Live blog: France to send old armoured vehicles, new missiles to Ukraine

Sunday, March 31, 2024

1001 GMT — France will deliver hundreds of old armoured vehicles and new surface-to-air missiles to Ukraine in its war against Russia, French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu said.

In an interview with La Tribune Dimanche, Lecornu said on Sunday that President Emmanuel Macron, following talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, had asked him to prepare a new aid package, which will include old but still functional French equipment.

"The Ukrainian army needs to defend a very long front line, which requires armoured vehicles; this is absolutely crucial for troop mobility and is part of the Ukrainian requests," Lecornu said.

"Ukraine has an urgent need for better ground-air defence ... Russia is intensifying its strikes, in particular on civilians and civil infrastructure," he added.

More updates 👇

1800 GMT — Ukraine security service says Russia's 'terrorism' demands are 'pointless'

Ukraine's SBU security service dismissed as "pointless" a Russian demand to hand over individuals it accused of links to terrorism and said Moscow had "forgotten" that Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin was the subject of an international arrest warrant.

"Statements about terrorism sound particularly cynical coming from the terrorist state itself," the SBU said in a statement, referring to the demands issued by the Russian Foreign Ministry. "Therefore, any words from the Russian Foreign Ministry are pointless."

1419 GMT — Russia demands Ukraine hand over head of security service, others

Russia is demanding that Ukraine hand over all people connected with terrorist acts committed in Russia, including the head of the country's SBU Security Service, the foreign ministry said.

A ministry statement listed violent incidents that have occurred in Russia since the Kremlin's forces attacked Ukraine in February 2022, including bombings that killed the daughter of a prominent nationalist and a war blogger, and another incident in which a writer was seriously hurt.

It said investigation of these incidents showed that "the traces of these crimes lead to Ukraine."

"The Russian side demands that the Kiev regime immediately cease all support for terrorist activity, extradite guilty parties and compensate the victims for damages," it said.

1419 GMT — Ukraine shelling kills woman in Russian border village

Ukrainian shelling killed a woman in the Russian border village of Dunayka, the latest in a series of deadly cross-border attacks by Kiev, the local governor said.

Since Moscow launched its assault on Ukraine two years ago, Russia's Belgorod region on the frontier has been repeatedly targeted by what authorities say is indiscriminate Ukrainian bombardment, which has increased in recent months.

"The village of Dunayka, in the Graivoron urban district, came under Ukrainian fire. To much grief, a civilian was killed," governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on social media.

"She died of her wounds on the spot before the ambulance crew arrived. I express my sincere condolences to the family and friends of the deceased," he added.

1026 GMT — 2 killed as Russia launches attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure

A Russian cruise missile strike on infrastructure in Ukraine’s western Lviv region killed one man, while another died in an attack in the northeast, officials said.

The attack in Lviv destroyed a building and sparked a fire, Gov. Maksym Kozytskyi wrote on social media app Telegram. He said that rescue operations were being conducted.

In the Kharkiv region, Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said that an air attack killed an 19-year-old man after a missile hit a gas station.

Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands in Ukraine’s Odesa region were left without power on Sunday after debris from a downed Russian drone caused a blaze at an energy facility, Gov. Oleh Kiper said.'

1026 GMT — Russia arrests three in Dagestan anti-terror operation

Russian authorities have arrested three people in the North Caucasus republic of Dagestan on charges of planning terrorist attacks, following a deadly attack on a concert hall near Moscow.

The arrests were made during an operation in Dagestan's capital Makhachkala and in the town of Kaspiysk, around 10 kilometres to the south, the Russian National Anti-Terrorist Committee said in a statement.

The announcement comes more than a week after an attack on the Crocus City Hall in Moscow's outskirts killed at least 144 people and injured 551.

Daesh has claimed the attack, while Russian authorities insist Ukraine is responsible.

1019 GMT — Pope urges exchange of prisoners between Russia, Ukraine

Pope Francis on Sunday has called for a Russia-Ukraine prisoner swap in his traditional Easter message at the Vatican.

"In calling for respect for the principles of international law, I express my hope for a general exchange of all prisoners between Russia and Ukraine," he told tens of thousands of Catholics gathered at Saint Peter's Square.

0949 GMT — Russia attacks Ukraine's energy infrastructure

A Russian cruise missile strike on infrastructure in Ukraine’s western Lviv region has killed one man, officials said Sunday.

The attack destroyed a building and sparked a fire, Gov. Maksym Kozytskyi wrote on social media app Telegram. He said that rescue operations were ongoing.

Meanwhile, thousands in Ukraine’s Odesa region were temporarily left without power Sunday after debris from a downed Russian drone caused a blaze at an energy facility, Gov. Oleh Kiper said.

Some 170,000 homes were left with temporary power outages as a result of the attack, said Ukraine’s largest private electricity operator, DTEK.

0536 GMT — Ukraine says downed Russian missiles in overnight attack

Russia launched 16 missiles and 11 drones at Ukraine in an overnight air attack, Ukraine's air force has said.

In a statement on Telegram, the air force said on Sunday morning it had managed to down nine of the drones and nine of the missiles. It did not identify their targets.

For over a week, Russia has significantly stepped up an air strike campaign against Ukrainian energy facilities, causing significant damage and leaving Ukrainians fearing a return to the blackouts seen in the first winter of the full-scale war.

Ukraine's largest private energy firm, DTEK, said on Saturday that five of its six plants had been damaged or destroyed with 80 percent of its generating capacity lost, and that repairs could take up to 18 months.

2105 GMT — Explosions hit western Ukraine

Explosions have jolted Ukraine's Khmelnytskyi region, following warnings from air raid sirens, according to Russian news agency RIA Novosti.

Sirens wailed across the region between 0005 am to 0048 am local time in Ukraine on early Sunday morning, as confirmed by the Ukrainian Ministry of Digital Transformation's online map.

"Loud explosions were heard in the Khmelnytskyi region," reported the "Obshchestvennogo" Telegram channel, based on accounts from their on-site correspondents.

The cause of the explosions and any potential damage remains unknown.

For our live updates from Saturday, March 30, click here.