Ukraine Breaking News Today Live on 03-22-2024

Two weeks after the US Embassy in Moscow warned of an anticipated terrorist attack a gun and explosives assault took place on the evening of Friday, March 22.

As Moscow music fans gathered for a concert by the popular Russian band Picnic at the 6,000-seater Crocus City Mall concert hall, sometime after 8:00 p.m. local time up to five bearded men wearing paramilitary clothing, carrying what appeared to be assault rifles and back packs entered the lobby to the hall.

Multiple videos were soon being posted on Russian mainstream media and Telegram channels that showed the men moving through the lobby area, constantly firing, changing magazines, reloading, and continuing to shoot anyone they saw at point-blank range. They then made their way into the concert hall entrance, shortly after which at least two explosions were heard.

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

A huge Russian attack overnight using at least 60 drones and 90 rockets targeted several Ukrainian regions: Kharkiv, Dnipro, Poltava, Kryvyi Rih, Zaporizhzhia, Khmelnytskyi, Odesa, Lviv &  Ivano-Frankivsk. There are many dead & injured reported. The Dnipro Hydroelectric Power Station took two direct hits from Russian rockets and is on fire. Officials say it’s in critical condition and its return to service unknown. Traffic across the dam has been suspended. In Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, the Russians sent 15 ballistic missiles. The eastern city is in total blackout - and water supply disrupted, no city transportation. The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant has lost power to one of its lines. Power outages have been reported in Odesa, elsewhere. Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said the Russian attack targeted the Ukrainian the energy sector and was one of the largest ever. And the head of the Ukrainian grid operator, Volodymyr Kudrytsky, said: “Dozens of grid facilities have been hit. This is on a global scale."

Last’s night massive attack on infrastructure came just a day after another on Kyiv just hours after a visit to the city by US national security adviser Jake Sullivan. More than 25,000 people took shelter in the city’s metro stations while the attack was ongoing, with videos and images shared on social media showing crowds crammed together underground in images reminiscent of the early days of the war. Officials said Russia fired two ballistic missiles and 29 cruise missiles at the Kyiv region - all of which, they said, had been shot down. Tests will confirm exactly what missile types were fired, but a statement from the air force suggests it is possible the ballistic missiles were of North Korean origin. Authorities say about a dozen people were injured from falling debris; there were no reports of any fatalities - CNN

According to Ukrainian officials, more than half of the people who donated to a Ukrainian drone fundraiser happened to be Russians, who did so during the Russian presidential election.

The Defense Intelligence of Ukraine (HUR) said Russians were among the major backers during a recent fundraiser to purchase reconnaissance drones for the agency.

The donations largely came in during Russia’s presidential election on March 15-17 – in what was likely a way to voice discontent with the regime.

Roman Grishchuk, co-head of the Verkhovna Rada group on parliamentary relations with Turkey, spoke to Kyiv Post on Ankara’s peace efforts and its relationship with Kyiv during the full-scale war.

Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan is the only leader of the Euro-Atlantic community who congratulated Vladimir Putin on his “victory” in the so-called presidential elections in Russia.

Erdogan also assured the Kremlin that “Turkey is ready to play any facilitator role in returning to the negotiation table in Ukraine.”

The Dnipro Hydroelectric Station “was hit eight times,” said Yury Belousov, head of the Prosecutor General's war crimes department on Ukrainian TV.

Eight Russian missiles hit Ukraine's largest hydroelectric power plant in the early hours of Friday, causing “significant damage” to the facility, the office of Ukraine's Prosecutor General said.

Moscow launched a barrage of missiles and drones at Ukrainian energy facilities overnight, one of the largest aerial attacks of the two-year war.

Like it or not, we must be prepared for the possibility that Congress may fail to appropriate any additional funding for Ukraine this year and (if Trump is elected) the next five years.

The sky will not fall if the US continues withholding aid to Ukraine. Europe and NATO will likely draw closer to Ukraine and make up some of the shortages, while additional funds would be available from confiscated Russian state assets. Ukraine and Europe would benefit significantly through joint research, development, and defense industry build-up, while the US would be freed of some of its financial burdens. However, the consequences for the US are likely to be grave.

Without US funding, the immediate “transition” period of March through June may be the most critical but need not be unsurmountable. Presumably, newly conscripted and fully equipped troops would be undergoing training, European and other democratic countries would be urgently reviewing and supplying Ukraine with what ordnance they had out of existing and newly fabricated stock, and Ukrainian pilots would be preparing to mount newly acquired F-16s with more advanced missiles to take back control of Ukrainian skies.

The commander suggests that Russia's assembly of troops may not solely indicate an offensive strategy, potentially serving to bolster current units' combat capability.

Russia is amassing a formidable troop presence exceeding 100,000 soldiers, indicating a possible new summer offensive, Ground Forces’ Commander Oleksandr Pavlyuk said on Ukrainian television Friday, March 22.

“The Russian plans are completely unknown to us. We only know the data that they are creating groups – more than 100,000,” Pavlyuk said.

Report from Kyiv Security Forum in the Ukrainian capital. The event attended by international leaders, politicians, diplomats, promises diverse perspectives.

FT, citing unnamed sources, reported that US officials relayed wishes to Ukraine’s intelligence units to stop hitting Russian oil refineries for fear of rising crude prices and retaliation.

The US has reportedly asked Kyiv to stop hitting Russian oil refineries in fear of rising crude prices and retaliatory actions, the Financial Times (FT) reported, citing three unnamed officials reportedly familiar with the discussions.

The nationality of the unnamed sources has not been established.

The arrests come shortly after President Putin’s directive for the FSB to crackdown on the anti-Kremlin Russian fighters, whom he denounced as “scum” traitors.

Russia has announced the detention of seven Moscow residents allegedly linked to a pro-Ukraine, anti-Kremlin militia accused of incursions into Russian border regions, according to Moscow’s state news agencies.

The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) report claimed that the individuals had connections with the Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK), the FSB said was operating as part of the Ukrainian army.

Russia has taken so many convicts for its war in Ukraine that some of its prison colonies may have to close because of detainee shortages, according to a to a regional official.

The Russian news site Kommersant reported on Thursday, March 21 that an ombudsman for its Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) has reported that a number of prisons may have to close.

According to the report, the size of the prison population has decreased by 17.5 percent since the beginning of 2023, so a draft order for the possible liquidation of several institutions was being prepared.

Kyiv confirms damage to power grid system by Russian air attack.

Ukraine's power grid operator said on Friday there were emergency blackouts in seven regions and many energy facilities had been damaged in a massive overnight Russian aerial attack.

"Dozens of power system facilities have been damaged. Emergency blackouts in seven regions," Ukrenergo, the state-run grid operator, said on Telegram.

As of now, three people have died in Zaporizhzhia, including an 8-year-old girl, and two in Khmelnytsky, as a result of Russian attacks, with dozens wounded.

Recent reports detail a massive missile attack by Russian forces on Ukraine, resulting in at least five confirmed deaths and over a dozen injuries, according to Ukrainian officials.

The Prosecutor General’s Office confirmed one fatality from the attack on the Dnipro hydroelectric plant. In Zaporizhzhia, three individuals were reported missing following Russian strikes.

Russia finally admits that it has declared war on Ukraine, not just a 'special operation.'

Russia admitted two years into its invasion of Ukraine on Friday that it was "in a state of war," as it launched a massive wave of missile and drone attacks on its neighbour's territory.

Russia fired almost 90 missiles and more than 60 Iranian-designed kamikaze drones, damaging "dozens" of energy facilities, including power stations, in what Ukrainian officials said was an attempt to cripple the country's electricity and heating network.

The Ukrainian leader emphasizes the destruction and killing Russia can get away with while his country waits for desperately needed air defense systems and other armaments from its partners.

This night, Russia launched over 60 "Shahed" drones and nearly 90 missiles of various types at Ukraine. The world sees the Russian terrorists' targets as clearly as possible: power plants and energy supply lines, a hydroelectric dam, ordinary residential buildings, and even a trolleybus. Russia is at war with people's everyday lives. My condolences to the loved ones of those killed by this terror.

In all of the cities affected by the attack, the necessary services have already been deployed. Rescuers, power engineers, regional and local authorities, police and utility services are helping people. Nobody will be left without assistance. Electrical power is being restored. Recovery in Kharkiv and its region, Zaporizhzhia, Sumy, Poltava, Dnipro, Odesa, Khmelnytskyi and its region, Vinnytsia, and Ivano-Frankivsk has begun as of last night.

For over a year, Russian politicians and propagandists have been telling its oil, energy, and infrastructure businesses they should consider defending themselves from Ukrainian drone attacks.

The independent Russian news site Important Stories in a report on March 21 revealed that, having been urged to take responsibility for protecting themselves from Ukrainian kamikaze drones, they have done just that. It found that oil and other energy companies had put out more than 300 tenders for the provision of counter-unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) systems since early April 2023.

According to the Moscow Times, it was around that time that Andrei Kartapolov, head of the Defense Committee of the State Duma, Russia’s parliament, said that the Ministry of Defense only had sufficient funds and air defense assets to focus “on covering important government and military facilities.”

Progress in Brussels on modalities for eventual integration of Ukraine and Moldova.

The European Council has invited the Council to quickly adopt the negotiating framework prepared by the European Commission for Ukraine and Moldova.

“The European Council welcomes the progress of Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova in advancing on the necessary reforms on their EU path. Further to the submission of the draft negotiating frameworks for Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, the European Council invites the Council to swiftly adopt them and to take work forward without delay,” the conclusions of the European Council, which is taking place in Brussels, reads.

Russians targeted the Dnipro hydroelectric dam in Zaporizhzhia, leaving the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant teetering on the brink of blackout across the region’s cities.

Russian troops conducted a significant assault on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in the early hours of Friday, March 22. This resulted in several cities losing electricity, emergency schedules being implemented, and reports of injuries.

Attack on the Dnipro Hydroelectric Dam

A selection of what European papers are saying.

Major topics, including easing regulations in the agricultural sector, defense policy and aid for Ukraine, are on the agenda at the meeting of EU leaders taking place in Brussels on March 21-22. The EU Commission has also proposed using the interest from the frozen assets of the Russian central bank to provide military aid for Kyiv. Commentators expect a stormy summit.

Russian frozen assets a bone of contention

NATO military chief says the right balance between optimism and pessimism is required, as well as accelerating the delivery of support for Ukraine and implementation of mobilization in the country.

NATO Military Committee Chief Rob Bauer said during a visit to Kyiv on Thursday (21 March) that Ukraine’s allies should not be too pessimistic about its ability to repel Russian troops and called for important aid to be delivered quickly.

Bauer led the first official visit to Kyiv by a NATO military delegation since February 2022 when Russia sent thousands of troops to Ukraine in a multi-pronged invasion.

The proposal, at the heart of talks between leaders at a summit in Brussels, could unlock some three billion euros ($3.3 billion) a year for Kyiv - once given a final green light.

EU leaders on Thursday agreed to "take work forward" on a plan to use the profits from frozen Russian central bank assets to arm Ukraine, as Kyiv pleaded for more ammunition for its outgunned forces.

More than two years into Moscow's war against its neighbor, Kyiv's troops are struggling to hold back the Russian army as Western deliveries of weapons have faltered.

Latest from the Institute for the Study of War.

Key Takeaways from the ISW:

• The Russian military command appears to be forming reserves capable of sustaining ongoing offensive operations in Ukraine, but these reserves are unlikely to be able to function as cohesive large-scale penetration or exploitation formations this year.
• Russian offensive tactics will likely increasingly pressure Ukrainian defenses as long as delays in Western security assistance persist.
• Russian forces conducted a larger series of missile strikes targeting Kyiv City on the night of March 20 to 21.
• NATO Military Committee Chairperson Admiral Rob Bauer stated that neither Ukraine nor NATO prompted Russia to invade Ukraine and that Ukrainian forces’ adaptations and innovations have in part changed modern warfare.
• The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) announced on March 21 that Vice Admiral Konstantin Kabantsov became acting Commander of the Russian Northern Fleet.
• Bloomberg reported on March 20 that an unspecified source close to the Kremlin stated that the all-Russian pro-Ukrainian incursions into Belgorod Oblast are forcing the Russian military to divert forces from the frontline to Belgorod Oblast, although ISW has not observed such claims.
• US sanctions continue to influence the financial sector in post-Soviet countries, as two banks in Kazakhstan recently banned the use of Russia’s “Mir” national payment system to prevent secondary sanctions.
• Russian forces recently made confirmed advances near Bakhmut and in east (left) bank Kherson Oblast amid continued positional engagements along the entire line of contact on March 21.
• Russian officials continue to highlight the work of Russia’s defense industrial base (DIB) in supporting the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Injuries in Kyiv attack rise to 13; Ukraine could have access to $15.6 billion through the IMF, which said “the Ukrainian economy continued to show remarkable resilience.”

The biggest Russian aerial bombardment of Kyiv saw at least 13 civilians injured, including one child, the state’s Emergency Services said on Facebook.