Saturday, March 9

Russia’s war against Ukraine

President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks to the media as President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky listens on during a joint press conference on March 08, 2024 in Istanbul, Turkey. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

Erdogan offers to host Ukraine-Russia peace summit after meeting Zelensky. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey is ready to host a peace summit between Ukraine and Russia after the meeting with his counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky on March 8 in Istanbul.

Zelensky arrives in Turkey, meets Erdogan. President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Turkey on March 8 to meet his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Zelensky is also expected to visit the shipyard where corvettes for the Ukrainian Navy are being built and meet with representatives of Turkish defense companies.

Governor: Explosions reported in Russian occupied cities in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Zaporizhzhia Oblast Governor Ivan Fedorov said that an explosion had been reported near a Russian military base in Tokmak, and another at a warehouse in Melitopol used by Russian forces to store ammunition.

US Embassy in Russia issues warning of potential terror attack in Moscow over next 48 hours. The embassy did not specify what kind of threats they referred to, or who might be behind them. The U.K.’s Embassy in Russia also repeated the advisory issued by the U.S.

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Zelensky urges Erdogan to bring Crimean Tatars back from Russian captivity. President Volodymyr Zelensky passed to his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan the list of Ukrainian citizens, including Crimean Tatars, captured by Russia after their meeting on March 8 in Istanbul.

Russian missile hits 300-400 meters away from Zelensky and Greek PM, president says. The Russian attack occurred when President Volodymyr Zelensky and his staff were giving Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis a tour around Odesa’s port.

Foreign Ministry confirms Zara, other fashion brands to return to Ukraine. Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry announced on March 8 that Spanish Inditex, a multinational clothing company, is preparing to reopen its stores in Ukraine following the two-year closure amid Russia’s full-scale invasion.

Air Force: Ukraine attacks Russian planes at distance of over 150 kilometers. The recent uptick in the number of downed aircraft led to a “significant” reduction in the number of Russia’s guided bomb strikes, Air Force Commander Mykola Oleschuk said.

Read our exclusives

Historian Jade McGlynn: Putin 100% believes Russia’s distorted history

The Kyiv Independent sat down for an interview with Dr. Jade McGlynn to discuss Russia’s distortion of history on Feb. 28 in Kyiv. Dr. McGlynn has dedicated years to researching and analyzing the political manipulation of history in Russia under Putin’s rule.

Photo: Alexey Druzhinn /SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images

Ukraine war latest: Zelensky rules out Erdogan’s idea of peace summit with Russia during Turkey visit

President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Turkey on March 8 to meet his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Among the topics the Ukrainian and Turkish leaders were planning to discuss were Ukraine’s peace formula, the safety of navigation in the Black Sea, as well as the release of Ukrainian prisoners held by Russia.

Photo: The Ukrainian Presidential Office

Here are 3 Ukrainian female tech leaders worth getting to know

On the occasion of International Women’s Day, the Kyiv Independent’s business editor Liliane Bivings interviewed three female leaders in Ukraine’s tech industry. Anna Apostol, Yelyzaveta Cherednychenko, and Eugenia Zhovnach have stayed in Ukraine amid Russia’s war despite opportunities abroad and are invested in the country’s economic growth.

Photo: Mate academy’s press service

Explainer: What we do and don’t know about the number of Ukrainian troops killed

President Zelensky announced recently that 31,000 Ukrainian troops have been killed in the war against Russia.

The figure is significantly lower than some recent estimates published by sources outside the government in the absence of official data.

Photo: Kostiantyn Liberov/Libkos

Field Report: Between life and death in front-line Krasnohorivka

Human cost of war

Russian forces strike Kherson, injuring 7-year-old. Russian forces attacked Kherson, injuring a seven-year-old boy, the Kherson Oblast Military Administration reported via Telegram on March 8.

Governor: Russian drone attacks car in Vovchansk in Kharkiv Oblast, kills 2. The strike was carried out by a first-person view (FPV) kamikaze drone, killing a 58-year-old man and a 53-year-old woman, the regional governor said.

Update: Russia’s March 7 missile strike on Sumy kills 2, injures 26. Russia launched missiles at Sumy at around 2:40 p.m. local time, damaging a school, a central hospital, a regional emergency medical center, and a water utility facility. It was the first missile attack against the regional capital since July.

Update: Russian missile strike on Chuhuiv in Kharkiv Oblast injures 7, including 3-year-old girl. Governor Oleh Syniehubov previously reported that two were injured in the attack, which damaged a nine-story residential building, a shopping mall, a bank, a shop, and a hotel.

General Staff: Russia has lost 422,310 troops in Ukraine. This number includes 880 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.

International response

US Congress passes second government funding bill without Ukraine aid. Both chambers of the U.S. Congress approved a short-term stopgap spending bill to avoid a partial government shutdown through the fall, sending it for signature to President Joe Biden.

Ukraine signs agreement with Turkey simplifying bilateral trade. Ukraine’s Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and Turkish Trade Minister Omer Bolat signed the document after the meeting of President Volodymyr Zelensky and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul on March 8.

Estonian FM announces imminent signing of security agreement with Ukraine. Estonia plans to sign a bilateral agreement on security guarantees under the Group of Seven (G7) Joint Declaration of Support for Ukraine, Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said on March 8 during the joint press conference in Vilnius.

Czech official: Allies yet to collect full funding for 800,000 shells earmarked for Ukraine. Czech National Security Advisor Tomas Pojar argued Czech President Petr Pavel’s statement about finishing the funds’ allocation for purchasing 800,000 artillery shells for Ukraine, Czech outlet Denik reported on March 8.

Polish FM: ‘NATO forces presence in Ukraine is not unthinkable.’ “The presence of NATO forces in Ukraine is not unthinkable,” Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said. “Because it is about (Russian President Vladimir) Putin being afraid, not us being afraid of Putin,” he added.

Polish parliament calls on European Commission to ban agricultural goods from Russia, Belarus. Calling the European Commission to impose sanctions on Russian agricultural goods was one of the suggestions proposed by Ukraine to Poland to solve the ongoing blockade led by Polish farmers.

UK Defense Secretary Shapps visits Kyiv to ‘raise alarm for democratic world.’ U.K. Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said on March 8 that the U.K. has “stepped up to do more than ever” and pushed for other Western allies to do the same.

Luxembourg joins Czech-led ammunition initiative for Ukraine. Luxembourg’s Defense Minister Yuriko Backes also said that the defense ministry had recently delivered 6,000 155mm shells to Ukraine.

Swiss parliament backs measures to confiscate frozen Russian assets for Ukraine reconstruction. The Swiss government estimated in December 2023 that it had frozen $8.8 billion in Russian state assets as part of its sanctions against Russia.

Top Chinese envoy visits Kyiv, meets Ukrainian officials. Ukrainian officials briefed the Chinese delegation on the situation on the battlefield, the work of the Black Sea grain corridor, the return of prisoners of war, Russia’s violation of the Geneva Convention relative to the treatment of POWs, measures to implement Ukraine’s peace formula, and preparations for the first Global Peace Summit in Switzerland.

India identifies ‘major human trafficking network’ luring Indians to fight for Russia in Ukraine. The news came after multiple media reports said that Indian men who came to Russia for work or tourism were then coerced into joining the war against Ukraine.

French defense minister says no plans to deploy combat troops in Ukraine. French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu said that while the deployment of combat troops is not currently being discussed, there is the possibility that France will send military personnel to Ukraine to train Ukrainian troops or participate in mine-clearing operations.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Teah Pelechaty, Nate Ostiller, Katya Denisova, Oleksiy Sorokin, Kateryna Hodunova, Martin Fornusek, Francis Farrell, and Rachel Amran.

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