Farewell to Da Vinci, eviction of UOC monastery, and investigation of Antonov State Enterprise: today's highlights

Farewell to the “Da Vinci”

On March 10, a funeral ceremony for the fallen Hero of Ukraine, commander of the Da Vinci Wolves special forces unit Dmytro Kotsiubailo (call sign “Da Vinci”) was held at St. Michael's Cathedral in Kyiv. After the memorial service at St. Michael's Cathedral, the procession marched to Independence Square.

The funeral service was attended by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Prime Minister of Finland Sanna Marin, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Valerii Zaluzhnyy, Minister of Defense Oleksii Reznikov and his deputy, Lieutenant General Oleksandr Pavliuk, Head of the Chief Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Kyrylo Budanov, and others.

Eviction of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate

On March 10, 2023, it became known about a letter from the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra National Reserve to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate calling for the vacating of the Lower Lavra buildings, which are on the balance sheet of the state reserve, by March 29. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church responded that this is “another ultimatum”, and that the letter “does not contain any information about the legal grounds for such actions”.

At the same time, the religious community of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate filed an appeal against the decision to demolish a chapel in Kyiv (known as the “Street furniture temple”), which was illegally built on the territory of the National Museum of History of Ukraine.

Investigation at Antonov State Enterprise

The Security Service of Ukraine has served a notice of suspicion to the former CEO of the Antonov state enterprise, his deputy, and the head of the aviation security unit. They are suspected of involvement in the destruction of the famous Ukrainian airplane AN-225 Mriya.

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine has served a notice of suspicion to a former Antonov official and a director of a law firm of embezzlement of more than UAH 18 million and making deliberately false documents.

The “trial” of Maksym Butkevych

An illegal “court” in the occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts “sentenced” Maksym Butkevych, a Ukrainian human rights activist, journalist, and prisoner of war, to 13 years in a maximum security colony.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine criticized the illegal “sentence” and called on its partners to respond by condemning the illegal “trial” of Butkevych and two other Ukrainians, and demanding that Russia release them and all illegally detained Ukrainians.

Situation at the frontline

The occupiers are continuing their attempts to reach the administrative border of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts, focusing their offensive efforts on five directions – Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka, Marinka, and Shakhtarsk.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that at a meeting of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief's Staff, they discussed the situation in Bakhmut and the possibility of the Ukrainian Defense Forces reinforcing there.

Against the backdrop of active hostilities in Bukhmut, Russia launched an information attack, alleging that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi, and the Commander of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi have different positions on decisions regarding Bakhmut. The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine assures that this is not the case.

Shelling

On March 10, Russians conducted 23 air and 4 missile strikes on Kostiantynivka and Sloviansk in Donetsk Oblast. It is known that 8 people were wounded in Kostiantynivka. The occupiers also fired 23 times from multiple launch rocket systems, mortars, and artillery.

In Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Russian occupation forces shelled Nikopol Raion: two people were killed and five others were wounded. In Kherson Oblast, two people were killed when a car hit a mine, and two people were seriously wounded.

Other news:

• A fatal shooting at a Jehovah's Witness center in Hamburg takes place, with a Ukrainian woman among the wounded.
• In 2022, the number of people speaking Ukrainian in everyday life increased.
• The Georgian parliament rejected a bill on “foreign agents” that had sparked mass protests.
• The Chinese parliament unanimously supported Xi Jinping's candidacy in the presidential election.
• President Volodymyr Zelenskyy denies Ukraine's involvement in the Nord Stream explosions. He believes that such information is being spread to slow down international assistance to Ukraine.
• The government has adopted a moratorium on court payments for Russian citizens and companies associated with Russia.