🟡29.03.2022
22:08 Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine
The Russian military mined the Black Sea to discredit Ukraine, using mines seized in 2014 after the occupation of Crimea.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine states that since the beginning of the large-scale aggressive war against Ukraine, the Russian Federation has been intensifying the illegal activities of its naval forces in the Black Sea.
In addition to capturing and destroying civilian ships, bombing Ukraine from the sea, Russia has invented a new method of piracy, which is the use of sea mines as uncontrolled drifting munitions. Such drift mines were discovered on March 26-28, 2022 off the coast of Turkey and Romania.
According to the results of the identification, it was established that these are sea mines, which, as of the beginning of 2022, were not registered with the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
These mines were seized by the Russian armed forces in 2014 during the military invasion and temporary Russian occupation of the Ukrainian city of Sevastopol. Thus, Russia, using naval mines seized in 2014, deliberately provokes and discredits Ukraine in front of international partners.
By such actions, the aggressor state seeks to conceal its illegal activities in the Black Sea, which is contrary to the principles and norms of international maritime and humanitarian law, and to evade responsibility for war crimes and piracy.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine emphasizes that Russia’s deliberate use of drifting sea mines turns them into de facto weapons of indiscriminate action, which threatens, above all, civilian shipping and human life at sea in the entire waters of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, but also the Kerch and the Black Sea straits.
Responsibility for the use of drifting mines, as well as for their unpredictable consequences, lies solely with the Russian Federation and its navy.
Ukraine insists on bringing Russia to international responsibility for illegal actions in the Black Sea, war crimes, and, in particular, the use of sea mines as weapons of indiscriminate action, which is spreading uncontrollably in the Black Sea.
Ukraine has notified the International Maritime Organization of Russia’s use of drift mines in the Black Sea, in compliance with its international obligations, including during an extraordinary session of the Council and the IMO Legal Committee, as well as international partners through the international automated maritime navigation safety system NAVTEX.
20:35 State Emergency Service of Ukraine
During the dismantling of blockages of the building of the Mykolaiv regional state administration rescuers withdrew the bodies of 12 victims. 33 people were injured.
20:11 Head of the Zaporizhia Regional Military Administration Oleksandr Starukh
Russian troops are obstructing the work of humanitarian corridors in the Zaporizhzhia region. 70 buses for evacuation and trucks with humanitarian cargo, which left the regional center in the morning, could not reach the occupied territory.
At the same time, the Russian military did not allow evacuees from Enerhodar and Berdiansk, who left Zaporizhzhia on the afternoon of March 29, to enter Zaporizhzhia.
18:53 Mariupol City Council
The occupiers continue to kidnap residents of Ukrainian Mariupol. More than 70 people were forcibly taken from the maternity hospital №2 in the Livoberezhnyi district – including medical staff and patients.
Earlier it was known about the deportation of staff and patients of the city hospital №1. There were about 600 people from Mariupol.
18:40 General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
The operational update regarding the Russian invasion on 18.00 on March 29, 2022.
The Russian Federation and its numerous agencies in international organizations deny the transportation and accumulation of large quantities of ammunition by Russian troops near the Chornobyl Shelter Structure. The activities of the Russian occupation forces at any time could lead to the detonation of ammunition, damage to the Shelter, and radiation contamination of the territory where hundreds of millions of Europeans live.
We emphasize that, as in most other cases, the Russian Federation and its agents of influence are spreading misinformation. The use of the Chornobyl zone for the transportation and accumulation of ammunition, as well as the deployment of command posts of Russian troops, is carried out deliberately, as the Armed Forces of Ukraine cannot conduct combat operations in the exclusion zone. The risk of detonation of Russian ammunition is high and without hostilities, due to the occupiers’ neglect of security measures, as well as the widespread use of old and substandard ammunition. Such incidents occur in Russian warehouses and arsenals regularly and in peacetime, which is well known.
18:13 Secretary of the State at the Chancellery of the Prime Minister and government spokesman Piotr Müller
The Polish government has adopted draft legislation that will allow a ban on imports of Russian coal, a cabinet spokesperson said on Tuesday.
“We don’t want these imports to be possible any longer, although we realise that there’s a risk related to the fact that the European Union has not approved such actions to date,” Piotr Muller told reporters in Warsaw.
17:28 Mayor of Kyiv Vitalii Kytchko
“Leaders of Ukrainian communities are being kidnapped again. Now the head of Beryslav Oleksandr Shapovalov has been kidnapped
Murders, abductions and torture of civilians – this is what the Russian aggressor is doing, who came to destroy Ukraine and Ukrainians.
During the war, on February 24, the occupiers abducted 11 mayors and eight other municipal officials.”
17:20 Office of the President of Ukraine
During the talks with Russia in Turkey, the Ukrainian party officially outlined its proposals for a new system of security guarantees for Ukraine. This was announced by the Head of the Ukrainian delegation, Head of the Servant of the People faction David Arakhamia.
“Today we came up with an official proposal for a new system of security guarantees for Ukraine. We insist that this must be an international treaty signed by all countries – guarantors of security, which will be ratified, so as not to repeat the mistake that was once in the Budapest Memorandum. We want it to be a working international mechanism of concrete security guarantees for Ukraine,” he said.
David Arakhamia noted that the representatives of the Ukrainian delegation did not sign any documents – they only voiced Ukraine’s proposals.
According to him, the future treaty must contain a provision according to which within three days after the start of the war, aggression, military operation, any disguised, hybrid war against Ukraine, the guarantor countries hold consultations, after which they are legally obliged to provide military assistance to our country, in particular in the form of armaments and the closure of the skies.
It is suggested that the guarantors will be permanent members of the UN Security Council: the United States, Great Britain, France, China, and the Russian Federation, but “this should be discussed separately.” Ukraine also wants to see Turkey, Germany, Canada, Italy, Poland, and Israel among the guarantors. In addition, it is offered to provide for the free accession of other guarantors to the treaty.
17:01 Commissioner for Human Rights of Ukraine Liudmyla Denisova
Denisova has asked her Russian counterpart Tatiana Moskalkova to provide lists of Ukrainians who were forcibly deported to Russia.
Speaking about the number of deported Ukrainians, Denisova cites a figure of half a million people. The first 90 thousand, according to her, were taken from the territories of some districts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions on February 18 before the start of a full-scale Russian invasion.
16:55 Colleague of the journalist Yakiv Noskov (post from 28.03, at 20:16)
“In the Zaporizhzhia region, the occupiers arrested journalist Iryna Dubchenko. The occupiers took her to her native Rozivka. The girl stayed there because of the need to look after her old grandmother. Ira is accused of supporting and hiding the Ukrainian military.” – wrote Jacob Noskov.
Iryna Dubchenko worked on the Depo website, in the newspaper Subota Plus and in other media.
16:35 Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine
The Russian occupiers kidnapped Oleksandr Babych, the mayor of the occupied Hola Prystan in the Kherson region.
16:20 Spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Oleh Nikolenko
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine considers the false messages spread by the head of the Hungarian Foreign Ministry Péter Szijjártó to be deeply immoral.
Péter Szijjártó accused the opposition of over-supporting Ukraine because the opposition leader supported rallies in memory of the victims of the Mariupol bombing, and said the opposition was already negotiating with Ukraine on its actions in the event of a possible victory in the April 3 election.
Nikolenko refuted the minister’s assumptions. “We categorically reject Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó’s attempts to involve Ukraine in Hungary’s internal political struggle.… We have not and will not interfere in Hungary’s internal affairs. The Hungarian people and history will ultimately evaluate the actions of Hungarian politicians,” he said.
13:37 Ministry of Digital Transformation
Ukrainian government institutions have launched an international information campaign DO NOT sponsor murder to help businesses boycott Russian and Belarusian goods and services.
13:34 State Emergency Service of Ukraine
In the Zhytomyr region, rescuers extinguished a fire at one of the enterprises in the Korosten district, which broke out today as a result of a missile strike. No one was killed or injured.
12:12 General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
The operational update regarding the Russian invasion on 12.00 on March 29, 2022.
The thirty-fourth day of the heroic resistance of the Ukrainian people to the Russian military invasion continues.
The Russian enemy did not meet the goal of the offensive operation. The withdrawal of certain units of the armed forces of the Russian Federation from the territory of Kyiv and Chernihiv oblasts is noted. At the same time, there is a high risk of the Russian occupiers attacking military and civilian infrastructure.
There is a problem with strengthening and rotating the existing Russian enemy group. Thus, only in the Pacific Fleet of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, recruitment units, due to the refusal of personnel to participate in the so-called “special operation”, are not able to staff even one battalion-tactical group.
In the Volyn direction, the group of the armed forces of the Republic of Belarus provides cover for its state border, conducts demonstration actions.
In the Polissya direction, the Russian enemy is limited to artillery shelling, regrouping of existing units, and their partial withdrawal to the territory of Belarus.
In the Sivershchyna direction, the Russian occupiers continue to blockade Chernihiv, trying to gradually destroy military and civilian facilities. The enemy did not take active action in the direction of Brovary.
In the Slobozhansky direction, the Russian occupiers continue to use aircraft and artillery in the settlements of Kharkiv and Barvinkove, trying to capture the city of Izyum. Fighting continues in the area of the settlements of Kamyanka, Sukha Kamyanka, Tykhotske. The Russian enemy increased the existing group by involving separate units from the 1st Tank Army of the Russian federation. The 200th separate motorized infantry brigade of the Russian enemy lost two battalion-tactical groups and personally the brigade commander, Colonel Denis KurilIt in the battles near Kharkiv. The losses only of one 200th brigade amounted to more than 1,500 servicemen.
In the Donetsk direction, the enemy increased its firepower and intensified assault operations in most areas. He struck air strikes in the settlements of Voevodivka, Rubizhne, Lysychansk, Kreminna, Zolote-4, Popasna, Toretsk, and Novhorod. It focuses its main efforts on taking control of Popasna and Mariupol. The Russian enemy is not successful.
In the city of Berdyansk, the Russian occupiers are trying to restore the port infrastructure.
In the South Buh direction, the enemy, under cover of artillery fire, takes measures to restore combat capability, replenish ammunition and fuel.
The Defence Forces Group continues to conduct a defence operation in the Eastern, Southeastern, and Northeastern directions, restrains the enemy in all directions, in some directions – displaces the enemy.
11:47 Ukrinform
At least 30-40 people abducted and detained by the Russian occupiers are known in the Kherson region. On some of them, the information is specified.
This was reported to Ukrinform by phone by the first deputy chairman of the Kherson regional council Yurii Sobolevskyi. He stressed that some people are “pressed, broken very hard”, to the point that they then need serious medical care.
11:30 Ministry of Culture and Information Policy Oleksandr Tkachenko
Another wave of hatred on Russian television. The Kremlin media began to actively promote theses aimed at cultivating Russian hatred of all Ukrainians. “A large part of Ukrainians are overwhelmed by the madness of Nazism,” the propagandists have already stated.
“Putin has not been able to ‘denazify’ us with high-precision weapons and is already preparing the ground for acquittal for killing Ukrainians. We are being demonized so that no Russian, military or civilian, has the slightest doubt that Ukrainians can and should be killed,” – stated Tkachenko.
11:27 Ukrinform
Amnesty International is accusing Russia of committing war crimes in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol. The human rights organization will soon release an in-depth report on the devastation caused by Russia’s assault on the city on the Sea of Azov, Amnesty’s Secretary-General Agnes Callamard said in a press conference in Johannesburg.
11:23 Ukrinform with reference to Interia.pl
The Visegrád Group Defense Ministers’ meeting will not occur in Budapest on March 30 due to the pro-Russian stance of the Hungarian government and Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
The refusal to participate in this meeting was first announced by the Minister of Defense of the Czech Republic Jana Černochová, and later she was joined by the Minister of National Defense of Poland Mariusz Błaszczak.
11:14 Head of Kharkiv Regional Administration Oleh Syniehubov
Over the past day, the Russian occupation forces fired 46 times on the districts of Kharkiv and the regions: Saltivka, «Novi Budynky», the town of Zhukovskoho, Piatykhatky, Oleksiivka, «Horyzont», Kulynychi, Chuhuiv, Derhachi. There were also about 280 shellings by the enemy with MLRS of the BM-21 “Grad” type.
11:03 Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine
According to the investigation, on March 27 and 28, 2022, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, ignoring the norms of international humanitarian law, shelled the village of Sviatopetrivske, Bucha district. 4 civilians were killed by enemy shells. Houses were damaged and destroyed.
10:55 Head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration Valentyn ReznichenkoThe Russians fired several missiles at the area. In the Novomoskovsk district, a missile hit the territory of the farm, injuring one person and damaging equipment. The second missile strike occurred in the Nikopol district. There are no casualties.
10:30 Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine
Information about the Russian invasion
The operational situation on the diplomatic front as of 10:00, March 29
Ukrainian diplomacy continues Russia’s complete isolation, particularly in the energy sector, which is actively fueling Russia’s military machine. The energy ministers of the Group of Seven have made a responsible decision, rejecting Russia’s demands to pay gas bills in rubles.
Dmytro Kuleba: “I welcome the statement of the Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action Robert Gabek regarding the decision of the Group of Seven to reject Russia’s demands to pay for Russian gas in rubles. Blackmail of the Russian Federation is unacceptable. I am grateful to France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the European Union.”
Deputinization of the world
- Northern Macedonia is deporting 5 Russian diplomats for violating the Vienna Convention. They must leave the country within five days.
- Riga’s tallest buildings, the Z-Towers, changed their name to Zunda Towers in response to a negative association with the letter Z, which the Russian military uses in symbolic terms for its invasion of Ukraine.
- The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has announced the closure of its offices in Moscow and Minsk due to Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine.
Isolation of the Russian Federation
- Sri Lanka’s national airline SriLankan Airlines Limited will suspend flights to Russia from March 28.
- The European Commission appealed to Affiliated Countries to immediately abolish any existing schemes for gaining citizenship for investment and to provide strict checks are in place to address the risks associated with residence permit schemes, as well as to revise previously issued “golden passports”.
- International rating agency Fitch Ratings will no longer publish data on Russia’s sovereign rating.
- The government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has decided to suspend state-funded research and innovation cooperation with Russian universities and companies that are strategically important to the Russian government.
- The United Arab Emirates Investment Fund Mubadala Investment Company suspends investments in Russia.
Humanitarian aid
- Since the start of the war, the American charity company United Help Ukraine has collected more than $ 10 million in donations from Americans, which will be spent on humanitarian and medical aid to Ukraine.
- Material and technical assistance worth a total of 163,000 euros arrived in Ukraine from Slovenia.
- Thanks to the efforts of the public organization Razom for Ukraine, $ 20 million was raised in the United States from 60,000 privates.
10:11 Head of Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration Vitalii Kim
On March 29, at about 08:45 in Mykolayiv, as a result of shelling and hitting a nine-story administrative building, the central section of the building from the 9th to the 1st floor was destroyed, without subsequent burning. As of 9:25 a.m., SES units released 9 injured from the rubble and handed them over to medics.
9:39 Deputy Prime Minister Piotr Gliński aacording to Politico
Poland is prepared to continue accepting Ukrainian refugees for as long as needed, its deputy prime minister said, but stressed that the main priority for both Poland the rest of the Western alliance should be to help Ukraine defend itself. Over the past month, Poland has taken in 2.3 million refugees, Gliński said, more than any other European country. The number of arrivals has recently fallen off, but Warsaw is preparing for future waves.
8:58 General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
The total combat losses of the enemy from 24.02 to 29.03 were approximately:
- personnel ‒ about 17200,
- tanks ‒ 597,
- APV ‒ 1710,
- artillery systems – 303,
- MLRS ‒ 96,
- anti-aircraft warfare systems ‒ 54,
- aircraft – 127,
- helicopters – 129,
- vehicles ‒ 1178,
- boats / cutters ‒ 7,
- fuel tanks ‒ 73,
- UAV operational-tactical level ‒ 71,
- special equipment ‒ 21,
- mobile SRBM system ‒ 4.
Data are being updated. The calculation is complicated by the high intensity of hostilities.
8:26 Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine
As a result of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation, as of the morning of March 29, 2022, 144 children were killed and more than 220 were injured. The most affected children were in Kyiv – 68, Kharkiv – 49, Donetsk – 54, Chernihiv – 38, Mykolaiv – 30, Luhansk – 28, Zaporizhzhia – 22, Zhytomyr – 15, Sumy – 15, Kherson – 25 regions and the city of Kyiv – 16. Data on dead and injured children in Mariupol are being clarified.
- On March 28, 2022, a 3-year-old child died from mine injuries in the Luhansk region.
- On March 28, 2022, as a result of the shelling of a village in the Zaporizhzhia region by the occupiers, three civilians were wounded, including a child.
The bombing and shelling damaged 773 educational institutions, 75 of which were completely destroyed. The most damaged were in Donetsk, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, Zhytomyr, Sumy, Kyiv, Kherson regions, and the city of Kyiv.
These data are not final, given the inability to inspect the shelling sites where the aggressor country is waging active hostilities and in the temporarily occupied territories.
7:21 Centre for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine
The dissemination of another disinformation by the Russian media about the alleged achievements of the Russian armed forces in Chornobaivka was recorded. On March 28, the Ukrainian Armed Forces defeated a group of Russian occupiers there for the twelfth time. On the same day, Russia boasted for the first time that their occupiers had shot down five Ukrainian missiles and one drone in Chornobaivka.
7:15 State Emergency Service of Ukraine
On March 28, at 9:05 p.m., a missile attack on one of the settlements of the Rivne region caused a fire at a fuel storage plant. There is no spillage of oil products outside the embankment. Rescuers from the State Emergency Service are working at the scene. Extinguishing continues. There are no victims.
6:21 General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
Operational information at 06.00 on 29.03.2022 regarding the Russian invasion
Over the previous day, Ukrainian forces hit 17 air targets — 8 aircraft, 3 helicopters, 4 UAVs of various types, and 2 cruise missiles.
Divisions of the Defence Forces continue to conduct a defense operation in the Eastern, South-Eastern, and North-Eastern directions. In all of them, the Armed Forces of Ukraine hold back the enemy.
The enemy continues to deliver missile and bomb strikes, trying to destroy the infrastructure and residential areas of Ukrainian cities. Concentrates on fuel storage facilities complicate logistical support and create conditions for a humanitarian crisis.
Russian invaders continue to terrorize the local population. Shelling houses; robbing, stealing, and holding civilians hostage, engage in looting.
The units of the Joint Forces in the Donetsk and Luhansk directions repulsed 7 enemy attacks in a day. Ukrainian soldiers destroyed 12 tanks, 10 infantry fighting vehicles, and 3 vehicles.
05:27 Suspilne
The governments of many Asian countries are preventing demonstrations in support of Ukraine under quarantine restrictions, said Nataliia Poshyvailo-Toller, vice president of the World Congress of Ukrainians in East, South, and Southeast Asia, Oceania, and Africa.
“In the countries of South and Southeast Asia, there are a lot of problems. First, it is impossible to hold any actions, they are simply prohibited. People find such opportunities, go one by one, stand at a distance provided by law, according to the rules. I recently spoke with Hong Kong. The fine is $ 3,000 because there have been several actions. And now such “dark forces” influenced by the Russian Federation have joined. I am sure they complained about the violation of the rules and fined the community for that amount,” Nataliia Poshyvailo-Toller said.
An explosion occurred in one of the countries near the house of the head of the local Ukrainian community, she added.
00:59 Suspilne
According to British intelligence, militants of the Private Military Company “Wagner” have deployed forces in eastern Ukraine and plan to attract more than a thousand mercenaries to the war in Ukraine. Due to heavy losses, Russia was forced to deploy militants of “Wagner”, expelling them from operations in Africa and Syria.
00:44 General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
Operational information at 24.00 on 28.03.2022 regarding the Russian invasion
The thirty-third day of the heroic resistance of the Ukrainian people to the Russian military invasion is ending.
The Defence Forces of Ukraine continue to conduct a defence operation in the Eastern, Southeastern, and Northeastern directions, focusing on:
– preventing the advance of the enemy in the directions of the settlements of Sloviansk and Barvinkove;
– the taking of the settlements of Kamianka, Topolske;
– creating conditions for improving the tactical situation in the area of the city of Chuhuiv;
– deterring enemy attacks in the areas of the settlements of Rubizhne, Lysychansk, Popasna, preventing the bypass of the main forces of the group.
At the same time, the Defence Forces of Ukraine continue to maintain the circular defence of the city of Mariupol and defend and deter the advance of the enemy in the Chernihiv region.
In order to improve the operational situation and maintain the outer line of defence, the group defending Kyiv is continuing hostilities and controlling the situation in the settlements of Motyzhyn, Lisne, Kapitanivka, and Dmytrivka.
Part of the Ukrainian forces continues to conduct a defence operation in other identified areas, a stabilization operation is being carried out, territorial defence tasks are being carried out and counterattacks are being carried out in certain areas.
The enemy is weakened, disoriented, much of it is cut off from logistics and the main forces.
The command of the Russian occupying forces is trying to compensate for the decline in the combat potential of the enemy’s units by indiscriminate artillery fire and rocket-bomb attacks, thus destroying the infrastructure of Ukrainian cities.
