Ukraine Daily

Friday, 1 April 2022

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Russia’s war against Ukraine

Ukraine’s military: Seven attacks repelled in Donetsk and Luhansk directions. According to General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, over the past 24 hours Ukraine’s military destroyed three tanks, two armored personnel carriers, two artillery systems and shot down an Orlan-10 drone.

Ukraine’s Armed Forces: Russians withdraw 700 units of military equipment from Kyiv overnight. Moscow’s remaining forces near the capital are “quite large.”

EBRD: Ukraine’s economy to shrink by twenty percent this year. According to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the economy may bounce back in 2023, growing 23%, under a scenario in which a ceasefire is brokered within several months. “Currently, the war is happening on territories that produce 60% of Ukrainian GDP,” the EBRD said in the report.

Ukrainian army liberates eleven villages in Kherson region. The Operational Command South reported via Facebook that multiple areas in Kherson Oblast were cleared of Russian troops on March 31.

1,458 Ukrainians evacuated from hot spots on March 31. According to Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk, 631 people were evacuated from besieged Mariupol to Zaporizhzhia. The rest were evacuated from Berdiansk, Enerhodar, and other cities and villages in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

Biden: ‘Open question’ whether Putin is fully informed on his military’s performance in Ukraine. U.S. President Joe Biden said that Russian President Vladimir Putin may have already fired some of his advisers or placed them under house arrest.

Deputy prime minister: Russian occupiers forcibly move 45,000 residents of besieged Mariupol. According to Iryna Vereshchuk, Mariupol residents were illegally deported to the Russian-occupied territories of Donetsk Oblast. Nearly 100,000 people are still waiting for urgent evacuation from the city, she said.

General Staff: Russia aims to blockade two cities in Donetsk Oblast. As Russia continues to relocate troops to eastern Ukraine, the occupiers aim to take control over areas in Kharkiv, Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts, as well as blockade the cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, according to Ukraine’s military.

Russia threatens Wikipedia with 4 million ruble fine for articles about Russia’s invasion. Russia’s communications regulator Roskomnadzor announced on its official Telegram channel that they have sent a request to Wikipedia to immediately remove “inaccurate information on a special military operation of the Russian Federation in Ukraine aimed at misinforming Russian users.”

Russian military steal 14 tons of humanitarian aid delivered to occupied Melitopol. According to Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk, food and medicine supplies delivered to Melitopol by 12 buses were stolen by Russians. Negotiations are underway to evacuate people by these buses from Melitopol to Zaporizhzhia.

Foreign exchange market turnover decreases 5 times since start of war. Trading turnover decreased from $500-700 million to $100-200 million since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, according to Oleksii Lupin, Director of the National Bank of Ukraine’s Open Market Operations Department.

Putin orders to draw 134,500 new conscripts. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, conscripts are called up under the annual spring draft and won’t be sent to any “hot spots.” Russia sent conscripts to fight in its war against Ukraine despite Russian President Vladimir Putin’s promises that it wouldn’t happen.

Russia blocks extension of OSCE monitoring mission to Ukraine. Since 2014, the mission has created 2,400 daily reports while monitoring Russia’s invasion of eastern Ukraine. In 2021, the mission carried out nearly 18,000 patrols and arranged 400 “windows of silence” to maintain water, gas, and electricity networks in the war-torn Donbas region.

Ukraine in talks with Poland, Baltic countries to close borders with Belarus, Russia. According to Ukraine’s Ambassador to Poland Andriy Deshchytsia, Ukrainian diplomats are negotiating with Poland on the closure of the border with Belarus. “We also appealed to these countries (Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia) to close their borders with Belarus and Russia at the same time,” the ambassador said.

President’s Office: 24 local government officials held in Russian captivity. The list includes mayors, members of local councils and other representatives of state institutions.

Energoatom: Russian occupiers leaving Chornobyl nuclear plant and satellite city Slavutych. Ukraine’s state-run nuclear company Energoatom said the Russian occupiers headed towards the Ukrainian borders with Belarus in two columns after announcing the intentions to leave this morning, but some of them still remain at the site.

Read our exclusive, on the ground stories.

“When wounded Ukrainian soldiers came in, the hospital staff put them in civilian clothes, gave them fake name tags, and hid their IDs so they wouldn’t become targets if Russians burst in.” The Kyiv Independent spoke with the director of Irpin City Polyclinic, a hospital in Kyiv Oblast, that found itself in the middle of war and occupation.

The human cost of Russia’s war

Death toll of people killed in Russian strike on Mykolaiv’s regional administration building reaches 24. The rescuers have removed 23 bodies from the rubble and one person who later died in the hospital. Thirty-three people were also injured by the strike.

International response

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola to visit Kyiv. Metsola tweeted a photo by an Ukrzaliznytsia train in an unspecified location, stating that she is “On [her] way to Kyiv.”

US announces new sanctions on Russian technology companies, evasion networks. The 34 organizations and individuals targeted include several technology companies that produce computer hardware, software and microelectronics used by the Kremlin’s defense sector, such as Russia’s largest chip-maker Joint Stock Company Mikron.

Australia to send armored vehicles after Zelensky’s appeal. Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on March 31 that Ukraine would receive Bushmaster armored vehicles and other military and humanitarian aid after President Zelensky addressed Australia’s parliament requesting assistance to help Ukraine fight Russia’s aggression.

Ukraine to receive more weapons from UK, other allies. British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said that the international community has committed to widening its package of military support for Ukraine after hosting a conference involving 35 countries. “We are increasing our coordination to step up that military support and ensure the Armed Forces of Ukraine grow stronger as they continue to repel Russian forces.”

Germany’s economy minister: ‘We will be poorer’ due to Russia’s war but it’s a small price to pay. Robert Habeck told local broadcaster ZDF that there will be costs for German society but the price is incomparable to the sufferings in Ukraine.

Stoltenberg: Russia repositioning to eastern Donbas region, not withdrawing. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels that “Russia is trying to regroup, resupply and reinforce its offensive in the Donbas region” and “Russia has repeatedly lied about its intentions.” He added that pressure is being kept up on Kyiv and other cities.

Germany, France reject Russian demand to make gas payments in rubles. German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said Moscow’s latest maneuver is an unacceptable breach of contract that amounts to “blackmail.” Speaking during a joint conference with his French counterpart, Habeck said that he hasn’t seen the new Russian decree mandating payments in rubles but said it’s important “not to give a signal that we will be blackmailed by Putin.”

UK sanctions Russian media, propagandists. The U.K. government announced “sanctions on Putin’s propaganda.” Those sanctioned are the Kremlin-funded TV-Novosti which owns RT, and Rossiya Segodnya which controls Sputnik. RT’s managing director Alexey Nikolov, news anchor Sergey Brilev, and Sputnik’s Editor-in-Chief Anton Anisimov were also sanctioned.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Asami Terajima, Natalia Datskevych, Thaisa Semenova, Anastasiia lapatina, Sergiy Slipchenko, Olena Goncharova, Oleksiy Sorokin, Olga Rudenko, Toma Istomina, Lili Bivings and Brad LaFoy.

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