UN: Civilian deaths notified in Ukraine 24 February–26 March 2023: 22,424 civilian casualties in the country: 8,401 killed and 14,023 injured— unohchr — 27 March 2023(LINK)

31 March 2023

Guardian: Russia-Ukraine war latest: what we know on day 401 of the invasion

— Russia arrests US journalist; Turkey approves bill to allow Finland to join Nato

IMF board approves $15.6 billion loan for war-torn Ukraine — ground.news: 33 sources — 31 March 2023 (LINK)

30 March 2023

Guardian: Russia-Ukraine war latest: what we know on day 400 of the invasion

— UN nuclear chief visits Zaporizhzhia; Russia and US cut nuclear contacts after Moscow quit New Start

— IATA chief Rafael Mariano Grossi was shown around the plant by Russian occupying forces and officials, telling reporters: "It is obvious that military activity is increasing in this whole region, so every possible measure and precautions should be taken so that the plant is not attacked."

Four bankers at Gazprombank who helped Putin's friend concert cellist Sergey Roldugin set up Swiss bank account convicted and given suspended sentences plus fines totalling $809,000. — ground.news: 63 sources — 30 March 2023 (LINK)

— Judge Sebastian Aeppli said it was not possible to establish the real owner of the funds, but the bankers had failed in their duty to conduct due diligence and check. "It has been proven without doubt that Roldugin cannot be the beneficial owner," Aeppli said.The bank eventually closed the accounts in September 2016.

Alexei Moskalev: Father of girl who drew anti-war picture arrested on run in Minsk — ground.news: 42 sources — 30 March 2023 (LINK)

Russia arrests Wall Street Journal reporter for espionage — ground.news: 408 sources — 30 March 2023 (LINK)

29 March 2023

Guardian: Russia-Ukraine war latest: what we know on day 399 of the invasion

— UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi is due to visit Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant; explosions reported in occupied Melitopol

Russia Deployed Large Network of Secret Agents in Ukraine Before Invasion: Report — Newsweek — 29 March 2023 (LINK)

— This network is still "viable" more than a year after the start of the invasion, "providing a steady stream of human intelligence to Russian forces," a new analysis from the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) think tank said.

28 March 2023

Guardian: Russia-Ukraine war latest: what we know on day 398 of the invasion

— Ukraine Col Gen Syrskyi says Ukraine main task in Bakhut is to 'wear down' enemy forces; Russian energy minister cites drone attacks on infrastructure as 'key risk' to Russia

Putin Removes Age Limit for Conscripts as Russian Forces Devastated — Newsweek — 28 March 2023 (LINK)

27 March 2023

Guardian: Russia-Ukraine war latest: what we know on day 397 of the invasion

— Zelenskiy urges Ukrainians to keep their minds on the war; criticism mounts of Russian plan to put nuclear weapons in Belarus

26 March 2023

Guardian: Russia-Ukraine war latest: what we know on day 396 of the invasion

— Russia strikes deal to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus; Ukraine's defence minister urges Ukrainians to not discuss offensive details

Preparations for 'de-occupation': Annexed Crimea not forgotten by Ukraine: full report — CNN — 26 March 2023 (LINK)

25 March 2023

Guardian: Russia-Ukraine war latest: what we know on day 395 of the invasion

— Russian attacks on Ukraine leave at least 10 civilians dead; UN says both sides in war have summarily executed PoWs

Putin Says Russia Will Station Tactical Nuclear Arms in Belarus — ground.news: 348 sources — 25 March 2023 (LINK)

Russia pardons over 5,000 convicts after fighting in Ukraine with Wagner Group — agencies: /france24.com — 25 March 2023 (LINK)

24 March 2023

Guardian: Russia-Ukraine war latest: what we know on day 394 of the invasion

— Zelenskiy asks EU leaders for more long-range weapons; Medvedev says Moscow's relations with the west are at an all-time low

Russian strikes in Ukraine kill 10 civilians, wound 20 more — AP — 24 March 2023 (LINK)

U.S. Treasury announces new sanctions on Belarusian entities, individuals — ground.news: 18 sources — 24 March 2023 (LINK)

Russia puts ex-Putin speechwriter on wanted list — ground.news: 11 sources — 24 March 2023 (LINK)

23 March 2023

Guardian: Russia-Ukraine war latest: what we know on day 393 of the invasion

— Nine people killed in Russian strike on Kyiv region; Ukrainian general says Russia continues to try and take Bakhmut 'at any cost'

Finnish President Signs Legislation to join NATO — reuters / usnews — 23 March 2023 (LINK)

Russia bought one million ounces (31 tonnes) of gold after its invasion of Ukraine: as of March 2023, Russia's central bank holds 74.9 million ounces (2,098 tonnes) of gold worth $135.6 billion — kitco — 23 March 2023 (LINK)

22 March 2023

Guardian: Russia-Ukraine war latest: what we know on day 392 of the invasion

— Volodymyr Zelenskiy visits military positions near Bakhmut; six killed overnight in drone attack on Rzhyshchiv in Kyiv region

Rebuilding Ukraine will cost nearly half a trillion dollars, World Bank says — afp / fortune — 22 March 2023 (LINK)

Red Cross 'deeply concerned' at plight of civilians in Ukraine's Bakhmut region — ground.news: 4 sources — 22 March 2023 (LINK)

Swedish lawmakers vote to endorse country joining NATO — ground.news: 62 sources — 22 March 2023 (LINK)

21 March 2023

Guardian: Russia-Ukraine war latest: what we know on day 391 of the invasion

— Russian cruise missiles destroyed in Crimea blast; Xi Jinping meets Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin on day two of state visit

Ukraine, IMF agree on $15.6 billion loan package — ground.news: sources — 21 March 2023 (LINK)

20 March 2023

Guardian: Russia-Ukraine war latest: what we know on day 390 of the invasion

— Russian president Vladimir Putin has praised his Chinese counterpart as a 'good old friend' as Xi Jinping arrives in Moscow

EU agrees €2 billion euro ammunition plan for Ukraine — ground.news: sources — 20 March 2023 (LINK)

Putin in Mariupol: What the Russian president saw on his visit — BBC — 20 March 2023 (LINK)

Putin was told Mariupol was a 'paradise' during his night-time visit. Daylight photos show how it really looks. — Business Insider — 20 March 2023 (LINK)

Video Explaining How to Spot 'Real' Putin Reemerges After Mariupol Visit — newsweek/span> — 20 March 2023 (LINK)

19 March 2023

Guardian: Russia-Ukraine war latest: what we know on day 389 of the invasion

— Russian president visits Mariupol after his forces accused of using cluster bombs in Kramatorsk strikes that leave two dead

Club de Madrid, the world's largest forum of democratic former Presidents and Prime Ministers with 100+ members in 70 countries, Reiterates Call to End War in Ukraine — thegenevaobserver — 19 March 2023 (LINK)

18 March 2023

Guardian: Russia-Ukraine war latest: what we know on day 388 of the invasion

— Joe Biden says international criminal court's arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin is justified, while Volodymyr Zelenskiy hails the 'historic' move

17 March 2023

Guardian: Russia-Ukraine war latest: what we know on day 387 of the invasion

— The Hague issues arrest warrant for Putin for overseeing abduction of Ukrainian children; Russia sustaining up to 1,500 casualties a day

16 March 2023

Guardian: Russia-Ukraine war latest: what we know on day 386 of the invasion

— US releases footage of drone incident over Black Sea; Moscow says it will attempt to retrieve wreckage of US drone from water

15 March 2023

Guardian: Russia-Ukraine war latest: what we know on day 385 of the invasion

— US Reaper drone forced down into Black Sea after collision with Russian fighter; Russian diplomat says Moscow does not want 'any confrontation'

14 March 2023

Guardian: Russia-Ukraine war latest: what we know on day 384 of the invasion

— Russian fighter jet collides with US drone over Black Sea; one person killed and three injured in Kramatorsk shelling

13 March 2023

Guardian: Russia-Ukraine war latest: what we know on day 383 of the invasion

— Ukrainian soldier shot dead on camera is awarded Hero of Ukraine honour; Georgian PM warns Kyiv to stay out of domestic politics after popular protests

Ukraine: Bakhmut situation remains 'tough' as brutal battle continues on Monday — ground.news: 23 sources — 13 March 2023 (LINK)

Russia extends Black Sea grain agreement by 60 days — ground.news: 69 sources — 13 March 2023 (LINK)

Foreign Policy: Don't Trust Russia's Numbers — foreignpolicy.com — 13 March 2023 (LINK)

12 March 2023

Guardian: Russia-Ukraine war latest: what we know on day 382 of the invasion

— UK defence ministry calls Bakhmut a 'killing zone'; Russian shelling kills three Ukrainian civilians in Kherson, Ukrainian officials say; Russia lists World Wildlife Fund as a foreign agent

11 March 2023

Guardian: Russia-Ukraine war latest: what we know on day 381 of the invasion

— Ukraine decides to fight on in Bakhmut, says Zelenskiy aide; Wagner chief worried about ammunition shortages; Nord Stream blasts 'carried out by dive team'

— Ukraine has decided to continue fighting in Bakhmut because the battle is pinning down Russia's best units and degrading them ahead of a planned Ukrainian spring counter-offensive, an aide to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said. Mykhailo Podolyak's comments in an interview with Italy's La Stampa newspaper were the latest signal of a shift this week by Kyiv to continue the defence of the heavily contested eastern city, site of the war's bloodiest battle.p in reverse

Most of Kyiv's power supply had been restored, officials said, after Ukraine responded swiftly to the latest Russian missile and drone barrage targeting critical infrastructure on Thursday.

In the Kharkiv region, the governor said the energy situation was difficult. "The energy system has suffered significant damage," Oleh Synyehubov said on Telegram. "Nevertheless, critical infrastructure has already been restored in the city, and water supply has been almost completely restored." Public transport remained closed.

The underwater bombing of the Nord Stream gas pipelines last September was carried out by a team of divers operating from a 15-metre chartered yacht called the Andromeda, according to a news report. The report in Der Spiegel traces the Andromeda's route around the Baltic from its home marina in Rostock to the German island of Rügen and then to the Danish island of Christiansø, close to the site of the 26 September blasts. Questions have been raised about whether another vessel was involved.

Switzerland's government has said it will not change its longstanding policy banning the transfer of Swiss-made arms to a third country despite growing pressure to export them to Ukraine.

The UN nuclear watchdog's 35-country board of governors has backed the reappointment of Argentina's Rafael Grossi to a second four-year term as director general, diplomats said.

Finland's prime minister, Sanna Marin, has visited Kyiv and met President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. They attended a church service at St Michael's Golden Dome cathedral in memory of the well-known Ukrainian military commander Dmytro Kotsiubailo.

Thousands of people gathered in Kyiv to attend Kotsiubailo's funeral. Kotsiubailo, nicknamed Da Vinci and hailed as a national hero and symbol of resistance, was killed near Bakhmut on Tuesday, aged 27.

The British prime minister has said the war in Ukraine will end at the negotiating table. Rishi Sunak said he would support Volodymyr Zelenskiy to be in the "best possible place to have those talks" and recommitted to providing additional support to Ukraine to ensure it has a battlefield advantage. Sunak's comments marked a clear divide with his predecessor, Boris Johnson, in his stance on how the war against Russia will end.

Ukrainian officials have ordered a historically Russian-aligned wing of the Ukrainian Orthodox church to leave a monastery complex in Kyiv where it is based, the latest move against a denomination regarded with deep suspicion by the government.

The head of Russia's Wagner mercenary group has thanked Moscow for a "heroic" increase in ammunition production but said he was still worried about shortages for his fighters and the Russian army as a whole. Yevgeny Prigozhin also said on Friday that Wagner had opened recruitment centres in 42 Russian cities.

The Kremlin said it saw risks of possible "provocations" in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, two Russian-backed breakaway regions of Georgia, after days of protests in Georgia over a "foreign agents" bill. The Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said Moscow was watching the situation "with concern". The Kremlin regime sometimes issues false warnings about "provocations" for its own propaganda purposes.

The war in Ukraine is driven by the interests of several "empires" and not just the "Russian empire", Pope Francis has said in an interview. Speaking to Swiss television RSI, the pontiff described how he had offered to go to Moscow to negotiate peace but had been rebuffed.

The newly installed president of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, denounced Russia's invasion of Ukraine, barely 10 days after he assumed power. In his first interview with a foreign TV channel, Christodoulides told Greece's state broadcaster, ERT, that opposing Moscow's self-styled "special military operation" put the island on the "right side of history".

The International Fencing Federation has decided to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete in Olympic qualifying events, sparking outrage in Ukraine. Fencing became the first Olympic sport to reopen events to the aggressor and its ally, one year after their exclusion due to the war in Ukraine.

10 March 2023

Guardian: Russia-Ukraine war latest: what we know on day 380 of the invasion

— ISW claim Wagner group is taking 'tactical pause' in Bakhmut; Grossi reappointed as UN nuclear watchdog chief; Pope says war driven by interests of several 'empires'

Russian Federation: UN experts alarmed by recruitment of prisoners by "Wagner Group" — ohchr — 10 March 2023 (LINK)

9 March 2023

Guardian: Russia-Ukraine war latest: what we know on day 379 of the invasion

— Ukraine claims to have shot down 34 cruise missiles during wave of overnight Russian strikes that have killed several in Lviv and left many without power

8 March 2023

Guardian: Russia-Ukraine war latest: whatwe know on day 378 of the invasion

— US news report suggests pro-Ukrainian group carried out Nord Stream attack; Ukraine names unarmed prisoner of war shot in video

Putin's Cellist Friend Moved Millions Through Swiss Bank Accounts - Prosecutor — reuters / usnews — 8 March 2023 (LINK)

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