Press digest – Ukraine

24th day of heroic resistance of Ukraine against Russian military invasion

Every morning, starting March 17, a nationwide minute of silence has been declared throughout Ukraine at 9:00am Kyiv time.

“We will remember the Ukrainians who gave their lives, all the military, civilians, and children” (c) President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy

DESTRUCTION AND LOSSES

📌Almost 10 million Ukrainians were forced to leave their homes as a result of a full-scale Russian invasion. 6.5 million Ukrainians became internally displaced, 3.2 million temporarily moved abroad. It is around 1/4 of the population of Ukraine.

📌More than 1.5 million children have been evacuated from Ukraine since the Russian invasion, and countless have become internally displaced – UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell.

 📌14 missiles and more than 40 air raids were done by Russian aviation on Ukraine during the day on March 18. In total, during the war, Russia has already launched 1080 missiles on the territory of Ukraine, according to the Pentagon. The main part of the missiles was aimed at civilians.

📌 Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the armed forces of the Russian Federation and Putin have killed 112 Ukrainian children and injured more than 140 more. Most of them are from Kyiv, Kharkiv, Donetsk, Chernihiv, Mykolaiv, Zhytomyr, Sumy and Kherson regions.

📌Occupiers continue to partially block the city of Chernihiv, shelling civilian neighbourhoods in the city.

📌 Attempts to block Sumy and Kharkiv continue, as well as the attempts to resume the attack in the direction of Pokrovsk.

📌 All night from March 18 to March 19 and during the day of March 19, the battles for the settlement of Popasna continue.

📌On the Donetsk direction, the occupying forces are fighting in the settlements of Verkhnotoretske, Krymske, Avdiivka, Taramchuk. The blockade and attempts to storm the hero city of Mariupol continue.

See more: https://t.me/ukrainenowenglish/2148 

📌Russian troops are systematically destroying the Azovstal plant in Mariupol. “Nothing is working. Everything is stopped. All this can no longer be launched. Azovstal has been bombed. Completely. There were a lot of air raids on Azovstal,” said Deputy Mayor Sergiy Orlov.

📌In the Gomel region of Belarus, Russian military equipment is being unloaded, a pontoon bridge across the Pripyat is being built.

📌As a result of the shelling of the settlement of Novye Petrovtsy near Kyiv, a garbage warehouse caught fire. It significantly worsened the background of air pollution in Kyiv on the morning of March 19.

📌As a result of an air strike with 8 missiles in Lviv, the building of an aircraft repair plant was destroyed. Presumably, the missiles were launched from the Black Sea. There were no casualties as a result of the strike, as the work of the plant was stopped for the safety of employees in the early days of the war.

📌In the Podolsky district of Kyiv, Russian aircraft fired at a residential area. As a result of the airstrike, one person was killed, and about 100 more residents were evacuated from damaged high-rise buildings.

📌Russian occupation troops, when retreating from previously occupied territories, place anti-tank and anti-personnel mines and mine-traps with streamers in residential areas. There are victims.

📌General Staff of the Armed Forces: The occupiers use the mobilized from the ORDLO as cannon fodder to detect the fire positions of the Armed Forces. According to the “mobilized”, the Russian command uses them as a trap. Units are sent by military vehicles to the line of

contact, ignoring the high losses. And thus determine the location of the firing positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

📌Russia struck the underground composition of missiles and aviation ammunition of Ukrainian troops in the village of Delyatyn, Ivano-Frankivsk region.📌Seven people were killed, and five others were injured in an air strike by the Russian occupiers on Makarov. Residential buildings were destroyed, the administrative building was damaged.

📌During the day of March 19, air raid sirens were heard again throughout Ukraine.

 

RUSSIAN CONTEXT

⚠️Based on the fact that the armed forces of the Russian Federation in Ukraine are suffering significant irreversible losses of personnel, there is a possibility that the military-political leadership of the Russian Federation will decide to amend the existing legislation and begin open mobilization. The decisions of President Putin in the context of the war against Ukraine are consciously supported by the majority of Russians – more than 71%.

⚠️The Russian army is looking for people on Avito (a subsidiary of the Dutch holding Naspers). The Dutch not only did not leave Russia, but also tolerated the announcement of conscription. Dozens of conscription announcements appear on Russia’s Avito every day. The site is closed to foreign traffic, but through the Russian IP you can easily find a lot of ads for military contract service. The Dutch company Prosus (holding Naspers), which owns Avito, is silent about mass announcements on their site.

⚠️Russia does not recognize the real losses of its army in Ukraine and disowns its dead servicemen. In this direction, data is being collected in Ukraine and work is being organized with the Red Cross, since Russia is in no hurry to take back its own soldiers.

⚠️ In Russia, the official head of the “special operation in Ukraine” is still not named. Nobody talks about “general losses” at the federal level in Russia.

⚠️Russian cargo plane flew from Moscow to Slovakia and returned to Russia, despite EU sanctions. On March 17, a cargo plane with Russian registration RA-76511 of the Volga-Dnepr cargo company arrived from Moscow to the Slovak capital Bratislava. It is currently returning to Moscow. Although 32 countries, including Slovakia, have closed the skies to Russian planes and airlines. It is unknown at this time what it will do after leaving the Russian capital.

 

 

DEFENSE UPDATES

📌Estimated losses of the Russian Federation Army in Ukraine:

📌 The Armed Forces of Ukraine defeated the positions of the air forces of the Russian invaders at the airfield in Chernobaevka near Kherson several times. In total, the Russians returned to the airfield 6 times. Every time they suffered serious losses of the quartered fleet. Also, according to preliminary information from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, during one of the raids, the commander of the 8th general military army of the Southern Military District of the RF Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Andrey Mordvichev, was eliminated.

See more: https://t.me/ukrainenowenglish/2165 

 

📌In the Odesa region, the State Emergency Service neutralized the high-explosive bomb OFAB-500, found in the Belgorod-Dniester region. The bomb is uncontrollable, designed to destroy military-industrial facilities, railway junctions, lightly armored vehicles and military field structures.

📌 Prosecutor General of Ukraine Irina Venediktova: special camps for prisoners of war of Russian servicemen have been launched in Ukraine. “We comply with the requirements of the Geneva Convention. Regarding prisoners of war, even medical care is provided to them at almost the same level as to Ukrainian soldiers.” 562 Russian prisoners of war are officially in Ukraine.

📌 Famous border guard athletes serve in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the borders of Ukraine: Vadym Lonsky – one of the fastest athletes in Europe, multiple champion of Ukraine, master of sports, Vasyl Mykhailinchyk – five-time world champion in weightlifting, Honored Master of Sports, Oleg Kayafa – athlete, winner of national championships in middle distance running, master of international sports class, Dmytro Mytsak – participant of the Winter Olympic Games, champion of Ukraine in skiing.

📌At the checkpoint Kozlovichi-Kukuryki on the border of Poland and Belarus, activists renewed the blockade of trucks returning from Europe to Belarus and Russia. It’s not the first day of the “blockade”, but if last weekend there were up to two dozen activists, now it counts from hundreds to several hundred people.

📌During the war, the Armed Forces of Ukraine eliminated 10 members of the Russian High Command. The enemy is stopped in all directions. In recent days, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have driven the Russian occupiers about 70 km from Kyiv. Also, 10 members of the Russian high command were eliminated, including five generals. It is estimated that Russia’s war in Ukraine is led by about 20 generals. If this information is reliable, the Armed Forces have already eliminated half of Russia’s top command in Ukraine.


📌Ukraine has become the first state in the world to bring formal charges to the court of law under the Convention on the Suppression for the Financing of Terrorism, says Emine Dzhaparova the First Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine. When Ukraine wins, Russia will be recognized as a terrorist state.

📌Photo of the day

“Kherson is Ukraine!”

CYBER-RESISTANCE AND DIGITAL VICTORIES

📌 Schneider Electric has suspended new investments and supplies under new projects in Russia and Belarus. It is one of the world leaders in providing digital solutions in the field of power management and automation.

📌 World football legends Real, PSG and Milan have refused to cooperate with the bookmaker Fonbet.

📌 Dahua, a Chinese manufacturer of professional equipment and electronics (CCTV cameras, etc.) suspends all deliveries to Russia. Everything that will not be sold by March 24 and will remain in Russian warehouses, Dahua will take back.

📌 All official MikroTik trainers in Russia have had their coaching certificates suspended. Official MikroTik trainings are no longer held in Russia. All engineering certificates are valid until the expiration date. Earlier, MikroTik temporarily suspended the reception of orders for new devices and stopped the supply of licenses; current licenses are still valid. MikroTik develops and sells Ethernet and wireless network equipment.

📌IT-company Docker has stopped subscriptions in Russia and Belarus. Docker is an American technology company developing a platform for development. According to its head Scott Johnson, the company “will not deal” with Russian companies during this period. “The tragedy unfolding in Ukraine contradicts what our community stands for,”  the company said.

📌Figma has stopped accepting payments with Russian cards.

📌Recently, the Ukrainian cryptocurrency exchange WhiteBIT promptly launched integration and cooperation with the state service Diia. Now as many Ukrainians as possible have quick access to the cryptocurrency market. Any user from Ukraine can pass the verification (KYC) on the WhiteBIT exchange in less than 1 minute. In addition, the company has created a joint project with WhitePay, where anyone can choose from more than 90 cryptocurrencies and send funds to help the Ministry of Health or affected civilians, the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Defense Forces. 

 

HUMANITARIAN CORRIDORS AND EVACUATION UPDATES

📌9,145 people were evacuated on March 18 via humanitarian corridors – 4,972 from Mariupol, 1,124 of them were children. The evacuation will continue tomorrow, Deputy Head of the Office of the President Kyrylo Tymoshenko said.

📌 14 trucks with food and medicine left Dnipropetrovsk region for Kherson region. In particular, they brought insulin, which is desperately needed by patients in the Kherson region. But Russian troops did not miss this help. In addition, the occupiers broke into residents’ homes, confiscated their vehicles, stole food and committed robberies.

📌 In the afternoon of March 19, another 363 cars arrived in Zaporizhia with 2,128 residents of Mariupol, including 648 children.

President Volodymyr Zelensky’s daily statements

📌Occupiers continue to block the supply of humanitarian goods in most directions to the surrounding cities. This is a perfectly conscious tactic. They have a clear order to do everything possible to turn the humanitarian catastrophe in Ukrainian cities into an “argument” for Ukrainians to cooperate with the occupiers.

📌In his address to Swiss politicians and citizens, the President said directly: “Now Ukraine has a chance. A chance to show not only Russia, but also any aggressor, any terrorist state, that the war will destroy not the victim, but the one who started it. And perhaps this is the last chance for humanity to stop the wars. “

 

📌Tweet of the day 

PUBLIC AND BUSINESS SUPPORT

📌Leonardo DiCaprio posted photos of the victims of the war in Ukraine on his Instagram. The actor called on all concerned to help Ukrainians affected by the Russian occupiers.

📌Mykolaiv Zoo received a lot of humanitarian aid from European zoos. The Tallinn, Prague, Warsaw and Berlin zoos, the Panda Foundation, the Czechoslovak Zoo Association and many concerned people in Ukraine and Europe have joined forces.

📌Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom David Cameron personally delivers humanitarian aid to Ukrainian refugees in Poland.

📌Former US Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton have expressed their support for the people of Ukraine. They laid sunflowers on the cross near the Church of Saints Vladimir and Olga in a Ukrainian village in Chicago.

INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT OF UKRAINE

📌Israel will hand over four armored ambulances and 230 tons of humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

📌The EU is studying the possibility of using the seized property of Russian magnates to finance the reconstruction of Ukraine’s infrastructure, Bloomberg reports.

📌Scotland and Wales are ready to accommodate 4,000 Ukrainian refugees.

📌The Netherlands and Germany will hand over the Patriot MANPADS to Slovakia. Slovakia, in turn, will hand over S-300 air defense to Ukraine.

📌The Swiss government has decided to join the fourth package of EU sanctions and bans the export of luxury goods to Russia.

📌The US Department of Commerce has banned the maintenance of 100 commercial and private aircraft used by Russia. The ban on aircraft maintenance provides for the actual cessation of international flights of these aircraft from Russia.

📌As a result of sanctions against Russia, about 11.5 million euros belonging to 26 legal entities and 2 individuals were frozen in Latvian banks.

📌Italy has arrested a complex of buildings worth about 105 million euros, owned by one of the Russian businessmen.

📌Lithuania has limited the amount of cash in euros that can be exported for personal use to Belarus and Russia to 60 euros.

📌Lithuanian Parliament has amended the Law on Public Procurement, which prohibits the country’s public sector from purchasing Russian and Belarusian technologies.

📌On March 18, Russia and Belarus were deprived of membership in the European Conference of Communications Administrations.

📌The Estonian Rescue Service sent humanitarian aid in the amount of almost 128,000 euros to the Main Directorate of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Lviv Oblast, including thermal protective clothing, drones with a thermal imaging camera, petrol engines and respirators.

📌Canada has launched a temporary migration program for Ukrainians who were forced to leave the country due to the Russian invasion. Under this program, Ukrainians and their immediate family members of any nationality can stay in Canada as temporary residents for up to 3 years.

📌The Confederation of Lithuanian Industrialists handed over 2 trucks with products to Odesa region.

📌On March 18, Poland sent 24 ambulances and 2 fire engines to Ukraine.

📌Gordon Brown and Sir John Major want a new international tribunal to be set up to investigate Vladimir Putin for his actions in Ukraine. The former PMs are among 140 academics, lawyers and politicians to sign a petition calling for a legal system modelled on the Nuremberg trials of Nazi war criminals after World War Two.

📌The UN has confirmed that there are no laboratories in Ukraine that produce biological weapons.

📌Banks of Georgia do not serve cards of the Mir payment system. According to representatives of the National Bank of Georgia, accepting cards of the Russian payment system for payment in the country is considered a violation of the law.

If Russia is not stopped now, if Russia is not punished now, other aggressors in the world will start other wars. In different regions of the world. On different continents. Wherever a state dreams of conquering its neighbors.