Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,128.
Here is the roundup of key events as of Friday, March 28.
Fighting
- Kyiv’s air force said it shot down 42 of the 85 Russian drones launched at Ukraine in an overnight attack, including a Russian Iskander-M ballistic missile attack. More than 20 people were injured in the attacks, with residential buildings and storage facilities left damaged as well.
- Russia’s FSB security service accused Ukrainian spy agencies of trying to recruit Russian citizens to collect military intelligence under the guise of being RAND Corp employees – a United States-based think tank.
- Russia has handed over five children to Ukraine amid Qatar’s mediation efforts to return children separated from their families due to the ongoing war.
- After visiting Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region, Kyiv’s top general Oleksandr Syrskii said Russian forces were intensifying their attacks in the area, but that the Ukrainian military was conducting defence and assault operations to prevent the army from advancing into Ukraine.
- Russia’s Ministry of Defence accused Ukraine of attacking energy facilities with drones and artillery in the Russian border region of Bryansk, Kursk, and the Moscow-annexed Crimea, despite a mutually agreed moratorium between Ukraine and Russia on such strikes.
- Ukraine’s army denied the allegations, and a spokesperson from Kyiv’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said neither Ukraine nor Russia had attacked each other’s energy facilities since March 25.
- Russian shelling killed two people and partially disrupted the power supply to southern Ukraine’s Kherson, The Associated Press news agency reports, citing a local official.
Ceasefire
- French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, during a visit to China, said Beijing and Paris should coordinate in promoting peace in Ukraine and that China could play a role in convincing Russia to come to the table in good faith.
- The United Kingdom’s Prime Minister Keith Starmer branded Russian President Vladimir Putin’s promises as “hollow” regarding a ceasefire with Ukraine and accused Putin of playing games with the agreed naval ceasefire in the Black Sea.
- Putin suggested that as part of the peace process, Ukraine be placed under the temporary “administration” of the United Nations and other countries until elections are held.
- Kremlin Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused France and the UK of planning a “military intervention in Ukraine” disguised as a peacekeeping mission. She warned such attempts could lead to a military clash between Russia and NATO.
- Some 30 leaders of the “coalition of the willing” countries met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Paris to discuss strengthening Kyiv’s position and assessing how the coalition could be involved if a peace deal is struck with Russia.
- The summit discussed deploying European soldiers to Ukraine, although some countries were more keen than others. The countries also agreed it was not the time to relieve Russia of sanctions, but to intensify them further.
- President Zelenskyy warned the meeting of “dangerous signals” from Saudi Arabia regarding the possible lifting of Russian sanctions.
- French President Macron said that London and Paris were working on sending “assurance troops” to Ukraine after a potential future peace deal, even if the idea was not approved by all European countries.
- At the event, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said his country’s initiative to supply ammunition to Ukraine in 2025 would match last year’s supply. Last year, the Czech government provided Ukraine with 1.5 million artillery rounds, including 500,000 units of 155-millimetre shells, the Czech Defence Ministry said.
Politics and Diplomacy
- South Korea’s military said that North Korea has sent some 3,000 more soldiers to Russia this year, while continuing to supply the Kremlin with missiles, artillery and ammunition to help Moscow in its war against Kyiv.
- Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Moscow and Washington are just in the early days of a long and difficult process to restore ties and that it would be premature to draw “far-reaching conclusions” about Russia-US relations so soon.
- According to Russian state news agency TASS, Ryabkov also said it is too early for Russia to reopen strategic nuclear stability talks with the US.
- Zelenskyy accused the US of “constantly” changing the terms of the proposed minerals deal signed with his country. However, he said he did not want the US to think Kyiv was against the deal.
