Culture minister embroiled in funeral scandal, reaction to execution of Ukrainian PoW: last night's highlights
The leader of the Brotherhood battalion, Dmytro Korchynsky, accused Culture Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko of banning the funeral service for the soldiers in the Lavra, Volodymyr Zelenskyy reacted to the shooting of a Ukrainian prisoner, and the Ukrainian cartoon about Mavka became a box office record holder. Here's what you may have missed from the previous night.
Leader of Brotherhood Korchynsky accuses Culture Minister Tkachenko
The leader of the Brotherhood volunteer battalion and politician Dmytro Korchynsky said that Culture Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko did not allow the funeral service for four fighters of a sabotage group who died on the border with Russia's Bryansk Oblast to be held at the Assumption Cathedral of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.
The Ministry of Culture responded that no one had made such a request and that they had not refused to allow the funeral service.
Reaction to execution of Ukrainian prisoner of war
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reacted to the video in which Russians killed a Ukrainian prisoner because he said "Glory to Ukraine!" The Head of State noted that Ukraine will find the killers: "If we can do it legally, then we will do it legally, and if we can do it with weapons, then we will do it with weapons."
Also, the ruling Servant of the People faction will ask Zelenskyy to posthumously award the title of Hero of Ukraine to the executed soldier, said the faction's head, David Arakhamia. The faction called on the international community to punish Russia and its leadership for the genocide of the Ukrainian people.
Cartoon about Mavka became a record holder
The Ukrainian cartoon "Mavka. The Forest Song", based on the work of Lesya Ukrainka, grossed over 24.9 million hryvnias ($677,254) in box office during its first weekend (March 4-5) in cinemas. Film.ua Group says that the animated film has become a box office record holder among domestic releases based on the results of the first weekend.
"For comparison, the film Shchedryk, which Film.ua Group considers a success at the box office, grossed over 84,000 viewers and UAH 10.6 million ($288,309) at the box office in eight weeks," the statement said.
Russia lost five times more soldiers near Bakhmut than Ukraine
NATO intelligence estimates that Russia lost five times more troops than Ukraine in its attempt to capture Bakhmut in Donetsk Oblast while defending the town.
An Alliance official warned that the five-to-one ratio is an estimate based on intelligence. He noted that, despite the favorable ratio, Ukraine would suffer significant losses defending the settlement.
Russia wants to disrupt mobilization in Ukraine
Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said that Russia seeks to discredit Kyiv as a recipient of weapons to its allies and disrupt mobilization in Ukraine. According to her, while the first goal is aimed at the Western consumer of information, the second is aimed at the Ukrainian one.
Other news:
- Russians dropped 17 shells in the yard of a residential building in Sumy Oblast. A total of 59 air raids were recorded in the region over the day, civilian infrastructure was damaged;
- border guards showed how they destroyed a group of Wagner mercenaries in Bakhmut who were trying to attack Ukrainian positions;
- a court seized the assets of an elderly Lviv woman, which may actually belong to former MPs Viktor Medvedchuk and Taras Kozak;
- the Lithuanian Defense Minister met with Oleksii Reznikov's deputy and announced a new military aid package.