Ukraine Daily

Wednesday, 25 March 2022

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Russia’s war against Ukraine

Russian forces attack Kharkiv downtown with Kalibr missiles launched from Black Sea. According to Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Synyehubov, in total, the region endured 44 attacks on March 24.

Russians fire upon evacuation train. Russian forces shelled a train transporting Ukrainian IDPs from Kyiv to Ivano-Frankivsk as it was passing near the town of Vasylkiv in Kyiv Oblast, according to Chairman of the Board of Ukrzaliznytsia Olekandr Kamyshin. Windows were smashed in three train cars, no injuries were reported.

Ukraine’s military: Large Russian amphibious assault ship destroyed in Berdiansk. According to Ukraine’s General Staff, the Russian warship “Orsk” was destroyed in the port of Berdiansk, which is currently occupied by the Russian forces. U.S. and U.K. defense officials assessed that Ukraine likely conducted the successful attack.

Ukraine’s military reports taking down 130 troops, 9 tanks, 6 infantry fighting vehicles at eastern front in 1 day. Ukraine’s Operational Tactical Group “East” repelled five separate attacks by Russian forces on March 24.

Deputy Prime Minister: 10 Russian prisoners of war exchanged for 10 Ukrainian soldiers on March 24. Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk added that 11 Russian sailors saved by Ukraine from a sunken ship would be exchanged for 19 Ukrainian sailors captured by Russia.

General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces: Some Russian units retreat towards Slobozhanksy after losing 50% of personnel. Russian forces continue to blockade Sumy and Kharkiv but some units have reportedly withdrawn to Russia due to the significant casualties.

CNN: Ukraine tells the US it needs 500 Javelins and 500 Stingers per day. In recent weeks Ukraine has requested similar shipments but the most recent request provided to U.S. lawmakers points to a growing need for American-made Stinger anti-aircraft missiles and Javelin anti-tank missiles as the Russian invasion continues on multiple fronts.

President’s Office: Russia will try to shift its war to attrition phase. According to Mykhailo Podoliak, advisor to the head of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s administration, Russia is forced to begin a war of attrition due to the lack of success and a high death toll.

Ukraine’s military: Russia wants to end war by May 9. According to intelligence from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Russian commandment has been telling the troops that the war must end by May 9 – widely celebrated in Russia as the day of victory over the Nazi Germany.

Ukraine’s General Staff: Russia deploys additional military equipment to Belarus, Crimea, plans to encircle Kyiv. According to Ukraine’s Armed Forces, Russian troops are planning to halt an offensive in some areas and will concentrate on encircling Kyiv and attempt to occupy Donetsk and Luhansk regions completely.

UN nuclear watchdog: Russian shelling prevents rotation of essential personnel at Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant. The city of Slavutych, which houses most of the plant’s workers and their families, has been under constant Russian artillery fire, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. Workers at the plant were forced to work for four weeks, as rotating was not possible.

Russia launches 1,200 missiles at Ukraine. Russia still has the vast majority of the assembled surface to air missiles and cruise missiles available, ABC News reported citing an unnamed U.S. defense official.

87 residential buildings damaged in Kyiv since Feb. 24. According to the Kyiv City State Administration, Russian attacks have also damaged 10 private houses, 12 schools, and 6 kindergartens in the Ukrainian capital since the beginning of the full-scale invasion.

Russia claims to have ‘evacuated’ 402,000 Ukrainians to Russia. Out of them, 84,000 are children, according to the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Lyudmyla Denisova. Ukraine is not yet able to verify these statistics, but the Ukrainian government is investigating the removal of 2,389 children from Ukraine.

Foreign minister: Ukraine in talks about its security guarantees with US, UK, Germany, France, Turkey. According to UNIAN citing Dmytro Kuleba’s interview with El Pais, Ukraine’s foreign minister said that Ukraine will seek security guarantees if it doesn’t join NATO.

Ukrainian parliament abolishes customs tariffs, value-added tax for imports during war. The bill will also exempt the owners of residential real estate in areas affected by the war from paying a property tax for 2021-2022.

One month of Russia’s war in photos

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One month ago, just after 4:45 a.m. Kyiv time on Feb. 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin went on television to announce what he called a “special operation” to “disarm and de-Nazify” Ukraine. See the past month of Russia’s war in photos.

Mariupol

Mariupol City Council calls for help as residents begin to die from starvation. The city council said that more and more people are left without any food as multiple attempts to create humanitarian corridors and to provide aid have failed due to Russian troops continuously violating ceasefire agreements.

Mariupol city council: Russian occupiers forcibly move 6, 000 Mariupol residents to Russia. The local authorities in the besieged seaport in southern Ukraine said on March 24 that Russian occupiers are now forcibly moving more of the city’s residents to Russia, allegedly confiscating their Ukrainian passports and other documents.

NATO summit in Brussels

Biden: US will respond to Russian use of chemical or biological weapons. Speaking to members of the press at the NATO summit on March 24, U.S. President Joe Biden said NATO would respond “in kind” if Russia uses weapons of mass destruction in Ukraine. Biden also backed efforts to expel Russia from the G-20 group. And if efforts to remove Russia fail, Biden says Ukraine should be able to attend G20 meetings.

NATO to protect Ukraine from chemical, biological, nuclear threats. According to a joint statement by NATO countries, the use of chemical or biological weapons by Russia will lead to severe consequences for the Kremlin. However, the statement didn’t specify the consequences.

Zelensky to NATO: Alliance can still prevent deaths of Ukrainians from Russian attacks. In a virtual address on March 24, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine is asking for only 1% of NATO’s jets and tanks to help it defend itself from Russian aggression. “We can’t just buy them. Such a supply directly depends only on NATO’s decisions, on political decisions, by the way.”

Zelensky to NATO: Don’t say Ukraine’s army doesn’t meet Alliance’s standards. President Volodymyr Zelensky also said in his video address that he has one demand. “After such a war against Russia… Please, never, never again tell us that our army does not meet NATO standards.”

Russian deputy ambassador to the UN: Russia retains right to use nuclear weapons if “provoked” by NATO. In an interview with Sky News before the summits began on March 24, Dmitry Polyanskiy, one of Russia’s top diplomats in the United States, said that Putin could use nuclear weapons if the country feels it is facing an “existential” threat. Polyanskiy also denied that Russia is committing war crimes in Ukraine.

Read our exclusive, on the ground stories.

Fearless Kyiv utility workers keep the city running under Russia’s shelling. As Russian bombs and rockets land on Kyiv’s residential buildings, the city’s utility services’ workers drudge overtime to clear the streets of the damage, debris and garbage left behind in the wake of Russia’s attacks.

Inside massacre of civilian evacuees outside Kyiv. In the village of Stoyanka-2 outside Kyiv, a half-dozen cars line the road, riddled with holes, their bodywork mangled by bullets and an explosion.

Ukrainian refugees, diaspora rally in Brussels during NATO summit, demand more Western support for Ukraine. A large demonstration took place in Brussels on March 24, with protesters gathering to demand tougher sanctions against Russia on the occasion of U.S President Joe Biden’s visit to Brussels for a summit on Ukraine.

The human cost of Russia’s war

Shelling kills 3, injures 13 in Mykolayiv Oblast. Russian forces fired Tornado rockets at civilians in the village of Yavkyne, where IDPs from neighboring villages had gathered. The attack also damaged a building, according to the Bashtan City Council.

2 more children killed by Russia in Ukraine. Russian forces killed two more children in Donetsk Oblast, a 11-year-old girl in Mariupol and a 14-year-old boy in the town of Yasnaya Polyana, according to the head of the Donetsk Oblast Military Administration Pa Pavlo Kyrylenko.

4 killed by Russian shelling overnight on March 24 in Luhansk Oblast. According to the local governor Serhiy Haidai, Russian forces attacked towns in Luhansk Oblast with missiles and phosphorus bombs that are banned to use against civilians by the Geneva Conventions. 31 buildings were damaged or completely destroyed.

UN: Half of all Ukrainian children have been displaced since Feb. 24. “Since the start of the war a month ago, out of every boy and girl in the country, one out of two now has had to flee their homes,” UNICEF spokesperson James Elder told CNN.

Russian war kills 128 children in Ukraine since Feb. 24. According to Prosecutor General’s Office, 172 other children were injured by Russian aggression.

Klitschko: 75 civilians killed in Kyiv since start of war. Since the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, 75 civilians were killed and 307 wounded, Klitschko said citing the Kyiv military administration. This includes 4 children that were killed and 16 wounded.

5 journalists killed, 7 injured in Ukraine since Feb. 24. The Institute of Mass Information reported that one journalist also went missing. Overall, Russia has committed 148 crimes against journalists and media in Ukraine, according to the report.

Ukraine’s military: 15,800 Russian troops killed since Feb. 24. The Ukrainian military have also destroyed 530 Russian tanks, 1,597 armored vehicles, 1,033 cars, 280 artillery systems, 82 multiple rocket launchers, 47 surface-to-air missiles, at least 108 jets, 124 helicopters, 4 boats, 72 fuel tanks, and 50 drones.

International response

Reuters: US to accept up to 100,000 Ukrainians fleeing Russian invasion. Reuters reported citing anonymous sources that the announcement is “forthcoming.”

US to provide $1 billion in humanitarian aid to those affected by Russian invasion of Ukraine. The funds will help provide food, shelter, clean water, medical supplies, and other assistance, the White House said.

CNN: US still opposed to providing fighter jets to Ukraine. A senior U.S. official told CNN that the country’s position has not changed on the matter. Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelensky asked NATO for “one percent of all your planes,” later adding, “you have thousands of fighter jets, but we have not been given one yet.”

UK sanctions Russian strategic industries, banks, business elites. U.K. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss announced 65 new sanctions “to cut off vital industries fuelling Putin’s war machine,” targeting six Russian banks including Alfa Bank, Russian Railways, defense companies, mercenary Wagner Group, and Russian oligarchs including billionaire oil tycoon Eugene Shvidler.

Canada expands sanctions against Russia. The new sanctions will target 160 members of the Russian parliament and exports of certain goods and technology to Russia, according to the office of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Canada will also donate $50 million to international charities assisting Ukraine.

Poland won’t pay for Russian gas in rubles says CEO of PGNiG. Paweł Majewski, head of Polish largest oil and gas company, said that the contract with Gazprom envisions the payment method and Poland won’t change it. Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has previously demanded that the European Union switch its payments for Russian gas from dollars to rubles.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Oleg Sukhov, Daria Shulzhenko, Dylan Carter, Oleksiy Sorokin, Olga Rudenko, Toma Istomina, Sergiy Slipchenko, and Lili Bivings.

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