Ukraine Daily

Saturday, 26 March 2022

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

Russia’s war against Ukraine

Elena Herhel says goodbye to her husband, Arkadiy Yasinskiy, who was gunned down by Russian forces in his friend’s vehicle in the village of Stoyanka-2, outside Kyiv. The funeral took place on March 14, 2022. (Byron Smith)

Ukraine’s military regains control over northeast of Kyiv, except for Irpin, Lutizh, Makariv. Russian troops keep trying to capture Irpin, and shell Lutizh, according to Deputy Chief of Staff of Land Forces Oleksandr Gruzevych. Fighting continues for the control of Makariv, according to Gruzevych.

Russia hits Vinnytsia with six cruise missiles, some shot down by air defense. According to the ministry of defense, Russian forces targeted the territory of the Air Force Command in Vinnytsia, a city in west-central Ukraine. Some rockets were shot down, yet others hit several buildings causing “significant damage.”

Synyehubov: Russian forces shell Kharkiv airport. According to Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Synyehubov, Russia attacked the Kharkiv airport using multiple launch rocket systems. Russia also attacked the city with Grad and Uragan missile launch systems. In total, Kharkiv Oblast has endured 55 attacks on March 24.

Ukraine’s military kills Russian general Ryazantsev. Russian lieutenant-general, commander of 49th division Yakov Ryezantsev was killed in Chornobaivka, a site of intense fighting just north of Kherson, according to Oleksiy Arestovych, advisor to the head of Ukraine’s presidential office. Earlier, Ukraine reported that 6 Russian generals had been killed in fighting.

Ukraine’s military kills Russian colonel. Russia’s colonel of the 810th Separate Guards Marine Brigade of the Black Sea Fleet Alexei Sharov was killed by a Ukrainian sniper, according to Russian authorities.

7,331 people evacuated from hot spots on March 25. According to Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk, 2,800 people evacuated from besieged Mariupol to Zaporizhzhia by own cars, some 4,000 Mariupol residents were evacuated from Berdiansk by buses, and 531 people from Melitopol to Zaporizhzhia.

Nine hundred residents of Luhansk region evacuated to western Ukraine on March 25. Head of the Luhansk Regional Military Administration Serhiy Haidai stated that evacuations take place daily, despite constant Russian shelling.

Ukraine to build temporary housing for internally displaced people. President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a recent address that the government was tasked with constructing temporary housing for Ukrainians evacuated from the hot spots of Russia’s war. “Once we achieve peace, we will begin immediate large-scale reconstruction of our country. But now people need a temporary home,” he said.

Russian occupiers to force introduction of Russian ruble in captured Tokmak. The Zaporizhzhia Oblast Military Administration said via Telegram on March 25 that Russian occupying forces in the temporarily occupied city of Tokmak in Zaporizhzhia Oblast are planning a full transition to the ruble starting April 4, 2022.

Russian occupiers plan paid rally in temporarily occupied Melitopol. The Zaporizhzhia Military Administration, citing the Security Service of Ukraine, said on Telegram on March 25 that the staged rally is set to take place early on March 26 in Melitopol’s main square. Residents have reportedly been promised 1,200 rubles for participation.

CNN: Russia moving troops into Ukraine from occupied territories in Georgia. CNN reported citing an unnamed Pentagon official that the U.S. had seen “movement of some number of troops from Georgia.” Russia invaded Georgia in 2008.

Ukraine’s FM Kuleba denies consensus over some points between Ukraine, Russia. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan earlier claimed that Ukraine and Russia were nearing consensus on four of Russia’s demands, including regarding Ukraine’s NATO membership and status of the Russian language.

Reuters: US estimates an up to 60% failure rate for Russian missiles attacking Ukraine. Earlier, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said 467 Russian missiles hit Ukraine since Feb. 24. A total of over 1,200 missiles were launched since the war began.

Ukraine’s military denies rumors that Russia is running out of missiles. “We see from the intensity of the attacks, that it’s not true,” said Deputy Chief of Staff of Land Forces Oleksandr Gruzevych.

SBU detain over 350 Russian saboteurs since start of invasion. The Security Service of Ukraine also claimed it shut down international recruitment channels used by Russia to recruit mercenaries to fight against Ukraine.

Sowing begins in 11 regions of Ukraine. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal made the announcement on March 25, the Ukrinform news agency reports.

Train station exhibit in Vilnius displays images of war in Ukraine for Russian travelers. The station is displaying the war in Ukraine through 24 large photographic prints on a platform with the aim of giving Russian transit travelers a true picture of Russia’s war. Lithuania allows 100 trains a month to carry Russian passengers to and from the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.

Mariupol

Mariupol City Council: 300 people might have been killed in Russian attack on Mariupol Drama Theater. Russia bombed the theater, which was known to house hundreds of women and children, with a massive air bomb on March 16. The Mariupol City Council issued a statement saying that witnesses report a huge number of casualties.

UN has data proving existence of mass graves in besieged Mariupol. The United Nations has received “satellite information” on one such grave, holding about 200 people, said Matilda Bogner, head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, as cited by CNN.

Ukraine demands that International Red Cross Committee obtain from Russia lists of deported Mariupol residents. Ukraine demands that all the Ukrainian citizens forcibly deported to Russia from the besieged city of Mariupol are provided with the opportunity to return to Ukraine, says Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk. According to Mariupol City Council, up to 15,000 of its residents have been forcibly moved.

Biden on Mariupol: ‘It’s unimaginable, we’ve only seen it in horror movies.’ When talking to the representatives of NGOs helping Ukrainian refugees in Poland’s Rzeszow, U.S. President Joe Biden again called Russian dictator Vladimir Putin a war criminal. “I saw these catastrophes, children, babies, mothers. You don’t have to understand their language, you just have to look them in the eye.”

Macron: France joins forces with Turkey, Greece to evacuate civilians from Mariupol. French President Emmanuel Macron told Le Figaro that he is in talks with Ukraine and is planning to negotiate with Russia about the joint humanitarian mission. Over 100,000 residents remain in Mariupol, a seaport in southern Ukraine that has been besieged since early March.

Read our exclusive, on the ground stories.

Arkadiy Yasinskiy was no ranking officer or government official. He was a 63-year-old geophysicist and family man, who had gone to pick up some supplies and ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time – at the Russian soldiers’ gunpoint.

After a month of hostilities, the war is entering a new phase — a grueling longer-term war of attrition, and a new, difficult test for the Ukrainian military and the nation.

The human cost of Russia’s war

Kharkiv police: 4 civilians killed in Russian attack on clinic. Russia shelled a health care facility housing the humanitarian aid center in Kharkiv at 7:45 a.m., Kharkiv Oblast Police reports. Seven people were injured, four of them died.

Russia’s war kills 135 children in Ukraine. According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, 184 children have also been injured since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24.

54 railroad workers killed since start of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine. Chairman of the Board of Ukrzaliznytsia Oleksandr Kamyshin said via Telegram on March 26 that an additional 64 have been injured, and three held captive by Russian forces.

Armed Forces: 16,100 Russian soldiers killed since Feb. 24. According to Ukraine’s Armed Forces, Russia has lost 561 tanks, 1,625 armored vehicles, 1,089 cars, 291 artillery pieces, 90 multiple rocket launchers, 49 surface-to-air missiles, at least 115 jets, 125 helicopters, 5 boats, 72 fuel tanks, and 53 drones.

WHO: Attacks on hospitals increasing on a “daily basis.” The World Health Organization said on March 25 that there have been over 70 distinct attacks on hospitals, ambulances, and doctors in Ukraine since Russia’s all-out war against Ukraine began on Feb. 24.

In rare update on losses, Russia says 1,351 of its troops killed in Ukraine. Russia’s Defense Ministry also admitted that 3,825 soldiers were wounded. NATO estimated on March 23 that 7,000 to 15,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in four weeks of Russia’s war in Ukraine, while Ukraine estimates it to be 16,100 troops.

International response

Biden arrives in Poland for two-day visit. U.S. President Joe Biden is scheduled to meet with Polish President Andrzej Duda and the U.S. Air Force’s 82nd Airborne Division in Rzeszow, and then go to Warsaw.

CNN: US, EU announce task force to reduce Europe’s dependence on Russian oil, gas. “The United States will work toward supplying Europe with at least 15 billion cubic meters of liquified natural gas in 2022, in partnership with other nations,” the White House said.

German military and humanitarian aid arrive in Ukraine. A shipment of 1,500 “Strela” anti-aircraft missiles and 100 MG3 machine guns from Germany arrived in Ukraine on March 25, according to the German Press Agency, citing the Ukrainian government. Additionally, 350,000 food packs, 50 medical transport vehicles, and medical supplies were delivered.

Ukraine, Lithuania, Poland set up joint team to investigate Russia’s war crimes. Prosecutors general of the three countries signed an agreement to jointly work on collection, safe storage and rapid exchange of evidence of Russia’s war crimes in Ukraine, says Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova.

Spotify halts streaming service in Russia. New legislation in Russia making it illegal to report anything that discredits the Russian military prompted the decision. Earlier this month the Swedish audio streaming and media platform shut down its offices in Russia over its war in Ukraine.

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

Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Alexander Query, Daria Shulzhenko, Oleksiy Sorokin, Olga Rudenko, Toma Istomina, Sergiy Slipchenko, Teah Pelechaty, and Lili Bivings.

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