and two other volunteers.
📌The OSCE office was shelled in Mariupol. As a result, the special monitoring commission departs from Ukraine.
📌Russia is actively recruiting fighters in Syria with experience in urban combat environments.
More information available here:
📌Russian invaders troops fired on the honorary consulate of Azerbaijan in Kharkov.
📌 In the Zhytomyr region, Russian troops destroyed an architectural monument, the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The church was built in 1862 and survived 2 world wars.
📌Russian troops attacked the seaport of Olvia in Nikolaev. The attacked territory belongs to the Qatari company QTerminals Olvia on a concession basis.
📌In the city of Makarov, Kiev region, a Russian shell hit the building of the Makarov bakery, in which 30 people were at the time of the attack. The explosion killed 13 people, 5 people have already been rescued from the remains, rescue work continues.
DEFENSE UPDATES
📌In the past 24 hours, Russian ground forces have practically not advanced towards their strategic and tactical goals on the territory of Ukraine.
📌 The combined forces of the Ukraine Armed Forces defeated a large group of Russian military near Kharkiv and Sumy, the troupes intended an attack on Kyiv.
📌Ukrainian marines staged a horrifying night for the invaders army – at the Chernobaevka airfield near Kherson, the Ukrainian Armed Forces destroyed more than 30 helicopters, manpower and other equipment. Also, 3 columns of the Russian army on the outskirts of Nikolaev were destroyed, 7 D-20 howitzers and other wheeled vehicles were captured as trophies.
📌Estimated losses of the Russian Federation Army in Ukraine:
📌In 12 days in Ukraine, Russia has lost as much as in 12 years in Chechnya. As of March 7, the Russian occupiers have lost more than 11,000 troops on Ukrainian land. During the two wars in Chechnya that Russia held between 1994 and 1996 and 1999-2009, it lost a total of 12,467 soldiers.
📌In the absence of an official evacuation corridor, the territorial defense forces and the Armed Forces of Ukraine managed to evacuate about 2,000 residents from Irpin.
More information here
📌In Energodar, thousands of city residents rally today to say goodbye to the fallen heroes who courageously defended the Zaporizhzhya NPP from Russian invaders. They died so that Ukraine and Europe had a chance to survive.
📌 About 20 thousand people from 52 countries in the world have already volunteered to defend Ukraine. Yesterday British and Israeli retired soldiers arrived in Kyiv, now the first volunteers from Brazil, Portugal and Japan are on their way to Ukraine. For pacifist Japan, this is a unique precedent:
📌Elite Israeli Special Forces also joined the Foreign Legion:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owbPBjkh-EY
📌After numerous night and morning shelling and ground fighting, Mykolaiv airport remains Ukrainian. The Russian military were forced out and defeated by the Joint Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, reported by the Head of the Nikolaev Regional State Administration Vitaly.
📌 Residents of the temporarily occupied cities – Starobelsk, Melitopol, Kherson, Chaplinka – take to peaceful rallies against the Russian occupiers. In Chaplinka, representatives of the Russian troops opened fire on the protesters.
📌Photos of the day
Baba Maria in the Ternopil region bakes bread for the defenders of Ukraine, United Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
CYBER-RESISTANCE AND DIGITAL VICTORIES
📌Hacker group Anonymous hacked the Russian streaming services Wink and Ivi (similar to Netflix) and TV channels (broadcast – ed.). During live broadcast of “Russia 24”, “First Channel”, “Moscow 24” they showed a video of the war in Ukraine and called on Russians to oppose the Russian genocide in Ukraine.
📌The Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine has launched Diia TV. Now Diia TV broadcasts a marathon of TV channels that have united the efforts to cover the war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine 24/7. Eventually, there will be content for children on Diia TV to entertain the little ones.
President Vladimir Zelensky’s daily statements
🇺🇦 “Resilience”: Volodymyr Zelensky is on the cover of the new issue of The New Yorker
📌Now the future of the entire continent is being decided on the territory of Ukraine.
More information available here:
📌During the morning briefing, the President once again addressed the entire international community “How many more losses and deaths are needed to ensure a peaceful sky over Ukraine? We are waiting for a decision – either closing the skies, or providing Ukraine with the necessary air defense capabilities that will give us strength.”
📌The President held telephone conversations with the leaders of Poland, Great Britain, Italy, France and India.
📌 Regarding the refraining from the Russian oil and gas, the President noted that “This can be called an embargo, or it can be just moral principles.”
📌Night air strikes on Nikolaev, Kharkov and other cities, Vladimir Zelensky called terror, which has no military meaning.
📌For heroic resistance to the Russian invasion, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy awarded Kharkiv, Kherson, Chernihiv, Mariupol, Gostomel, Volnovakha with a special title of HERO CITY.
📌The Ukrainian government has developed a special aid package to help business and its employees. According to it:
🖇PEs of the first and second categories are completely exempt from paying UST (the unified social tax)
🖇Enterprises and sole proprietors of the 3rd category are exempted from paying UST for employees who were called to join the Armed Forces of Ukraine and Territorial Defense Forces.
🖇Exemption from paying taxes on land and rent for communal and state-owned land in all territories where hostilities are taking place.
The aid is valid for the duration of martial law and for a year (at least) after its end. This is only the first stage of government support.
📌At 16:00 local time, the third round of Ukrainian-Russian negotiations began on the Ukrainian-Belarusian border. The composition of the delegation from the Ukrainian side remained unchanged.
PUBLIC AND BUSINESS SUPPORT
📌Artists in New York held a rally demanding to close the sky over Ukraine – they threw paper planes from all floors of the Guggenheim Museum with calls to stop Putin.
📌In the USA, an anonymous philanthropist transferred 1 million dollars to the Ukrainian Army.
📌Polish mothers leave prams on the platforms of railway stations for Ukrainian mothers who come to Poland with children in their arms.
📌 15-year-old Ukrainian gymnast Daniela Batrona won bronze at the adult stage of the World Cup and refused to get on the same podium with Russian gymnasts. The organizers allowed separate award ceremonies – the Ukrainian came out on the podium separately, wrapped in the Ukrainian flag. And only after she left the podium, other medalists could join the podium.
📌 The mayor of the Albanian capital Tirana has renamed the street that goes to the Embassy of the Russian Federation to Free Ukraine Street.
📌American businessman, SpaceX Inspiration 4 crew commander Jared Isaacman personally brought aid to the Ukrainian military to Ukraine.
📌 American Express suspends work in the Russian Federation and Belarus.
📌TikTok temporarily suspends work in Russia due to the law on fakes.
📌Video streaming service Netflix has announced that it is leaving the Russian market and suspends all operations.
📌Coursera platform suspends the placement of all existing content of Russian universities and industry partners, as well as restricts access to courses, specializations and degrees.
📌Manufacturer of graphics processors Nvidia has announced that it will stop selling all products to Russia after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
📌Upwork job search platform suspends work in Russia and Belarus.
📌Auditing companies Ernst & Young and Deloitte, following PricewaterhouseCoopers and KPMG, announced their exit from the Russian market. Information was provided by the Financial Times.
INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT OF UKRAINE
📌Today, hearings began at the International Court of Justice in order to hold Russia accountable for crimes against Ukraine. As expected, representatives of the Russian Federation did not appear at the hearing.
📌Ukraine is consistently implementing a strategy of complete isolation of Russia from the world. The Russian Federation suffers heavy financial losses and is on the verge of default.
📌The US and the EU have stopped deliveries of cash dollars and euros to Russia. In Russia, you can buy foreign currency only on the black market. The difference between the real and official ruble exchange rate is 35%.
📌Ukraine drew attention to the message about the cancellation by the Russian Federation of part of the trade sanctions against Georgia in connection with global sanctions and the cancellation of deliveries of a number of European goods to Russia. Earlier, official Tbilisi also expressed its unwillingness to allow Georgian volunteers to leave for Ukraine, which is why Ukraine even had to call the Ukrainian ambassador to Georgia for consultations.
📌New Zealand has banned the entry of 102 citizens from Russia and Belarus responsible for organizing a military invasion of Ukraine. The restrictions included, among others, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
📌Great Britain allocates an additional $100 million to support the Ukrainian economy. The money will come through the World Bank.
📌The Blue/Yellow Lithuanian volunteer organization, which provides support to the Ukrainian military, has allocated 17 million euros.
📌Great Britain demanded to exclude the Russian Federation from Interpol.
Foreign Minister of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba’s daily statements
📌Public statements of the Russian Federation about the alleged development of biological weapons on the territory of Ukraine should be regarded solely as disinformation and provocation. Ukraine calls on the international community to increase pressure on Russia to force it to comply with international obligations, in particular under the Biological Weapons Convention, and not to create additional security risks associated with biological agents.
📌On 10 March, Antalya, Turkey, will host a meeting between the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmitry Kuleba and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, mediated by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. The meeting will be held as part of the Diplomatic Forum in Antalya.
📌The Ministry of Foreign Affairs supported an initiative of creating a tribunal for Russia as over the Nazi. “Given the unprecedented nature of unprovoked aggression in the last 80 years and the lack of appropriate international legal mechanisms to bring the Russian Federation and its leadership to justice for such a grave crime against humanity, I supported the initiative of the international scientific community to establish a special tribunal to prosecute Russian aggression. A coalition of states will take part in its creation. Meanwhile, Ukraine is gathering all the evidence related to the crime of aggression against it, and is grateful to its partners for their willingness to support this work”.
Tweet of the day
While the Western partners are considering the next steps, the barbaric Russian bombing of Ukrainian cities continues. This has already resulted in numerous civilian casualties. Close the sky over Ukraine. Provide Ukraine with combat aviation.
Provide Ukraine with serious anti-aircraft and anti-missile defense equipment. Help us to stop the war.
