Russia launches a drone barrage at Ukraine, 112 of 139 drones miss target. Eighty-two per cent of Ukrainians are resolved to keep fighting even if the U.S. halts all aid, a poll finds. Russia demanded full control over four Ukrainian regions at the talks with the U.S. in Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Russia launched a total of 139 attack drones and other unidentified types of drones at Ukraine overnight on Tuesday. It also sent into Ukraine an Iskander-M ballistic missile from Crimea, the Ukrainian Air Force said. A total of 112 drones did not reach their targets. Ukraine\u2019s military said it shot down 78 drones, and 34 more disappeared off radar after likely being disabled by electronic warfare systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The drones were launched from the area of Russia\u2019s Millerovo, Kursk, Primorsko-Akhtarsk, and from Cape Chauda in occupied Crimea. The Air Force and other branches of the Ukrainian military deployed aircraft, surface-to-air missile troops, electronic warfare units and mobile groups to repel the attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The intercepts took place over the country\u2019s southern, northern and central parts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The regions of Cherkasy, Kharkiv, Kropyvnytskyi, Kyiv, Odesa, Poltava and Sumy suffered damage during the attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
More than 80 per cent of Ukrainians say their country should continue fighting even if the U.S. halts all aid, a survey conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology between March 12 and March 25 found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere is clear consensus among Ukrainians that Ukraine should continue to fight on regardless \u2014 82 per cent [favored continued fighting]. Only eight per cent of respondents said that under current circumstances they are more inclined toward accepting capitulation,\u201d the pollster said in a comment to the survey. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAn absolute majority of Ukrainians in all regions \u2014 from 78 per cent in the east to 83 per cent in the west \u2014 believe that Ukraine should continue fighting regardless [of U.S. commitment] and should not accept capitulation,\u201d the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The U.S. suspended delivery of all military aid to Ukraine in early March. Although it was later resumed, the pollster asked people what Ukraine should do if U.S. aid were to stop. \u201cWe wanted to know if Ukrainians favor continued fighting with limited support (that of Europe only) or incline toward accepting all of Russia\u2019s demands, which actually means capitulation,\u201d it said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the survey, while 77 per cent of Ukrainians have a positive view of the proposed 30-day ceasefire, 79 per cent say Russia\u2019s conditions for a truce are totally unacceptable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The pollster offered six interpretations of a 30-day ceasefire, of which three are generally positive and three others generally negative. Respondents could choose one answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAn absolute majority of Ukrainians (77 per cent) view the [ceasefire] proposal positively. The most frequent answer (given by 47 per cent of that 77 per cent) is that [the deal] will bring to light the fact that Russia doesn\u2019t seek peace or respect agreements. Twelve per cent say it will help ensure that the aid is flowing. A remaining 18 per cent call it a step toward ending the war on terms favorable to Ukraine,\u201d the comment reads. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Only 17 per cent of the polled opted for one of the three negative answers: eight per cent said it was a wrong move that would weaken Ukraine, seven per cent view it as a desperate step that Ukraine\u2019s leadership had to take because of a difficult battlefield situation, and two per cent said the proposed 30-day ceasefire was a step toward capitulation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
At Monday\u2019s talks in Riyadh, the Russian delegation demanded full control over the four Ukrainian regions \u2014 those of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson \u2014 it said it had annexed, The Moscow Times said. Russia doesn\u2019t fully control any of them. The paragraphs below are quoted from the article.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Moscow is bent on solidifying control over these regions at any cost, as Putin cannot politically afford to abandon them after enshrining their status in the Constitution, a Kremlin-linked official said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere is no constitutional mechanism for regions to secede. We need all of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. Either Trump influences them to leave, or we\u2019re told: \u2018Enter into long negotiations and simply use military force to establish control.\u2019 That\u2019s the worst option for us, because river crossings are always painful operations,\u201d the official said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alternately, Russia could try to seize parts of another Ukrainian region such as Dnipropetrovsk or Sumy and then offer a trade for Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, the official continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet Israeli military expert David Sharp cast doubt on the idea that Russia could realistically capture as much land as it wants without external help before a peace deal is reached.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“The Russian army is incapable of quickly and fully occupying the territories of the four annexed Ukrainian regions. For Russians, capturing even a couple of villages is seen as a huge success,” Sharp told The Moscow Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“In order to cross the Dnipro and seize Kherson \u2014 or even take the city of Zaporizhzhia without having to cross the river, as Zaporizhzhia lies on both banks \u2014 something extraordinary would have to happen. This is an extremely difficult task. Either the Russian army would have to be dramatically strengthened, which cannot happen suddenly or out of nowhere, or there would need to be a complete collapse of Ukraine\u2019s defense. Russia is betting on wearing down the enemy over time,” Sharp said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A source briefed on planning for the Saudi talks said the U.S. side was led by Andrew Peek, a senior director at the White House National Security Council, and Michael Anton, a senior State Department official, Reuters said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Russia was represented by seasoned Kremlin diplomat Grigory Karasin and former spy chief Sergey Beseda, according to Russian state media.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"