The night of the war at a glance
Rocket attack on oil depot – Ukraine: Moscow plans “referendum” in Kherson
03/31/2022, 06:45 am
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy does not yet see any concrete results of the talks with Russia about a possible end to the war. The beautiful words from Moscow cannot be trusted, he said at night. Meanwhile, Ukraine is also reporting further attacks, such as on a fuel depot in the city of Dnipro. Once again, both sides are struggling for a ceasefire in the embattled city of Mariupol. For its part, the federal government is hoping for more clarity as to whether and how Russia will continue to supply gas.
Ukraine: Rocket attack on oil depot in Dnipro
According to Ukrainian sources, a rocket filled with fuel in the city of Dnipro destroyed an oil depot. Debris also damaged two tankers, said the head of the regional council, Mykola Lukaschuk. There weren’t any victims. According to Ukrainian sources, a rocket hit a factory in Novomoskovsk, northeast of Dnipro. There were no deaths here either. According to the Air Force in Kyiv, Russia fires missiles at targets in Ukraine even from the Caspian Sea. The information provided by the warring parties cannot be independently verified.
Russia announces ceasefire in Mariupol
For the city of Mariupol, which has been fought over for weeks, Russia is offering a ceasefire for Thursday to give civilians the opportunity to flee. “Russia’s armed forces will declare a ceasefire on March 31 from 10 a.m. (9 a.m. CEST) for humanitarian purposes only,” Major General Mikhail Mizintsev said, according to the Interfax agency. At the same time, he gave Ukraine until 5 a.m. German time to declare a ceasefire. The deadline passed in the morning without any public statement from the Ukrainian leadership. Baerbock appealed to Moscow to allow escape and help. “The attacks must be stopped immediately. International humanitarian law must be observed,” said the Greens politician in Berlin.
US government observes partial Russian withdrawal around Kyiv
The US government said in Washington that Russia had withdrawn a small part of its troops from the Kyiv area within 24 hours – “probably about 20 percent of the troops,” said Pentagon spokesman John Kirby. Some of these soldiers have been transferred to Belarus. According to the US government, President Putin does not get an honest description of the situation in the Ukraine war. Kate Bedingfield, the White House communications director, said Putin’s senior advisers were “too afraid to tell him the truth.”
Confusion about future payments to Russia for gas
In what currency will Russian gas be paid for in the future? Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to talk about this with representatives of the energy giant Gazprom and the Russian central bank. Economics Minister Robert Habeck had put the first of three crisis levels of the gas emergency plan into effect out of concern for restrictions. Because of Russia’s announcement that it would only deliver gas against payment in rubles. Germany and other countries insist on continuing to pay in euros and dollars. After a phone call between Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Putin, German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said on Wednesday evening that Western payments could continue to go to Gazprom Bank in euros after April 1, as usual. The bank then converts the money into rubles. Scholz did not agree to this, but asked for written information.
Zelenskyj: Russia is not withdrawing voluntarily
In negotiations with Ukraine to end the war, Russia announced on Tuesday that it would significantly scale back its combat operations on the northern front. According to Ukrainian negotiator David Arakhamiya, talks with the Russian delegation will continue online on April 1. Ukraine’s goal is direct talks between the presidents of both countries.
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy expressed distrust. “Yes, there is a negotiation process that is continuing. But so far it’s just words. Nothing concrete,” he said in a video message. Russia is not withdrawing voluntarily from the area around the capital Kyiv and the embattled city of Chernihiv, but is being pushed out there by the Ukrainian army. At the same time, Kyiv is recognizing a deployment of Russian troops for new attacks in the Donbass, Zelenskyj said. “And we are preparing for that.” He reiterated the call for help from Western partners, such as tanks, aircraft and artillery systems. “Liberty must not be worse armed than tyranny,” he said.
Ukraine accuses Russia of using phosphorous weapons
The Ukrainian authorities accuse the Russian army of having used phosphorus weapons again in eastern Ukraine. The weapons used by Russian soldiers caused “a dozen fires” in the small town of Marinka, according to the head of the Donetsk region’s military administration, Pavel Kyrylenko. Accordingly, the towns of Heorhiyivka, Novokalinovo and Ocheretyne were also bombed on Wednesday. He did not provide any information about the type of weapons used. There were no civilian casualties from the attacks, but several houses were damaged.
British spy chief attests to Russian soldiers’ low morale
The head of Britain’s Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), Jeremy Fleming, says Russian soldiers disobeyed orders in Ukraine, sabotaged their own equipment and accidentally shot down one of their own planes. “Putin misjudged the situation massively,” Fleming said in a speech in Canberra, Australia, at the Australian National University. “There is evidence that Russian soldiers’ morale is low and their equipment is poor,” Fleming said.
Suspected of espionage: Slovakia expels Russian diplomats
Slovakia expels 35 Russian diplomats over espionage allegations. Prime Minister Eduard Heger justifies the rigorous step as Slovakia’s necessary self-protection: “The 35 diplomats that we are now sending home were not only superfluous in view of our actual bilateral relations, but also represented an intolerably large security risk”. Local media had estimated the number of Russian diplomats in Bratislava at 45 two years ago. It’s unclear how many are left now.
Preparations for a “referendum” in Kherson?
The Ukrainian general staff reported during the night that Russia was preparing a “referendum” in the conquered city of Cherson on the establishment of a Moscow-friendly “people’s republic”. The invading army is trying to control the areas in southern Ukraine with “civilian-military administrations”. The pattern would be similar to the separatist regions of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine, now recognized by Russia as independent. Cherson has almost 300,000 inhabitants and plays an important role in protecting the port city of Odessa in the southwest of the country.
That’s going to be important today
- At Putin’s meeting with Gazprom and the Russian central bank, concrete steps will be taken to settle gas supplies to the West.
- Clarity is also expected about a possible ceasefire for Mariupol.
- Zelenskyj addresses the Australian Parliament. And Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg presents the NATO annual report.
You can read all further developments in our live ticker on the Ukraine war.