Press digest – Ukraine

34th 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

📌 As of February 24, at least 60 buildings of spiritual significance (excluding adjacent buildings) have been ruined in at least eight regions of Ukraine: Kyiv, Donetsk, Zhytomyr, Zaporizhia, Luhansk, Sumy, Kharkiv and Chernihiv. The vast majority of them are Orthodox churches. Mosques, synagogues, Protestant churches, religious schools and important administrative buildings of religious organizations were also destroyed.

📌 Russian troops launched a missile attack on an oil depot in Rivne region. Chemical and radiation indicators around the oil depot are within a norm, Vitaliy Koval, Head of the Rivne Regional State Administration, said. There are no casualties or oil spills outside the depot.

📌 The sound of the explosion could be heard live during the conversation between the mayor of Chernihiv and CNN.

📌 The Russian occupiers kidnapped and held hostage a journalist of the independent UNIAN news agency Dmitry Khilyuk.

 📌 On March 9, the Russian occupiers kidnapped the head of Berislav, Oleksandr Shapovalov, and the head of the Hola Prystan’, Oleksandr Babych, according to Vitaliy Klitschko, Kyiv Mayor and the Head of the Association of Ukrainian Cities. To remind – during the war, since February 24, the Russian militaries have kidnapped 11 mayors and 8 municipal officials.

📌 There was a rocket attack on the economic infrastructure near the city of Nikopol, the technical facilities of the farm were destroyed.

📌 According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces, there is a high risk of detonation of the Russian weapon in the Chornobyl zone – military activities of the Russian occupying forces can damage the Chernobyl Shelter any time and thus, a radiation contamination of hundreds of millions of Europeans may occur. Russia and its numerous agencies in international organizations deny the facts of transportation and accumulation of large quantities of weapons by Russian troops in this area. The use of the Chornobyl zone for the transportation and accumulation of weapons, as well as the deployment of command posts

of Russian troops is carried out on purpose, as the Armed Forces of Ukraine cannot respond with any military activities in the exclusion zone.

📌 In Ukraine, 144 children were killed and more than 220 were injured due to Russian aggression. But this figure is much higher, because according to preliminary estimates,  Russians killed more than 210 children in Mariupol. 

📌 The Russian militaries forcibly deported to Russia more than 70 people from the maternity hospital in Mariupol, among them – medical staff and patients, including newborns. Earlier it was also reported about more than 20 thousand Mariupol residents who were forcibly deported to Russia.

📌As a result of a massive Russian air attack, the building of the Mykolayiv Regional State Administration was partially destroyed. According to preliminary data, 12 civilian employees of the regional state administration were killed and another 33 were injured. Rescue activities are in progress.

📌 On March 29, the city of Brovary suffered from the rocket attack. Warehouses were destroyed, now the fire is being extinguished.

📌 Russian troops continue to use aviation and artillery in the city of Kharkiv and the village of Barvinkove, trying to capture the city of Izyum.

📌 In the Donetsk direction, Russian troops strengthened their fire capacity and intensified assault operations in most areas.

📌 The Russian occupiers continue their terror towards the civilian population in the temporarily occupied cities. They are shelling houses, looting, raping, kidnapping and holding hostages civilians, and marauding.

📌 Hero of the day

Oleg Hromadsky was a military serviceman, a colonel, a veteran of the anti-terrorist operation. He joined the Kharkiv Defense Headquarters. He fought side by side with his son.

He died on March 27 from the shelling of the occupiers in Kharkiv, covering the departure of his son’s unit from the siege

RUSSIAN CONTEXT

⚠️ The Russians launched “Rosgram” – an analogue of Instagram by Meta. The design of the application copies the original design of Instagram. Access has already been granted to bloggers and investors, and they plan to open it to everyone else in April.

⚠️ Countries that continue to broadcast Russian propaganda TV channels: Iceland, Norway, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo, Albania and Northern Macedonia, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Israel.

⚠️ According to British intelligence, because of the massive losses in the Russian Armed Forces, Putin is throwing Wagner fighters into Ukraine (Wagner is a Private Military Company in Russia).

⚠️ Roskomnadzor (The Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media in Russia) appealed to the administration of Wikipedia with a request to delete true information about Russia’s war against Ukraine – if it is not deleted, the online encyclopedia will face a fine of 4 million rubles.

 

DEFENSE UPDATES

📌 Estimated losses of the Russian Federation Army in Ukraine:

📌 The Ukrainian military forces continue maintaining the circular defense of Mariupol and restraining the advance of Russian troops in the Chernihiv region.

📌 On March 29, the Air Force of the Ukrainian Armed Forces hit 17 air targets: eight aircrafts, three helicopters, four UAVs and two cruise missiles of the Russian occupiers.

📌 The withdrawal of certain units of the armed forces of the Russian Federation from the territory of Kyiv and Chernihiv regions is observed. At the same time, there is a high risk of air strikes by Russian occupiers on military and civilian infrastructure.

📌 The Ukrainian Armed Forces repulsed the enemy 40 km from Kryvyi Rih, the hometown of Volodymyr Zelensky, President of Ukraine.

📌 At the end of the day on March 28, two X-type missiles were launched from the territory of the Republic of Belarus by a Russian fighter aircraft. They were moving towards Lviv. The targets were detected timely and were destroyed by anti-aircraft missile forces. In addition, two operational-tactical UAVs were destroyed by aircraft missile units.

📌 More than 50 communities in Ukraine have left the Moscow Patriarchate and joined the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, about 100 more are in the process of transition, Metropolitan Epiphanius of Kyiv and All Ukraine said.

 

📌 Event of the day

The author of the phrase about the Russian warship, which sounded on the first day of the Russian invasion and became the slogan of the first weeks of resistance, the border guard Roman Gribov has returned from captivity to  his native Cherkasy region. Together with his colleagues, he demonstrated to the world the firmness and strength of the Ukrainian spirit, our steadfastness.

 

CYBER-RESISTANCE AND DIGITAL VICTORIES

📌 Google has stopped licensing Russian Android smartphones. This means that Russian companies cannot produce Android smartphones from Android to GMS (services from Google) for the Russian market.

📌 Juniper Networks has suspended all sales, product delivery and customer support services in Russia and Belarus until further notice. They will continue supporting the clients and partners in Ukraine (except Donetsk, Luhansk regions and Crimea).

📌 Fujitsu has confirmed that it has stopped its orders in Russia for both goods and services. Fujitsu Limited is a large Japanese corporation, electronics manufacturer and IT company.

📌 Veeam (American software developer) has suspended all sales in Russia.

📌 VyOS (Spanish software developer) refused to cooperate with Russian organizations.

📌 As of April 2, Bloomberg will turn off any access to its terminals for Russian customers – a computer system that provides financial market participants with real-time information, news and analytics. Disconnection from the terminal will hurt the activities of company

executives. It is a huge repository of all possible data and tools of the market – figures, external analytics, comments.

📌 Semiconductor manufacturer Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is suspending the supply of micro processors (chips), which can stop the production and implementation of technology on Russian processors.

📌 Consulting IT company Accenture ceases its operations in Russia.

📌 Serpstat SEO platform blocked Russian accounts without refunds.

📌 Electronic Arts (The Sims, FIFA, etc.) have suspended sales of games in Russia.

📌 Niantic (AR-game Pokémon GO and others) partially left Russia.

📌 Apple Music. Subscriptions can only be paid with a mobile phone bill. However, this possibility will probably not happen soon.

📌 Deezer. Subscribers to the service received a message about the termination of work in Russia “due to current economic sanctions.”

📌 Discogs. The world’s largest online market for vinyl and CD works with PayPal, currently unavailable in Russia – Russians will no longer be able to buy and sell music on the site.

 

NEGOTIATIONS PROCESS UPDATES

by David Arakhamiya: 

🖇 Our first achievement is moving the negotiations from Belarus to Turkey. we consider Turkey one of the a guarantors of the security of Ukraine.

🖇 Ukraine knows that the world’s security system has cracked. The Ukrainian proposal is as follows – we worked on a format for a new system of security guarantees for Ukraine. This is a new international agreement that needs to be ratified. Ukraine has already got the lesson by the Budapest Memorandum.

🖇 Ukraine is working to create a new security guarantee mechanism. Ukraine wants this to be an international agreement with an “even tougher than NATO Article 5” response

mechanism. The consultations should last for three days, after which the guarantor countries will be obliged to provide assistance to Ukraine with armaments, military and closed skies.

🖇 Among guarantors we see UN Security Council member states including UK, US, China, Russia, France, Turkey, Germany, Canada, Poland, and Israel. 

🖇 Ukraine suggests an open joining to the agreement. If other countries wish to join, they will have the legal opportunity to do so. 

🖇 Ukraine and Russia have unresolved issues with the uncontrolled portions of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts (ORDLO) and Crimea, so the security guarantors will temporarily not work in these areas yet. Some countries have already given prior consent. This is the system on which Ukraine wants to build a new future. These guarantors should also help Ukraine’s accession to the EU.

 

📌 Photo of the day

HUMANITARIAN CORRIDORS AND EVACUATION UPDATES

📌 On March 28, 881 Mariupol residents were evacuated from Berdyansk, they are already in Zaporizhia. Also, 2,350 people arrived in Zaporizhia by their own vehicles, most of them from Mariupol.

📌 On March 29, the occupying troops of the Russian Federation did not allow a single evacuation column from the Zaporizhia region, according to the head of the local state administration Alexander Starukh. He said that 76 transport units did not succeed in waiting for the “green corridor”.

President Volodymyr Zelensky’s daily statements 

📌 On March 29, the President of Ukraine announced the creation of a group of experts at the President’s Office, both Ukrainian and international specialists, who will constantly analyze the effectiveness of the sanctions against Russia.

📌 Ukraine has agreed with the United Kingdom to further support defense and strengthen sanctions against Russia. Canada also supports a tougher response of the world to the catastrophe created by Russian troops in Ukrainian cities. In a conversation with Chancellor Scholz, the President paid special attention to the need to strengthen sanctions. Azerbaijan offered humanitarian support to Ukraine.

📌 The President confirmed that Italy has agreed to become one of the guarantors of Ukraine’s security in the relevant new system of security that is  being developed by the negotiating parties.

📌 During the week, the President will address the parliaments of the partner countries:  Norway, the Netherlands, Greece, Australia. It is important that these are speeches not just in front of politicians, they are speeches in front of societies.

📌 On March 29, President Zelensky addressed the Danes and the entire democratic community of the world, emphasizing that sanctions against Russia should be strengthened, Russian oil should be rejected from, trade with Russia should be blocked, and ports should be closed to their ships. And this must be a solidarity policy of the European Union – of all member states.

 

PUBLIC AND BUSINESS SUPPORT

📌 The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has announced the closure of its offices in Moscow and Minsk due to Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine. The Bank noted that it plans to actively assist in the future reconstruction of Ukraine in cooperation with the EU, the United States and other international financial institutions.

📌 United Arab Emirates Investment Fund Mubadala Investment Company suspends investments in Russia.

📌 Irish lessors have completely terminated all contracts with Russian airlines.

📌 The world’s largest beer producer withdraws its brands Budweiser, Stella Artois, Corona, Castle, Beck’s, Leffe and Hoegaarden from the Russian market.

📌 Polish company LPP (brands Reserved, Cropp, House, Mohito and Sinsay) closed all their stores in Russia

📌 Thirty European countries have completely or partially shut down Russian propaganda channels.

📌 The number of countries in which radio and television programs are broadcast in Ukrainian language is steadily increasing. Romania, the Great Britain, Germany, the Czech Republic, Poland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Greece, Moldova, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia are among them.

📌 The European Language Union has suspended Russian activities in the organization.

📌 The European Platform of Regulators (EPRA) supported the call of the National Television and Radio Broadcasting Council of Ukraine to combat Russian propaganda and appealed to all regulators to detect and stop misinformation.

📌 EU imposed sanctions on Russian state media RT / Russia Today and Sputnik in EU.

📌 Google, Apple Inc. blocked RT and Sputnik in App stores in Europe.

📌 The tallest buildings in Riga Z-Towers changed its name to Zunda Towers in response to the negative association with the letter Z, which the Russian army uses as a symbol of its invasion of Ukraine.

 

INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT OF UKRAINE

📌 IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi has arrived in Ukraine.

📌 G7 energy ministers rejected Russia’s demands to pay gas bills in rubles and approved this decision officially.

📌 Northern Macedonia expels five Russian diplomats for violating the Vienna Convention. They must leave the country within five days. The Belgian Foreign Ministry has announced that it is sending out 21 employees of the Russian embassy in Brussels and the consulate general in Antwerp – they must leave the country within 15 days. Ireland sends out 4 Russian diplomats.

📌 The European Commission urges Member States to immediately abolish any existing schemes for obtaining citizenship for investment and to ensure that strict checks are in place to address the risks associated with residence permit schemes, as well as to revise previously issued “golden passports”.

📌 International rating agency Fitch Ratings will no longer publish data on Russia’s sovereign rating.

📌 The Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has decided to suspend state-funded research and innovation cooperation with Russian universities and companies that are strategically important to the Russian government.

📌Since the start of the war, the American charity United Help Ukraine has collected more than $ 10 million in donations from Americans, which will be spent on humanitarian and medical aid to Ukraine.

📌 Material and technical aid worth a total of 163 thousand euros arrived in Ukraine from Slovenia.

📌 Thanks to the efforts of the NGO Razom for Ukraine, $ 20 million was raised in the United States from 60,000 private donors.

📌 Polish government has decided to ban the import of coal from Russia. “We can no longer wait for the decision of the European Union,” said government spokesman Peter Mueller. Earlier, Poland decided to stop new purchases of Russian gas.

📌 US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said he saw no signs that Ukraine-Russia dialogue is “moving effectively” because the United States did not see “signs of real seriousness” from Russia.

📌 The Ministry of Finance of Luxembourg froze the assets of Russian businessmen for €2,5  billions worth.

 

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba’s daily statements 

📌 Ukraine’s position on the eve of the negotiation with Russia on March 29 in Istanbul:

🖇 Ukraine shall not trade in people, land and sovereignty, this is President Zelensky’s position on negotiations.

🖇 Minimum negotiation program in Turkey – solving humanitarian problems. Maximum negotiation program – a ceasefire, and reaching sustainable agreements on this.

🖇 Currently, there are no agreements per se from any key point of the negotiations. Instead, there is an exchange of thoughts, suggestions and ideas.

🖇 Holding a referendum in Ukraine will not be discussed during the negotiations in Turkey, because it is an internal affair of Ukraine.

🖇 Within this month, Russia’s public position gradually changed from the commitment to seize key Ukrainian cities in just a few days to the explanations that hostilities are limited to Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts.

🖇 If Russia speaks the language of ultimatums and propaganda again, the talks will end in nothing.

 

📌 Tweet of the day 

Everyone in Ukraine has united and is devoting all their energy to the defense of our state. Together with the Armed Forces, together with all our defenders, together with our National Guard.