[Korrespondent] 21:14 Public utilities are being evacuated from Avdiivka, Donetsk region, due to constant Russian shelling. In addition, mobile communications will be turned off in the city, said the head of the city military administration, Vitaly Barabash. He explained this by the fact that there are informants of Russian occupiers in the city. "A couple more days, and there will be no opportunity to charge the phone. A couple more days, and there will be no one to serve the generators and the mobile tower," Barabash said.
18:47 An explosion occurred in the Kireevsky district of the Tula region of the Russian Federation, three people were injured. The emergency services said that the alleged Ukrainian drone Tu-141 Strizh with ammunition became the cause of the explosion.
17:26 Borrell said that the deployment of Russian nuclear weapons in Belarus would mean "an irresponsible escalation and a threat to European security." The diplomat stressed that Minsk can still stop this - it's his choice. "The EU is ready to respond with further sanctions," Borrell added.
16:43 Ukraine demands to immediately convene an extraordinary meeting of the UN Security Council regarding Russia's plans to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry called this intention of the Russian Federation "another provocative step" that undermines the foundations of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, the architecture of nuclear disarmament and the system of international security as a whole.
Ukraine appeals to the Belarusian society to prevent the implementation of Putin's criminal intentions, which will further turn this country into a hostage of the Kremlin and will have catastrophic consequences for its future. Kiev also asks the G7 states and the EU to warn the Belarusian authorities about the far-reaching consequences for Belarus if it agrees to accept tactical nuclear weapons from Russia on its territory.
15:55 The defense forces were able to stabilize the situation in the Bakhmut area, but the fighting there is still ongoing, said Serhiy Cherevaty, spokesman for the Eastern Group of Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to him, the number of enemy assaults has decreased, but it is possible that "it is the enemy's maneuver on reserves." Cherevaty added that the Russian army has activated artillery in the Limansko-Kupyansky direction, so the shelling does not stop there.
14:39 The German Foreign Ministry called Putin's statement about plans to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus "another attempt at nuclear intimidation." The department emphasized that the deployment of nuclear weapons in NATO countries, cited by the Russian president as an example, "is misleading and cannot justify the step" announced by Moscow. In addition, the German Foreign Ministry reminds that Belarus has repeatedly pledged at the international level not to deploy nuclear weapons on its territory.
14:12 The Russians launched a missile airstrike on two high-rise buildings in Avdiivka, Donetsk region. According to preliminary information, there were no casualties.
13:50 Head of the Donetsk OVA Pavel Kirilenko showed how Vuhledar looks like now:
13:18 Danilov said that the Russian Federation took Belarus as a nuclear hostage: "Putin's statement on the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus is a step towards internal destabilization of the country - it maximizes the level of negative perception and public rejection of Russia and Putin by the Belarusian society. The Kremlin took Belarus into nuclear hostages.
12:41 Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said that Budapest's call to stop the fire in Ukraine and start peace negotiations does not mean that Russia should receive all Ukrainian territories that it now controls: "Stop the war and sit down at the negotiating table does not mean that you accept status quo... When the war stops and peace talks begin, it is not necessary that the borders will be where the front line is. We know this from our history... The ceasefire must come now."
11:57 The government of North Macedonia will consider the decision to transfer Mi-24 helicopters to Ukraine on March 29 - after the country's General Staff approved such a proposal, Defense Minister Slavyanka Petrovskaya said. She noted that this decision will not affect the combat capability of the army of North Macedonia. We are talking about equipment, which, according to the plans of the country, is about to expire. These will be 12 Mi-24 helicopters that North Macedonia bought from Ukraine in 2001. Some of them have not been used for some time.
According to Defense24, six helicopters have been upgraded - they have been adapted for interaction with NATO forces and have received new aircraft that allow the use of night vision goggles and the Aviators night vision system. Also added is a modern navigation system, infrared lighting, and "other minor upgrades."
11:35 The American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) notes that Putin launched another information campaign against the backdrop of failures at the front. So, he is trying to promote the false story that the West cannot support the supply of weapons to Ukraine due to limited production. In addition, he renewed nuclear threats, announcing that Russia would deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus by July 1.
According to ISW analysts, the Russian president wants to create the impression that further Ukrainian resistance and Western support for Ukraine is useless. He argues that the increase in defense production planned by the West is significantly inferior to the capabilities of the Russian defense industry. According to Putin, by the end of 2023, the Russian Federation will build more than 1,600 new tanks, but Russia's only plant for the production of tanks (Uralvagonzavod) produces 20 units per month, experts say.
The Kremlin will likely continue to remove old tanks from storage and may try to upgrade some of them. But even Putin's announced unrealistic production targets are actually close to the minimum level needed to make up for Russia's losses on the battlefield, analysts said.
They also believe that the announcement of the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus does not increase the risk of nuclear war.
11:28 Hollywood actor Orlando Bloom arrived in Ukraine. He visited the children's center SpÑ–lno, which is supported by UNICEF.
10:47 Putin said that Russia does not create a military alliance with China and "does not threaten any countries." But the West, in his words, is beginning to build a new axis "similar to the one that was built by fascist Germany and militaristic Japan."
09:39 British intelligence reports that since the beginning of March, Russia has launched at least 71 Shahed drones on the territory of Ukraine - these attacks followed a two-week pause in late February. Analysts believe that the Russian Federation began to regularly replenish the stocks of shock UAVs.
Drones are launched from two directions - from the Krasnodar Territory and the Bryansk Region. This allows Russia the flexibility to target a wide sector of Ukraine and shortens the flight time to targets in northern Ukraine. Probably, this is also another attempt to stretch the air defense of Ukraine, according to intelligence.
09:35 In the Donetsk region on March 25, as a result of Russian shelling, two people were killed - in the North and the city of Chasov Yar. Another person in the region was injured, Pavel Kirilenko, head of the OVA, said.
09:19 Russians over the past day 49 times attacked the settlements of the Kherson region, including three times fired at the residential areas of Kherson. Nine residents of the Kherson region were injured, the OVA reported.
09:01 The General Staff announced the approximate losses of the Russian Federation as of the morning of March 26.
- personnel - about 170,550 (+660) people liquidated,
- tanks - 3595 (+15),
- armored combat vehicles - 6947 (+15),
- artillery systems - 2631 (+8),
- MLRS - 522 (+2),
- air defense systems - 277 (+1),
- aircraft - 305 (+0),
- helicopters - 291 (+0),
- UAV operational-tactical level - 2216 (+2),
- cruise missiles - 911 (+0),
- ships/boats - 18 (+0),
- automotive equipment and tankers - 5486 (+3),
- special equipment - 282 (+3).
08:43 The Russian army is concentrating its main efforts on conducting offensive operations in the Limansky, Bakhmutsky, Avdeevsky and Maryinsky directions. On them, the Defense Forces repelled more than 85 enemy attacks, the General Staff said in the morning summary .
In Berdyansk, Zaporozhye region, the Russian occupation "administration" ordered local residents to receive passes from the city commandant's office before April 1 to move around the occupied territories of the region. Passes will be issued upon successful filtering, separately for people and vehicles.
04:20 The International Campaign to Ban Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) condemned Putin's intention to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus. "As long as President Putin has nuclear weapons, Europe cannot be safe," ICAN said.
In turn, the Pentagon said that so far they see no reason to change the readiness of the US nuclear forces, since they see no signs of the readiness of the Russian Federation to use nuclear weapons: "We have seen reports of Russia's statement and will continue to monitor the situation. We have not seen any reason to changes in the readiness of our nuclear forces, nor signs that Russia is preparing to use nuclear weapons."