Monday, March 11

Russia’s war against Ukraine

Raney Aronson-Rath, Mstyslav Chernov, and Michelle Mizner accept the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature Film for “20 Days in Mariupol” onstage during the 96th Annual Academy Awards at Dolby Theatre on March 10, 2024 in Hollywood, California. The film documents the Russian siege of Mariupol in Donetsk Oblast from the perspective of Chernov and his crew during the first weeks of the full-scale invasion. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

‘20 Days in Mariupol’ wins Oscar for Best Documentary. The film “20 Days in Mariupol,” directed by Ukrainian journalist Mstyslav Chernov, won the Oscar for Best Documentary at the 96th Academy Awards on March 10, marking the first time a Ukrainian film has received an Oscar.

Zelensky dismisses pope’s call for Ukraine to raise white flag. “Russian murderers and torturers are not moving further into Europe only because they are being held back by Ukrainians with weapons in their hands and under the blue and yellow flag,” he said.

UK Defense Ministry: Ukraine increasing fortifications along the front line. Ukraine has “almost certainly” accelerated the construction of defensive fortifications along several areas of the front line, the U.K. Defense Ministry wrote in its March 10 report.

Military: Russia steps up use of poisonous chemicals in Ukraine. Over the past week, Russian forces have dropped grenades with suffocating and tear gas from drones about 50 times, and 15 such drops of ammunition have been recorded over the past day alone, he said.

Media: Commander of Russian Navy replaced. Yevmenov, who has been the Russian Navy Commander since May 2019, is still listed on the Defense Ministry’s website. The Russian Defense Ministry did not comment on the alleged replacement.

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Massive Russian drone attack damages infrastructure, homes in Odesa. The attack hit an infrastructure facility in Odesa and caused a fire, which emergency workers extinguished. The attack also damaged administrative buildings in the city and smashed the windows of multiple homes.

Ukrenergo: 2 energy substations damaged by Russian drone strikes in past day. Two energy substations in southern and central Ukraine were damaged by Russian kamikaze drone attacks on March 9, state electricity grid operator Ukrenergo reported on March 10.

Anti-corruption activist accuses authorities of fabricating political cases against him. Shabunin, who joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine as a volunteer at the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, denied the accusations and said the cases were fabricated. He believes the cases to be a political vendetta against him by President Volodymyr Zelensky’s deputy chief of staff Oleh Tatarov.

Russian media: St Petersburg airport suspends operations after drone attack. Leningrad Oblast Governor Aleksandr Drozdenko reported a drone was downed near the village of Fornovoso south of Pulkovo Airport without casualties on the ground.

Governor: Fire breaks out at oil depot in Russia’s Kursk Oblast. A fire broke out at an oil depot in Russia’s Kursk Oblast after a Ukrainian drone was shot down over its grounds, Roman Starovoit, the region’s governor, claimed on March 10.

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Ukraine war latest: US reportedly prepared for potential Russian nuclear strike in Ukraine in 2022

Washington was “preparing rigorously” for a possible Russian nuclear strike in Ukraine in late 2022, which would have been the first nuclear attack in a war since the Hiroshima and Nagasaki 1945 bombings, CNN reported on March 9, citing two unnamed U.S. officials.

Photo: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg

Human cost of war

Russian drone attack on Dobropillia in Donetsk Oblast kills 2. Russian troops hit a residential area in Dobropillia with Shahed drones overnight on March 10, killing two people, regional governor Vadym Filashkin reported.

Ukrainian fighter jet pilot reportedly killed in action in Donetsk Oblast. Tkachenko was killed during a combat mission on March 8, 2024.

2 Georgian volunteers killed fighting for Ukraine. Georgian volunteer fighters Nodar Nasirov and Giorgi Gogiashvili have been killed in Ukraine, the Georgian Legion reported on March 9.

City official: 10 injured in Russian missile attack on Myrnohrad in Donetsk Oblast. Ten people were injured after Russian forces targeted the city of Myrnohrad in Donetsk Oblast overnight on March 10 with three missiles, Yurii Tretiak, acting head of the local city administration, told Suspilne.

General Staff: Russia has lost 424,060 troops in Ukraine. Russia has lost 424,060 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported on March 10. This number includes 900 casualties Russian forces suffered over the past day.

This Week in Ukraine S2E9 – How Ukraine downs Russian planes

International response

Italian minister says he’s against deploying Western troops in Ukraine. The comments came after French President Emmanuel Macron recently said that Western military presence in Ukraine cannot be “ruled out” in the future. The U.S. and multiple European allies, as well as NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, have distanced themselves from Macron’s statement.

Poland’s Duda, Tusk to visit US to lobby for Ukraine. Polish President Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister Donald Tusk will visit the United States on March 12, the 25th anniversary of Poland’s NATO accession, to advocate for continued U.S. military aid to Ukraine.

Orban: Trump is ‘man of peace.’ Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that Trump’s plans for an end to the war “are quite detailed” and align with Hungary’s national interests.

US, Japan hope to accelerate joint defense production at April summit. The leaders of Japan and the United States will meet in Washington, D.C. on April 10 to “strengthen the joint production system” for defense equipment in order to ship more arms to Ukraine, according to unnamed officials cited by the Japanese news outlet Yomiuri.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Kate Tsurkan, Daria Shulzhenko, Teah Pelechaty, Oleg Sukhov, Alexander Khrebet, Francis Farrell, Sonya Bandouil, and Abbey Fenbert.

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