Date—March 30, 2022

Stories

1. Kadirov: Former deputy commander of the Sever battalion Ruslan Geremeev was wounded during the battle in Mariupol: “On the way to Mariupol, I visited my dear BROTHER and personally made sure that nothing threatened his life. He is on the mend successfully and is ready to get back on track in the near future.” On the afternoon of March 29, a video appeared on the network of Kadyrov visiting Geremeyev in the hospital, but the information about the injury of the Chechen security official was not officially confirmed. Ruslan Geremeev leads a Chechen unit that takes part in the siege of Mariupol. He is a defendant in a criminal case on the murder of politician Boris Nemtsov. During the investigation, the lawyer for the Nemtsov family, Vadim Prokhorov, suggested that Ruslan Geremeev could be the organizer of the murder. (Source: Telegram).

2. The commanders of the battalions of the Kharkiv cell of the territorial defense “Azov” Sergei Velichko (call sign “Chile”) and Konstantin Nemichev deny that the Russian military took them prisoner. On the evening of March 29, they simultaneously published two videos on their telegram channels, in which they rejected the claims of a State Duma deputy, former commander of the Airborne Forces, Colonel General Vladimir Shamanov that the Russian special forces “captured” them, and they “beg for mercy.” In the afternoon, General Vladimir Shamanov announced the capture of two Ukrainians suspected of torturing the Russian military. He said that Sergei Velichko and Konstantin Nemichev came from the fan group of the Kharkov football club Metalist. Other sources, including the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, did not confirm this information. (Source: Meduza).

War

1. The General Staff AFU: “Units of the 4th (Tskhinvali district, South Ossetia) and 7th (Abkhazia) military bases, which are part of the Southern Military District, were transferred from the occupied territories of Georgia to the territory of Ukraine to recruit Russian armed forces. “Three military BTGs with a total number of up to 1,200 Russian and Ossetian servicemen were formed and sent to Ukraine at the 1st military base. Two BTGs were formed from the units of the 7th military base, which is about 800 people.” In the temporarily occupied territories of Zaporizhia and Kherson oblasts, the enemy continues to commit illegal acts against the local population. Thus, in the settlement of Velyka Bilozirka, units of the Russian occupiers were scattered throughout the settlement and placed equipment between residential buildings. In Melitopol, the invaders on the outskirts of the city equipped checkpoints and strengthened the bypass regime. The enemy continues to loot the homes and apartments of local residents, detain pro-Ukrainian activists and government officials in Ukraine. In the temporarily occupied territory of Luhansk region, the occupying authorities plan to hold another wave of mobilization from April 1 this year. It is possible that such efforts will be made in the recently occupied territories of the region. According to available information, the armed forces of the Russian Federation still have problems with staffing units. Thus, servicemen of the 26th Panzer Regiment of the 47th Panzer Division, who signed contracts after their participation in the war with Ukraine, began to submit reports requesting to terminate the contract and send them to a permanent location for further service. The United Forces in the Donetsk and Luhansk areas have repulsed four attacks by the Russian occupiers over the past 24 hours. Ukrainians destroyed 7 tanks, 7 armored units, 2 units of vehicles and an anti-tank gun. The enemy suffered casualties.  (Source: Facebook).

Opinions

1. Zelensky: The signals that we hear from the negotiation platform can be called positive. But these signals do not drown out the explosions of Russian shells. Of course, we see all the risks. Of course, we see no reason to trust the words of certain representatives of a state that continues to fight for our destruction. Ukrainians are not naive people. Ukrainians have already learned both during these 34 days of the invasion and over the past eight years of the war in Donbass that you can only trust a concrete result. Of course, Ukraine is ready for negotiations and will continue the negotiation process to the extent that really depends on us. We are counting on the result. There must be real security for us, for the state, for sovereignty. The sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine must be guaranteed. There can be no compromises on sovereignty and our territorial integrity, and there won’t be. These are clear principles, a clear vision of the possible result. (Source: YouTube)..

Economy, Social life, and Culture

1. Metinvest: Ukraine’s metallurgical losses from the Russian war are 30-40% of their pre-war capacity. “Mariupol plants are more than a third of Ukraine’s steel production. In other words, Ukraine has lost about 30-40% of its metallurgical capacity today,” said Yuri Ryzhenkov, the holding’s general director. He is confident that the Mariupol plants will definitely be rebuilt after Russian troops are expelled from Ukraine. Currently, two metallurgical plants are under the control of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the defenders of Mariupol. (Source: UP).

Invasion Damage

1. On the night of March 30, the Russian occupiers fired three missiles at industrial facilities in the Khmelnytsky region. The fires caused fires, but were extinguished as of the morning of March 30. Information about the victims is currently being verified. One of the blows was inflicted on the object in the regional center. In the afternoon of March 29, Russian invaders fired rockets at a military airfield in Starokostiantyniv in the Khmelnytsky region. (Source: UP).

Foreign news

1. Explosions near the village of Krasny Oktyabr in the Belgorod region of the Russian Federation occurred due to a fire at an ammunition depot, said the governor of the region, Vyacheslav Gladkov. “We are waiting for the official announcement of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. According to unverified information, there was a fire in the ammunition depot. The situation is currently under control.” (Source: Telegram).

2. The Dutch Foreign Ministry announced that it was expelling 17 Russian diplomats from the country. According to the intelligence services, the diplomats were engaged in espionage activities. They must leave the Netherlands within two weeks. After their departure, the size of the Russian mission in the Netherlands will be reduced from 75 to 58 people. At the same time, the Belgian government announced that it would expel 21 Russian diplomats suspected of being spies. These are employees of the Russian embassy in Brussels and the Russian consulate in Antwerp. They have two weeks to leave the country. On this day, the Irish authorities also announced the expulsion of four diplomats due to activities incompatible with their diplomatic status. The Czech Republic also decided to expel one Russian diplomat as part of a joint decision with its allies to “reduce Russia’s intelligence presence in the EU.” (Source: Meduza).

3. The British Permanent Representative to the United Nations said her country was ready to “play its part” in providing security guarantees for Ukraine if Kyiv so requested. (Source: UP).