Ukraine Breaking News Today Live on 03-10-2024

Stephen Bryen, a former US Deputy Under Secretary of Defense, portrays Ukraine’s current military situation as so dire that the US should consider evacuating Zelensky. Here is why he is wrong.

In his March 3 article for the Asia Times entitled “Nazi rescue of Mussolini a US model for Zelensky,” Stephen Bryen suggests that Ukraine’s President may soon have to flee.

Bryen suggests that Russian forces are seizing huge areas of Ukraine after its breakthrough in Avdiivka, the government prevents the holding of elections, unrest within the country is growing, anyone who opposes President Volodymyr Zelensky is replaced or imprisoned, the authorities are using force to attract recruits, and sporadic riots are breaking out against unpopular measures in the large cities of Kyiv, Odesa and Kharkiv.

Poland’s FM asked the Pope to balance his statement that Ukraine should have the “courage of the white flag” with another telling Putin to “have the courage to withdraw his army from Ukraine.”

Poland’s Foreign Minister responded on X/Twitter to Pope Francis’ statement that it should have the “courage of the white flag” and negotiate with the Kremlin, remarks that infuriated many Ukrainians, saying perhaps the Pontiff should encourage Putin to have the “courage to withdraw his army from Ukraine.”

Radosław Sikorski, the Polish Foreign Minister responded to the Pope’s words, that some say assume Ukraine is losing, by saying that the onus for ending the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine lies with Putin:

Another Russian punished for expressing support for Ukraine.

A Moscow court has sentenced a student to 10 days in jail after he renamed his WiFi network with a pro-Kyiv slogan during the military offensive in Ukraine, the Ria-Novosti news agency reported on Saturday.

The student at Moscow State University replaced the name of the network from his wifi router with Slava Ukraini ("Glory to Ukraine"), the rallying cry of Ukraine forces.

On Saturday afternoon a video appeared on Russian Telegram channels that showed a missile strike destroying a Ukrainian S-300 air defense unit in the Donetsk region.

A video appeared on Russian Telegram channels that showed a missile strike purportedly destroying a Ukrainian S-300 unit in the Donetsk region, but others say it may be a pared-down version of the US-made Patriot used in Ukraine’s recent air defense successes.

The Russian milblogger Wrong_Side posted an annotated video of what he claimed was an Iskander-M ballistic missile strike on an air defense unit of the Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU) traveling along a road west of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region.

Ukraine’s president on the 210th anniversary of the birth of Ukraine’s national poet Taras Shevchenko stressed the importance of safeguarding the nation’s culture.

In times of war, culture holds even greater significance than in times of peace, President Volodymyr Zelensky said at the Taras Shevchenko National Prize ceremony in Kyiv on March 9.

During wartime, cultural figures are crucial as they narrate the story of Ukraine, preserve the memory of everything the Ukrainian people endure, reviving what gives people strength.

At the Istanbul summit, the Ukrainian President gave the Turkish leader a list of citizens, including Crimean Tatars, being held in “extremely harsh and inhumane” Russian prisons.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, during a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul, gave him a list of Crimean Tatars who have been subjected to Russian repression and are being held in Russian prisons to facilitate their release.

“Thanks to Türkiye’s mediation, we have achieved significant humanitarian results. We are now counting on further efforts,” Zelensky said during a press conference with the president of Türkiye in Istanbul.

Update on latest Russian air attacks on Ukraine.

A Russian night-time strike on the east Ukrainian town of Myrnograd wounded at least 11 people, Kyiv said Sunday, while Moscow launched attack drones across the country.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has dragged on for more than two years.

On a fateful day in February 2022, I found myself praying in two religions for two Marias in a world where narcissism and conflict cause immeasurable pain.

As my plane descends into Istanbul airport, from the window I scan the horizon towards the direction of Ukraine, now a warzone. It is 24 February 2022.

While I travel to Zahle in Lebanon to meet one Maria, to bring her medicine and money to keep her alive, I perform the fatiha prayer for another Maria, my friend in Kyiv, to be protected and kept alive.

The Museum of Civilian Voices publishes children’s accounts of being abducted from their families to live among strangers in Russia

Om March 7 the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation’s  Museum of Civilian Voices released a series of stories from children kidnapped by the Russians. It contains the world’s largest collection of stories from civilians who suffered from Russia’s war against Ukraine

Natalya Yemchenko, the member of the Supervisory Board of the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation said, “Can you imagine what it is like to be a child forcibly taken from your home, sent to a foreign country and made to live with strangers? What is it like for their families? And if the children do come home, how can they ever trust anyone enough to relax?

Kharkiv Regional Military Administration reports artillery and mortar attacks on area settlements, with one killed during the shelling and six wounded.

Overnight, March 9-10, Russian troops fired on a recreation camp in Bohodukhiv, Kharkiv region.

The head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration, Oleh Syniehubov, reported this on Facebook, Ukrinform reported.

Serhiy Kolyada on the beauty of free flight when the sky is open.

Ukrainian mobile defenses successfully repelled attacks on night of March 9-10, assisted by fighter jets, anti-aircraft missile units and electronic warfare systems.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) overnight successfully defended against Russian missile and drone attacks, shooting down 35 Shahed loitering drones over four hours with only a minor power outage inflicted on Ukraine.

According to Mykola Oleshchuk, Commander of Ukraine the Air Force (UAF), on Telegram overnight attacks were unsuccessful against multiple regions targeted by Russia.

The Latest Overview on the Situation of Religious Dissenters in Russia from Human Rights Without Frontiers International.

March 1, 2024 – Russia jails Jehovah's Witness for eight years after ‘mole’ secretly films worship meeting

Reuters – A court in southwestern Russia has sentenced a Jehovah's Witness to eight years in prison after finding him guilty of organizing “extremist activities,” according to a spokesman for the group.

A Council of Europe report requests the European Commission to strengthen press freedom measure.

The European Commission has been asked in a Council of Europe (CoE) report to step up press freedom measures, including appointing a Commission vice president with a media portfolio after the June elections and taking a tougher stance on member states that fail to protect journalists.

The report, Press Freedom in Europe: Time to Turn the Tide, released on Tuesday (March), is an annual assessment by the partner organizations of the Safety of Journalists Platform and the CoE, an international body dedicated to safeguarding human rights, promoting democracy, and upholding the rule of law.

Since the start of the war in Ukraine, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency warns of satellite navigation systems disruptions affecting remote regions beyond the conflict zone.

False GPS signals that deceive on-board plane systems and complicate the work of airline pilots are surging near conflict zones, industry employees and officials told AFP.

A ground collision alert sounds in the cockpit, for instance, even though the plane is flying at high altitude -- a phenomenon affecting several regions and apparently of military origin.

As Russia's war against Ukraine rages on, professional beggars in the country continue their ways, while most of society pulls together to help each one another and the armed forces.

A couple of days ago, I was working in the Khlibna café near Lviv Square in Kyiv’s city center. Besides me, there were three other people in the café. We were all bent over laptops. An air raid warning would force the café to close and we would be turned out onto the street. With the spring sun shining through the window, you could almost imagine that all was well with the world.

I was just thinking how quiet Kyiv had been recently when the door of the cafe suddenly opened and a man of about 40, dressed in the garb of a priest, walked in. He entered somewhat theatrically, stopping and looking around, attracting attention. Everyone stared at him. Then he declared, “I have come to pray for peace!”

Pope shocks Ukrainians by implying they have lost the war with Russia and should raise the white flag.

Pope Francis has urged parties in the Ukraine war to "have the courage to negotiate", and do so "before things get worse", in an interview broadcast Saturday by Swiss television.

The 87-year-old pontiff was asked by the public broadcaster RTS about a debate within Ukraine on whether to surrender to Russia's invasion.

Some US officials are concerned that Russia intends to deploy an exo-atmospheric missile interceptor to disrupt satellite operations as Putin tries to asymmetrically nullify the US advantage in space.

Russian plans to deploy a new anti-satellite system in space — first revealed on Feb. 14 by House Intelligence Committee Chair Mike Turner (R-Ohio) and reiterated in another warning on Feb. 22 — sounds the alarm about Vladimir Putin’s preparations to detonate a nuclear weapon in space in violation of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty.

More importantly, U.S. officials are also concerned that Russia intends to deploy an exo-atmospheric missile interceptor, which is a dual-capable missile that can possess either a conventional/kinetic explosive or a nuclear warhead.

Ukrainian Prosecutor General in Washington for talks on US--Ukrainian partnership in combatting corruption, exposing Russia's war crimes.

Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin, while on a working trip to Washington, has had a series of meetings during which he discussed cooperation in the fight against corruption and organized crime and holding Russia accountable for committing international crimes.

According to a post by his Office on Facebook,  Kostin met with U.S. Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights Uzra Zeya, U.S. Ambassador-At-Large for Global Criminal Justice Beth Van Schaack and Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Todd Robinson.

With European parliamentary elections approaching, pro-Russian social media posts support far-right and nationalist parties with false claims that Ukraine's refugees are criminals and welfare cheats.

As the European parliamentary elections in June move ever closer, experts warn that pro-Russian players are flooding social media with false claims about the war in Ukraine to boost support for far-right and nationalist parties.

Pro-Russian accounts have been pumping out posts on Facebook, X and TikTok that depict Ukrainian refugees as violent criminals or claim that Kyiv's government officials siphon off financial aid sent by the West to buy luxury yachts and villas for themselves.

UAH interest rates remain unchanged.

Yesterday, the Ministry of Finance borrowed UAH7.6bn (US$198.2m) for the state budget, including UAH5.2bn (US$135.5m) in local currency. Proceeds from USD-denominated bills were US$62.7m, half compared with the previous week.

Demand at yesterday's auction concentrated on 12-month UAH bills, which amounted to almost UAH6.6bn (US$171m), while the MoF set the cap at UAH4bn (US$104m). The MoF fully satisfied all non-competitive and competitive bids with rates below the cut-off level. At the same time, most of the competitive demand was at 16.8%, so it was partially satisfied within the remaining supply and in proportion to the bid size.