These are important developments on the 1,104th day of Russia’s Ukrainian War.
This is the situation for Tuesday, March 4th:
Fineting
The Ukrainian army said 46 of the 83 Russian drones had destroyed 46 Russian drones, which were released overnight. Another 31 drones were reportedly “lost” and were unable to reach their target. The drone attack at Odesa in Ukraine’s Black Sea Port damaged the region’s energy infrastructure and caused a disruption to the city’s electricity and heat supply, wrote Regional Governor Ole Kiper. Odesa Mayor Jennadi Torkanov said the attack knocked out three boiler factories. The Samara region governor said the Ukrainian drone attack targeted industrial companies in Sizran, Russia’s southern city, adding that there were no casualties. The Russian telegram channel claimed that Syzran’s oil refinery was attacked in the attack. A massive Ukrainian drone attack in Chertovsky district in the Rostov region of southern Russia has sparked the oil pipeline, said region governor Yury Slyusar. He later said the fall caused a fire at a storage facility on industrial land in the area. A Russian missile attack at an army training ground near the village of Cerkasuke, quoted by a UKRINA military source, AFP news agency reported. Although the official death toll has not been released, Ukrainian military blogger Yury Butusov said that around 30-40 soldiers have been killed and 90 were injured. Moscow confirmed that Kiev returned 33 civilians who had evacuated from the western Kursk region after Ukraine took over the territory. Tatiana Moscarkova of the Russian Human Rights Ombuds One said extradition could be made with support from the International Committee of the Red Cross and Belarus.
economy
Reuters news agency reported a major crash in Ukrainian international bonds following the clash between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Voldymi Zelenki.
Politics and diplomacy
Ukrainian Prime Minister Dennis Schmigar has announced that his country is ready to sign a planned deal with the United States “at any time” to extract strategically important minerals. Schmigar also said security guarantees from the US are existentially important for both Ukraine and Europe just hours after Washington announced it had suspended military assistance to war-torn countries. Finland’s Alexander Stubb said Ukraine should automatically become a NATO member if Russia violates the ceasefire agreement, Alexander Stubb said it reflects influential US Republican senator Lindsey Graham. French economy minister Eric Lombard has expressed his opposition to seizing Russian assets and funding European military spending, saying that such assets cannot be seized because they are “in violation of international agreements.” The Kremlin said the next round of Russia and the US to end the Ukrainian invasion is unlikely to occur before embassies in both countries resume normal operations. The AFP quoted Zelenskyy saying it would be “not simple” to replace him as Kyiv’s leader. However, he was relentlessly eager to resign in exchange for his entry into NATO as a member of Ukraine. British Army Minister Luke Pollard told Times Radio there was no agreement on what the truce would look like in Ukraine. The AFP also reported that “a month’s ceasefire has not been agreed,” citing government sources. A spokesman for British Prime Minister Kiel Starmer said European countries are considering several options to end Russia’s war against Ukraine. However, the spokesman did not provide details about these options. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov criticised the London Security Summit and said that the pledge of European leaders to increase funding to Kiev would only allow the continued hostility, rather than contributing to a peaceful resolution of the conflict. Peskov also said the oval office battle between Trump and Zelensky shows just how challenging it is to reach a settlement with Ukraine. Declaring Zelenskyy of not wanting peace and demonstrating “a complete lack of diplomatic capabilities”, Peskov said “someone wants to put him in peace.” Zelenskyy told British media that a ceasefire without security guarantees would not result in a sustainable end to Russian invasions. “If Ukraine is forced to go through a ceasefire without serious security guarantees, that would be a failure for everyone,” he said. Ukrainian Energy Minister Garschenko, Germany, wrote to International Atomic Energy Agency Chihrafaer Grossi, calling on the IAEA to comply with Ukrainian laws. Galushchenko’s letter reminded the government agencies that staff rotations would not be carried out without permission from the Ukrainian authorities. Grossi defended the rotation through the territory under Russian occupation and said the only reason they did this was because he was in charge of the safety of his employees. Eugenics told the British Parliament that the mineral trade between the US and Ukraine would not be “in itself sufficient” without security guarantees. The contract to end Russia’s war with Ukraine is “still very, very far away,” Zelensky added that he hopes to continue receiving US support despite his recent nausea with Trump. Trump said he “will not hold back” Zelensky’s stance on the possibility of a ceasefire with Russia after Zelensky said the end of the war was very far away. “This is the worst statement that could have been made by Zelensky, and America will not hold it down much longer,” Trump said on his true social network. In response, Zelensky said in a social media post that he wanted the war to be “at a speedy time possible,” adding that “it’s very important to make diplomacy really substantive in order to end this war.” Trump said he will provide an update on the mineral trade on Tuesday, reiterating that Zelensky should appreciate Washington’s support for Kiev more. Trump’s administration suspended funding for new arms sales to Ukraine after an escalating feud with Zelensky. Reuters reported that Washington is considering help to ensure that the US is contributing to peace, citing White House officials.
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