Sunday, March 23
Russia’s war against Ukraine
Firefighters extinguish a blaze in a residential building in Kyiv after Russian drones targeted the city in a mass overnight attack on March 23, 2025. (State Emergency Service / Telegram)
Russia launches mass drone attack against Kyiv, kills at least 2. The attacks hit multiple high-rise apartment buildings in the city, causing fires and evacuations. At least two people were killed, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service reported.
Zelensky visits front-line troops, holds meeting in Kharkiv Oblast amid fears of renewed Russian offensive. President Volodymyr Zelensky visited front-line troops and held a military command meeting in Kharkiv Oblast on March 22, as Ukraine prepares for a meeting with U.S. officials in Saudi Arabia on March 23.
Ukraine to meet with US team 1 day ahead of US-Russia talks. A U.S. technical team will meet with the Ukrainian delegation in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on March 23, a day before the U.S. plans to mediate “indirect talks” with Ukraine and Russia.
Your contribution helps keep the Kyiv Independent going. Become a member today.
Russia aims to make ‘some progress’ during upcoming talks in Saudi Arabia. Russian senator Grigory Karasin, who will lead Moscow’s delegation, told local Zvezda TV that he and FSB advisor Sergey Beseda would enter the negotiations with a “combative and constructive” approach.
Russia uses propaganda narratives to undermine peace talks, shift blame to Ukraine, ISW says. The Kremlin has revived familiar narratives portraying Ukraine as the aggressor and acting under Western influence, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
Putin’s new decree part of plan to forcibly Russify Ukrainians, UK intelligence says. The decree mandated that Ukrainian citizens “illegally” staying in Russia must obtain Russian documents of leave before Sept. 10. The intelligence added that Russia “erroneously and illegally” defines both occupied and unoccupied Ukrainian territory in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia oblasts, as well as Crimea, as part of Russia.
Read our exclusives
‘They are Russian-speaking, and there have been referendums’ — Witkoff parrots Russian propaganda
In September 2022, Russia annexed four Ukrainian oblasts following sham referendums at gunpoint rejected by the international community as null and void. U.S. Envoy Steve Witkoff omitted these circumstances in recent remarks.
Photo:Chris Kleponis / Getty Images
‘No high expectations’ — Ukrainian officials skeptical about upcoming Riyadh talks
“Putin will be using negotiations only for propaganda. He wants to look equal to the U.S. and not politically isolated,” Oleksandr Merezhko, head of the parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, told the Kyiv Independent.
Photo: Salah Malkawi/Getty Images
Human cost of Russia’s war
Ukrainian reporter-turned-soldier killed on front lines. “You had other plans for your life. You wanted to make movies and write books,” his mother, Tetiana Shybalova, wrote. “You’d worked and studied for it. But you found it impossible to hide and not accept the challenge.”
6 killed, 38 injured in Russian attacks against Ukraine over past day. “Russia has once again killed a 14-year-old child in Zaporizhzhia with a Shahed. Russia must stop all strikes,” wrote Presidential Office Head Andriy Yermak on March 22.
Updated: Russian attack on Zaporizhzhia kills 3, injures 16. Russia attacked the city of Zaporizhzhia on the evening of March 21, killing three people, regional governor Ivan Fedorov reported. The rescue operation concluded at around 1:00 a.m. local time.
General Staff: Russia has lost 902,010 troops in Ukraine since Feb 24, 2022. The number includes 1,210 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.
International response
Czechia willing to contribute troops for peacekeeping mission in Ukraine, Pavel says. “If there is a strong group of European nations willing to provide security guarantees to Ukraine, my strong conviction is that (the) Czech Republic should be among them,” Czech President Petr Pavel said on March 22.
Netherlands allocates over $70 million towards Ukrainian energy security. “A stable energy supply is a condition for the functioning of the economy, critical infrastructure, social and other spheres of life in Ukraine,” Deputy Energy Minister Roman Andarak said on March 22.
Italy suspends Starlink purchase negotiations with SpaceX amid Musk controversy. “It seems to me that everything has stopped … the topic has moved from Starlink to the statements of and about the person,” Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said.
China considering joining Ukraine peacekeeping mission, Die Welt reports. “The inclusion of China in a ‘coalition of the willing’ could potentially increase Russia’s acceptance of peacekeeping forces in Ukraine,” an unnamed EU diplomatic source reportedly told Die Welt.
In other news
Voice of America journalists sue Trump administration following president’s order to gut free press. The lawsuit comes after U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to stop funding for U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which oversees Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL).
Russia blames ‘unfriendly state’ for 2024 Crocus Hall terrorist attack. Svetlana Petrenko, a representative of the Russian Investigative Committee, claimed the attack aimed to “destabilize the situation in Russia.”
Ukraine Daily is made possible thanks to support of our readers.
For as little as $5/month you can help us keep going.
Your donation is processed by a U.S.-based secure payment system.
We have no access to your bank data.
This newsletter is open for sponsorship. Boost your brand’s visibility by reaching thousands of engaged subscribers. Click here for more details.
Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Oleksiy Sorokin, Natalia Yermak, Olena Goncharova, Abbey Fenbert, and Volodymyr Ivanyshyn.
If you’re enjoying this newsletter, consider joining our membership program. Start supporting independent journalism today.
Comments
No comments yet. Be the first to react!