As the war enters its 749th day, these are the main events.
Here is the situation on Wednesday, March 13, 2024.
Struggle
- At least three people were killed and 38 injured, 10 of them children, after a Russian missile hit two apartment buildings in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih.
- Groups of pro-Ukraine Russian volunteer fighters opposed to Russian President Vladimir Putin said they carried out cross-border raids from Ukraine into Russia's Kursk and Belgorod regions. Russia's Defense Ministry said it foiled seven attacks and some 234 fighters were killed.
- Moscow said it shot down 25 Ukrainian drones in eight regions that were part of a broad attack on energy facilities, including Russia's second-largest oil refinery.
- Russia claimed to have taken control of the village of Nevelske in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region. Ukraine's general staff said Russian attacks in the area had been repelled.
- The Ukrainian intelligence agency SBU said it discovered 15 members of a network that was allegedly involved in pro-Russian “information sabotage.” The SBU said it had detained four of them, including a cleric from the Moscow-linked Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC). The SBU said the network was linked to Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB).
Politics and diplomacy
- Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk visited the United States, where he urged Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson to quickly pass a bill that would provide Ukraine with $60 billion in new military assistance. Tusk said Johnson's inaction would cost “thousands of lives.”
- Tusk's call came as Democrats and a small group of centrist Republicans launched separate efforts to force a vote on the relief package, which has been stalled for months amid opposition from hardline conservatives.
- French lawmakers voted in favor of a 10-year security deal for Ukraine that includes a commitment to send up to 3 billion euros ($3.2 billion) in military aid to kyiv in 2024.
- Thousands of people took to the streets of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, to protest against the government and show their support for Ukraine. Since he took power last October, Prime Minister Robert Fico's government has criticized Europe's military aid to Ukraine and pushed to renew ties with Russia.
Weapons
- The White House announced it could send $300 million worth of new military aid to Ukraine after “unforeseen” cost savings from Pentagon contracts. The funds will be used for artillery shells and ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS).
- Ukrainian Army Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov spoke by phone with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin about the weapons deliveries. Syrskyi said ammunition and air defense were key priorities.
- Denmark's Defense Ministry said it would provide Ukraine with a new military aid package that would include Caesar artillery systems and ammunition worth about 2.3 billion Danish crowns ($336.6 million).
- European Union countries appeared set to reach an agreement on the European Peace Fund, a military aid fund for Ukraine, as soon as Wednesday.
