Friday, March 10

Russia’s war against Ukraine

People disassemble houses destroyed by a Russian missile hitting a residential area in the village of Velika Vilshanytsia, Lviv Region, Ukraine on March 9, 2023. (Photo by Pavlo Palamarchuk/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Russia launches largest missile strike against Ukraine in months. Russia launched a mass missile and drone attack across Ukraine in the early morning hours of March 9, killing at least 5 people and injuring 7. Numerous critical energy infrastructure sites were targeted. Attacks were recorded in Kyiv, Lviv, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Zhytomyr, Kirovohrad, Dnipropetrovsk, and Kharkiv Oblasts.

Commander-in-chief: Ukrainian air defense downs 34 missiles, 4 drones. Ukraine’s air defense destroyed 34 of the missiles and 4 Iranian Shahed drones launched at Ukraine last night, according to Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine’s Armed Forces Valerii Zaluzhnyi. In total, Russia launched 81 missiles of various types at Ukraine overnight on March 9, Zaluzhnyi said.

PM Shmyhal: Energy sites in 8 Ukrainian regions hit in Russian March 9 attack. Power outages are possible in some regions, but the country’s energy system “remains intact” after Russia’s largest missile strike in months, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal wrote on Telegram.

Mayor: Power supply in Kyiv fully restored. However, work on restoring heat supply in the Ukrainian capital is ongoing as 30% of homes are currently left without heating after Russia’s mass attack on March 9, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

Stand with the Kyiv Independent. Become a member today.

Military: Importance of holding Bakhmut ‘only increasing.’ According to Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of the Ground Forces of Ukraine, holding Bakhmut allows Ukraine to prepare its reserves for future counteroffensives and exhausts the resources of the Russian army, namely the “most prepared and combat-capable” soldiers from the Wagner private military contractor group.

Commander: Russia hasn’t encircled Bakhmut, but situation is ‘very difficult.’ “Here, every move and decision can radically change it (the situation). Every day has the highest value,” said Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of the Ground Forces of Ukraine. “I appreciate the speed of thinking of the brigade commanders I am working with.”

Intelligence: Russia preparing ‘large-scale provocation’ on Ukrainian-Belarusian border. Russia is planning a “large-scale provocation” on Belarus’ border with Ukraine “in the near future,” potentially involving destruction of infrastructure facilities and victims among civilians, Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s Main Intelligence Directorate reported on March 9.

President’s Office: Ukraine may receive security guarantees at next NATO summit. “There will definitely be security guarantees, we no longer hear “no” when we speak up about them. Now the question is who will be the first to sign them with us,“ Ukraine’s Presidential Office head Andrii Yermak told reporters, as cited by the European Pravda.

PM Shmyhal: Euratom and 49 countries call on Russia to leave Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) and 49 countries demanded that Russia leaves the occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in a joint appeal to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal reported on March 9.

General Staff: Russia launches 95 missiles in its latest attack. Russian forces launched 95 missiles in the largest missile attack on Ukraine in weeks on March 9, according to the General Staff report.

ISW: Russia conducts large missile strike to advance propaganda objectives. The Institute for the Study of War reported that Russia’s largest missile strike in recent weeks “likely only served Russian state propaganda objectives,” in its latest update.

What will the war bring in 2023? Illia Ponomarenko interviews Michael Kofman and Rob Lee

Read our exclusives

British Armed Forces Minister: ’Each iteration of aid we have given is a consequence of Putin’s escalation.’

Britain has been among the frontrunners in providing support to Ukraine, ranking second only behind the U.S.

Photo: Victoria Jones/PA Images via Getty Images

Ukraine war latest: Russia launches largest missile attack against Ukraine since January.

In the early hours of March 9, Russia launched the largest missile attack against Ukraine since early 2023.

Photo: Yuriy Dyachyshyn/AFP via Getty Images

The human cost of Russia’s war

Death toll from Russian missile strike on Lviv Oblast rises to 5. The death toll resulting from Russia’s March 9 missile attack on Lviv Oblast’s Zolochiv district has risen to 5, Lviv Oblast Governor Maksym Kozytsky said.

Death toll rises to 4 in Kherson after Russian shelling. The death toll has risen from three to four people after Russian forces shelled Kherson on March 9, according to Suspilne Kherson television.

General Staff: Russia has lost 156,120 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022. The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported on March 9 that Russia has lost 155,530 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24 last year. This number includes 590 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.

International response

Poland transfers 10 more Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. Defense Minister Mariusz Błaszczak confirmed at a briefing on March 9 that 10 more Leopard 2 tanks had been transferred to Ukraine and the training of Ukrainian soldiers on how to operate the tanks has concluded.

Slovakia and Poland ‘ready’ to send MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine. Slovakia’s Defense Minister Jaroslav Nad confirmed on March 9 that Slovakia and Poland are prepared to send MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine in a joint effort. “I think it’s time to make a decision. People in Ukraine are dying,” Nad wrote, adding that it was “inhumane and irresponsible” to politicize the war.

Poland to transfer ‘limited’ number of MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine. “As far as I know, it will not be a large number of aircraft,” Paweł Szrot, the head of the Polish president’s office, said, as quoted by the Polish Press Agency.

In other news

Georgian authorities withdraw controversial bill that prompted massive protests. The legislation prompted massive protests on March 7-8, with tens of thousands taking to the streets, clashing with the police, building barricades and trying to storm the parliament building. The police have cracked down on the demonstrators, using water cannons and tear gas and beating up some of the protesters.

Kremlin proxies in Moldova claim Ukraine’s SBU tried to kill their leader. The Kremlin’s proxies in the Russian-occupied part of Moldova claimed on March 9 that the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) had allegedly tried to assassinate Vadim Krasnoselsky, the so-called president of Transnistria.

Want to get the news faster? Follow our website: kyivindependent.com.

Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Oleg Sukhov, Kate Tsurkan, Toma Istomina, Dinara Khalilova, Anastasiya Gordiychuk, Lili Bivings, and Anastasiia Malenko.

If you’re enjoying this newsletter, consider becoming our patron on Patreon or donating via GoFundMe. Start supporting independent journalism today.