Ukraine Breaking News Today Live on 03-30-2024

Kremlin spokesperson says President Vladimir Putin “dealing with the tragedy in his own way” as foreign diplomatic missions pay their respects at the Crocus City Hall.

Ambassadors and other representatives of more than 130 diplomatic missions congregated at a makeshift memorial set up in front of Crocus City Hall in memory of the victims of the March 22 terrorist attack on Saturday afternoon, Moscow time.

Those laying flowers included the US Ambassador, Lynne Tracy, the UK’s deputy head of mission, Tom Dodd, and more than 250 representatives from EU countries, Turkey, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East.

Latest from the British Defence Intelligence.

• Russian forces have maintained a gradual advance west of Avdiivka. In late March 2024 they almost certainly took control of two villages - Tonenke and Orlivka - and are continuing to contest others in the area. Russia has continued attacks along several other points on the frontline but has made little progress in recent weeks.
• Russia maintains a significant quantitative advantage in the conflict, overmatching Ukraine in munitions and equipment numbers. It is likely recruiting approximately 30,000 additional personnel a month and can highly likely continue to absorb losses and continue attacks aimed at wearing down Ukrainian forces.

Preview: One year after US journalist was arrested in Russia on espionage charges, the first against a Western journalist since the Soviet era, his family continues fighting for his release.

One year after American journalist Evan Gershkovich was arrested in Russia on espionage charges, his family vowed Friday to continue fighting for his release, a pledge echoed by President Joe Biden.

"We never anticipated this situation happening to our son and brother, let alone a full year with no certainty or clear path forward," his family said in a letter to the readers of the Wall Street Journal, Gershkovich's employer.

One of Ukraine's bright young stars in the cultural sphere Oleksandr Khomenko, tells Kyiv Post's Chief Editor, Bohdan Nahaylo, about a major project he's involved in - a feature film The Slovo House.

Deadly semi-autonomous drones are likely to flood Ukraine in the next six to 12 months. If Putin gets them first, experts predict a “catastrophe” for Ukraine and a woefully unprepared West.

What keeps Ukrainian drone experts awake at night? One thing: “smart” semi-autonomous drones.

Ukraine is in a ferocious race to be first to deploy deadly, highly advanced unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), drones, en masse against Russia. If Ukraine loses this critical race, experts worry that it will inevitably lead to significant battlefield setbacks and high levels of casualty for Ukraine.

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

Russian officials said Friday they had arrested three people plotting an attack in the country's south, a week after the assault on a Moscow concert hall killed at least 144 people. The FSB security agency said it had "put an end to the terrorist activities of three nationals from a Central Asian country", Russian news agencies reported. The three suspects had been "planning to commit a terrorist act by blowing up a device in a public place in the Stavropol region", it added. Russian television showed images of several men pinned to the ground by FSB agents. The RIA Novosti news agency said the ingredients for an improvised explosive device (IED) and chemical substances had been found at the home of one of the suspects. The Stavropol region sits in the North Caucasus region of southern Russia, bordering Dagestan and Chechnya among others - AFP

Overnight into Friday Ukraine's air force said it had shot down 58 drones and 26 missiles and Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said energy infrastructure had been damaged in six regions, in the west, centre and east of the country, BBC reported. Ukraine's national energy company has announced emergency blackouts in three regions of the country - Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kirovograd - and have urged consumers to limit electricity use. The provider, Ukrenergo, blamed "the massive Russian attack on Ukrainian power plants overnight." It’s been estimated that about 10 percent of generating capacity was lost in the strikes.

The role of art in countering Russian aggression cannot be underestimated. By elaborating traditional Ukrainian motifs, one artist confirms a distinct tradition that debunks Putin’s myths.

Nataliia Pidhirnia-Babin is at work in her studio in Kyiv, meticulously crafting a painting in the traditional Petrykivka style, adding the final touches to a pair of stylized red flowers. They’re set against a stark black background, and the petals, painted in vibrant shades of orange and red, evoke the imagery of flames dancing against the darkness.

Utilizing a brush fashioned from a single cat hair, Pidhirnia-Babin creates intricate details with ease. Her brushstrokes are fluid and elegant, giving her painting a sense of motion and vitality. As a Petrykivka artist, she’s practicing an art form that has been part of Ukraine’s heritage and national identity for centuries.

Foreign Minister said Kyiv and New Delhi “agreed to restore the level of cooperation between our countries” to pre-February 2022 status and identify new projects to take relations to the next level.

Ukraine's foreign minister concluded his visit to New Delhi on Friday after talks on bolstering trade and the war with Russia, India's traditional ally.

India has shied away from explicit condemnation of Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, even as it has pursued greater security ties with the United States.

Ukraine’s location and infrastructure can make it a crucial gas trading hub in east Europe.

Ukraine’s location and infrastructure can make it a crucial gas trading hub in east Europe. More trade gives Europe a larger and wider choice of gas suppliers, which means more security and lower prices for the continent.

Mykola Kolisnyk is Deputy Minister of Energy of Ukraine

Terror, delusion, and self-destruction

A week ago, four men associated with Islamic State attacked civilians in a concert venue near Moscow known as Crocus City Hall.  Islamic State (IS-K) claimed responsibility for the horrifying mass murder, and released videos recorded the terrorists' perspective (don't watch them).  Russia has since apprehended four men, who seem to be the perpetrators. 

Russia has been engaged with Islamic State for some time.  Russia has been bombing Syria since 2015.  Russia and Islamic State compete throughout Africa for resources.  All four of the accused are Tajiks, a people subjected to discrimination inside Russia.

President Zelensky asks US to provide ATACMS-300 km missiles to strike airfields and aircraft in temporarily occupied Crimea, says Ukraine wouldn't use the longer-range missiles to attack Russia.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has called on the United States to provide Ukraine with ATACMS missiles to strike airfields and aircraft in temporarily occupied Crimea.

The Ukrainian President said this in an interview with The Washington Post, according to Ukrinform.

Polish PM Donald Tusk, whose country has been one of the staunchest supporters of Ukraine, said Friday that if Kyiv lost, “no one” in Europe would feel safe.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has warned of the "real" threat of conflict in Europe, saying that for the first time since the end of World War II the continent has entered a "pre-war era".

"War is no longer a concept from the past. It is real, and it started over two years ago. The most worrying thing at the moment is that literally any scenario is possible. We haven't seen a situation like this since 1945," Tusk said in an interview with the European media grouping LENA on Friday.

The Belgian Government has approved a €100 million military aid plan for Ukraine with a commitment toward maintaining the F-16 fleet which is currently being set up in Ukraine.

As part of the 25th military aid plan for Ukraine, Belgium is allocating €100 million in aid for the maintenance of F-16 combat aircraft to be delivered to Ukraine.

“The Belgian Government has approved a 25th military aid plan for Ukraine, Defense Minister Ludivine Dedonder announced on Friday. This plan entails a €100 million [$108 million] commitment towards maintaining the F-16 fleet which is currently being set up in Ukraine,” the report says.

Russia’s attack on Ukraine has taken the French President from a much-ridiculed position of wannabe negotiator to the leader of a potential NATO intervention force on Ukrainian soil.

French President Emanuel Macron has been attracting attention for his new-found belief that Paris should be playing a more aggressive, central role in achieving a Ukrainian victory. While his new stance has been cheered by Ukraine’s supporters, they were not well-received across the board.

In fact, Macron’s recent comments, regarding the possibility of sending Western troops to Ukraine, created a backlash among some NATO member states; and Russia’s spy chief, Sergey Naryshkin, went as far as to “announce” that there were plans to ship 2,000 French troops to Ukraine – something to which the French defense ministry coyly responded to as “disinformation.”

Moscow has stepped up its aerial bombardment of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, grid operator Ukrenergo said it was "forced to apply emergency blackout schedules” in some regions.

Ukraine said Friday that it had imposed emergency blackouts on several regions after Russia fired dozens of missiles and drones at its power stations overnight.

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

Moscow Patriarchate calls for the conquest and absorption of the Ukrainian and Belarusian nations into an ultranationalist ‘Russian world'.

The Russian Orthodox Church Moscow Patriarchate (ROC MP), a Kremlin-controlled organization and a known tool within the Russian hybrid warfare toolkit, held the World Russian People’s Council in Moscow on March 27 and 28 and approved an ideological and policy document tying several Kremlin ideological narratives together in an apparent effort to form a wider nationalist ideology around the war in Ukraine and Russia’s expansionist future.

ROC MP Head Patriarch Kirill, reportedly himself a former Soviet Committee for State Security (KGB) officer and a known staunch supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin, chaired the congress of the World Russian People's Council that approved the document, and Kirill likely coordinated the document’s ideological narrative and policy recommendations with the Kremlin.