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Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Ukrainian Perspective: Invasion of Ukraine: March 19, 2026
2026-03-20
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[Korrespondent] 22.50 There were 187 combat clashes on the front, the largest number in the Pokrovsky direction, where the enemy lost almost 200 occupiers. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported this on the evening of March 19. The enemy carried out 27 attacks in the Pokrovsky direction. In the Konstantinivka direction, the occupiers stormed the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine 24 times today.

21.55 During visits to Britain and Spain, new agreements were reached on defense support for Ukraine and coordination of joint defense. This was announced by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during an evening address on March 19.

20.54 The Ukrainian negotiating team is heading to the United States, where a meeting is scheduled for Saturday. This was announced by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during his address on March 19. According to him, there are signals from the American side about their readiness to continue work in existing negotiation formats to end Russia's war against Ukraine.

20.16 Mobilization measures in Kyiv are operating stably, as before, as the war continues in Ukraine. This was reported by the press service of the Kyiv City CCC and SP, 24 Channel reports.

"Mobilization measures are operating stably, they can neither increase nor decrease in our country. Due to the fact that there is a war in Ukraine, they continue as before. There have been no changes to the legislation, no changes to the regulatory legal acts regarding mobilization measures," the CCK said.

19.15 Russian troops advanced over the past 24 hours in the area of ​​the village of Oleksandrograd, Volnovakha district, Donetsk region, near the administrative border with Dnipropetrovsk region and the city of Hulyaipole, Zaporizhia region. This was reported on March 19 by the OSINT project DeepState. According to DeepState maps, in the area of ​​Hulyaipole, the Russians captured 8.19 sq. km over the past 24 hours, while the penetration zone increased by 1 sq. km, and in the area of ​​Oleksandrograd, 3 sq. km came under enemy control, but the penetration zone there decreased by 1.3 sq. km.

There is no mention of the capture or liberation of the relevant settlements. Hulyaipole is shown as partially occupied, partially in the penetration zone, Oleksandrograd is almost completely under the control of the Defense Forces, only its southern outskirts fell into the penetration zone. In total, over the past 24 hours, the area of ​​occupation increased by 11.19 sq. km, and the penetration zone - by 1.7 sq. km.

18.34 US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth accused former President Joe Biden of allegedly "running out of stock" of weapons when he transferred them to Ukraine. He said this at a briefing, CNN reports.

17.57 Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is convinced that his army continues to seize territory in Ukraine, and therefore he has no intention of stopping the war. This is evidenced by the annual US intelligence report on threats to the country.

Intelligence officials warn that continuing the war could lead to its escalation into a larger conflict with NATO, even threatening the United States itself.

17.40 There are five reasons why Russia may feel stronger in the next negotiations. This was stated by President Volodymyr Zelensky during his address to the participants of the European Council meeting on Thursday.

17.23 A supporter of racism, who was detained by the SBU in May 2025 in Chernihiv, received 10 years in prison. The SBU reported this on the 19th. According to the investigation, the perpetrator was the secretary of the local court, who justified the war crimes of racists. It was documented that in conversations with colleagues at work and on social networks she spoke in support of the racists' missile, drone and bomb attacks on the civilian infrastructure of Ukraine, and also campaigned for the continuation of the shelling.

16.55 Since the beginning of the day, 91 battles between the Ukrainian army and the Russian invaders have taken place on the front. Our defenders have had successes in two directions, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported in an operational summary.

16.36 The Slovak Republic, the Hellenic Republic, the Czech Republic, and the Republic of Austria have joined the Coalition of Civil Protection Shelters for Ukraine. The Ministry of Internal Affairs announced this during the second meeting of the Coalition's Steering Council.

The initiative involves coordinating funding, exchanging experience, and implementing modern technologies in the field of civil protection.

15.15 On the night of March 19, Ukrainian military personnel struck ammunition and fuel depots and areas of concentration of Russian manpower in the temporarily occupied territories (TOT). This was reported by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

14.27 Three men were killed and three others were injured as a result of the shelling. This was reported by the head of the Sumy OAV Oleg Hrygorov and the regional prosecutor's office.

Grigorov noted that a 62-year-old resident was injured as a result of the attack on the Velykypysarivska community. The man died before doctors arrived.

"Also, preliminary reports indicate that there are victims of enemy attacks in the Khotyn and Vorozhbyan communities. The information is being clarified," the head of the OVA added.

Meanwhile, the regional prosecutor's office reported that at around 9:10 a.m. a Russian drone hit a civilian car in the Vorozhbyanska community. The men, aged 64 and 65, were injured.

The Sumy Prosecutor's Office later reported that at approximately 10:30 a.m., Russian drones struck civilian infrastructure in the Khutir-Mykhailivska community. Two brothers, ages 33 and 37, were killed in the hostile attack, while a 54-year-old resident was injured.

14.18 Facilities of the Almaz-Antey defense concern were hit in temporarily occupied Crimea. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported this.

It is indicated that this is the Innovation Center of the Granit production and technical enterprise, which is part of the Almaz-Antey concern and is located in the area of ​​Fiolentovsky Highway. Its facilities repair and maintain Russian air defense systems.

13.55 There has been a "pause" in the negotiation process between Moscow and Kyiv, mediated by Washington. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said this in a comment to Russian media.

Work is currently continuing within the framework of a bilateral Russian-American working group dedicated to economic aspects, he noted.

13.23 The settlements of Fedorivka Druhya, Kleban-Byk, Pleshchiivka and Ivanopillya in the Donetsk region remain under the control of the Defense Forces of Ukraine. The Ukrainian military also pushed back the Russian army near Berezovye in the Dnipropetrovsk region. This was reported by the spokesman for the East Group of Forces (Forces) Major Hryhoriy Shapoval in a comment to Ukrinform.

13.19 In the frontline city of Sloviansk, Donetsk region, an unknown person opened fire on law enforcement officers and killed a police officer. The National Police reported this.

12.56 The rise in energy prices due to the war in Iran increases the risk of further Russian aggression in Europe. To minimize this impact, pressure on the Russian Federation should not decrease, but rather increase. This is the statement released by Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiga on the social network X.

12.31 The Security Service and the National Police have detained six more Russian agents who committed arson in various regions of Ukraine. The perpetrators were local residents aged 17 to 23 who were recruited by the Russian Federation through dating sites or while looking for "easy money" in Telegram channels.

11.48 A resident of the Velykypysarivska community of the Okhtyrsky district was killed as a result of a Russian drone attack, the head of the Sumy regional military administration, Oleh Hrygorov, reported.

According to him, a Russian drone attacked the Velykypysarivska community. A local resident was injured. The 62-year-old man died from his injuries before the arrival of doctors.

Also, according to preliminary data, there are victims of enemy attacks in the Khotyn and Vorozhbyan communities of the Sumy district. The information is being clarified.

11.33 Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has stopped appearing at public events amid reports that the US and Israel have tracked down and eliminated Iran's leadership.

Putin held his last public event in the Kremlin on March 9. That was a meeting on the situation on the global oil and gas market. After that, the Russian ruler met only with governors, the Minister of Education, and the head of Sberbank, and also held a meeting with the Security Council via video link.

The Russian opposition publication Agency writes that the meetings could have been "canned", that is, pre-recorded videos, and Putin could have participated in the video calls from different residences.

This is one of the longest breaks in Putin's visits to the Kremlin this year. A longer break was recorded only in February - then it lasted 12 days. In January, breaks between public events did not exceed six days.

The publication shared "unverified but persistent rumors" about the reason for Putin's disappearance. It may be related to the fact that the Kremlin was scared because the CIA and Mossad tracked down Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was assassinated on February 28, using street surveillance cameras - of which there are more in Moscow than in Tehran. This is also likely the main reason for the Internet shutdown.

11.20 On Thursday night, drones attacked an enterprise of the Russian concern Almaz-Antey, which services air defense complexes, in temporarily occupied Sevastopol. This was reported by the Telegram channel Crimean Wind.

11.02 The government is expanding the war risk insurance program for businesses - compensation for damaged or destroyed property in front-line regions increases to 30 million hryvnias, and for the rest of the territory, insurance premium compensation is up to 3 million hryvnias.

The maximum amount of compensation for damaged or destroyed property was increased from UAH 10 million to UAH 30 million. The government also abolished the rule that reduced payments by the amount of previously received grants or other state support.

Businesses that have already submitted applications can refine them until May 1, 2026 - in particular, increase the claimed damages or add other property if it was covered by the program at the time of the damage.

In terms of insurance premium compensation, the government increased the maximum amount from 1 million hryvnia to 3 million hryvnia.

10.56 Military counterintelligence officers detained an agent who simultaneously worked for both the Russian FSB and the intelligence of the Belarusian border service. The SBU reported this. We are talking about a serviceman from the Unmanned Systems Forces unit. The "Double Mole" operated in the Kharkiv region.

10.44 Russian troops destroyed the Avdiivskyi Lyceum in the Ponornytska community of Chernihiv region with three Geraniums late on the evening of March 18. The institution was badly damaged, along with the school buses.

The children studied there in person and only recently switched to a mixed format - due to frequent air raids. The institution was well renovated and had a completely new catering unit.

10.22 On Thursday morning, three regions of Ukraine experienced new power outages due to attacks by Russian occupiers. Ukrenergo reported this. Emergency restoration work has already begun wherever security conditions currently allow.

09.35 This year, Russia plans to recruit another 409,000 military personnel. This was stated by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrsky.

The general noted that as weather conditions improve at the front, the activity of Russian troops is increasing.

"Held an operational meeting on the state of engineering equipment of defense lines. Among the key tasks are strengthening fortifications, developing anti-drone defense, and preparing settlements for defense," Syrsky said.

08.44 Russian troops attacked infrastructure in Zaporizhia on the morning of March 19. One person was injured. The injured person is in serious condition.

More than 38,000 residential and about 2,000 business customers lost power due to the Russian strike. Facilities are being switched to backup power sources to ensure uninterrupted operation.

08.20 On the night of March 19, Russian troops attacked Ukraine with 133 Shahed, Gerbera, Italmas attack UAVs and other types of drones, about 70 of them "Shaheeds".

Air defenses shot down/suppressed 109 Shahed, Gerbera, Italmas and other types of drones in the north, south, west, and east of the country.

20 strike UAVs were recorded hitting 11 locations, as well as downed drones (fragments) falling in seven locations. The attack is ongoing, with several drones in the airspace.

07.47 A nighttime Russian drone attack on Odessa damaged a number of high-rise buildings and dormitories, and three people were injured.

Primorsky district. Damage was recorded to 12 residential buildings. Two injured people were taken to the hospital. Municipal services are clearing the surrounding areas and closing window openings.

In the Kyiv district, a 22-story residential building and a university dormitory were damaged. In total, about 180 windows were broken. One person was injured and was treated on the spot. Work is currently underway to cover the windows with film and OSB boards.

In the Khadzhibey district, according to Lysak, a two-story residential building was partially destroyed. Municipal workers have already closed the damaged windows.

07.25 From February 24, 2022 to March 19, 2026, the total combat losses of Russian troops on the territory of Ukraine amounted to approximately 1,284,090 people (+1,520 per day).

01.42 Russians massively attacked Odessa with drones. At least three people were injured. Two high-rise buildings, a residential building in the historic center and buildings in the private sector were damaged. Fires broke out, which were quickly extinguished.

Posted by:badanov

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