Ukraine Breaking News Today Live on 03-29-2024

Russian ballistic missiles hit targets pretty much at will. The only Western air defense system that shoots them down – the US Patriot system – Washington stopped sending to Kyiv in December.

Ukrainian air defenders on Friday morning had fought a tough overnight battle against nearly a hundred missiles and drones launched by Russia at targets across the country, shooting down the bulk of the Kremlin’s strike packages, but by their own reckoning failing to intercept any of Moscow’s ballistic missiles.

There are a variety of accounts saying that Russian aircraft dropped two aerial bombs on the Russian border region on Thursday, bringing the total to 11 in a little over two months.

The news site ASTRA reported on its Telegram channel that two high explosive aerial bombs, that had probably been jettisoned by Russian aircraft, were discovered close to villages in the Belgorod region on Thursday March 28.

Commenting on the incident it said that Russian armed forces warplanes routinely drop munitions either en route to or returning from missions against Ukraine, most incidents occurring in the Belgorod region.

Ukraine has begun preparing brigades for the anticipated Russian offensive.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with CBS News that Russian troops could launch a new offensive by the end of May or the beginning of June.

The CEO of Ukraine's Energy Giant Naftogaz Group Oleksiy Chernyshov on how Russia's war has impacted Ukraine's critical energy sector, Naftogaz's future, and the consolidation of corporate governance.

Russian state news agency says nine people have been detained by Tajikistan’s state security service over suspected links with the perpetrators of the Crocus City attack.

The RIA Novosti news site reported on Friday, March 29 that Tajikistan’s state security service, working with Russian security forces, have detained nine citizens of the central Asian republic over suspected links with the four gunmen who carried out last week’s attack on the Crocus City concert hall.

The report said: “Nine residents of the Vakhdat district were detained for contact with the persons who committed the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall on March 22,” citing an unnamed source in Tajikistan’s special services.

In an interview with CBS News, Zelensky clarified that the US has not directly transferred Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine, rather they’ve been provided by other countries.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that five to seven of the US-made Patriot air defense systems would “unblock the sky” over Ukraine.

“Five to seven Patriot systems from the United States of America will protect industrial platforms in Ukraine today,” Zelensky said in an interview broadcast on CBS News Friday.

A coalition of the sane and moral needs to be cobbled together to prevent witless hypocrites from sabotaging Ukraine’s fight for freedom – and American security with it.

Ukraine, America, and the world are waiting for US Speaker of the House Mike Johnson to do what is right and facilitate aid to Ukraine.

Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a MAGA uber-zealot, has done her part by putting the Speaker’s position in jeopardy and getting Democrats to support Johnson, who is also a Trump ally.

Syrsky said that there’s no need to mobilize 500,000 people to the front, and the most important thing for Ukraine is to save lives.

In a wide-ranging interview with the state news agency Ukrinform, published Friday, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) Oleksandr Syrsky disclosed, among other things, that attacking Kharkiv would be fatal for the Russians, that there’s no need at the moment for Ukraine to mobilize 500,000 new soldiers to the front as had been stated last December, and that the AFU has recently regained more territory than it’s lost.

Here are five key takeaways from the interview:

Russia's UN Security Council veto blocked the renewal of the panel of experts tasked with investigating violations of sanctions tied to North Korea's banned nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

Russia faced a mounting backlash Friday after using its veto power to effectively end official UN monitoring of sanctions on North Korea amid a probe into alleged arms transfers between Moscow and Pyongyang.

Russia's UN Security Council veto on Thursday blocked the renewal of the panel of experts tasked with investigating violations of sanctions tied to North Korea's banned nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

Ukraine’s Minister of Digital Transformation has unveiled a mine clearing robot developed through the Brave1 cluster which is approved for support to Ukraine’s Armed Forces.

The Ministry of Digital Transformation has unveiled a new unmanned, remotely controlled demining drone produced in Ukraine, the Ratel Deminer, which will allow greatly enhanced safety and efficiency for sappers, or mine clearing soldiers and engineers, reports the agency via social media.

Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s Minister of Digital Transformation, announced the Ratel Deminer on his Telegram channel on Thursday, March 28, as reported on the Militarnyi website.

Ukraine appeals for more defense systems as Russia intensifies attacks on its energy infrastructure.

Ukraine warned Friday that Russian air attacks were putting its electricity supply under "increasing threat", hours after strikes damaged power stations and killed at least one person.

Moscow has stepped up aerial bombardment of Ukraine in recent weeks, targeting energy infrastructure in response to deadly Ukrainian assaults on Russia's border regions.

Even now the document is not yet considered ready for the second reading, which is expected to have to wait for another two weeks.

The Ukrainian Parliament’s Committee on National Security, Defense, and Intelligence has reviewed all 4,269 amendments put forward to the government’s draft law on mobilization, according to a Telegram post by Yaroslav Zheleznyak, a Ukrainian deputy from the Holos party on Friday.

Drone fragments have already been found in the NATO member since Russia's invasion of Ukraine and heavy bombardments of its Danube port infrastructure.

Romania said on Friday that it has found possible drone fragments near its border with war-torn Ukraine.

Drone fragments have already been found in the NATO member since Russia's invasion of Ukraine and heavy bombardments of its Danube port infrastructure.

Russians have long taken pride in their ability to undermine enemies with propaganda. Today their propagandists are trying to weaponize the West’s faith in the virtue of free speech.

Two years into Russia’s war on Ukraine, some Western analysts and media continue to make a critical mistake: to look for logic in and give credibility to the Kremlin’s narratives.

In the past week, we have seen this massive error in full force following the terrorist attack on the Crocus venue in Moscow. It reveals continued naivete – or worse – by many who should know better about the Russian Federation’s use of propaganda as a weapon of war against Ukraine and the West.

A major Czech newspaper reported Moscow may have been buying pro-Russia speeches and votes from EU politicians elected in Germany, France, Poland, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Hungary.

Russian spymasters paid bribes to German politicians to buy anti-Ukraine statements and pro-Kremlin voting in the European Parliament, a major Prague news platform reported on Wednesday, citing intelligence compiled by the Czech national domestic intelligence agency Bezpečnostní informační služby (BIS).

The major daily Denik N newspaper said that Czech counterintelligence operatives had uncovered a ring of Kremlin agents and local operatives handing over cash to anti-government politicians from at least six European Union member states, in exchange for votes and pro-Russia influencing in the European Parliament.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba signaled Kyiv’s readiness to negotiate with Moscow during a TV interview while on his first official visit to India.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba appeared in a wide-ranging interview with the New Delhi TV channel (NDTV) on Thursday, during his first visit to India. The interview covered a host of subjects, including improvements in the India-Ukraine relationship, India’s aspirations to secure a seat on the UN Security Council, the planned Swiss-hosted peace summit, and Kyiv’s preparedness to enter negotiations with Russia on the basis of President Zelensky’s 10-point peace plan.

Kuleba said Ukraine feels India could be an important player in securing peace in the war in Ukraine because of its relationship with Russia and its leadership role in the region.

Lieutenant General Jarosław Gromadziński was dismissed from his position as commander of the Strasbourg based EUROCORPS and ordered to return to Poland immediately.

Poland dismissed one of its senior generals from his post in command of a major combat formation on Thursday. According to an official statement this was for the possible mishandling of classified information or conduct that could compromise military security.

Lieutenant General Jarosław Gromadziński was dismissed from his position of EUROCORPS commander and ordered to return to Poland immediately, a Polish Defense Ministry statement said.

A hub for Western military supplies to Ukraine as it fights Russia’s invasion, Poland says it has become a major target of Russian spies. It accuses Moscow and Belarus of trying to destabilise it.

Poland’s Internal Security Agency (ABW) has carried out searches as part of an investigation with other European security services into alleged Russian espionage, it said on Thursday (28 March).

A hub for Western military supplies to Ukraine as it fights Russia’s invasion, Poland says it has become a major target of Russian spies. It accuses Moscow and its ally Belarus of trying to destabilise it.

The ministry did not say who might be responsible. But a source close to the government told AFP initial evidence pointed to communications operations linked to Russian mercenary group Wagner.

French authorities have uncovered a website for a fake recruitment drive purportedly seeking French volunteers to fight for Ukraine against the Russian invasion, the defence ministry said Thursday.

The site has now been taken down by French services, a government source, who asked not to be named, told AFP without elaborating.

The move was met with criticism, including by S. Korea's foreign ministry, which said Russia had made an "irresponsible decision" despite its status as a permanent member of the UN Security Council.

Russia on Thursday blocked the renewal of a panel of UN experts monitoring international sanctions on North Korea, weeks after the body said it was investigating reports of arms transfers between Moscow and Pyongyang.

The move was met with a flurry of criticism, including by South Korea's foreign ministry, which said Russia had made an "irresponsible decision" despite its status as a permanent member of the UN Security Council.

Russia has stepped up its aerial assaults on Ukraine in recent weeks, targeting energy infrastructure in particular in response to an uptick on fatal Ukrainian assaults on Russian border regions.

Russian forces had fired 99 drones and missiles at Ukraine overnight Friday, March 29, in a barrage that damaged at least three power stations.

Russia has stepped up its aerial assaults on Ukraine in recent weeks, targeting energy infrastructure in particular in response to an uptick on fatal Ukrainian assaults on Russian border regions.

The lower house will reconvene on Friday in Washington, and a vote on Kyiv aid, stalled for months, could materialize in a number of different ways.

President Volodymyr Zelensky pressed the leader of the US Congress’ lower house on Thursday to approve some $60 billion in military aid for Ukraine, passed by the Senate more than a month ago.

“In this situation, quick passage of US aid to Ukraine by Congress is vital,” Zelensky said on X (formerly Twitter). “We recognize that there are differing views in the House of Representatives on how to proceed, but the key is to keep the issue of aid to Ukraine as a unifying factor.”

Sanctions for Russia’s war mongering have hampered Moscow’s ability to build new airplanes, but state-owned manufacturers say they won’t meet manufacturing goals for 2025-2026

Situated on the Atlantic Ocean, Gabon in Central Africa was the main supplier last year to Russia of spare parts for airplanes amid sanctions, the Moscow Times reported, citing official customs records. 

Ter Assala Parts in Gabon supposedly exported $1.5 billion worth of spare parts in 2023 to Russia.