The Financial Times reported on March 27 that the latest version of the agreement proposed by the U.S. includes terms that would grant Washington unprecedented control over Ukraine's natural resources through a joint investment fund.
When an "unprecedented" cyberattack hit the computer networks of Ukrainian Railways (Ukrzaliznytsia) on March 23, the company's staff gave up any idea of getting a good night's sleep for the foreseeable future. "Everyone is working around the clock. This is no joke," Anastasia Zolotaryova, Ukrzaliznytsia spokesperson told the Kyiv Independent
Key developments on March 28: * Russia intensifies assault in Zaporizhzhia, increasing pressure on Ukraine's southern positions, military says * Russia makes excuses to break ceasefire on energy infrastructure strikes * EU preparing 17th package of Russia sanctions, EUobserver reports * UK, French military officials to meet in Ukraine to discuss troop deployment Russia
The news came a day after a Paris summit where a number of European countries moved forward with plans to send soldiers to Ukraine as part of a "reassurance force" in case of the ceasefire with Russia.
Work on a new round of EU sanctions against Russia has started and is “at a very early stage,” one of the sources told EUobserver. The European Commission is expected to present its proposals in early summer, another diplomat told the media outlet.
Multiple Ukrainian media outlets reported, citing law enforcement sources, that the deceased was Oleksandr Plakhotnik, a member of ex-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko's Batkivshchyna (Fartherland) party and a former deputy mayor of Kamianske.
"The Russian side reserves the right, in case the Kyiv regime does not comply with this moratorium, of course, not to comply with it either," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.
The U.S. has secured the data and ensured that it can be transferred "to any appropriate authorities," U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.
The Kyiv Independent, in partnership with UNESCO and with the support of Japan, is launching a hands-on consultancy program for three regional independent media organizations in Ukraine that were severely affected by the U.S. aid freeze. This U.S. aid freeze affected organizations in Ukraine, including those providing humanitarian
These were soldiers who fought in the Kurakhove, Pokrovsk, Bakhmut, Vuhledar, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia directions.
"Norway will continue to be a reliable donor to efforts to protect the civilian population and save lives," Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said.
Russia launched 163 drones overnight, including Shahed-type attack drones, according to Ukraine's military.
Russian President Vladimir Putin also listed China, India, Brazil, and South Africa among those he sees as potential participants.
"The Russians want to get as much of a head start or advance as much as possible in Zaporizhzhia Oblast," Ukraine’s Southern Defense Forces spokesperson Vladyslav Voloshyn said.
"I think you have to make more progress on a technical level," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.
Putin suggested a transitional administration, overseen by the U.N. and several countries, could be formed in Ukraine to organize elections.
At least 19,500 Ukrainian children have been confirmed as abducted by Russia since the start of its full-scale invasion, with only about 1,200 returned.
The number includes 1,860 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.
Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, passed on March 27 in the second reading a bill aimed at strengthening the country’s cyber defense capabilities and enhancing protection of state information resources.
"I can't imagine any situation in which Germany would not be participating in whatever would be the result of negotiations of a ceasefire or even a peace," German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said on March 27.
"If he himself (Zelensky) is illegitimate, then all the others are too," Putin claimed in an address on March 27.
Last February, a Ukrainian company commander going by his callsign Veter was ordered to send his people to reinforce another unit’s position over the next few hours. He was told that four National Guardsmen were holding the position on the other side of the village they were defending in
Key developments on March 27: * Russia preparing for new spring offensive in Sumy and Kharkiv oblasts, Zelensky says * ‘With or without the US’ — France, UK harden line over Ukraine at ‘Coalition of the Willing’ summit * North Korea sent 3,000 more troops to Russia to offset Ukraine war losses, South
"This may only at first glance surprise some. It is a big mistake to believe that this is some extravagant talks by the new U.S. administration," Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
"The city of Kherson is a civilian city, it is not a battlefield. I believe that there should be a reaction from the United States, in actions," President Volodymyr Zelensky said on March 27.
Kyiv believes that the Black Sea ceasefire applies to civilian shipping and Ukrainian ports, and does not apply to Russian warships, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi said.
It took the world 11 years of Russia's war with Ukraine, including over three years of the full-scale invasion, to finally say it out loud: "We are not doing enough." As NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte recently told U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House, "We need to
U.S. President Donald Trump's stated goal of bringing a swift end to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine is looking evermore distant, with only two tentative partial ceasefires to show after several rounds of talks. Ukraine has already agreed to a U.S.-proposed full 30-day ceasefire, saying on March
"I can confirm that since this date, March 25... There have been no attacks on energy objects. Neither Russian attacks on our energy objects, or our attacks on Russian energy objects," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi told the Kyiv Independent at a press briefing.
On March 24, Ukrzaliznytsia said it had been targeted by a "large-scale and sophisticated cyberattack" carried out by "the enemy."
In the past seven and a half months, Russian losses have included 22,200 killed in action and 31,800 wounded. Ukrainian forces have also captured more than 940 Russian soldiers.
Several European countries agreed to send troops to Ukraine as part of a "reassurance force" in case of the ceasefire with Russia, French President Emmanuel Macron announced on March 27 at a summit of European leaders in Paris, which was also attended by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.
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