11:11
Ukrainian commander says he needs fewer than 500,000 new soldiers
Ukrainian commander Oleksandr Syrsky needs fewer new soldiers than previously announced. In December, President Volodymyr Zelensky said the army had asked for 500 thousand new recruits. That number has been “significantly reduced” after an inventory by the army, Syrsky said in an interview with the Ukrinform news agency. The current rate at which conscripted men are drafted, supplemented by recruits who volunteer, is sufficient.
The Ukrainian army is in urgent need of manpower to take the place of soldiers who have been killed or wounded in the past two years and to relieve tired soldiers at the front. “People are not robots,” Syrsky said in the interview. “Soldiers are physically and psychologically exhausted, especially at the front.” There are soldiers who have been fighting continuously since the February 2022 invasion.
However, mobilization is a sensitive political issue in Ukraine. Not everyone is willing to join the military and tens of thousands of men have tried to flee the country. A new mobilization law met with opposition in the Ukrainian parliament. In January, President Zelensky reversed his earlier statement that the army needed 500,000 new soldiers. Later, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal also promised that there is no need for mass mobilization for the time being.
Daan de Vries
Also read this report that foreign editor Tom Vennink made about the border river between Ukraine and Romania, where Ukrainian men try to flee their country.
10:47
Romania again finds drone debris near border with Ukraine
Debris from a drone was again found in Romania last night. This is reported by the Romanian Ministry of Defense. The wreckage was located in a field near the Danube, not far from the border with Ukraine. The ministry has launched an investigation into the incident.
It is not the first time that remains of a drone have ended up on Romanian territory. Last year that happened at least four times, the last time was in December. Russia regularly carries out drone attacks on Ukraine’s Danube ports in Reni and Izmajil, several hundred meters from Romanian territory across the river. It has not yet been determined whether the debris found yesterday came from a Russian drone.
Although Romania is a member of NATO, the incidents involving drones have so far always ended without a hitch. According to the Romanian authorities, there were no deliberate Russian attacks, but they were deflectors of attacks aimed at Ukraine.
Daan de Vries
09:50
Scandal surrounding private planes costs Latvian minister his head
Latvian Foreign Minister Krisjanis Karins resigns. Karins has been under fire for months because he allegedly used more than one million euros in government and EU money to charter private planes during his period as prime minister (2019-2023).
In recent years, as Latvian Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Karins was one of Ukraine’s most outspoken allies. He argued for more arms support and warned the West, together with Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, among others, that Russia’s drive for expansion would not end with Ukraine.
When announcing his resignation, Karins did not say a word about his excessive travel expenses. Yet it is almost certain that the scandal is the reason for his early departure. Latvian media learned that Karins declared more than 500,000 euros in travel expenses for European Council meetings in four years, more than all other member states. He took another 600 thousand euros from the Latvian state treasury.
The scandal will probably also put an end to Karins’ international political ambitions. The Latvian previously expressed interest in becoming the new Secretary General of NATO, although he has not officially registered as a candidate. Karins was also considered a candidate to succeed his party colleague Valdis Dombrovskis as European Commissioner on behalf of Latvia.
Daan de Vries
08:14
Russia is once again targeting Ukraine’s electricity grid
Russia carried out another attack on Ukraine’s electricity grid last night. The attack damaged several power stations in central and western Ukraine, the Ukrainian grid operator Uekrenergo reported. Part of Dnipropetrovsk province is without power.
The Ukrainian electricity grid suffered serious damage last Friday in a massive Russian airstrike. Two major power stations have been shut down for a long time and in Kharkiv province electricity is cut off for several hours every day due to shortages.
Due to a shortage of air defenses, Ukraine is increasingly struggling to defend itself against Russian attacks. Since the beginning of this month, Ukraine has therefore had to import electricity from neighboring countries, while the country is normally an exporter.
Daan de Vries
Read more about the Russian attacks on Ukrainian power stations here: Ukraine must significantly increase imports of electricity due to Russian attacks on the electricity network
03:06
France is studying the construction of a uranium plant
The French government is studying the construction of a uranium factory to reduce its dependence on Russia. This is what the French newspaper writes Le Monde and is confirmed by the Ministry of Industry and Energy to the French news agency AFP.
The Russian nuclear sector, unlike the oil sector, is currently escaping international sanctions. This is because Russia is a major player in the field of uranium as fuel for nuclear energy.
France has 56 nuclear reactors and wants to continue to focus heavily on nuclear energy in the future. President Emmanuel Macron attended the very first nuclear energy summit in Brussels last week. Russia’s over-dependence on uranium was also discussed there. (Belga)
00:00, Yesterday
Welcome to the live blog Friday March 29
This was the most important news about the war in Ukraine on Thursday, March 28:
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged the Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives for new military aid. Zelensky has told President Mike Johnson that “swift approval” of a new aid package is “vital” important. That support package has been on the shelf in the US House for months, because Johnson refuses to put it to a vote.
• Ukraine says it shot down 26 Russian drones last night. According to the Ukrainian army, the unmanned aerial vehicles were destroyed over the east and south of the country. Ukraine reports night-time drone attacks by Russia almost every day.
Read the full live blog from Thursday, March 28 here.
