Repair of power supply facilities and secret negotiations about Azovstal: last night's highlights
Repairmen continue to work to restore power to problematic areas, the media reported on secret negotiations between Ukraine and Russia over Azovstal, and a volunteer who fought on the side of Ukraine was detained during protests in Georgia. Here is what you may have missed from the previous night.
Repair work continues
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that repairmen would work as long as necessary to restore electricity supply to problematic cities and districts.
The most difficult situation with power supply remained in Zhytomyr and Kharkiv Oblasts. In the Zhytomyr Oblast, the occupiers damaged the facilities repaired after previous attacks, so it may take up to two weeks to restore the power supply.
Meanwhile, Yasno explained why premature power outages are necessary during missile attacks.
Secret negotiations on Azovstal
CNN reported how a small group of representatives of Ukraine and Russia conducted secret negotiations to end the siege of Azovstal and evacuate Ukrainian civilians and the military.
In the early stages of the negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, the mediator was MP Oleksandr Kovalev, who had helped Berkut members escape and criticized the language law. He turned to his acquaintance in the Federal Security Service of Russia, former Security Service of Ukraine agent Valentyn Kryzhanovskyi, who became a traitor in 2014. The operation was led by the Chief Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and personally by Kyrylo Budanov.
A volunteer who fought for Ukraine detained in Georgia
The Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs has confirmed the detention of Nadim Khmaladze, who volunteered to fight against Russia on the side of Ukraine, during a protest. He is accused of disobeying police and hooliganism. However, according to his lawyer, at the time of his detention, Khmaladze could not have committed a crime because he was having an interview with a journalist.
Shelling of Sumy and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts
On March 9, Russian occupation forces shelled three territorial communities in Sumy Oblast. In the vicinity of the town of Seredyna-Buda, an apartment in an apartment building, outbuildings, and a nearby power line were damaged.
The city of Zaporizhzhia also came under fire in the evening, as a result, critical infrastructure and two educational institutions were damaged. The supply of electricity, heat, and water in Zaporizhzhia has been partially restored and the works are ongoing.
Turkey resumes talks with Sweden and Finland
On March 9, representatives of Turkey, Finland, and Sweden discussed the implementation of a joint memorandum on counterterrorism in Brussels. In the summer of 2022, following the signing of this memorandum, Turkey agreed to support Finland and Sweden's accession to NATO.
The parties agreed that the swift ratification of both Finland's and Sweden's applications would be in everyone's interest and that the membership of both countries would strengthen the Alliance.
Other news:
- The International Group for Blocking the Assets of Sanctioned Russians, which includes the United States and its allies, has frozen assets worth more than $58 billion over the past year.
- The US Secretary of Defense called on Israel to join the “global security architecture” and support Ukraine “at a critical juncture in history”.
- The EU hopes that Serbia and Kosovo will reach an agreement on normalizing relations this month.
- In Italy, a navy officer was sentenced to 30 years for spying for Russia.
- Amid protests, the Sofia City Council decided to dismantle a monument to the Soviet Army.
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