Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,126

Important events from Wednesday, March 26 are listed here.

Fighting

Early on Wednesday, Oleksandr Vilkul, head of the city’s military administration, announced that a large-scale drone attack by Russian drones had caused “major destruction” in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih. Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s hometown of Kryvyi Rih, where at least 15 explosions are frequent targets for Russian attacks, was reported by Vilkul. No initial casualties were discovered.
One civilian was hurt and a building was damaged in a Ukrainian drone attack in the Belgorod region of Russia, according to the governor of the area.
In a trial of Ukrainian military personnel, the majority of them from the former Azov regiment, who had fought alongside Russian forces for months in February and April of 2019, Rostov-on-Don is expected to soon receive a verdict in a Russian court in Rostov-on-Don. Nine women among the 24 Ukrainian soldiers are accused of being involved in terrorism and having a role in a terrorist organization, and they face prison sentences of up to 20 years.

Russia and Ukraine agreed to temporarily suspend strikes against a number of targets, according to the Kremlin, including nuclear power plants, oil refineries, and pipelines. Fuel storage facilities, pumping stations, electricity generation and transmission infrastructure, such as power plants, substations, transformers, distributors, and hydroelectric dams, were also included in a list that appeared on the Kremlin’s Telegram channel. According to a statement from the Kremlin, the list was “agreed between the Russian and American sides.”
The temporary moratorium on energy infrastructure strikes begins on March 18 and lasts for 30 days, but it may be extended by agreement. According to the Kremlin, if one party violates an agreement, the other party is also exempt from compliance.

Russia and Ukraine “agreed to ensure safe navigation, eliminate the use of force, and prevent the use of commercial vessels for military purposes in the Black Sea,” according to the White House in a similar statement. The US stated that it would look into other ways to put a stop to energy infrastructure strikes in the two nations.
The Russian Agricultural Bank and other financial institutions that are subject to sanctions for food and fertilizer trade could only be subject to the terms of the Black Sea agreement, according to the Kremlin, in a statement. The Kremlin said the agreement must be lifted in addition to removing restrictions on exports of agricultural equipment to Russia and lifting sanctions against Russian exporters of food and fertilizers and ships carrying Russian food exports.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, applauded the US-brokered agreements, but criticized Washington for agreeing to lift sanctions against Russia, claiming that doing so “would weaken our position.” The agreed-upon arrangements with Russia and Ukraine were not subject to sanctions, according to Selenskyy, who claimed Moscow had manipulated the deal. In his nightly video address, Zelenskyy said, “Unfortunately, even now, even today, on the very day of negotiations, we see how the Russians have already begun to manipulate.”

In a port in Odesa, Ukraine, in July 2022, David Goldman/AP.

Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, stated in a statement released late on Tuesday that the Black Sea agreement seeks to return Moscow to predictable grain and fertilizer markets, which would allow for profit and ensure global food safety.
Following the announcement in the Black Sea, the British government expressed hope for the development, but it was not clear whether the UK would follow US efforts to ease some Russian sanctions as part of the deal.
It was impossible to transfer control of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant back to Ukraine or any other country, according to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Early in the conflict, Russian forces took control of the largest nuclear power station in Europe, which has six reactors.

According to the US intelligence community’s Annual Threat Assessment report, Russia, Iran, North Korea, and China are attempting to use strategic strategies to defeat the US, and Beijing also wants to replace the US as the world’s dominant AI power by 2030.
The biggest air defense exercise in Europe will end in the Netherlands on Wednesday, according to NATO commanders who said they were utilizing lessons from the drone war over Ukraine.
The International Maritime Organization, its International Civil Aviation Organization, and the United Nations International Telecommunication Union all expressed “grave concern” over the ongoing problems with the so-called Global Navigation Satellite Systems, which are crucial for aviation and maritime safety since Russia’s war in Ukraine and Middle East war started.
In case of a crisis, whether it is a conflict or a natural disaster, the European Union is urging everyone in the 27-country bloc to have a three-day survival kit ready. Hadja Lahbib, the EU’s commissioner for crisis management, stated to the AFP news agency that Brussels would like each citizen to have access to 72 hours of self-sufficiency, which was in accordance with a significant report from last year on improving Europe’s civilian and military readiness.

The Baltic countries, which are all NATO members, are concerned about the new US push for a ceasefire in Russia’s conflict with Ukraine, and Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna and his counterparts from Latvia and Lithuania met in Washington, DC.
Tsahkna stated in advance of the meeting that after Trump started discussions to end the war, Russia now has a better chance of survival. She also suggested that the US consider setting a time limit if nothing progresses. How long will Trump actually allow Putin to play the games, the question is now? he told the news agency AFP.
Alexander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus, sworn in for a seventh term on Tuesday, mocking those who criticized him as “Europe’s last dictator.” In his inauguration speech at the Independence Palace in the capital of Minsk, Lukashenko, 70, said, “Half of the world is dreaming about our ‘dictatorship’, the dictatorship of real business and interests of our people.” Last year, Lukashenko celebrated his third decade in power, but his political rivals have called the elections a farce.

Source: Aljazeera