Saturday, March 4

Russia’s war against Ukraine

Ukrainian servicemen of the 127th brigade along the frontline in Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine on March 3, 2023. (Photo by Wolfgang Schwan/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola arrives in Ukraine. Roberta Metsola returned to Ukraine on the evening of March 3 for her second visit to the country since the beginning of the full-scale invasion.

FT: Ukraine appeals to EU to provide 250,000 artillery shells per month. In a letter obtained by the Financial Times, Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov appealed to his counterparts in the 27 member states on March 3 to provide Kyiv with 250,000 artillery shells a month to ease a critical shortage that limits the country’s progress on the battlefield.

Zelensky meets with US Attorney General, prosecutors from allied countries to discuss Russian war crimes. During his visit to Lviv Oblast on March 3, President Volodymyr Zelensky met with US Attorney General Merrick Garland and other prosecutors from allied states and international institutions to discuss prosecuting Russian war crimes, the president’s office reported.

Nearly 10,000 Russian soldiers surrender via ‘I want to live’ hotline since its creation. Launched in September 2022 by Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence, the 24-hour hotline allows Russians to willingly surrender themselves or their units to the Ukrainian army.

General Staff: Russian proxies in occupied parts of Kherson Oblast forcibly move 200 residents for ‘filtration.’ The “filtration measures” are interrogation procedures conducted by Russian forces with civilians on occupied Ukrainian territories, which may lead to torture and kidnapping.

Police and aid workers come under fire in Kherson Oblast. Police officers and volunteers came under fire in Kherson Oblast on March 3, reported Kherson Oblast police. The police car was “riddled with shrapnel,” and “only a pile of metal remained” of the volunteer car, according to the report.

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General Staff: Battle for Bakhmut continues. Russian forces are continuing their attempts to encircle Bakhmut, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported in its nightly update on March 3. Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of the Ground Forces of Ukraine, arrived in Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast, on March 3 to visit the command posts in the frontline city. “The enemy does not give up hope of capturing Bakhmut and continues accumulating forces to occupy it,” Land Forces wrote.

ISW: Ukrainian forces appear to set conditions for controlled fighting withdrawal from parts of Bakhmut. Geolocated footage posted on March 3 confirms that Ukrainian troops have destroyed two critical bridges in the Bakhmut area — one across the Bakhmutivka River in northeastern Bakhmut and one along the Khromove-Bakhmut route just west of Bakhmut, the Institute for the Study of War said in its latest update.

Air Force says it shot down Russian Su-34 aircraft. Ukrainian anti-aircraft gunners destroyed a Russian Su-34 fighter-bomber near the town of Yenakiieve in Donetsk Oblast on March 3, Ukraine’s Air Force reported.

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Ukraine war latest: US announces $400 million military aid to Ukraine

“To meet Ukraine’s evolving battlefield requirements, the United States will continue to work with its allies and partners to provide Ukraine with key capabilities,” Pentagon said in the statement announcing the aid on March 3.

Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

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How repurposed Russian air defense missiles expose holes in Ukraine’s sky

Russian forces have been using S-300 missiles for strikes on Ukrainian cities, presumably due to a shortage of high-precision missiles. Designed primarily to take down targets in the air, these systems also have a surface-to-surface function.

Photo: Mustafa Ciftci/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

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The human cost of Russia’s war

Death toll in Russia’s missile attack on Zaporizhzhia rises to 10. Rescuers retrieved the bodies of three more people from the remains of a residential building in Zaporizhzhia hit by the Russian forces, Ukraine’s Emergency Service in Zaporizhzhia Oblast reported on the morning of March 4.

Russia troops shell Sumy Oblast, killing civilian. A 73-year-old man was killed in his yard by a Russian shell during an attack on Sumy Oblast on March 3, the General Prosecutor’s Office reported.

Media: Public data suggests over 16,000 Russian soldiers have been killed during first year of all-out war. At least 16,071 Russian soldiers have died since Feb. 24, 2022, according to BBC Russia, which carries out a name-by-name count of the dead together with Mediazona, a Russian independent media outlet. Russia’s total irretrievable losses, which include wounded, killed or missing people, may amount to at least 144,500 people.

General Staff: Russia has lost 152,190 troops in Ukraine since start of full-scale war. According to the report, Russia has also lost 3,409 tanks, 6,683 armored fighting vehicles, 5,289 vehicles and fuel tanks, 2,414 artillery systems, 487 multiple launch rocket systems, 247 air defense systems, 302 airplanes, 289 helicopters, 2,066 drones, and 18 boats.

International response

Scholz meets with Biden in Washington to discuss Ukraine. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz met with U.S. President Joe Biden in Washington, D.C. on March 3 to primarily discuss the war in Ukraine, Reuters reported. Scholz reiterated that it was important to continue supporting Ukraine “as long as it takes and as long as is necessary.”

Reuters: US sanctions 6 Russians over arrest of opposition politician Kara-Murza. On March 3, the U.S. imposed sanctions on six Russians who, it said, were involved in the arrest, prosecution or abuse of Russian opposition leader Vladimir Kara-Murza. The politician was detained in the spring of 2022 after speaking out against the war in Ukraine.

AP: Serbia denies sending military aid to Ukraine. Serbian Defense Minister Milos Vucevic refuted reports that Serbia had sent missiles to Ukraine while also admitting the possibility that a third party may have been involved in their transportation.

In other news

Kyiv Independent journalists receive award for investigation into International Legion. The Kyiv Independent’s Anna Myroniuk and Alexander Khrebet received the #AllForJan Award in Warsaw on March 2 for investigating alleged leadership misconduct in the Ukrainian army’s International Legion.

Court of Appeals annuls decision not to prosecute former Naftogaz CEO. Ukraine’s Court of Appeals of the Chamber of Commerce on March 1 annulled the High Anti-Corruption Court’s decision to rule against arresting former Naftogaz CEO Andriy Kobolev.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Francis Farrell, Dinara Khalilova, Lili Bivings
Kate Tsurkan, and Olena Goncharova.

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