As the war enters its 748th day, here are the main developments.
Here is the situation on Tuesday, March 12, 2024.
Struggle
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the situation along the front line in the east was “much better” and that Ukraine had “regained” its strategic position and Russian troops were no longer advancing after their capture on last month from the eastern city of Avdiivka.
- The Kremlin declined to comment on Russian media reports that it had fired Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov, commander-in-chief of its navy, after losing a series of warships in Ukrainian attacks in the Black Sea. Several media outlets, including the pro-Kremlin Izvestia newspaper, reported over the weekend that Yevmenov had been replaced by Northern Fleet commander Alexander Moiseyev.
- Ukraine said its air defenses shot down 15 of 25 Russian drones launched in an overnight strike in the southern Odessa region, but that an infrastructure facility and some commercial buildings were hit. Ten of the Shahed drones were destroyed in the skies over the Black Sea port of Odessa.
- The United Nations educational, scientific and cultural organization (UNESCO) said more than 1,400 buildings belonging to scientific institutions in Ukraine had been damaged by the Russian invasion and would cost $1.26 billion to restore.
Politics and diplomacy
- Pope Francis' call for Ukraine to “show the courage of the white flag” and begin talks to end the war continued to spark conflict. Russia, which began its full-scale invasion in February 2022, said the call was “quite understandable,” while NATO, an ally of Ukraine, said it was not the time to talk about “surrender.” Meanwhile, Ukraine's Foreign Ministry summoned the Vatican ambassador, known as the papal nuncio.
- Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, said former US President Donald Trump had told him he would “not give a single cent” to the war in Ukraine. Orban met in Florida with Trump, who is running again for the US presidency. He added that it was “hard to disagree” with Trump's position.
- 20 Days in Mariupol won the Oscar for best documentary film. Associated Press journalist Mstyslav Chernov captured the brutal siege and fighting for the Black Sea city in the early days of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. Zelenskyy praised the victory, the first in Ukraine's history, and said the documentary showed “the truth about Russian terrorism.”
- Russian lawmakers have submitted a bill to the State Duma that would rewrite a chapter in history by overturning the 1954 Soviet decision to transfer Crimea from Russia to Ukraine. The draft describes the handover as arbitrary and illegal.
Weapons
- U.S. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines urged lawmakers to approve more military assistance for Ukraine, telling a key Senate committee that it was “hard to imagine how Ukraine” could keep the territory it has regained from Russia without further ado. help from Washington.
