Return of captives, death of Hero of Ukraine 'Da Vinci': highlights of the day

Return of prisoners

Ukraine has returned 130 defenders — 126 men and 4 women — as part of another prisoner exchange. Among those released are 87 defenders from Mariupol, 71 of them from Azovstal. Ukraine also managed to return the defenders who were captured in the area of Bakhmut and Soledar — a total of 35 people from the Donetsk sector.

Most of the liberated Ukrainians have injuries and illnesses acquired in combat and captivity. The youngest released is under 21 years old, the oldest will soon turn 64.

Death of "Da Vinci"

A Ukrainian soldier, the commander of the 1st separate mechanized battalion of the Armed Forces of Ukraine "Da Vinci Wolves" Dmytro Kotsyubailo (call sign "Da Vinci") was killed in the battle near Bakhmut.

He took part in the Revolution of Dignity and in 2014 went to defend Ukraine as a soldier. At the time, Dmytro was only 18 years old. In 2021, "Da Vinci" was awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine, becoming the youngest commander and the first volunteer to be awarded this title while alive.

Identity of soldier shot by Russians after saying "Glory to Ukraine!"

The Armed Forces have tentatively identified the soldier who was shot by the occupiers after saying "Glory to Ukraine!". According to preliminary data, the deceased is Tymofiy Shadura, a soldier of the 30th Brigade. He has been missing since February 3 after fighting in the area of Bakhmut.

Currently, the body of the soldier remains on the temporarily occupied territory. The final confirmation of his identity will take place after the body is returned and examinations are conducted.

Forced evacuation of children

The Cabinet of Ministers has approved a mechanism for the forced evacuation of children from the areas of active hostilities. The grounds for compulsory evacuation will now be the decision of regional military administrations, agreed with the military command and the Coordination Headquarters for the Compulsory Evacuation of the Population.

Forced evacuation will be carried out with the accompaniment of one of the parents, a person in loco parentis, or another legal representative. However, they will not be able to refuse to take a child out of the danger zone. So far, only Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast, meets the criteria for areas from which children can be forcibly evacuated.

Tanks from Poland

Polish Minister of National Defense Mariusz Blaszczak said that this week, by March 12, his country will transfer 10 more Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. Earlier, Warsaw had already sent Kyiv the first four units of this equipment.

Blaszczak also noted that Poland is ready to create a hub for servicing the Leopard battle tanks sent to Ukraine.

Situation at the front

According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Russians continue unsuccessful offensives in the area of Orikhovo-Vasylivka, Dubovo-Vasylivka, Bakhmut, Kamyanka, Avdiyivka and Maryinka in Donetsk Oblast. Occupiers continue to focus on the offensive on the Kupyansk, Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiyivka and Shakhtarsk axes.

The General Staff estimates that on March 6, the occupiers lost 1,060 of their soldiers, 9 tanks, 11 armored combat vehicles, 23 artillery systems and other equipment.

On the afternoon of March 7, the spokesman for the eastern grouping of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Serhiy Cherevatyi, said that Russian occupation forces had lost 244 soldiers on the Bakhmut axis over the past day alone, and another 315 were wounded.

At the same time, the West estimates that Russia has already lost between 20,000 and 30,000 servicemen killed and wounded in its attempts to capture Bakhmut.