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Stay on top of Russia-Ukraine war 03-15-2024 developments on the ground with KyivPost fact-based news, exclusive video footage, photos and updated war maps.
Many of the wounded are emergency workers attending the scene of the first explosion, a deliberate attack strategy often used by Moscow’s forces known as a “double-tap.”
Russian missiles pounded Ukraine's Black Sea port city of Odesa on Friday, killing more than a dozen people including rescue workers in an attack President Volodymyr Zelensky described as "vile".
Local authorities said Russian aerial bombardments struck residential buildings, ambulances and a gas pipeline, leaving at least 20 people dead and wounding another 73 people, including rescuers.
The picture of stability Russian President Vladimir Putin cultivates was shattered by bombs and explosions as the war in Ukraine reaches the doorsteps of common Russians.
The Russian presidential election has had a fiery start.
Though many believe incumbent Russian President Vladimir Putin’s victory to be a foregone conclusion, some Russians have voiced their dissent through bombs.
Key takeaways you should learn about pro-Kyiv, anti-Putin Russian citizens crossing the Russo-Ukrainian border to fight Kremlin forces.
This weeks’ cross-border fighting in western Russia between Kremlin military forces and anti-Putin Russian citizens has spread rumors and made claims across multiple sources and outlets. Here are the five key things you should know to be the most well-informed you can be for now.
Although Putin can be certain he'll win “re-election,” some experts say that the Russian leader should be concerned that the house of cards, on which his Kremlin is built, may come crashing down.
Outwardly, Vladimir Putin appears to be firmly installed as Russia’s leader and his obtaining his sixth term as President this weekend, is not in doubt. However, is Putin’s Russia as stable as it appears? Or could there be unexpected changes in the cards soon to be dealt?
“I think that there is a perception in the West that because Putin's regime has survived and even thrived for so long, that it will continue to do so,” says Mark Katz, a professor of international relations, specializing in Russia, at George Mason University.
As part of the efforts to get Europe to produce more, Brussels pushed through a 500-million-euro program earlier this year aimed at ramping up its capacity to make ammunition.
The EU on Friday announced hundreds of millions of euros to boost the production of explosives as it pushes to be able to churn out two million artillery shells a year by late 2025.
The 27-nation bloc is scrambling to bolster Europe's defense industry as it looks to support Ukraine and build up its stocks in the face of Russia's invasion of its neighbor.
Serhiy Kolyada on the desperate measures being used by the Putin regime to justify the prolongation of his despotism and blood-spilling.
“If Russia wins, the life of the French will change. We will have no more security in Europe,” Macron said.
French President Emmanuel Macron for half a decade sought to cultivate a partnership with Russia but has now become an implacable foe of the Kremlin, warning that Vladimir Putin poses a threat not just to Ukraine but the security of all Europeans.
Weeks after taking office in 2017, Macron signaled his intentions toward Russia by rolling out the red carpet for Putin at a summit in the former royal residence of the Versailles Palace.
Kyiv Post's military intelligence sources confirm it caused the destruction of the First Plant oil refinery in the Kaluga region of Russia.
On the night of March 14/15, Ukrainian drones from the main military intelligence directorate (HUR) attacked the Pervyi Zavod plant in Russia’s Kaluga region, which is engaged in oil refining, a source in the НUR told the Kyiv Post.
The governor of the Kaluga region, Vladislav Shapsha, said that four drones were shot down in Dzerzhinsky district at night. According to him, there were no casualties or damage to infrastructure.
Germany's European partners have been frustrated by Scholz's refusal to provide its long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine despite urgent calls from Kyiv.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hosted French President Emmanuel Macron in Berlin on Friday after tensions between the leaders recently blew out into the open over differences on how to support Ukraine.
After a clear-the-air meeting in the chancellery, the pair will be joined by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk for urgent consultations on further European military backing for Kyiv.
According to energy and geopolitics expert Tom O'Donnell, Ukrainian allies' oil price cap, in conjunction with Ukrainian drones' physical damage could be a significant hit to Russian revenues.
Tom O’Donnell, PhD, an expert on energy and geopolitics, sat down with Kyiv Post to explain what Ukraine’s attacks on Russia’s energy sector will mean for the larger Russian energy sector.
It sounds like a huge number. But how much do you think losing 12 percent of production, in a day, will affect Russia?
While nobody doubts the result, Russians have been called to vote in a show of support for their longtime leader, more than two years after he launched his assault on Ukraine.
Russian pensioner Natan was standing outside a polling station in bright winter sunshine in Moscow after casting a ballot for President Vladimir Putin, running virtually unopposed for a fifth term in the Kremlin.
While nobody doubts the result, Russians have been called to vote in a show of support for their longtime leader, more than two years after he launched his assault on Ukraine.
Thursday’s phone call that was the first direct communication between Kyiv and Budapest since their Foreign Ministers met in Uzhhorod in late January discussed the way ahead.
Andriy Yermak, the head of the Ukrainian President's Office, held a phone call with Péter Szijjártó, the Foreign Minister of Hungary, on Thursday, during which it was agreed to hold a bilateral meeting between the teams at governmental level next week.
The announcement on the president’s website said that Yermak and Szijjártó “discussed Ukrainian-Hungarian relations and the ways to move forward.”
The investigators said they compiled their latest report after speaking to more than 800 people during 16 separate visits to Ukraine.
Russia is continuing to commit serious rights violations and war crimes in Ukraine, including "systematic" torture and rape, United Nations investigators said on Friday.
Moscow has been waging war on Ukraine for more than two years and has recently made territorial gains on the battlefield.
In an intercepted call, a woman in the Belgorod region said that Russian forces were deploying military equipment in residential areas and opening fire from there.
Civilians in Russia’s Belgorod region complain that they cannot sleep at night because the Russian military has deployed military equipment in residential areas and is opening fire from there.
In an intercepted call released by Ukraine’s Military Intelligence Directorate (HUR) on Thursday, March 14, a woman living in the Belgorod region revealed that the Russian authorities had placed BM-21 122mm Grad MLRS launchers at a street intersection near her home in a residential neighborhood.
The gas pipeline, which runs through Bulgaria, transports Russian gas to Serbia and Hungary. The Turkish Stream will remain the only pipeline carrying Russian gas to the EU from the beginning of 2025.
Leaked documents from the emails of Russian politicians show that the Kremlin, through Russian and Belarusian companies, had full control over the construction of the Turkish Stream gas pipeline through Bulgaria from 2019-2021, despite then-Prime Minister Boyko Borisov’s claims that the project was under the Bulgarian government’s control, Capital reported.
Capital published leaked documents from the Russians’ emails about the road map for the construction of the Turkish Stream.
According to a report from Ukraine’s intelligence, Russian soldiers can vote in the current election without showing their faces at polling stations, where a “photocopy of the documents” is enough.
A new legislation has simplified the document requirements and allowed Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine to cast their vote in the Russian presidential election without even showing their faces, meaning those deceased might still be eligible for voting.
The Russian presidential election is slated to start today and will last until Sunday, where many believe the victory of incumbent Russian President Vladimir Putin is a foregone conclusion.
The vote from Friday to Sunday comes as the West has sought to punish Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine and after the Kremlin has ruthlessly crushed all genuine opposition at home.
EU chief Charles Michel on Friday sarcastically congratulated Russia's Vladimir Putin on winning reelection against no real opposition -- as voting was only just beginning.
"Would like to congratulate Vladimir Putin on his landslide victory in the elections starting today," European Council President Michel wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
UAH borrowings increase.
Demand for UAH bonds increased by almost a third at yesterday's auction compared with the previous week. Still, thanks to a more even distribution between the instruments, the Ministry of Finance increased borrowings by almost double, to UAH8.9bn (US$231m).
Last week, most of the demand—almost UAH6.6bn (approximately 90% of total demand)—was concentrated on 12-month bills, and the MoF rejected a third due to the cap. Yesterday, demand was more evenly distributed: only half of the demand was for 12-month bills, a third was for two-year paper, and only the rest for three-year notes.
Whistleblowers from Kursk and Rostov-on-Don have reported that special pens for use in the weekend’s presidential elections contain ink that disappears when heated.
Video evidence alleges that the Kremlin has distributed special pens with ink that disappears for use in the weekend’s presidential elections, enabling Putin’s United Russia operatives to change votes to those endorsed by Moscow, independent sources reported.
The independent Russian news site Sirena was told by sources in Kursk and Rostov-on-Don who were setting up polling stations ready for the start of today’s presidential election that they were provided with pens to place in polling booths that “contain a secret.” The pens arrived in boxes sealed with the official emblem of Russia’s Central Election Commission.
Despite promises to break its ties with Moscow in support for Ukraine, the giant chocolate company continues to profit from selling products and running factories in Russia.
Mondelez International, an American snacking giant and the maker of Milka, Cadbury and Toblerone chocolates, has been featured prominently in the news in the last few weeks. The company’s continued operations in Russia came to the forefront of the news coverage and rightly so. Despite a promise to scale back its business in the aggressor state by the end of 2023, there are no visible signs of the company actually doing so as it continues to run three factories in Russia, employing 3,000 people and “supporting 10,000 farmers.”
Instead, Mondelez, which justifies its presence in Russia under the pretext of providing “essential goods,” has simply reshuffled its European leadership team to create an impression of independence of its Russia unit. According to a corporate governance expert quoted by Reuters, "This is an attempted workaround that is not very meaningful. There are certain kinds of business connections where you see a justification, if it has to do with health, urgently needed supplies. These are cookies and there really is no excuse."
Early voting begins in Russian elections; US Ambassador gives Orban a dressing down; Stockholm promises €30 million in ammo; Russia moves westward in Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk
Overview:
US envoy warns Orban that his dangerous “anti-American messaging” is risky
After a clear-the-air meeting in the chancellery, the pair will be joined by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk for urgent consultations on further European military backing for Kyiv.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will receive French President Emmanuel Macron in Berlin on Friday after tensions between the leaders blew out into the open over differences on how to support Ukraine.
After a clear-the-air meeting in the chancellery, the pair will be joined by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk for urgent consultations on further European military backing for Kyiv.
Recent weeks and days have seen just how divergent France’s left-wing movements were in their approach to Ukraine – from what help Paris should provide to the best strategy to end the war.
Whatever hope remained that the French left may find common ground ahead of June’s EU elections has collapsed over the radically different approaches to handling and resolving the war in Ukraine.
Recent weeks and days have seen just how divergent France’s left-wing movements were in their approach to Ukraine – from what help Paris should provide to the best strategy to end the war.
Kyiv has launched some of its largest air attacks on Russia this week ahead of the vote, which is set to hand President Vladimir Putin another six-year term in the Kremlin.
Russia and Ukraine downed enemy drones and rockets overnight as polling stations opened across Russia on the first day of voting in the presidential election.
Kyiv has launched some of its largest air attacks on Russia this week ahead of the vote, which is set to hand President Vladimir Putin another six-year term in the Kremlin.
Interviewed by Kyiv Post, a scout of the 58th Ukrainian Brigade noted Russian troops constantly changing tactics in the direction, seeking "weak spots".
Russian troops have significantly stepped up assault operations in the Vuhledar direction (Donetsk region) and actively utilizing night FPV drones, according to an aerial scout from the 58th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade named after Hetman Ivan Vyhovsky, speaking to Kyiv Post on condition of anonymity.
"Almost daily assaults, the enemy has intensified the direction, they (Russian troops) are very actively pressing. They have added units, they are assaulting more actively and stronger," said the soldier.
Kyiv Post’s overnight supplement to War in Ukraine Update for March 15.
Highlights:
United States President Joe Biden unveiled his budget draft for 2025 to the bi-cameral Congress for consideration totaling more than $7 trillion dollars and earmarks funding for Ukraine, including 155-millimeter shells for which Kyiv has been hankering to withstand Russia’s ongoing onslaught.
Moldova said Moscow is illegally printing votes in breakaway Transnistria for the upcoming Russian presidential election. Moscow said it was merely enabling Russian citizens to vote in the region.
A senior Moldovan official said Russia had been illegally printing ballots in the breakaway region of Transnistria ahead of Russia’s presidential election between March 15 and 17, Reuters reported.
Oleg Serebrian, Moldova’s Deputy Prime Minister for Integration, said the ballots were likely printed in Transnistria to “avoid taking them through a border crossing.”
