Wednesday, March 20

Russia’s war against Ukraine

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Ukraine’s Defense Minister Rustem Umerov during the 20th Ramstein-format meeting in Germany on March 19, 2024. (Rustem Umerov/Facebook)

Zelensky: Russia fires over 1,000 missiles, bombs, drones at civilians so far in March. Russia has launched 130 missiles, over 320 attack drones, and almost 900 guided aerial bombs against Ukrainian civilians since the beginning of March, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on March 19.

Belgorod Oblast governor claims 9,000 children to be evacuated from region. Thousands of children from Russia’s Belgorod Oblast are to be evacuated to regions further away from the border with Ukraine, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov announced on March 18.

Umerov: Ukraine presents its plan for 2024 at Ramstein. Kyiv presented its key allies a war plan for 2024 as more military assistance have been announced during the 20th Ramstein-format meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, Ukraine’s Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said on March 19.

Reuters: Putin to visit China in May. This might be Putin’s first trip abroad after he secured his fifth term in office in the recent presidential election, broadly regarded as rigged and unfair.

UPDATED: Russia claims rocket attack on Belgorod Oblast. The Russian Defense Ministry claimed on March 19 that Belgorod Oblast came under a rocket attack, marking the fourth consecutive day of reports of attacks against the city.

Media: Kuleba expected to visit India later in March. Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba is expected to visit India later this month, marking the first trip by a Ukrainian high-level official to the country since the outbreak of the full-scale war, The Hindu reported on March 19, citing an undisclosed diplomatic source.

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Politico: France calls for curb on Ukrainian imports. France is calling for a curb on Ukrainian agricultural imports, joining Poland in a push that could cost Kyiv 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion) in trade revenue, Politico reported on March 19.

Shmyhal: Ukraine hopes to get enough shells by April. “We hope that this Czech initiative, which Luxembourg joined, will help us, and beginning since (from) April we will have enough ammunition to deter our frontline,” Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said.

Media: Russia appoints new acting navy commander. Admiral Aleksandr Moiseev was appointed as an acting commander of the Russian Navy on March 19, Russian state-controlled news agency RIA Novosti reported.

Anti-Kremlin militia claims fighting ongoing in Belgorod Oblast. One of the anti-Kremlin militias fighting in Russia’s Belgorod Oblast claimed that fighting is ongoing in the region and that it is continuing to take prisoners.

Estonia expels Russian Embassy employee. Foreign Minister Margus Tsakhna said, “With its actions, the Russian Embassy has interfered in the internal matters of Estonia in an unacceptable way.”

Moldova expels Russian diplomat after Russian election held in Transnistria.

Moldovan Foreign Minister Mihai Popsoi announced on March 19 that a Russian diplomat had been expelled from the country after Russian presidential elections were held in Transnistria, a region internationally recognized as part of Moldova.

Gunvor: Russia has lost 600,000 barrels of daily oil-refining capacity due to drone attacks. Ukraine’s recent drone attacks have knocked out about 600,000 barrels of Russia’s daily oil-refining capacity, as estimated by Torbjorn Tornqvist, the director of the international energy commodities trading company Gunvor Group, Bloomberg reported on March 18.

Military reports strengthening fortifications in Sumy Oblast. Ukrainian forces are strengthening the fortifications of the first, second, and third lines of defense in Sumy Oblast bordering Russia amid intensified attacks, Vadym Mysnyk, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian military’s Northern Operational Command, told Ukrinform on March 18.

Serbian court opens retrial of fugitive ex-SBU official. Andrii Naumov pleaded not guilty to the charges raised against him, but his lawyers confirmed that at the time of his detention, the ex-SBU official was carrying cash in a larger amount than permitted while crossing the border.

Read our exclusives

Why is Russia intensifying attacks on Ukraine’s Sumy Oblast?

Russian attacks on Ukraine’s northern Sumy Oblast have left some villages resembling the ruins of Bakhmut and Marinka, officials have said, as Moscow’s forces continue to escalate aerial bombardments against homes and civilian infrastructure in the area.

Photo: Ukrinform/NurPhoto

Russians still enjoying American burgers and sandwiches as companies refuse to leave

After Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, most major Western fast-food chains closed up shop, sold off assets, and exited the Russian market. A small cohort of six American fast-food chains decided otherwise. The franchises of Carl’s Jr., Papa John’s, Costa Coffee, Burger King, and TGI Fridays have continued to operate, business as usual.

Photo: Kirill Kudryatsev/AFP

Western leaders denounce Putin’s election ‘victory,’ fall short of refusing to recognize results

Russia’s Central Election Commission awarded Putin with 87.2% of the vote in an election that was widely seen as tightly controlled and without the participation of any meaningful opposition.

Photo: Contributor/Getty Images

Ukraine war latest: Germany announces $540 million aid package for Kyiv; reports of fighting ongoing in Belgorod Oblast

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced a new aid package for Ukraine worth $540 million at a Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) meeting in Ramstein, Germany, on March 19.

Photo: Thomas Niedermueller/Getty Images

Opinions and Insights

Asami Terajima: A toast to my fallen friends in Donbas

“Little did I know that the pain would be so deep that it becomes irreversible. Who knew that we’d live in a world where death is so common around us, losing friends one after another,” writes Kyiv Independent reporter Asami Terajima in her recent op-ed dedicated to her fallen friends.

Photo: John Moore/Getty Images

Human cost of war

Russian attack on Sumy Oblast kills 1. Russian forces attacked Sumy Oblast 30 times in 90 separate attacks throughout the day, killing one person, the Sumy Oblast Military Administration reported on March 19.

Prosecutor’s Office: Russian attack on Kupiansk wounds policeman. The city was attached at about 5:30 p.m. local time with Uragan rocket launchers, according to preliminary information. Residential buildings were reportedly damaged as a result.

Russian attack on civilian car in Kherson Oblast injures 2. Russian troops dropped an explosive from a drone onto a car in Kherson Oblast, injuring a 57-year-old woman and a 58-year-old man, Kherson Oblast Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported on March 19.

Mine explosions kill farmer, injure another in Kherson, Kharkiv oblasts. Explosions caused by mines killed a farmer in Kherson Oblast and wounded another farmer in Kharkiv Oblast, regional officials reported on March 19.

Authorities: 3 civilians injured in Russian attack on Kherson Oblast. Russian forces struck the road between Antonivka and Sadove in the Kherson district on the morning of March 19, wounding three civilians, the Kherson Oblast Military Administration reported.

Russian attacks against Ukraine kill 4, injure 6 over past day. Russian attacks against Ukraine killed four people and wounded six more over the past day, damaging homes and civilian infrastructure, regional officials reported early on March 19.

General Staff: Russia has lost 432,390 troops in Ukraine since Feb 24, 2022. Russia has also reportedly lost 6,819 tanks, 13,049 armored fighting vehicles, 14,191 vehicles and fuel tanks, 10,698 artillery systems, 1,017 multiple launch rocket systems, 721 air defense systems, 347 airplanes, 325 helicopters, 8318 drones, 26 ships and boats, and one submarine.

International response

Canada commits $40 million to Czech-led initiative for Ukraine. Canada will commit over $40 million to the Czech Republic’s initiative to provide Ukraine with ammunition, Canadian Defense Minister Bill Blair announced on March 19 at a press conference in Ottawa.

Charles Michel: ‘High time to put EU’s economy on war footing‘. “Now that we are facing the biggest security threat since the Second World War, it is high time we take radical and concrete steps to be defense-ready and put the EU’s economy on a “war footing”,” European Council President Charles Michel said

Russian, Belarusian athletes barred from Paris Olympics opening ceremony. Athletes from Russia and Belarus will not be allowed to take part in the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics this summer, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced on March 19.

Lloyd Austin: ’Ukraine’s survival is in danger.’ Ukraine’s survival in the face of Russia’s full-scale invasion is “in danger” which poses a risk to America, the U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on March 19.

Pentagon launches website to oversee US military aid to Ukraine. The U.S. Defense Department’s Office of the Inspector General on March 19 announced that it had launched a website to track U.S. military and other assistance to Ukraine.

Trump says US won’t leave NATO if member states ‘play fair.’ Former U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. will remain in NATO and come to the aid of a bloc member if they are attacked so long as other countries “play fair” and pay their share of maintaining the alliance.

Ukraine, Estonia begin drafting bilateral security agreement. Ukraine and Estonia have started work on a draft bilateral security agreement, the Presidential Office said on March 19.

Ukrainian embassy condemns Australian broadcast of documentary filmed on Russian side of front line. The program “was the journalistic equivalent of a bowl of vomit,” and ABC “should be ashamed that it put such total garbage to air,” the embassy said.

Finland pledges $36 million to Czech-led shell initiative for Ukraine. Finland joined a Czech-led initiative to provide Ukraine with hundreds of thousands of artillery shells, pledging 30 million euros ($35.6 million) to the effort, Finnish Defense Minister Antti Hakkanen announced on March 19.

Borrell wants to use 90% of Russian assets profits to buy arms for Ukraine. The remaining 10% would be allocated to the EU’s budget to boost Ukraine’s defense industry, Josep Borrell told reporters in Brussels. The official said he would submit the proposal to member states on March 20.

NATO chief visits Armenia amid growing tensions with Russia. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg visited Armenia for the first time during his 10 years in office and discussed the situation in the South Caucasus with the country’s leadership, NATO’s press service announced on March 19.

German defense minister announces aid package for Ukraine worth $540 million. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced a new aid package for Ukraine worth 500 million euros (roughly $540 million) at a Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) meeting in Ramstein, Germany, on March 19.

PM Shmyhal arrives in Luxembourg, meets with Luxembourgish counterpart. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that he and his Luxembourgish counterpart Luc Frieden would discuss Luxembourg’s support for Ukraine and the potential future confiscation of Russian assets.

Austin in Ramstein: ‘Russia has paid a staggering cost for Putin’s imperial dreams’. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin opened the 20th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) held in Ramstein, Germany, on March 19.

Belgium unveils $445 million defense aid packages for Ukraine. Belgium has announced defense aid packages for Ukraine worth 412 million euros ($445 million), including 300 Iveco Lynx light tactical vehicles, the Shephard News reported on March 18.

Germany, Poland to launch armored vehicles coalition for Ukraine next week. The initiative, announced by Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz following talks in Warsaw with his German counterpart, Boris Pistorius, will officially begin operations on March 26.

Financial Times: EU to impose tariffs on grain from Russia, Belarus. The European Union is planning to impose tariffs on grain imports from Russia and Belarus to appease farmers and some member states, the Financial Times (FT) reported on March 19, citing people familiar with the plans.

Russian media: Most Armenian banks to stop accepting Russian Mir cards. Representatives from the partially Russian-state owned bank VTB told RBC that most banks in Armenia, barring VTB, would stop accepting cards that worked through the Mir payment system by March 30.

Bloomberg: EU drafts proposal on funneling profits from Russian assets to Ukraine. Kyiv would get an estimated 3 billion euros ($3.3 billion) a year to boost its defense industry and purchase weapons, according to Bloomberg.

EU set to approve fresh sanctions against Russia over Navalny’s death. Bloomberg reported earlier in March that the EU was readying a new package targeting around 30 individuals in response to Alexei Navalny’s death in February.

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