Tuesday, March 26

Russia’s war against Ukraine

Rescuers are working at the site of an art academy building damaged by a Russian missile strike in Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 25, 2024. (Maxym Marusenko/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Russia launches another missile attack on Kyiv, civilians injured. Russia launched yet another missile attack on Ukraine’s capital, injuring at least seven people as well as damaging an educational facility and a residential building, Ukrainian authorities reported on March 25.

Ukraine’s DTEK loses 50% of generating capacity, recovery will take ‘months.’ Ukraine’s largest private energy company, DTEK, lost 50% of its generating capacity due to Russia’s March 22 mass attack on the country’s energy system, the CEO of one of its subsidiaries said on March 24.

Ukhydroenergo: ‘Years’ needed to restore Dnipro Hydroelectric Power Plant after Russian attack. It will take “years” to restore Zaporizhzhia’s Dnipro Hydroelectric Power Plant, which was damaged following Russian missile attack, the head of Ukrainian state-owned energy company Ukrhydroenergo Ihor Syrota said on March 25.

Russian attacks force Kharkiv to end city heating season early. Kharkiv will switch off the city’s central heating early to reduce the load on the power system, which has been severely damaged in recent Russian attacks, Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov announced on March 25.

Zelensky, Kuleba urge allies to send more air defenses after Russian strike on Kyiv. “This (air defense systems) provide safety for our cities and save lives. All of us who respect and protect life must put an end to this terror,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Defense Ministry: More than 2,000 Russian missiles downed over Ukraine since start of all-out war. Ukraine’s Armed Forces shot down more than 2,000 cruise and ballistic Russian missiles since the beginning of full-scale invasion, the Defense Ministry reported on March 25.

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SBU head: Russia no longer using Crimean bridge for weapons supplies after repeated strikes. Russia no longer uses the Crimean bridge to supply weapons to the front after Ukrainian strikes damaged the crossing, Vasyl Maliuk, the head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said on air on March 25.

Russian landing ship ‘critically damaged’ by Ukrainian missile strike, says military intelligence. In a post on Telegram, Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (HUR) said the “Yamal” suffered a “hole in the upper deck that caused it to roll to the starboard side.”

Navy: Russian warship Ivan Khurs might be damaged in Ukraine’s March 23 missile attack on Crimea. In addition to the Yamal and Azov landing ships, Ukraine’s March 23 missile attack on Russian-occupied Crimea could have damaged the Russian military’s Ivan Khurs ship, Navy spokesperson Dmytro Pletenchuk said on March 25.

Reuters: Russia’s Kuibyshev oil refinery stops one of primary units after drone attack. The Kuibyshev oil refinery in Russia’s Samara Oblast halted one of two primary refining units, taking half of its capacity offline, after a drone attack overnight on March 23, Reuters reported, citing two unnamed industry sources.

Russian governor claims fire at power plant in Rostov Oblast disabled 2 units. Russian Telegram channels wrote about multiple explosions in the region amid an alleged drone attack, citing local residents. The Russian Defense Ministry claimed to have shot down 11 drones over Rostov Oblast.

Putin recognizes ‘radical Islamists’ carried out terrorist attack, claims Ukraine still involved. “It is necessary to get answers to a number of questions whether radical Islamists really decided to strike Russia,” Putin alleged, insinuating that the attack was carried out on behalf of another “client.”

Read our exclusives

Ukraine war latest: Russia hits Kyiv, Odesa with ballistic missiles

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that two pregnant women and a 16-year-old girl were among the victims of the attack on the capital on March 25. A Russian ballistic missile attack on Odesa injured four people.

Photo: Kateryna Hodunova/Kyiv Independent

Missiles hit Kyiv seconds after air raid alert, leaving people no time to shelter

Russia launched a missile attack on Kyiv on March 25, using its brand-new Zircon hypersonic cruise missile, among other weaponry. A series of explosions rocked the city just a few seconds after the air raid sirens sounded.

Photo: Kostiantyn Liberov/Libkos/Getty Images

Russia’s response to terrorist attack, alleged torture of suspects, follows pattern of abuse in Ukraine

For a country with such an overwhelming focus on security and steadily increasing militarization of society, the inability to prevent such a deadly incident was a stunning failure of Moscow’s law enforcement capabilities.

Photo: Tatyana Makeyeva/AFP via Getty Images

Russian equipment losses in Ukraine surpass 15,000, says Oryx OSINT group

The number of vehicles, aircraft, naval vessels, and weapons systems lost by Russian forces since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine has surpassed 15,000, the open-source investigative project Oryx announced on March 24.

Photo: Maximilian Clarke/SOPA Images/LightRocket

Human cost of war

Governor: Russian attack on Kharkiv Oblast’s Vovchansk kills elderly man. A 65-year-old man was killed after Russian forces attacked Vovchansk at around 1 p.m. local time, according to Governor Oleh Syniehubov.

Official: Death toll of Russian March 12 attack on Kryvyi Rih rises to 6. The death toll of Russia’s March 12 missile attack on Kryvyi Rih in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast has risen to six as a 59-year-old man died in the hospital of his injuries, Oleksandr Vilkul, the head of the city’s military administration, reported on March 25.

11 injured in Mykolaiv, partial blackouts in Odesa after overnight Russian drone attack. A Russian overnight drone attack on southern Ukraine injured 11 people and left parts of Odesa without electricity, Ukrainian authorities said on March 25.

General Staff: Russia has lost 437,390 troops in Ukraine since Feb 24, 2022. Russia has also reportedly lost 6,887 tanks, 13,183 armored fighting vehicles, 14,454 vehicles and fuel tanks, 10,877 artillery systems, 1,018 multiple launch rocket systems, 726 air defense systems, 347 airplanes, 325 helicopters, 8,539 drones, 26 ships and boats, and one submarine.

Opinions and insights

Opinion: Why ISIS attacked Russia and why Russia blames Ukraine

“The terrorist attack on the Crocus City Hall concert venue in a Moscow suburb was no bolt from the blue. The Kremlin dismissed U.S. intelligence warnings of an imminent attack by “extremists,”possibly to shift the blame to a convenient scapegoat when the attack came,” writes Omar Ashour, a professor of security and military studies at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies.

Photo: Stringer/AFP via Getty Image

Opinion: Troops in Ukraine? France-Germany spat plays into Putin’s hands

“Whoever doubts that Europe is in danger of an ominous divergence on Russia and Ukraine should take a look at the forced smiles of the “triple handshake” between German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk,” writes Roland Freudenstein, director of the Free Russia Foundation’s Brussels Office.

Photo: Daniel Mihailescu/AFP via Getty Images

International response

Russian ambassador rejects Poland’s summons over missile in Polish airspace. Russia’s ambassador to Poland, Sergei Andreyev, has rejected Poland’s summons to the Foreign Ministry in connection with the Russian missile that entered Polish airspace on March 24, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported on March 25.

Polish minister: Talks on licensing system for Ukrainian goods may finish this week. The talks on creating a licensing system for trading Ukrainian goods have progressed and may be completed already this week, Poland’s Economic Development and Technology Minister Krzysztof Hetman said in a comment for Radio Lublin published on March 25.

Borrell confirms EU delivery of 500,000 shells to Ukraine by end of March. The EU has delivered 500,000 of the promised 1 million artillery shells to Ukraine and aims to deliver the total amount by the end of the year, the EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said in his blog on March 25.

Iceland joins Czech ammunition initiative, commits 2 million euros. The Icelandic government announced on March 25 that they will spend two million euros on the project. Iceland also said they will support the purchase of equipment for servicewomen in the Ukrainian army.

In other news

Macron: IS group behind Moscow attack ‘made several attempts’ to strike France. The Islamic State (IS) group, which claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack on the Crocus City Hall in a Moscow suburb last week, had recently made “several attempts” at attacks on French soil, French President Emmanuel Macron said on March 25.

3 more suspects detained in connection with Moscow terrorist attack. The suspects remanded on March 25 include the brothers Aminchon and Dilovar Islomov, and their father, Isroil Islomov. The three men live and work in Russia’s northwest Tver Oblast.

Kuleba confirms his first ever visit to India this week. Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba is planning to visit India later this week, marking his first “first ever” trip to the country, he said on March 25.

RFE/RL: Anti-Monopoly Committee’s head investigated over suspected illicit enrichment. The proceedings were reportedly launched on March 22 following a media investigation by Schemes, RFE/RL’s investigative project, according to which Pavlo Kyrylenko’s family acquired real estate and cars worth over Hr 70 million ($1.8 million) between 2020 and 2023.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Katya Denisova, Oleksiy Sorokin, Lili Bivings, Nate Ostiller, Dinara Khalilova, Chris York, Martin Fornusek, Elsa Court, Sonya Bandouil, Abbey Fenbert, and Olena Goncharova.

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