According to the Donetsk Region Prosecutor’s Office on Day 747 of the Russia-Ukraine War, a Russian missile struck residential buildings in Myrnohrad, which is approximately 40km (25 miles) away from the front line in Donetsk.
On Monday, March 11, 2024, the current situation is as follows.
Day 747 : Combatting
In the eastern Donetsk region of Ukraine, three individuals lost their lives due to Russian shelling and drone strikes on towns. Additionally, an attack by Russian missiles on the town of Myrnohrad resulted in injuries to at least twelve people early Sunday morning, around 40km away from the front line in Donetsk. According to Kyiv, the Russian military launched 39 Shahed attack drones, which were made in Iran, in central and southern regions, including Kyiv.
The Air Force reported that 35 of these drones were successfully shot down across ten different regions, but there is no confirmation of any damage caused. In a separate incident, Pulkovo Airport in St Petersburg was briefly closed due to the detection of a Ukrainian drone in the nearby Leningrad region. The Russian Defence Ministry stated that the drone was successfully brought down, and no harm or injuries were reported.
Government and international relations
Ukraine has refused to comply with Pope Francis’s suggestion to “surrender” and engage in talks with Russia, stating that they will never give in. According to Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, their flag is and will always be the yellow and blue one, symbolizing their identity and resilience. In response to Russia’s invasion in February 2022, Ukraine’s chief prosecutor Andriy Kostin revealed that they have recorded approximately 123,000 alleged war crimes and identified 511 suspects, demanding that Russia be held accountable in court.
Francis was criticised after saying Ukraine should have the courage of the “white flag” and negotiate an end to the war with Russia. Some politicians and commentators in Europe reacted with anger after the pontiff appeared to stay silent on Russia’s crimes as aggressor in the invasion, which has killed tens of thousands, and placed the onus on Ukraine to make peace. Ukraine’s minister for foreign affairs, Dmytro Kuleba, wrote: “Our flag is a yellow and blue one. This is the flag by which we live, die and prevail. We shall never raise any other flags.”
Kostin emphasized the need to defeat Russia both on the battlefield and in the judicial system. In a separate incident, a Moscow court punished a Moscow State University student with a 10-day prison sentence for renaming his WiFi network to “Glory to Ukraine,” deeming it as a “public display of Nazi symbols or extremist organization symbols,” as reported by Ria-Novosti.
Emmanuel Macron, the French president, should be able to visit Ukraine in the coming weeks, according to officials. Macron was supposed to go in February to sign a bilateral security accord with Zelenskiy but signed it in Paris instead. Two diplomatic sources said the French presidency was considering whether to include other western heads of state in the eventual trip, to show unity among allies and solidarity with them.
Armaments
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), a prominent conflict research organization, European countries saw a significant increase in arms imports from 2019 to 2023, nearly double the amount from 2014 to 2018. During this time, Ukraine also emerged as the largest arms importer in Europe. The SIPRI reported a 94% growth in European imports from 2019 to 2023, and Ukraine ranked fourth in the world for arms imports during this period.
UK vehicles that fall foul of London’s ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) rules can from next week be donated to Ukraine rather than being scrapped. Applicants will be able to donate vehicles in return for the same grant payment available to drivers who scrap or retrofit their vehicles – up to £2,000 ($2,600) – the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced.
