Sunday, March 10

Russia’s war against Ukraine

Pope Francis attends the Penitential Service in the Roman parish of St Pius V on March 08, 2024 in Vatican City. (Photo by Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images)

Pope Francis says Ukraine should have ‘courage’ to negotiate peace with Russia. “Don’t be ashamed to negotiate before things get worse,” Pope Francis said in an interview when asked whether Ukraine’s potential negotiations with Russia would legitimize the aggressor.

CNN: US prepared ‘rigorously’ for potential Russian nuclear strike in Ukraine in 2022. Washington was “preparing rigorously” for a possible Russian nuclear strike in Ukraine in late 2022, which would have been the first nuclear attack in a war since the Hiroshima and Nagasaki 1945 bombings, CNN reported on March 9, citing two unnamed U.S. officials.

Cameron opposes deploying Western troops in Ukraine, including for training. According to U.K. Foreign Secretary David Cameron, deploying foreign soldiers in Ukraine would create additional “targets” for Russia.

Your contribution helps keep the Kyiv Independent going. Become a member today.

Armenia considering applying for EU membership amid growing tensions with Russia. Armenia is considering applying for membership in the European Union, aiming to strengthen ties with Western countries amid growing tensions with Russia, Armenia’s Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan revealed in an interview on March 9.

NBC: House Republicans float idea of new Ukraine aid package as a loan. House Republicans are working on their own version of an aid bill to Ukraine to speed up the delivery of assistance to the country, with one version including treating nonmilitary aid to Ukraine as a loan, NBC reported on March 9.

Tusk meets Polish farmers, no agreement on ending border protests reached. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk failed to reach an agreement with Polish farmers to end protests against Ukrainian agricultural imports during a meeting on March 9, Polskie Radio reported.

Read our exclusives

After 10 years of war, Krasnohorivka in new danger as Russia advances in the east.

On the streets of the small industrial city of Krasnohorivka, just outside occupied Donetsk, the term “full-scale invasion” is rarely heard among locals.

Photo: Francis Farrell/The Kyiv Independent

Explaining Ukraine: Taras Shevchenko, Ukrainian poet and national hero.

In nearly every village, town, and city across Ukraine today, you can spot some kind of monument to the 19th-century poet and artist Taras Shevchenko.

Illustration: Mari Kinovych/The Kyiv Independent

Human cost of war

Russian attacks in Donetsk Oblast kill 1, injure 4. Russian forces struck Chasiv Yar and Ocheretynе in Donetsk Oblast, killing a person and injuring four others, Donetsk Oblast Prosecutor’s Office reported on March 9.

Governor: Russian shelling in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast kills 16-year-old boy. Russian forces shelled a settlement near Nikopol in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast early on March 9, killing a 16-year-old boy and injuring another person, Governor Serhii Lysak reported.

Prosecutor’s Office: 3 injured in Russian strike on Kherson. Russian forces struck Ukraine’s southern city of Kherson on the morning of March 9, wounding three civilians, the Kherson Oblast Prosecutor’s Office reported.

Russia attacks 11 communities in Sumy Oblast. Russian forces fired at Sumy Oblast 45 times on March 9, striking 11 communities, the Sumy Oblast Military Administration reported.

This Week in Ukraine S2E9 – How Ukraine downs Russian planes

International response

Orban meets Trump in US, urges him to ‘come back and bring us peace’. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban met with Donald Trump, who is set to become the Republican nominee for the general U.S. presidential election, during his trip to the U.S. on March 8, and supported Trump’s presidential bid.

Polish protestors to temporarily unblock traffic at one border crossing. Demchenko said on the national telethon that the border blockade could end on March 13, but remained cautious about whether or not the protestors will resume traffic flow after the date.

Media: Next Ramstein summit to be held on March 19 in Germany. The next Ramstein-format summit of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) will be held on March 19 at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany, the U.S. Air Force in Europe’s press service told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL).

In other news

Russian student jailed for renaming Wi-Fi network to pro-Ukraine salute. A Russian student at Moscow State University received a 10-day jail sentence for renaming a Wi-Fi network name to “Slava Ukraini” - a Ukrainian national salute that means “Glory to Ukraine,“ Moscow court documents revealed on March 9.

Air Force: Ukraine downs 35 drones overnight. Ukrainian air defense units destroyed 35 of the 39 Shahed drones Russia launched overnight, the Air Force reported on March 10.

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

Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Toma Istomina, Kateryna Denisova, Dinara Khalilova, Dominic Culverwell, Liliane Bivings, Francis Farrell, and Dmytro Basmat.

If you’re enjoying this newsletter, consider joining our membership program. Start supporting independent journalism today.