Ukraine Breaking News Today Live on 03-21-2024

According to law enforcement officers, the ex-official became richer by almost Hr.60 million ($1.5 million) in 2022-2023.

The man formerly in charge of food supply for Ukraine’s military was detained for allegedly illegally enriching himself by nearly Hr.60 million ($1.5 million) between 2022 and 2023.

Tetiana Nikolaenko, a member of the Anti-Corruption Council under the Ministry of Defense, wrote on her FB page that companies related to family of the former head, Colonel Olexandr Kozlovsky, got more than Hr.172 million ($4.4 million).

Ukraine needs more soldiers, but Russian propaganda, high casualties, and systemic issues stoke fears about signing up, while bad statistics and political reluctance are only exacerbating the problem.

While it’s generally agreed that something has to be done to replace fallen soldiers and to give those who've been fighting since the beginning of Russia’s Feb. 24, 2022 invasion a chance to rest, Kyiv is facing an uphill battle as it navigates the fraught issue of updating its conscription law.

Matters have not been helped by scandals coming to light revealing that some mobilization centers have been forcibly taking Ukrainian men off the streets and driving them away.  

Taras Stolyar performs the iconic Ukrainian instrument, the bandura, at The National Museum of Ukraine in the Second World War, in a living exhibition of the current Russo-Ukrainian War.

Kyiv Post sources in HUR confirmed that nearly all of the cruise and ballistic missiles targeting Kyiv Thursday morning were aimed at the HUR facilities of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.

Kyiv Post's sources in Ukrainian military intelligence confirmed that almost all the missiles that the Russian Federation fired at Kyiv Thursday were aimed at the Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR) of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.

To Kyiv Post's question whether Russia succeeded in hitting its target, the source answered: “Absolutely not.”

The head of Ukraine’s military intelligence comments echoed earlier reports that Moscow was using commercial satellite imagery to coordinate its strikes on Ukraine.

Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine (HUR), said Kyiv has also been purchasing satellite imagery from commercial sources to coordinate strikes on military targets, echoing recent reports of Moscow doing the same to plan strikes against Ukraine.

“All countries are buying, including us. This is a purely commercial service. We have used commercial pictures before,” Budanov told Ukrainian news outlet Suspilne.

While NATO has conducted monitoring and surveillance missions for decades, with increased attention over the Black Sea since February 2022, recent weeks show a spike that peaked sharply on Wednesday.

The skies over the western Black Sea saw another spike in NATO surveillance aircraft activity on Wednesday, with at least three large intelligence collection aircraft operating opposite Russia-controlled airspace, and British and French fighter jets flying protective cover.

With one exception, all planes in the all-day operation flew elliptical orbiting routes over Romania’s Danube Delta region or the western reaches of the Black Sea nearby.

The three-day vote last weekend saw Putin cruise to an easy victory for a fifth Kremlin term, unchallenged by any meaningful opposition.

Russia formalised Thursday President Vladimir Putin's victory in last week's presidential election, dismissing scathing criticism by the West and independent Russian observers that it was the most corrupt vote in post-Soviet history.

The three-day vote last weekend saw Putin cruise to an easy victory for a fifth Kremlin term, unchallenged by any meaningful opposition.

In a fundraiser, a Ukrainian activist said the new technology could bypass signal jamming but added that Russia has been testing similar technology so it will be a race between the two.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) have been reportedly testing new first-person view (FPV) drones with automatic targeting that could bypass Russian electronic warfare (EW) jamming, but Moscow has been reportedly testing similar technologies.

According to Serhii Sternenko, a Ukrainian lawyer and activist, the technology was developed jointly by Ukraine’s 60th and 63rd mechanized brigades, where the drone was able to continue flying to its designated target even when faced with “active suppression by electronic warfare systems.”

The world in focus, as seen by a Canadian leading global affairs analyst, writer and speaker, in his review of international media.

The United States has said it was starting to evacuate its citizens out of Haiti by helicopter, amid reports of fresh fighting in the Caribbean country’s gang-dominated capital, with particularly fierce gunfire in some of the city’s wealthiest enclaves. A state department spokesperson, Vedant Patel, told reporters on Wednesday that government-chartered aircraft were in the process of beginning to ferry evacuees from Port-au-Prince to the Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti. “The violence on the ground in Port-au-Prince has been dire and the security situation is certainly one of high risk but we would not conduct such an operation if we did not feel it was safe to do so and we did not have the expertise,” Patel said. - The Guardian

When the U.S. and Europe tried to sever Russia from the Western financial system, Moscow found workarounds. Key among them: banks in the Gulf and Europe that maintained ties with Russia. Now, Washington’s efforts to close these loopholes appear to be paying off. Dubai’s main state-owned bank has shut some accounts held by Russian oligarchs and traders of Russian oil. Turkish lenders are growing wary of handling Russian-related business. The US put bankers in Vienna, another financial hub, on notice - WSJ

All traffic at the Medyka–Shehyni checkpoint, including cargo, is being restored one day after protestors halted all passenger traffic at the same crossing.

Polish farmers have “completed” the blockade at the Medyka–Shehyni checkpoint and all traffic is being restored, one day after the protestors imposed blockades on passenger traffic at the same checkpoint.

At present, blockades for cargo trucks remain in place at four other checkpoints between Ukraine and Poland, namely the Yahodyn–Dorohusk, Ustyluh–Zosin, Uhryniv–Dolhobychuv and Rava-Ruska–Khrebenne checkpoints.

Ukraine's air force said it shot down 31 Russian missiles targeting Kyiv, an attack that comes after Moscow vowed to respond to an escalation in Ukrainian strikes on its border regions.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for the West to deliver air defence systems to Kyiv after an overnight Russian missile attack injured 17 in the capital and surrounding region.

Ukraine's air force said it shot down 31 Russian missiles targeting Kyiv, an attack that comes after Moscow vowed to respond to an escalation in Ukrainian strikes on its border regions.

The Russian Ministry of Defense is forced to transfer troops from the front line to protect the border Belgorod and Kursk regions following anti-Kremlin volunteer group operations.

The Russian Ministry of Defense was forced to withdraw military units from the front line to protect Belgorod near the border with Ukraine, which was attacked by Russian volunteers from the Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK), the Freedom of Russia Legion (LSR), and the Siberian Battalion, Bloomberg reported.

Fighting between the Russian military and pro-Ukrainian Russian volunteer formations has been going on for some time in the Kursk and Belgorod regions. The anti-Kremlin volunteer militia groups took responsibility for the latest attacks on Belgorod.

The White House hopes that carrying out this final prototype test will silence critics who say they are lagging behind Russia, China and even North Korea in development of the technology.

The US Air Force announced that it had carried out what was billed as the final test of the Lockheed Martin hypersonic AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) on Sunday without declaring whether the test was successful or not.

An Air Force spokesperson said a B-52H Stratofortress had taken off from Andersen Air Force Base in Guam and launched the fully operational ARRW prototype at the US Army Reagan Test Site, near the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, a straight-line distance of 0ver 2,500 kilometers (1,560 miles).

Europe's press looks hopefully to this three-country format, which has been dubbed the "Weimar Triangle" since a meeting of foreign ministers in the central German city of Weimar in 1991.

Following a meeting in Berlin, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk made a show of unity and announced the joint procurement of more weapons for Ukraine. Europe's press looks hopefully to this three-country format, which has been dubbed the "Weimar Triangle" since a meeting of foreign ministers in the central German city of Weimar in 1991.

Concrete progress

The Romanian service of Radio France International points to constructive concessions by Paris and Berlin:

Russian anti-Kremlin volunteers appealed to the regional governor, saying he would be responsible for new victims if the evacuation of the population does not take place shortly.

The Freedom of Russia Legion (LSR) shared an intercepted call via Telegram from a resident of the Belgorod region, alleging Russian troops were bombing of local villages with guided aerial weapons.

“Peaceful residents of the Belgorod region are discussing how the Russian Armed Forces are bombing their villages. Who would have thought?...” the caption to the released audio stated.

Over two years into Moscow's all-out war against its neighbour, Kyiv's troops are struggling to hold back the Russian army as Western support fails to keep pace with the fighting.

EU leaders will grapple at a summit on Thursday with how to get more weapons to Ukraine's outgunned forces while also re-arming their own countries to face Russia's Vladimir Putin -- aggressive and newly emboldened after cementing his grip on power.

Over two years into Moscow's all-out war against its neighbour, Kyiv's troops are struggling to hold back the Russian army as Western support fails to keep pace with the fighting.

Kyiv's army is facing manpower and ammunition shortages on the battlefield amid political wrangling in the US Congress that has raised uncertainty over the future of Western support.

A top US official said Wednesday that Washington could not predict when a vital $60-billion military aid package for Ukraine would be passed, as a fresh round of aerial bombardments killed civilians in both Russia and Ukraine.

Kyiv's army is facing manpower and ammunition shortages on the battlefield amid political wrangling in the US Congress that has raised uncertainty over the future of Western support.

Proposed changes to Russia’s current laws will see military contracts and pardons offered to suspected or convicted criminals who are at any stage of the criminal process.

Russia has been using convicted criminals to supplement its military forces in Ukraine for well over a year and a half. Despite the number of pardoned criminals who return from the war and carry out further crimes, including murder and rape, Russian lawmakers have proposed to expand the recruitment process further.

The State Duma voted for a bill sponsored by members of the ruling United Russia party on Tuesday to amend 2023’s law number 270-FZ. The law existing offers pardons to those who enlist to fight in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s so-called “special military operation” but currently only for those suspected or convicted of crimes committed before June 2023.

As reported by Ukraine's Air Force following the overnight attack, a total of 31 out of 31 launched missiles were intercepted and shot down.

Russian forces launched yet another mass missile attack against Ukraine on Thursday morning, March 21, firing missiles, including hypersonic Kinzhals, from more than 10 strategic bombers, mostly targeting Kyiv and Kyiv region.

In the capital, Kyiv Post reporters were woken by an air raid alert at around 3:30 a.m. Based in different city districts, they counted dozens of loud explosions as missiles approached the capital shortly before 5 a.m.

Analysts say up to 400,000 additional Russians could be called up to reinforce existing forces in Ukraine.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Wednesday that 14 new divisions and 16 new brigades will comprise two new ground armies as the Kremlin continues its relentless and unprovoked war against Ukraine. 

So far, Russia has managed to replenish its ranks of ground forces who have perished, often at a rate of more than 1,000 per day, with foreign mercenaries and untrained former prisoner convicts.