Ukraine Daily

Monday, March 7

Russia’s war against Ukraine

Russia has fired 600 missiles and deployed 95% of its amassed troops into Ukraine, according to a senior US defense official. Fighting is ongoing in Kherson and Mykolaiv and Russian troops continue to encircle Kyiv, Mariupol, Chernihiv, and Kharkiv. However, all Russian advances have been significantly slowed down due to strong Ukrainian resistance. British intelligence reports that Russia has made no meaningful advances in two days.

Russian artillery pounds the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv overnight on March 7. The shelling hit the city’s outskirts and resulted in fires at residential buildings, according to Ukraine’s State Emergency Service. Vadym Denysenko, advisor to interior minister of Ukraine, said that the Russian forces used Smerch heavy multiple rocket launchers to shell the city.

Russian troops launch a missile strike near the village of Tuzla in Odesa Oblast. According to the spokesman of Operational Headquarters of the Odesa Regional Military Administration Serhii Bratchuk, the attack targeted critical infrastructure. Current assessments indicate that nobody was injured or killed, although information is still being gathered.

Read the Kyiv Independent’s exclusive on how Ukrainians and foreigners are fleeing the war that came in its full destructive power in just a snap.

Russian forces restrict access to external communication at Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the International Atomic Energy Agency said on March 6. Mobile networks and internet access at the power plant have been blocked by occupying Russian forces and all operations conducted by the plant’s staff require approval by a Russian commander, the IAEA said in a statement.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Russia is recruiting Syrians skilled in urban combat to be sent to Ukraine to help take Kyiv, according to U.S. officials. It is unclear how many fighters have been identified, but some are already in Russia preparing to enter the war, according to one official.

Kuleba urges EU and G7 countries to introduce further sanctions against Russia. Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on March 6 during a televised address that he had signed letters to all foreign ministers of EU and G7 countries with a specific list of the sanctions that Ukraine expects “in order to finally pinch the Russian economy and end the war in Ukraine.”

Ukraine suspends exports of rye, oats, buckwheat, millet, sugar, salt, meat, and livestock, Interfax Ukraine news agency reported on March 6, citing a government decision. Ukraine’s Prime Minister, Denys Shmyhal, stated earlier that the government had decided to restrict the export of a number of socially important goods and raw materials amid Russia’s full-scale invasion.

Hacking group Anonymous interrupts Russian state TV programs with footage of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The group claims to have accessed the TV channels “Russia 24”, “Channel 1”, “Moscow 24”, and streaming services Wink and Ivi, replacing regular programming with videos from Ukraine and an anti-war message.

50 Russian diplomats including their family members return to Moscow from New York City, CNN reports citing RIA news agency. Their departure follows a demand that 12 Russian U.N. diplomats withdraw from the U.S. by March 7. According to Ambassador Richard Mills, the diplomats were removed due to actions that were “not in accordance with their responsibilities and obligations as diplomats” after evidence of attempted espionage was uncovered.

Russian invaders fail to break through eastern front in the Luhansk direction, according to Ukraine’s Joint Forces Operation. During the fighting on March 6, Ukraine’s military destroyed eight infantry fighting vehicles, an armored personnel off-road truck, multi-passenger sport-utility vehicle and artillery systems. 40 Russian soldiers were killed, the JFO reported.

2,000 foreign citizens can’t leave Ukraine due to Russian shelling. According to Iryna Vereshchuk, the minister for the reintegration of temporarily occupied territories, these people, many of them students, are currently in locations facing Russian shelling and can’t leave the country.

Interior minister advisor: Russian occupiers will try to seize Kyiv very soon. Russia has concentrated a “sufficient number of troops and equipment” near the capital, and the “key battle in the war” will take place in the next few days, according to Vadym Denysenko, an advisor to interior minister of Ukraine.

The human cost of Russia’s war

Hostomel village council confirms on March 7 Russian troops killed head of Hostomel territorial community Yury Prylypko. He was killed along with two other people while giving bread and medicine to Hostomel residents.

5 people killed, 1 injured as Russian troops fire at Ukrainian checkpoint in Kyiv Oblast. People were killed in machine-gun fire on March 5 at a checkpoint in the village of Yasnohorodka, some 55 kilometers north of Kyiv, the Interior Ministry reported.

8 civilians killed during evacuation from Irpin near Kyiv. Eight people, including two children, were killed when Russian troops opened fire at civilians who were trying to evacuate from Irpin by buses, according to Irpin Mayor Oleksandr Markushin.

Ukrainian actor Pavlo Lee killed during fighting in Kyiv Oblast. Lee, who joined the Territorial Defense unit, was killed near the town of Irpin near Kyiv, journalist Yaroslav Kuts said on Facebook on March 6.

North America and Europe’s Response

UK injects $100 million into Ukraine’s economy to mitigate financial pressures created by Russia’s unprovoked and illegal invasion, the U.K. Prime Minister’s Office announced on March 7. The money could be used to support public sector salaries, allowing critical state functions to keep operating, as well as to support social safety nets and pensions for the Ukrainian people.

UK continues to lead effort to suspend Russia from Interpol. U.K. Home Secretary Priti Patel wrote on Twitter on March 6 that she, along with her colleagues from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the U.S., has written calling on Interpol to suspend Russian membership and access to Interpol systems. “Russia’s actions are a direct threat to the safety of individuals and to international law enforcement cooperation,” Patel wrote.

New Zealand prepares sanctions law against Russia and Belarus targeted at strategically important individuals and firms, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Sergey Lavrov, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on March 7. New Zealand has thus far been restricted in its ability to do so, due to it not having an independent sanctions law, and the law will be voted on by parliament this week, Ardern said.

Two Big Four accounting firms KPMG International and PricewaterhouseCoopers to suspend operations in Russia and Belarus. KPMG has over 4,500 partners and staff in Russia and Belarus. PwC has 3,700 partners and staff in Russia and has operated in the country for 30 years.

Netflix joins western companies in suspending services in Russia, a company spokesperson said on March 6. Nearly 1 million subscribers in Russia will no longer be able to watch the American streaming entertainment service that operates in almost every country of the world. A week earlier, the company refused to comply with Russia’s new media law, which required it to host 20 government-loyal TV channels.

American Express suspends services in Russia, Belarus. Cards issued worldwide will no longer work at ATMs in Russia “in light of Russia’s ongoing, unjustified attack on the people of Ukraine.” Mirroring measures announced late last week by Visa and MasterCard, those issued in Russia by local banks will no longer operate outside the country in the company’s global network. The policy will apply to Belarus.

Want to get the news faster? Follow our website: kyivindependent.com.

Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Igor Kossov, Anastasiia Lapatina, Illia Ponomarenko, Alexander Query, Asami Terajima, Olena Goncharova, Oleksiy Sorokin, Olga Rudenko, Toma Istomina, Lili Bivings and Brad LaFoy.

If you’re enjoying this newsletter, consider becoming our patron on Patreon or donating via GoFundMe. Start supporting independent journalism today.