Brief facts:
- The next occupier's high ranking person was eliminated by Ukrainian military - commander of Russia's 49th Combined Arms Army.
- The US and Nato are doing contingency plannng for the possibility Russia chooses to strike NATO territory.
- Russian Losses in the war against Ukraine as of the morning of March 25 are 16,100 personnel, 561 tanks, 1,625 armored combat vehicles, 291 artillery systems, 90 multiple launch rocket systems, 49 air defense systems, 115 aircraft and 125 helicopters.
- Over a month of the war against Ukraine Russian invaders destroyed more than 4,300 Ukrainian houses, razed dozens of towns and villages to the ground, and killed thousands of people.
- Ukraine started to use facial recognition software to identify Russian soldiers killed in combat.
- Ukrainian military launched tenth attack on enemy forces in Chornobaivka.
- The leaders of states and governments of NATO member states after the extraordinary NATO summit called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to immediately end the war against Ukraine, assuring that those responsible for committing war crimes would be brought to justice.
Sources:
- Verkhovna Rada: the parliament of Ukraine and its social media (Facebook, Telegram)
- President Zelenskyy: the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his social media (Twitter, Facebook, Telegram)
- Presidential Office: the Official website of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his social media (Facebook, Twitter, Telegram); advisers to the Office: Oleksiy Arestovych and Mykhailo Podoliak; Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Reintegration of Temporary Occupied Territories Iryna Vereshchuk
- General Staff: the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
- Ukrainian Navy: Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (website, Facebook)
- Air Force: the Air Force Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine of Ukraine
- Stratcom Centre: Centre for Strategic Communications and Information Security of Ukraine – an establishment under the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine – website and social media (Facebook, Twitter, Telegram)
Latest news:
23:45 The Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak during a briefing: Ukraine will not be satisfied with a compromise on Russian terms. Not the victim but the aggressor must pay for peace.
Read more: Chronicle of the Russian Federation Crimes in Ukraine (February-April)
“We are not satisfied with any configuration that threatens the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. We will not be satisfied with a compromise on Russian terms. The victim of aggression must not pay for peace. Now it's time for the aggressor to pay. We call for the sanctions regime to be strengthened. We call for an embargo on Russian energy,” Yermak told.
In his words, the Russian armed forces are destroying Ukrainian cities not only because of technical backwardness and lack of high-precision ammunition. They are doing this to cause horror.
However, the Russian leadership has miscalculated about Ukraine, as it continues to oppose.
“For us, this war is a people's war. Therefore, we will not give up our sovereignty or territories. Today Ukraine is the Grail of Europe. Without exaggeration. Because it is Ukraine who revives the principles that gave life to the current civilization of the West. Russia's goal is to destroy Ukraine,” Yermak stressed.
In his words, Ukraine needs specific things to survive.
“Firstly, we need to share intelligence in real time. Secondly, heavy weapons. We need a full-fledged Lend-Lease. Thirdly, we need to close the sky. Fighter jets for Ukraine, or air police missions, which would protect civil infrastructure facilities. Or long-range air defense systems. There are options. Unfortunately, there is no political will so far,” Yermak added.
23:00 Operational and tactical group "East": 6 enemy attacks were repulsed in the Eastern direction, up to 100 invaders and 8 tanks were destroyed. In the area of responsibility of the "East" grouping, russian troops do not abandon attempts to break through our defenses in certain areas.
22:15 During the current day, the Joint Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine successfully repulsed 9 enemy attacks. Ukrainian defenders destroyed 8 tanks, 17 APC and 11 enemy vehicles. The total losses of the invaders amounted to 170 people.
Air defense units shot down three enemy aircraft and three Orlan-10 enemy drones in the skies of the Ukrainian Donbass.
21:20 The Air Force Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine: Russian troops launched a missile strike on the territory of the Air Force Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Vinnytsia. "Today, March 25, at about 16:30, the Russian occupiers launched a missile strike on the territory of in Vinnytsia.
Russcists fired a total of six cruise missiles. Some of them were shot down by air defense units. The rest hit several buildings, causing significant damage to infrastructure," the Command of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine posted on Facebook.
It is noted that the consequences of the Russian missile strike are being specified.
20:34 Zeit media: Bavaria has introduced criminal responsibility for the use of the "Z" symbol in connection of support towards the Russian forces in Ukraine.
Anyone who publicly displays the license plate "Z" of the Russian armed forces in the Ukraine war in this country must expect criminal consequences, die Zeit reports. The aggressive war that Russia began in Ukraine, despite international law, should not be condoned, German Justice Minister Georg Eisenreich said to the DPA news agency in Munich on Friday.
"Freedom of expression is a great asset of our constitution. Everyone is allowed to express their opinion in Germany. But freedom of expression ends where criminal law begins," he stressed.
19:58 Defense Ministry of the United Kingdom: UK Intelligence has released a map representing the latest updates on the warfare in Ukraine as of March 25, 2022.
19:58 Center for Countering Disinformation has analyzed the images of Russian military equipment and doubted the famous myth about "the second greatest army of the world". After the OSINT-analysis, the Center pointed out some of the equipment used by the Russian Army, namely:
Mosin–Nagant rifle – served till the 1960s in different modifications;
Maxim machine gun – the latest fact of usage was recorded in 1969;
UAZ-452 "Bukhanka" van – a non-military soft-skinned vehicle;
GAZ-3302 "GAZelle" van – another non-military soft-skinned vehicle;
KAMAZ-5511 dump truck – one more non-military soft-skinned vehicle;
Loncin LX250ZH-11 cargo tricycle – also a non-military soft-skinned cargo vehicle.
"Considering all that, there is a question regarding the objectivity of the power rating of the world's leading armies, because the Russian army can be the 'second' only in the fantasies of the Russian Federation's generals," the Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine concluded.
18:48 Ukrainian Land Forces: a local "Chornobaivka" has appeared in Northeastern Ukraine. Exactly, Trostyanets city of Sumy region. As 93th Brigade "Kholodnyi Yar" reports, another T-80 tank was destroyed in a spot, where the Russian military had been repeatedly caught by Ukrainian Armed Forces.
"But that somehow doesn't scare the occupiers," the Brigade wonders on Facebook, "They regularly arrive at their 'worship place' where Ukrainian defenders always 'warmly' greet them."
By the way, the tank was shot with an NLAW anti-tank missile.
18:00 Zaporizhia regional military administration: 70 Russian servicemen refuse to participate in hostilities.
In Melitopol, Zaporizhia region, some 70 Russian servicemen refused to follow orders from their leadership and take part in hostilities, according to Zaporizhia regional military administration.
"On March 24, 2022, information was received that 70 Russian servicemen staged a riot in the units of the Russian occupation forces stationed in Melitopol, refused to follow the orders of their leadership and participate in hostilities against the defenders of Zaporizhia," Spokesperson of Zaporizhia regional military administration Ivan Arefyev said on the website on Friday.
In this regard, the spokesperson said: "We advise the invaders: surrender, get a chance to stay alive."
According to Arefyev, when the village of Malynivka was liberated, the Ukrainian servicemen replenished their fleet of military equipment. "Now the defenders have a Russian T-72B3 tank," he said.
17:21 "Azov" Special Regiment: the Regiment's mortar detachment destroyed 2 BMD infantry fighting vehicles. The Russian occupiers' vehicles were eliminated with a "sniper accuracy shot" this morning, March 25, the "Azov" Special Operations Regimant wrote on Telegram.
"It should be noted that despite the fact that the Russians were hiding among the houses, the Azov Regiment fighters have killed the enemy without destroying the civilian infrastructure."
17:12 Ukraine NOW: Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, together with the governments of Slovenia and the Czech Republic, wrote a 10-point plan on how to save Ukraine. The list of important actions was published by Politico.
- Disconnect all Russian banks from SWIFT
- Introduce a unified asylum policy for Russian soldiers who refuse to serve Moscow's criminal regime
- Completely stop Russian propaganda in Europe
- Block Russian ships in European ports
- Introduce a blockade of road transport to and from Russia
- Impose sanctions on the entire business community in Russia
- Suspend the visa issue to all Russian citizens wishing to enter the EU
- Impose sanctions against all members of the Yedinaya Rossiya / United Russia political party
- Introduce a total ban on the export to Russia of technologies that can be used for military purposes
- Exclude Russia from all international organizations
"If this does not stop the war, then we must go further. In Kyiv, we proposed a peacekeeping mission under the aegis of NATO and other international organizations. If we cannot introduce effective sanctions, we have no choice: We must protect the people of Ukraine with our own shields," said Morawiecki.
17:07 Anton Gerashchenko, MIA Adviser: US President Joe Biden has arrived in Rzeszow, Poland, where he will meet with President Andrzej Duda. The main topic of the two leaders' discussion will be the Russian war in Ukraine.
16:40 Security Service of Ukraine: more than 20 saboteurs were eliminated and more than 350 detained since the beginning of the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
"Today, many of our colleagues are destroying the enemy on the battlefield with weapons in their hands. But no less important is to counter the enemy's reconnaissance and sabotage groups. And now we are improving the experience that the SBU (SSU) has gained throughout the 30 years of existence, and we are doing everything to ensure that all the capabilities of the special services work as effectively as possible for the country's security, "said the Head of the SSU Ivan Bakanov.
15:55 A freelance adviser to the head of the President's Office Oleksiy Arestovych: Ukrainian military eliminated commander of Russia's 49th Combined Arms Army.
Ukrainian troops have eliminated Lieutenant General Yakov Rezantsev, commander of the 49th Combined Arms Army of the Russian Southern Military District, - Ukrinform reports, citing Oleksiy Arestovych, a freelance adviser to the head of the President's Office. He said this at a briefing on Friday, March 25.
"Over the past day, our troops -- as we previously reported and we can now say for sure -- killed the commander of the 49th Combined Arms Army of the Southern Military District of Russia, Lieutenant General Yakov Vladimirovich Rezantsev," he said.
According to Arestovych, the enemy general was liquidated at the airfield in Chornobaivka, the Kherson region.
15:35 The White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan: US and Nato contingency planning for Russian strike on Nato territory.
The US and NATO are doing contingency plannng for the possibility Russia chooses to strike Nato territory, the White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on Friday, March 25, - The Guardian reports.
Russian attacks have edged closer to NATO’s borders since the invasion of Ukraine began.
On 13 March, Russia drew warnings from Nato after strikes on a major military base close to the alliance’s border, killing at least 35 people and injuring 134 more.
The video below from 13 March is in Yavoriv, around 15km from the Polish border.
15.00 Video appears to show Russian shelling of civilians receiving humanitarian aid in Kharkiv.
A video shows civilians reportedly receiving humanitarian aid in Kharkiv, Ukraine, being hit by what appear to be Russian shells , - The Guardian reports.
The Nova Poshta postal department in Kharkiv shown in the footage has become a hub to “deliver humanitarian aid to charitable organizations and volunteer fighters... in Ukraine.”
Russians fired on the Nova Poshta postal department in Kharkiv, where Kharkiv residents were receiving humanitarian aid. Here the video of a rocket hitting a crowd of civilians in line#RussiansWarCrimes pic.twitter.com/BvszqcI0s1— Oleksandra Matviichuk (@avalaina) March 25, 2022
It seems to mark another grim targeting of civilians by Russia just two days after the US formally accused Russian forces of committing war crimes in Ukraine and said it would pursue accountability “using every tool available”.
Meanwhile, there are some incredibly powerful pictures coming out of Kharkiv today.
14:30 General Staff: operational information as of 12:00, 25.03.2022 regarding the Russian invasion. Key points:
- The enemy has failed to reach its main goals of a large-scale war - to blockade Kyiv and to occupy territories up to administrative borders of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions.
- Russia’s occupation forsec have had partial success in creating a land corridor between the temporarily occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea and part of the Donetsk region.
- The enemy has not been active In the Volyn direction. There is a high probability of involving the armed forces of belarus in the aggression against Ukraine.
- In the region of the city of Izum the enemy has attempted to break through the defences of Ukrainian troops from the South and was stopped in the region of Tikhotsky being destroyed.
- The enemy is growing its naval fleet in the waters of the Sea of Azov. There has been a record of the passage of the small minesweeper "Valentyn Pikul", the missile boat "Naberezhnye Chelny" and two landing craft, via the Kerch Strait, in the north direction.
- The Defense Forces Group continue their defense operation, focusing their efforts on preventing the enemy from breaking through, defending the state border of Ukraine, destroying the enemy on land, in the air and at sea.
- There were no offensive operations of russia’s troops In Polissya.
- The occupational forces continue to hold the previously captured borders In the direction of Sivers, and are attempting to grow their groups and blockade Chernihiv.
- In the direction of Slobozhansk the enemy is attempting to hold down their positions near Sumy and Kharkiv, and are replenishing their losses in equipment and manpower.
12:30 Finland’s national railway operator will suspend services between Helsinki and Saint Petersburg in russia on Monday, March 28, closing one of the last public transport routes to the European Union for russians.
Reuters reports that operator VR had been directed by the state that it was no longer appropriate to run the service, “So we are suspending the traffic for the time being,” head of passenger traffic Topi Simola said.
Trains from russia to Finland’s capital Helsinki have been full of Russians since the invasion of Ukraine. The border between Finland and Russia remains open for crossings by private car.
12:00 The Defense Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine: Funding problems arise for Russian military.
The Russian military began to have problems with financing, - the Defense Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reported.
"After the promised payments to the military of the occupying army, the Russian military units had problems with financing. As it turned out, the payment of these expenses was not provided for in the budget. And due to the unsatisfactory state of the financial system of the Russian Federation due to the sanctions imposed, it is impossible to find additional funds in the budget," a Facebook message from the Defense Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense said on Friday.
According to the Defense Intelligence, in the temporarily occupied Crimea, after the payment of 'travel allowances' to those who participated in the war against Ukraine, the limit of funds for military units was completely exhausted in February. There is no funding for any payments for March.
"The situation is similar with the payment for the participation in the war of mercenaries of Russian 'private military campaigns'. Among them, cases of refusal to travel to the territory of Ukraine become more frequent. The reason is the failure to fulfill the terms of the contracts concluded. The militants do not receive funds for participating in hostilities, compensation for injuries and the promised 'social guarantees," the Defense Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reported.
11.40 Anadolu Agency: Turkish President Erdogan says he will meet with the president of Ukraine on Friday, March 25.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan says he will meet Ukrainian counterpart on Friday, - Anadolu Agency reports.
Turkish President also may hold talks with putin this weekend, early next week to assess NATO summit.
“NATO is cornerstone of European security. We have seen this very clearly. Turkiye is an indispensable ally for ensuring regional security,” – Turkish president says.
11.20 Anadolu Agency: 1,300 Wagner mercenaries sent from Libya to help russia's forces in Ukraine.
Some 1,300 mercenaries of the russian private contractor Wagner Group have been moved from Libya to Ukraine to fight alongside Russian forces, - Anadolu Agency reports citing Libyan security analyst.
“There were 2,200 Wagner militants in Libya. russia has withdrawn 1,300 and left just 900 here,” Adel Abdel-Kafi, a military and security expert, told Anadolu Agency.
He said Wagner paramilitaries were removed from their posts along a highway linking the areas of Sirte and Jafra in central Libya.
Abdel-Kafi said the Wagner Group is increasingly relying on fighters from African nations and continues to recruit people from Mali, Chad and Sudan.
As a reminder: The Wagner Group has been in Libya since October 2018 to support the forces of warlord Khalifa Haftar, who has been fighting Libya’s legitimate government for control of the North African country, according to the UN.
10:55 General Staff of the Armed Forses of Ukraine posted the total combat losses of the enemy from 24.02 to 25.03, which were approximately:
personnel - about 16100,
tanks ‒ 561 units,
APV ‒ 1625 units,
artillery systems – 291 units,
MLRS - 90 units,
Anti-aircraft warfare systems - 49 units,
aircraft – 115 units,
helicopters – 125 units,
vehicles - 1089 units,
boats / cutters - 5 units,
fuel tanks - 72,
UAV operational-tactical level - 53.
special equipment - 18.
Data is being updated. The calculation is complicated by the high intensity of hostilities.
10:00 The State Emergency Service of Ukraine: Enemy shelling sets fire to oil depot in Kalynivka, Kyiv region.
A fire broke out at an oil depot in the village of Kalynivka, Fastiv district, Kyiv region, as a result of the enemy shelling.
Overnight a Russian attack hit an oil depot in the village of Kalinovka pic.twitter.com/FJirkuiBc2— Michael A. Horowitz (@michaelh992) March 25, 2022
“At about 20:00 on March 24, the ammunition hit an oil depot as a result of the shelling of Kalynivka village. The depot caught on fire. As of 06:00 on March 25, oil residues were burning within the oil depot's tank farm. There is no threat of the fire spreading outside the oil depot,” the State Emergency Service of Ukraine posted on Telegram.
09:40 Head of Kyiv Territorial Defense Forces Petro Kuzyk: Ukraine Army destroys Russian strongpoint near Kyiv, killing 40 invaders.
Ukrainian defenders have pushed back the enemy troops near the city of Kyiv, killing 40 Russian invaders.
The relevant statement was made by Head of Kyiv Territorial Defense Forces Petro Kuzyk during a telethon, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.
“Some success has been achieved around Kyiv. The enemy has been pushed farther away. On the left bank, yesterday, near Baryshivka, there was a successful attack on settlements, namely Lukianivka. It was liberated completely. It served as the so-called strongpoint for the occupiers. There were several hundreds of soldiers, tanks and equipment. The equipment was burned, tanks were damaged, and some vehicles were taken as a trophy. Sadly, just 40 occupiers were killed, according to the data confirmed. The rest of them fled; some of them hid in the woods. Now our military are looking for them,” Kuzyk told.
Kuzyk also confirmed that the Ukrainian Army now has more tanks than it did at the beginning of the war. Some tanks are captured during battles. Some tanks are left undamaged on the battlefield by Russian invaders, when Ukrainian special operation forces or partisans cut them off fuel supplies.
09:10 General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine posted the video of Ukrainian anti-tank units at work.
08:30 Adviser to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Vadym Denysenko: Key battles of last night take place in Kyiv region.
Ukrainian military are defending themselves and launch a counteroffensive in Kyiv region.
"We hold ground in Kyiv region, move to a counteroffensive, and advance," Adviser to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Vadym Denysenko said on the air of Ukrainian TV channels, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.
According to him, the key battles of last night took place primarily in Kyiv region. There were strikes in the area of Vasylkiv, Bila Tserkva. Very serious battles took place near Baryshivka and in the area of Bucha, Hostomel, Irpin.
"Now we are receiving information from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. I know that we managed to repel quite a lot. In particular, we destroyed 12 tanks, several aircraft, more than 10 armored vehicles, more than 300 people," said the adviser.
08:00 A member of the Kherson Regional Council Serhiy Khlan: Invaders abduct Kherson’s district council member Dmytro Afanasyev.
Russian invaders abducted Dmytro Afanasyev, a member of the Korabelny District Council of Kherson city, head of the European Solidarity faction.
"Dmytro Afanasyev, a member of the Korabelny District Council of Kherson city, head of the European Solidarity faction, was abducted in Kherson. He is a world-famous athlete, world-class instructor, coach of the Ukrainian taekwondo team," Serhiy Khlan, a member of the Kherson Regional Council, posted on Facebook.
As noted by Ukrinform, on March 22, after the occupiers’ crackdown on a pro-Ukrainian rally, Afanasyev defended his wife, whom Russians were trying to detain. He was severely beaten: the man was hospitalized with numerous hematomas and broken ribs.
Two hours later, the Russian military came to his family house to conduct a "search". They found an ID of the district council member, confiscated CCTV recordings and mobile phones. All the men in the house were detained, including Afanasyev's friends, Khlan said.
07:30 General Staff: operational information as of 06.00 25.03.2022 regarding the Russian Invasion. Key points:
- The Defense Forces continue to conduct a defense operation in all directions.
- The joint forces are conducting a sustained defensive operation in the Donetsk, Slobozhansky and parts of the Tavriya areas in the designated operational zone, focusing their efforts on preventing enemy breakthroughs.
- During the previous day our soldiers repulsed 9 enemy attacks, destroyed 12 tanks, about 20 units of armored and automotive equipment and 9 artillery systems. The enemy lost more than 200 servicemen. Air defense units shot down 2 planes and 2 enemy UAVs.
- The group of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine for the previous day hit 6 enemy air targets: 1 plane, 1 UAV and 4 cruise missiles. The Air Force patrolled the airspace, destroyed the troops and facilities, and fired on the armored personnel carriers, logistics centres, and clusters of enemy troops.
- A defense operation continues in the Siverskyi region. A group of troops holds the city of Chernihiv and hinders the advance of the enemy in the direction of Kyiv.
- At the same time, the grouping of forces and means of defense of the city of Kyiv continues to repel the enemy's offensive, inflict fire damage on it and maintain all the defined lines of defence.
- In the South, the defence operation continues in the designated operational zone, a stabilization operation is underway, and territorial defence tasks are being performed.
07:00 President’s Office compares actions of German Nazis to those of Russian invaders.
Over a month, Russian invaders destroyed more than 4,300 Ukrainian houses, razed dozens of towns and villages to the ground, and killed thousands of people.
"Over the month of the war, 4,379 houses were destroyed. Dozens of towns and villages were wiped off the face of the earth,” the authors of the video say.
Thousands of people were killed.
The video compares the events of 1939-1945 involving Nazi invaders to the current crimes committed by Russian troops.
"Evil never stops on its own. If it is not stopped, it will come to every European home,” say the authors of the video, ending it with the call “Stop Russian fascism”.
06:40 Deputy Commander of the Azov Regiment a.k.a. Kalyna: Azov fighters destroy four enemy armored personnel carriers in Mariupol over two days.
Over the past two days, fighters of the Azov Regiment in Mariupol destroyed four enemy armored personnel carriers and other equipment.
“In Mariupol, every day is a day of death, a day of the heroic struggle of our military against the overwhelming forces of the enemy... Even staying in the full encirclement, the Azov fighters destroyed four armored personnel carriers, other equipment, enemy infantry, took a prisoner, saving his health and life, over the past two days," Deputy Commander of the Azov Regiment a.k.a. Kalyna posted on Telegram, Ukrinform reports.
He stressed that Ukraine is fighting according to the laws of war, while Russia uses heavy bombs, causing huge destruction. In addition, according to him, there is information about the possible use of chemical weapons by Russia in Mariupol as was the case in Syria.
03:40 The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed opposition to Russian aggression with the President of Egypt Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has informed Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi about Ukraine's opposition to Russian aggression and thanked him for support to Ukrainians.
Zelensky said this in a statement posted on Twitter, Ukrinform reports.
"Informed President of Egypt Abdel Fattah al-Sisi about the struggle of the Ukrainian people against Russian aggression. Thanked for the help Egypt provided to Ukrainians. We agreed on the need to restore peace on the Ukrainian land," Zelensky said.
01:40 Air Command East: Enemy fires missiles at military facility in Dnipropetrovsk region
Russian aggressors launched a missile strike at a military facility in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
That's according to the Facebook page of the Air Command East, Ukrinform reports.
"Officially. The Dnipropetrovsk region. A missile strike was carried out at a military facility. The consequences are being clarified," the command said.
Since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion, more than 1,200 missiles have been launched into Ukraine, with only 39% of them hitting targets.
01:00 General Staff: operational information as of 24:00, 24.03.2022 regarding the Russian invasion. Key points:
- The occupiers not fulfilled tasks of reaching the administrative borders of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, encircling the city of Kyiv, and establishing control over the left-bank part of Ukraine.
- The enemy managed to succeed partially to maintene the land corridor between the Rostov region and the TOT of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea in the Donetsk operational district.
- In the northern direction, the enemy is trying to concentrate forces and means to resume offensive operations with the help of certain units. It makes unsuccessful attempts to block Chernihiv. Enemy moved to the defense in the Brovary direction and carried out engineering equipment positions.
- In the Slobozhansky direction, the enemy is blocking the cities of Sumy and Kharkiv. Trying to resume offensive operations in the area of the city of Izyum, the enemy bears losses.
- In the South Buh area, the enemy is occupying the established lines of defence with the forces of the group.
- In the Azov operational zone a large landing ship "Saratov" was destroyed during the attack on the occupied Berdyansk port. Large landing ships "Caesar Kunikov" and "Novocherkassk" were damaged. Other enemy’s losses are being clarified.
00:40 Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine, Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov: Ukraine uses facial recognition software to identify Russian soldiers killed in combat.
Ukraine is using facial recognition software to help identify the bodies of Russian soldiers killed in combat and track down their families to inform them of their deaths, Ukraine’s vice-prime minister told the Reuters news service – The Guardian reports.
Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s Vice Prime Minister, Minister of Digital Transformation who also runs the ministry of digital transformation, told Reuters his country had been using software facial recognition provider Clearview AI to find the social media accounts of dead Russian soldiers.
“As a courtesy to the mothers of those soldiers, we are disseminating this information over social media to at least let families know that they’ve lost their sons and to then enable them to come to collect their bodies,” Fedorov said in an interview, speaking via a translator.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense this month began using technology from Clearview, which scrapes images on the web to match with faces featured in uploaded photos. Reuters first reported Ukraine’s use of Clearview earlier this month, but it was not clear at that time how the technology would be used.
Clearview offered its service free of charge to Ukraine after the Russian invasion and has said its search engine includes more than 2bn images from VKontakte, a popular Russian social media service. VKontakte did not respond to a request for comment.
As a reminder: A New York based software company, Clearview AI has sparked criticism over its privacy practices from users and authorities around the world.
00:20 Ukrainian military launches tenth attack on enemy forces in Chornobaivka
The Armed Forces of Ukraine attacked Russian forces stationed at the airfield in Chornobaivka, the Kherson region, for the tenth time.
Vitaliy Kim, the head of the Mykolaiv regional military administration, said this on Telegram, Ukrinform reports.
"Chornobaivka)))," Kim wrote.
Oleksiy Arestovych, a freelance adviser to the head of the President's Office, confirmed the report. "That's the tenth time [Russian forces come under attack] in Chornobaivka. The mass movement of Russian troops across the Antonov Bridge is currently observed - they are fleeing!" he wrote on Facebook.
Arestovych suggested that the Ukrainian Armed Forces had eliminated "someone from the [Russian military] leadership."
Background:
February, 24: Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized a "special military operation" against Ukraine. A number of cities of Ukraine suffered a missile attack. Missiles hit several military facilities in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipro cities. In a few hours, martial law was imposed in Ukraine.
The war lasts for two weeks now. An impressive rundown of the first days of war was provided by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his address to the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
Key points regarding the current state of warfare:
- Ukraine managed to establish the defense, Russian offense has stalled, in some directions Ukrainian military push back the invaders
- Belarus provides its lands to Russian troops and equipment; still hasn't joined the war directly
- Russia uses terroristic methods of war, shelling civilian facilities where there are no military facilities nearby, keeping cities in a full blockade, and sabotaging humanitarian corridors for evacuation and convoys with humanitarian aid
- Humanitarian corridors: despite repetitive violations of ceasefire and shelling of evacuation transport, some of the humanitarian corridors work. The direst situation is in Mariupol, which is currently in Russian blockade, resisting
- Russian army targets nuclear power plants; Chernobyl NPP and Zaporizhzhia NPP are seized by occupiers; military activities by Russian forces near the power plants were described by Ukraine as nuclear terrorism
- Ukraine urges NATO to close the sky over Ukraine or at least provide air defense equipment: fighter jets or ground-based missile systems; some countries have expressed willingness to give their weapons if NATO provides corresponding defensive equipment in exchange (Poland, Slovakia)
- Ukraine appealed for EU membership via an accelerated procedure. The EU Council summit concluded that such a fast-track application process is impossible, yet they stated that "Ukraine belongs to the European Union"
- Ukrainian citizens in the occupied cities rally against Russians; thousands of civilian volunteers join the Territorial Defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine; the fighting has become a national struggle for survival
- Ukraine has had four rounds of negotiations with Russia; still, no significant progress towards ceasefire and peace, the main question, for now, is establishing humanitarian corridors for the supply of aid and evacuation of civilians; the negotiations continue "non-stop" in an online format; President Zelenskyy expressed readiness to directly talk with Putin.
Read more: Day 29th of Ukraine's Defense Against Russian Invasion (Live Updates)
