March 9 mass missile attack, Poland to transfer all MiGs, ZNPP out of power again
Your slice of the top headlines in Ukraine. Daily. Friday, March 10th, 2023.
• The latest, and long-expected, massive Russian missile attack roared into Ukraine in the early hours of March 9, knocking out power in cities across the country, and killing and injuring civilians.
Air raid sirens began to wail in the capital Kyiv at 12.51 a.m., and soon air raid alerts were in place across the entire country. Reports of explosions and the operation of Ukraine’s air defenses started to flood the news channels of the Telegram messenger — widely used by Ukrainians to obtain the latest news.
• The mass missile strike consisted of — in comparison with earlier attacks — a wide variety of missile types.
• Poland is ready to hand over all of its MiG-29 aircraft to Ukraine.
According to Polish President Andrzej Duda, “...the remaining part of the MiG-29s which we have in Poland, which are operational, and which are now serving in our Air Force — we stand ready to provide those planes.”
• Ukrainian oil enterprise Ukrnafta will begin direct purchases of gasoline and diesel fuel from Orlen — Poland’s biggest oil refining company.
Ukrnafta General Director Serhiy Koretsky explained that this move would allow Ukrnafta to supply Ukraine’s domestic market with fuel at most favorable prices and free up space in underground storage facilities for future oil production.
• The European Union’s General Court has annulled personal sanctions against Violetta Prigozhina, mother of Wagner Group mercenary company owner Yevgeny Prigozhin.
Prigozhina was initially sanctioned due to the ties to her son, who is responsible for the deployment of Wagner Group mercenaries in Ukraine. After an appeal, however, the EU General Court annulled the decision, stating that family ties were not enough for her to be sanctioned. This is despite Russian oligarchs commonly using family members to avoid tax and sanctions exposure, as documented by numerous investigations.
• Zaporizhzhya NPP was completely de-energized due to attacks by Russian troops in the early hours of March 9.
The occupied nuclear plant has only 10 days worth of fuel for the backup diesel generations, Energoatom warned. “If it is impossible to restore external power to the plant during this time, an accident with radiation consequences for the whole world may occur,” the Ukrainian nuclear operator stated.
• The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) expects its International Monetary Fund (IMF) program will have two stages, during the war, and after it ends, and will last four years.
The program will be based on the continuation of Ukraine’s European integration, especially in bringing national legislation in line with EU standards and regulations. Ukraine’s obligations will relate to monetary policy, budgeting, tax policy, effective functioning of the domestic debt market, and ensuring price and financial stability.
• For the second time in two weeks, Kherson civilians waiting for public transport were killed by Russian shelling on March 9.
Russia fired 86 times at Kherson Oblast over the last 24 hours, directing more than 430 shells at the region, said local authorities. Residential areas were hit seven times.
• Russian logistics companies claim that Turkey has started blocking transit of sanctioned goods to Russia.
“Starting yesterday, we began to receive notifications from agents that previously approved flight bookings are being canceled,” one source from a Russian firm told Russian financial news publication Kommersant. “They said that (certain) cargo bound for Russia can no longer transit through Turkey.”
• NATO officials are not in full command of facts when they say that Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast, could fall to Russian forces in near future.
That’s according to Operational Command East spokesman Serhiy Cherevatyi. He believes that such statements should be treated with respect, but with the understanding that they may not necessarily have been made with full grasp of the situation on the ground.
• The day’s long read: NABU's new director faces questions of independence amid ties to government
The new director of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, Semen Kryvonos, has a big job ahead of him — continuing to ensure the independence of the Bureau while pursuing anti-corruption investigations at the highest levels. However, some experts warn that his existing ties to the Zelenskyy administration may jeopardize this goal — and Ukraine’s European future.
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