Important Takeaways:
- As the war enters its 778th day, these are the main developments.
- Russian missiles and drones destroyed a large electricity plant near Kyiv and hit power facilities in several regions of Ukraine.
- In Ukraine, parliament passed a controversial new law on mobilization as it seeks to replenish the military’s ranks.
- International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi said that drone attacks on the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine must stop because of the risk of opening “a new and gravely dangerous” stage in the war.
- Ukraine needs military aid and air defense systems in the face of Russia’s intensifying attacks, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, as he criticized his country’s allies for engaging in “lengthy discussions” and “turning a blind eye”.
- The president travelled to Lithuania to participate in a regional security summit, saying that “Russian evil is a threat not only to Ukraine but to every nation bordering Russia and to everyone who values international law”.
- Ukraine risks collapsing under Russia’s onslaught without US support, a disaster that could embolden China and prompt a new crisis in East Asia, Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told US lawmakers during a state visit to Washington, DC, urging them to overcome “self-doubt” about the country’s role on the world stage.
- Ukraine and Latvia signed a 10-year security agreement envisaging annual Latvian military support for Ukraine at 0.25 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), Zelenskyy said. “Latvia also made a 10-year commitment to assist Ukraine with cyber defense, demining, and unmanned technologies, as well as support for Ukraine’s EU and NATO accession,” he wrote on X.
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Important Takeaways:
- Russia destroyed the largest power-generating plant in Ukraine’s Kyiv region in a missile attack on Thursday, as President Zelensky accused the West of “turning a blind eye” to his country’s need for more air defenses.
- Ukraine’s Air Force said it shot down 18 of the incoming missiles and 39 of the drones. Russia fired 82 missiles and drones in total, including six hypersonic Kinzhal missiles – none of which Ukraine’s air defenses were able to down.
- The Trypilska Thermal Power Plant (TPP), the largest supplier of electricity to Kyiv, Cherkasy and Zhytomyr regions, was completely destroyed, according to the energy company Centrenergo. The company has lost 100% of its power generation across its three plants, which have all been destroyed or occupied by Russia.
- “A black day in the history of Centrenergo,” it said in a statement. “The scale of the destruction is terrible. Money can’t estimate it. This is the biggest challenge for us in the history of the company.”
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Important Takeaways:
- Hunter Biden-linked Ukrainian company used for terror attacks in Russia – Moscow
- Multiple entities, including Burisma Holdings, have been involved in funding terrorism, Russian investigators are claiming
- So far, investigators have “established that the funds, flowing through commercial organizations, including the oil and gas conglomerate Burisma Holdings, operating in Ukraine, have been used in recent years to carry out terrorist attacks in Russia,” committee spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko said. Terrorist activities have also reached beyond the country, aimed at the “elimination of prominent political and public figures, as well as causing economic damage,” she added.
- The committee’s specialists have been working “in cooperation with other intelligence services and financial intelligence,” Petrenko noted. The scrutiny currently revolves around “checking sources of income and further movement of funds in the amount of several million US dollars,” and examining the potential involvement of “specific individuals from among government officials, people with civic and commercial organizations of Western countries,” the spokeswoman stated.
- Burisma is probably best known internationally for its controversial ties to the current first family in the US. In the spring of 2014, following the US-backed coup in Kiev, the Ukrainian energy firm hired Hunter Biden and his business partner Devon Archer on its board of directors, offering $1 million a year in pay. Biden’s father Joe was President Barack Obama’s vice president at the time, and oversaw Washington’s Ukraine policy. He once famously bragged about getting a corruption prosecutor fired – which just happened to occur after that prosecutor began investigating Burisma.
- Nikolay Zlochevsky’s company also offered protection payments to the government in Kiev, according to former Ukrainian MP Andrey Derkach. Zlochevsky paid some “800 million hryvnias [over $21 million] for terrorism financing” in “various jurisdictions,” Derkach claimed in January.
- “The leaders of Ukraine’s security services make no secret of the fact that they carry out terrorist acts and political assassinations for extra-budgetary cash,” he said at the time. “Once again: Biden’s partners in the corruption business in Ukraine finance terrorist acts, thus avoiding responsibility for corruption in Ukraine.”
- Derkach claimed it was common practice for the owners of large businesses in Ukraine to ‘donate’ to the war effort in exchange for immunity from prosecution. He pointed to a criminal case against Zlochevsky relating to a $6 million cash bribe that ended with the Burisma owner paying a $1,800 fine.
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Important Takeaways:
- Law enforcement officials expressed concern that radicals in the U.S. might respond to ISIS calls for similar attacks in the wake of last month’s deadly terrorist attack at a concert hall in Moscow.
- The U.S. said it shared intelligence with Russia that warned that ISIS was preparing similar attacks on concerts in Moscow weeks before the attack. A State Department official said that the U.S. government had shared information on a possible attack with Russian authorities in accordance with its longstanding “duty to warn” policy.
- The U.S. Embassy in Moscow issued a warning on March 7, advising U.S. citizens to avoid large gatherings for 48 hours, saying extremists have “imminent plans” to target large-scale gatherings in Moscow.
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Important Takeaways:
- A drone attack kills 4 people in Ukraine’s second-largest city as Russia builds its war strength
- Shahed drones smashed into two apartment buildings in Kharkiv, near the Russian border, which has frequently been targeted during more than two years of war. Other drones targeted the power grid.
- The Kremlin’s forces in recent months have stepped up their aerial barrages of Ukraine, hitting urban areas.
- Moscow’s troops have recently been probing for Ukrainian weaknesses on the front line ahead of an expected large-scale Russian offensive in the summer.
- Ukrainian officials have previously accused Russia of targeting rescue workers by hitting residential buildings with two consecutive missiles — the first one to draw crews to the scene and the second one to wound or kill them.
- Some 700,000 people in Kharkiv lost power last week after a massive missile attack hit the city’s thermal power plant.
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Important Takeaways:
- Russian Forces Move Closer To The Mountains Of Israel
- First and foremost, various media outlets in the region, in particular, Syrian State media run by Bashar al-Assad and also Israel’s Channel 11 broadcaster, report that Russian forces are moving closer to the Israel-Syria border.
- Now, a quick reminder: Russian forces have been in Syria since September 2015. They entered the Syrian Civil War basically to save Bashar al-Assad’s hide. Assad eventually prevailed in that Civil War and the Russian incursion into Syria was the game changer.
- Well, guess what? Surprise, surprise, Russian forces have not left nearly nine years later. They are still in Syria and are the most powerful force in that country where a number of regional actors have a footprint—the Iranian regime and Hezbollah foremost among them. Turkey is in Syria as well, and in the past, ISIS and Al-Qaeda were also in the region.
- Syria has been, as one friend of mine in Israel called it, a Potpourri of rogue regimes and terror groups all stationed in one place—at Israel’s doorstep.
- Now, reports that Russia is stationing forces closer along Israel’s border are a cause for great concern. There are geopolitical ramifications and prophetic ramifications as well.
- Why would they do that? I think a few things are going on here, folks. Number one, since October 7th, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), in particular, and the Israeli Air Force (IAF) have intensified their strikes in Syria against the Iranian regime and Hezbollah assets.
- Israel is operating more frequently and more powerfully.
- The Iran-Russia relationship is certainly a quid pro quo alliance on the part of the Iranians. Iran is supplying Russia with hundreds, if not thousands, of drones for use in the war in Ukraine, to the point that Iran and Russia are now building a drone factory together east of Moscow.
- Vladimir Putin’s regime is aligning itself with Israel’s greatest enemies, the Assad regime, Hezbollah, and Iran.
- I believe a day is coming when Russia, as well as Iran, will lead what the prophet Ezekiel calls a latter-day confederation against Israel. It’s called The War of Gog and Magog in the Book of Ezekiel 38 and 39.
- The prophetic chess pieces are moving. One of those chess pieces involves the Russian forces moving closer to the mountains of Israel, where the Gog Magog Invasion will take place.
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Important Takeaways:
- The Houthis have vowed to continue their attacks in the Red Sea as long as Israel continues to commit “crimes against Palestinians.”
- Several Russian warships have passed the Bab al-Mandab Strait into the Red Sea, the Russian Navy’s Pacific Fleet said on Thursday, amid attacks by Yemen’s Houthis on merchant shipping.
- The Zvezda TV channel, owned by the defense ministry, quoted the fleet as saying the Russian cruiser Varyag and the frigate Marshal Shaposhnikov were taking part in the voyage.
- Houthi terrorists in Yemen have repeatedly attacked ships passing through the Bab al-Mandab Strait in the Red Sea since November in support of Palestinians, the terror organization claims.
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Important Takeaways:
- A Russian cruise missile flew over NATO territory for 39 seconds overnight triggering a major alert amid fears over an escalation of the war in Ukraine.
- Allied war planes scrambled to ‘ensure the security’ of Polish airspace after the incursion at 4.23am local time.
- The Polish armed forces confirmed the incident in a statement on X, saying: ‘There was a violation of Polish airspace by one of the cruise missiles launched overnight by long-range aviation of the Russian Federation.
- ‘The object entered Polish space near the town of Oserdow (Lublin Voivodeship) and stayed there for 39 seconds. During the entire flight, it was observed by military radar systems.’
- The military said the missile travelled about 1.2miles into Polish territory and that Polish and allied aircraft had been activated, but that the airspace over Poland was now safe.
- The potentially dangerous violation by Vladimir Putin’s forces came during a Russian strike on the Lviv region of Ukraine.
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Important Takeaways:
- Moscow concert attack survivors describe nightmare of fear and death
- The four armed men walked calmly towards the metal detectors at Crocus City Hall, firing their automatic weapons point-blank in short bursts at terrified civilians who fell screaming in a hail of bullets.
- Nearby, one witness named Natalya had just taken off her coat and was standing in line on Friday evening at the internal entrance to the 6,200-seat concert hall outside Moscow, where Soviet-era rock group “Picnic” was to perform its hit “Afraid of Nothing.”
- “The shots came from behind us,” Natalya, who asked for her surname not to be used, told Reuters.
- More than 143 people were killed and dozens more injured in the deadliest attack in Russia since the 2004 Beslan school siege. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack.
- The Federal Security Service (FSB) said 11 people – including the four alleged attackers – had been detained in the Bryansk region, about 340 km (210 miles) southwest of Moscow, as they headed for the border over which they hoped to escape to Ukraine. Kyiv has denied any involvement in that attack.
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Important Takeaways:
- VLAD VOWS REVENGE Putin says Moscow concert hall gunmen who killed 133 tried to flee to UKRAINE despite ISIS claiming terror attack
- In his speech Putin, declared March 24 a day of national mourning for the victims.
- Unblinking and tight-lipped, he said: “I am speaking to you today in connection with the bloody, barbaric terrorist act, the victims of which were dozens of innocent, peaceful people.”
- He continued: “All four perpetrators of the terrorist act who shot and killed people have been detained.
- “They were travelling towards Ukraine … We will identify and punish everybody who stood behind the terrorists, who prepared the attack.”
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