Press digest – Ukraine
31st day of the 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
📌 Since the beginning of the war started by the Russians, the war without any rules and taboos, 136 children have died in Ukraine, another 199 children have been injured.
📌 According to UNICEF, one month of the war in Ukraine displaced 4.3 million children. This is more than half of the country’s child population. More than 1.8 million of these children have moved to neighboring countries as refugees, and 2.5 million are now internally displaced within Ukraine.
📌 Russian occupation groups in the temporarily occupied territories of Kherson and Zaporizhia regions are trying to continue the preparation to introduce the Russian ruble instead of the Ukrainian state currency, the hryvnia.
📌In the Kharkiv region, Russian troops are restricting the movement of civilians by setting up a network of checkpoints.
📌Russian occupying forces resort to the ruthless terror of the civilian population of Melitopol and Berdyansk. In the cities began the hunt for “fascists”, i.e., those who do not want to submit to Russia, or keep or display the flag or national emblem of Ukraine. Thus, in Melitopol, the occupiers offer to report “where the Nazis live.” Russian terrorists also intimidate members of the media with imprisonment and torture. Journalists who continue to work in the occupied territories of the region receive threats and demands to stop working for Ukraine. In addition, the occupiers are pressuring the city’s critical infrastructure staff and volunteers, trying to stop humanitarian aid and repeatedly committing crimes against civilians.
📌Units of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus are withdrawn from permanent deployment points.
📌Armed Forces of Ukraine focuses its efforts on preventing the advance of Russian troops in the direction of the city of Kryvyi Rih, Zaporizhia and the defense of the city of Mykolayiv. The maintenance of certain parts of the sea coast and the protection and defense of critical infrastructure and the liberation of the temporarily occupied territories also continue.
📌Russian troops completely destroyed the ancient city of Chernihiv. As of March 26, less than half of Chernihiv’s residents remained. “Despite this, the city authorities are in place, everyone is working, supporting the army, no one is going to surrender the city,” said Chernihiv Mayor Vladislav Atroshenko.
📌 One of the Russian mines was brought to the Bosphorus by Russian troops to clear the sea routes around Ukraine, fearing the arrival of NATO ships. According to Turkish authorities, it was an old-fashioned floating mine. Russian sources reported the deployment of 420 mines around Ukraine.
📌Russian troops fired heavy artillery at civilian homes in Boyarka, Kyiv Oblast. 5 houses were destroyed, there are victims, among them — a child.
📌Russian troops fired four missiles at Lviv. Two industrial facilities were on fire as a result of the shelling. The shock wave also damaged education infrastructure, schools and kindergartens. According to preliminary data, five people were injured and no one was killed.
📌Russian troops continue attempts to capture the city of the Slavutych. It is the fourth day of fighting on the outskirts of the city. The Russian military is shelling the city with tanks, mortars and anti-aircraft guns, but the forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Territorial
Defense, and the local population are heroically defending themselves. The death of three residents during a peaceful protest against the occupiers has been confirmed.
📌In Kharkiv, the nuclear installation “Source of neutrons” of the Institute of Physics and Technology got under Russian shelling again, according to the State Inspectorate for Nuclear Regulation. It is impossible to estimate the extent of the damage due to the fighting, which goes on not stop in the area of the nuclear installation. Continued shelling could lead to an environmental disaster.
📌The leader of the Boombox band Andriy Khlyvnyuk, who is in among Kyiv’s defense forces and became especially famous for performing the Ukrainian folk song “Oh in the meadow red viburnum”, was wounded by mortar shelling near Kyiv.
📌On March 26, a well-known journalist, who has been covering the circumstances of Russia’s war against Ukraine for many years, Andriy Tsaplienko and the media team of the Turkish TV channel TRT, got under fire from Russian troops. The Verkhovna Rada Committee on Freedom of Speech draws the attention of the international community to the fact that aggression against the media is one more goal of Russian attackers.
📌Hero of the day
Kateryna Stupnytska, military medic. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion was at the epicenter of the fighting. During heavy fighting for Makariv, Kateryna died from being directly hit in a building that served as a medical headquarters. She was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine.
DEFENSE UPDATES
📌Estimated losses of the Russian Federation Army in Ukraine:
📌 Russian troops deployed almost all units of Russia’s National Guard, stationed in the temporarily occupied territory of Crimea and some areas of Kherson, Zaporizhia and Donetsk regions, to suppress the resistance of residents of Kherson, Henichesk, Berdyansk and in some areas of Mariupol.
📌90% of the population of Kherson, Henichesk, Melitopol, Slavutych are against the invaders despite attempts by the occupying forces to suppress resistance.
📌In the Kharkiv region, the Armed Forces of Ukraine launched a counteroffensive, and fighting continues in the Izyum direction.
📌The city of Trostyanets was liberated from the Russian occupation forces. This was possible thanks to the forces of the 93rd Kholodniy Yar Brigade, territorial defense and local partisans. The Kholodniy Yar Brigade managed to expel the “elite” of the Russian ground forces, the Kantemirov Panzer Division.
CYBER-RESISTANCE AND DIGITAL VICTORIES
📌Russia is withdrawing some of their troops to own territory due to the loss of more than 50% of its personnel.
📌During the attack on the port of Berdyansk (temporarily occupied), the landing ship “Saratov” was destroyed. The landing ships “Caesar Kunikov” and “Novocherkassk” were damaged. Other losses of the enemy are being clarified.
📌On March 25, the Armed Forces of Ukraine eliminated the commander of the 49th All-Military Army of the Southern Military District, Lieutenant General Yakov Rezantsev.
📌On March 25, at about 4:30 PM, the Russian occupiers carried out a missile strike on the territory of the Air Force Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Vinnytsia. In total, six cruise missiles were fired, some of them were shot down by air defenses, and the rest hit a few buildings. The consequences of the missile strike are being clarified.
📌Apple and Google have severed ties with Russian payment cards “Mir”. Apple removes Mir cards as an option in Apple Pay. Apple is expected to remove existing cards from the service in the coming days. Meanwhile, Google has suspended a pilot that will allow customers to use Mir cards on Google Pay in Russia. This was reported by The Wall Street Journal.
📌 The developer of enterprise-class software Terrasoft is leaving the markets of Russia and Belarus forever. In addition, the company has already invested over UAH 10 million to support the Ukrainian army and volunteer projects.
📌 The Russian Internet holding company VK, formerly Mail.ru Group, was left without access to Microsoft servers. The American giant closed access, which led to problems with the mail service Mail.ru. Users can no longer view files attached to emails.
📌 Russian eSports club Team Spirit, winners of The International 2021, will move from Moscow to Belgrade. The team is also refusing to expand its infrastructure in Moscow.
📌OLX Group leaves Russia.
📌 VTB Online, Promsvyazbank, FC Otkrytie and Novikombank became unavailable for download on the Play Market. However, if the application was downloaded before, it works without changes.
📌 Schlumberger suspends new investments in Russia. It is a company that develops technological and digital solutions for the energy sector.
HUMANITARIAN CORRIDORS AND EVACUATION UPDATES
📌 On March 25, 7,331 people were evacuated from humanitarian hotspots and humanitarian crises, and 37,606 people were rescued in just one week.
📌 Near Vasylivka in the Zaporizhia region, the Russian occupiers created a multi-kilometer traffic jam in which there are refugee cars and ambulances with injured children.
President Volodymyr Zelensky’s daily statements
📌 During the week, Ukraine managed to establish 18 humanitarian corridors. 37,606 people were rescued from the blocked cities. In particular, the humanitarian corridor managed to
evacuate 26,477 people from Mariupol to Zaporizhia, but the situation in the city remains absolutely tragic – the Russian military does not allow any humanitarian goods into the city.
📌 Only during the last week did the President address the parliaments of Italy, Japan, France and Sweden. Before the summits of NATO, the G7 and the leaders of the European Union. The reviews show that the Ukrainian position was heard.
📌 The Office of the President will award a special Peace Prize to corporations and companies that have supported Ukraine and completely withdrawn from the Russian market.
📌 The President spoke in a video conference at the Doha Forum – 2022. “When European countries refuse to purchase Russian oil and gas, it is a matter of time. The responsible states, in particular the State of Qatar, are reliable and reputable suppliers of energy resources. And they can contribute to stabilizing the situation in Europe. There is a lot that can be done to restore justice, ” he said.
📌 President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky held a video conference with President of the Republic of Poland Andrzej Duda:
🖇 Andrzej Duda said that for now, Poland has accepted 2.3 million Ukrainians. According to him, the country provides them with everything they need.
🖇 Presidents and representatives of their offices discussed the functioning of Ukraine’s energy system in Europe’s single energy network.
🖇 Volodymyr Zelensky once again pointed out the need to prevent the shelling of Ukrainian cities from the air. The President of Ukraine expressed disappointment that Soviet-made aircraft available in Eastern European countries, in particular Poland, have not yet been handed over to our state. Although both these countries and the United States have publicly stated their readiness to make such a decision.
🖇 The President of Ukraine noted that if the partners do not help Ukraine with planes and tanks, there is a high risk that Russian troops will not only pose a missile threat to the territory of our neighbors — friendly Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and the Baltic States but also direct all-military.
🖇 After the conversation, Volodymyr Zelensky contacted the defenders of Mariupol, who also said that the city was under devastating airstrikes. Despite this, the military assured that they are determined to defend Mariupol.
PUBLIC AND BUSINESS SUPPORT
World, stop death in Ukraine!
On March 25, in Warsaw, more than 4,000 people took part in the Stop promising, start acting! in support of Ukraine. The goal is to draw attention to the growing number of victims among the population and the need to immediately close the Ukrainian sky.
According to the UN, from February 24 to March 23, 1,035 civilians were killed by Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, but in reality, the numbers are higher. Only in Mariupol, according to various sources, public utilities have buried 3,000 to 4,500 people in mass graves. However, no one has been buried in the city for 6 days. It is difficult for the peaceful world to understand the scale of Ukrainian grief. To show some losses, the organizers asked the participants to lie on the ground, remembering everyone who died. The sea of people represented the victims.
📌 Ed Sheeran will sing with the Ukrainian band Antitila during a charity concert next week. The band is preparing a joint track with the British musician.
📌 We All Are One charity concert was organized in South Korea. All contributions will be used to help Ukrainians affected by the war. Ukrainian singer Jamala also joined the concert.
📌 PSG goalkeeper Keylor Navas hosted 30 Ukrainian refugees at his home in Paris. The very religious Navas learned through the Evangelical Association that its volunteers had gone to Kraków to help Ukrainian refugees and provide them with asylum in Western Europe.
📌 “128 children’s lives” – this was the main message of the protest performance of Ukrainians in the city of San Jose in Silicon Valley. The organizers of the initiative say: “Ukrainians in California have united to honor the memory of the children who died. They set up and performed by placing 128 pairs of children’s shoes on a central street in Santana Row to remind the world that the war is still going on and that children and adults are still dying. “
📌Jewelry company Tiffany.Co will stop buying new diamonds mined in Russia.
📌 Russian airline Pobeda is reducing its fleet from 41 to 25 Boeing aircraft due to a lack of spare parts. Earlier, Boeing stopped supplying aircraft and spare parts to Russia and Belarus.
INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT OF UKRAINE
📌 Ukraine, Poland and Lithuania have established a joint working group to investigate war crimes committed by Russian officials in Ukraine.
📌 The Swedish government has decided to provide expert and financial assistance to the International Criminal Court to investigate Russia’s crimes in Ukraine.
📌 The EU will deliver another consignment of humanitarian aid and rescue equipment to Ukraine this week. The convoy includes 21 ambulances, 11 fire trucks, 16 rescue vehicles and 23 trucks that will transport 49 tons of medicines and rescue equipment.
📌 Chile has decided to allocate 100 thousand dollars to help Ukraine. The money will be transferred through the Red Cross.
📌 The Czech Republic provided Ukraine with chemical protection equipment for the needs of the Armed Forces and the State Emergency Service.
📌 The Wing of Aid Charitable Foundation in Lithuania sent 4 trucks of humanitarian aid to medical institutions in Kyiv, Lviv and Kharkiv.
📌 The Minister of Economy, Vice-Chancellor of Germany Robert Habeck said that Germany is sharply reducing its dependence on Russian energy. By early autumn, Germany plans to completely abandon Russian coal. A complete abandonment of Russian gas imports is expected by summer 2024.
📌 The Finnish operator VR Group has announced the cancellation of passenger rail services between Finland and Russia by Allegro trains, starting on March 28.
📌 Latvia has closed the entrance to six Russian citizens for propaganda and support of aggression against Ukraine.
📌 23 member states of the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) have suspended contacts with scientists and research centers in Russia and Belarus.
📌 From the speech of US President Joe Biden in Poland:
🖇 Europe must end its dependence on Russian fuel. A plan is needed to deal with dependence on Russia and to avoid an energy crisis. We also have to fight the Kremlin’s corruption. We must work to support democracy.
🖇 For NATO, the G7 and all free countries, we must unite to survive. It will not be easy, there is a price we have to pay because the darkness ruled by autocracy does not meet the needs of free people. History shows that we are facing the task of the generation of our time.
🖇 We see the courage of Ukrainians who show that the strength of a large number of people is greater than the strength of one dictator.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba’s daily statements
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, with full respect for the work of journalists, especially in wartime and in hotspots, urges the international media community not to show or publish footage of Russian missiles during and after the shelling and not to name
📌 On March 26, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba and the Minister for Defense of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov met with their American counterparts Anthony Blinken and Lloyd Austin in Warsaw. The goal is to find new solutions to strengthen Ukraine’s ability to resist Russian aggression. US President Joe Biden also joined the ministers during the meeting.
📌A new package of sanctions against Russia was discussed at the meeting, in particular – the closure of ports for Russian cargo. There are also individual sanctions against all political figures in Russia and instruments of cooperation with European countries that boycott sanctions.
“I can confidently say that Russia has fallen into the sanction boiler and it will only shrink in the coming weeks due to loud decisions and small troublesome decisions. And this will continue until we win the war and Russia pays for its crimes! ”- Dmytro Kuleba
📌 During the meeting, Joe Biden expressed admiration for Ukrainians: “Every civilian who protests against the armed occupiers, every defender of Ukraine, everyone who defends Mariupol.”
📌 Biden also added: “What is happening in Ukraine will change the 21st century. The United States will be steadfast with Ukraine in all of Ukraine’s victories. Nothing will force the United States to weaken its support for Ukraine, on the contrary! This support is only growing. “
📌Tweet of the day
Victory for Ukraine and peace for Ukraine are achievable.
And they will be more valuable for us than gold, silver and bronze of the whole world.
Well, for now…
We are standing! We are holding on! We will win!