[Korrespondent] 22.30 Ukraine will focus this year on conducting a strategic defensive operation to deter the enemy. This was stated by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, General Oleksandr Syrsky, in an interview with the ICTV television channel, which was broadcast on television.
"Our goal, of course, for this year is to conduct a strategic defensive operation to deter the enemy, prevent the loss of territory, exhaust its forces and means, create conditions for conducting large-scale offensive operations, build up our reserves, provide high-quality training for military personnel, and simultaneously conduct counteroffensive and offensive operations in areas where the enemy is weak," Syrsky noted.
21.57 The Ukrainian Defense Forces have already liberated 480 sq. km of territory in the Oleksandrivka direction. This was announced by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, General Oleksandr Syrskyi, in an interview with the ICTV television channel.
"Success lies precisely in the liberation of the territory. As of today, it is 480 sq. km. This exceeds the results that we had during the Dobropil counteroffensive operation. If you remember, during the operation we liberated over 430 sq. km. of territory," Syrsky noted.
According to him, from March 1, the Russians planned to launch a large-scale offensive in virtually all 13 main directions, and before that, the enemy was forced to change plans, transferring part of its forces and resources from the Pokrovsky and Ocheretinsky directions to the Oleksandrivsky direction.
21.23 President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky held a meeting of the General Staff. Key attention was paid to air defense issues. He spoke about this in his evening address on March 30.
"I also held a meeting today - primarily about air defense. We analyzed in detail the situation regarding the implementation of contracts and the procurement of everything necessary. This is not only about countering ballistics - this is also about front-line air defense, missiles against drones, and also interceptors. Everything will be provided," Zelenskyy noted.
According to him, Ukrainian defense production must reach a level at which all necessary components of air defense systems, including anti-ballistic ones, will be manufactured in Ukraine.
21.15 The Federal Prosecutor's Office of Germany has asked the investigating judge of the Supreme Court of Germany to issue an arrest warrant for a citizen of Ukraine. This is stated in a message on the website of the Prosecutor General's Office of Germany. It is noted that the suspect was previously detained last Friday (March 27, 2026) in the city of Hagen. On March 28, 2026, he was taken to the investigating judge of the Federal Supreme Court, who issued an arrest warrant and ordered his detention. The accused is suspected of acting in favor of foreign intelligence.
20.19 Russia has recruited more than 27,000 foreigners from 135 countries for the war against Ukraine. This was reported by the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.
"Egypt, Yemen, Somalia, Iraq, Algeria, Syria, Morocco, Jordan - this is far from a complete list of countries in the Arab world whose citizens the Russian Federation is recruiting for the war against Ukraine... As of today, the project... "I Want to Live" has already published data on more than 10 thousand identified living and deceased foreigners in the Russian army from different parts of the world. In total, at the moment, 27,407 foreign citizens from 135 countries of the world are known to have been recruited into the Russian army," the report says.
19.09 Russian troops are increasing pressure on the Donetsk region, focusing on the Pokrovsko-Mirnograd agglomeration. This is reported by the OSINT project DeepState.
The enemy continues to exert active pressure on Hryshyne, dragging its infantry there.
"The settlement is literally teeming with occupiers, but so far they have managed to destroy them on the northern outskirts. Currently, the Defense Forces fighters are carrying out shock and search operations in houses where the enemy is constantly hiding, trying to gain a foothold and accumulate. Infiltrations into the depths of the territory in the area of ​​the settlements of Vasylivka and Novooleksandrivka are also being recorded, but these cases are isolated without significant successes for the enemy," the analysts' report says.
Analysts noted that given the current dynamics of enemy pressure, the occupation of Hryshyne is "a matter of time," as the Russians "are devoting a large amount of their human resources there, which are accumulating in Pokrovsk." In addition, it is noted that the enemy "sees its plans to advance along the Hryshyne-Myrne-Gulive-Shilivka line, etc. along the route to Pavlograd, which is an open area and is not favorable for any movements.
"They have already accomplished the most important task for themselves - they blocked it, taking it under fire control," the message added.
18.51 On Monday night, the Armed Forces of Ukraine struck two defense enterprises in the city of Taganrog, Rostov Region, Russia. This was reported by the ASTRA Telegram channel, citing the region's emergency services.
18.18 Russians hit the city of Hlukhiv with guided bombs. Currently, 11 casualties are known, Sumy OVA reports.
In total, the enemy dropped two guided bombs on a dormitory of an educational institution in Hlukhiv. Among the victims was a 6-year-old girl.
17.27 Law enforcement officers blocked five new schemes for evading mobilization and exposed eight organizers of the deals in various regions of Ukraine. The SBU press service reported this.
For amounts ranging from $2,500 to $8,500, the dealers offered conscripts the opportunity to avoid conscription through forged documents or helped them escape abroad beyond checkpoints.
17.27 Drones damaged the power system of several substations in the occupied part of the Luhansk region of Ukraine. Currently, 208 thousand subscribers are without electricity. This was reported by the occupation "government" of the region, reports the Russian propaganda news agency Interfax.
Problems are being recorded in the Kadiivska, Pervomaiska, and Zymohirivska urban territorial communities of the region.
17.14 Eight people were injured in Nikopol due to an FPV drone attack. This was reported by the head of the Dnipropetrovsk OVA Oleksandr Ganzha. According to him, shops, a high-rise building, and cars were damaged.
16.42 Five people have been arrested in connection with the recent arson attack on the LPP Holding arms factory in Pardubice, Czech Republic. Czech Interior Minister Lubomir Metnar told reporters at a joint press conference with his Slovak counterpart Matus Å utaj EÅ¡tok during a visit to Slovakia, Ceske Noviny reports.
16.29 Russian troops have advanced over the past two days in the area of ​​the villages of Pazeno, Bakhmut district, on the Slavic direction of the front, Rusyn Yar, Kramatorsk district, Donetsk region, on the Kostyantynivka direction, and Varvarivka, Polohiv district, Zaporizhzhia region, on the Hulyaipil direction. This is reported by the OSINT project DeepState. It also notes that the Defense Forces have cleared the territories near the villages of Orestopol and Oleksiivka, Dnipropetrovsk region. There is no mention of the capture or liberation of certain settlements. On the project maps, Pazeno is shown as controlled by the enemy, Rusyn Yar and Varvarivka are in the penetration zone, and Orestopol and Oleksiivka are controlled by the Defense Forces.
According to DeepState maps, the area of ​​Russian occupation in the Slavic direction increased by 2.79 sq km in two days (the penetration area decreased by 1.36 sq km), in the Kostyantynivka direction - by 2.8 sq km (the penetration area increased by another 3.14 sq km), in the Hulyaipil direction - by 9.54 sq km. At the same time, the penetration zone there and in the Dnipropetrovsk region decreased by 27.4 sq km in total.
As reported, in the Chasovye Yar area of ​​the Donetsk region, the penetration zone expanded by 0.8 sq km without increasing the area of ​​Russian occupation. There were no changes in other directions of the front during this time. Thus, in total, in two days the enemy captured 15.13 sq km of Ukrainian territory, the penetration zone decreased by 24.82 sq km.
16.28 Since the beginning of the day, 46 attacks by the Russian army have taken place on the front. In most directions, the enemy has reduced its activity, according to the data of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the operational summary as of 16:00.
15.59 Drones "attacked an industrial enterprise in Togliatti" on the night of March 30. This is the KuibyshevAzot chemical plant. There were no casualties as a result of this attack. This is reported by the Russian publication ASTRA, citing its sources.
15.45 Russian military launched an airstrike on the central part of Sloviansk at 11:50 on Monday, March 30. A man was injured in the attack and the only maternity hospital in the Donetsk region was damaged. This was reported by the head of the Sloviansk city military administration, Vadym Lyakh, on Facebook.
14.56 President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a telephone conversation with Finnish President Alexander Stubb. The leaders discussed the incident with the fall of drones on the territory of Finland, the head of the Ukrainian state reported on Telegram.
14.32 A truck belonging to Russian occupiers caused a fatal accident in temporarily occupied Donetsk. Z-channels hid footage of the military vehicle.
The occupiers' military Ural truck hit and killed two people at a bus stop. The so-called "mayor" of Donetsk, Alexei Kulemzin, reported that two people died and another was injured in a road accident at the Budennivska bus station involving a "truck."
Pro-Kremlin Telegram channels wrote that a passenger car was cut off by a "truck," causing it to head toward the bus station. At the same time, the footage published by residents shows a camouflage-colored Ural truck without license plates. Pro-government Russian channels, while covering the accident, did not show the Ural.
Warning! Video 18+, contains sensitive footage and foul language!
14.14 President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ruled out a "dead end" in the negotiations and expressed hope that a trilateral meeting between Ukraine, the United States and Russia will take place in the coming weeks. He said this during an online conversation with journalists.
13.59 The Ukrainian side has apologized to Finland for the incident with the downing of drones on the territory of the country and is sharing all the necessary information to clarify the circumstances. This was reported by the spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Heorhiy Tykhyi, on Monday, Interfax-Ukraine reports.
13.59 The number of combat sorties of interceptor drones, as well as the number of destroyed Russian targets, increased by almost 55% in March compared to February. This was stated by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, General Oleksandr Syrsky, following the results of a working meeting on countering enemy drones.
13.55 Ukraine is ready for a ceasefire during Easter and will agree to an energy truce. President Volodymyr Zelensky said this during an online conversation with journalists.
13.47 An experimental project to involve the private sector in air defense, launched by the government, is already yielding first results. This was announced by the Head of the Ministry of Defense, Mykhailo Fedorov, on Monday, March 30.
Thus, one of the companies participating in the project has prepared its own air defense group. To date, several enemy drones have been shot down in the Kharkiv region, including Shahed and Zala.
13.46 Madrid promised to transfer five Patriot missiles to Ukraine during the recent visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the Spanish newspaper El Pais reported, citing sources in the Spanish government.
13.29 Russian statements about the capture of Kivsharivka, Kharkiv region, are not true. Fighters of the 43rd Motorized Rifle Brigade showed captured Russian invaders who were trying to plant their flag in the settlement.
"Kivsharivka is "taken". At least - in the reports of the Russian Ministry of Defense. On the ground, everything is a little different. It seems that the experience of Kupyansk and Kupyansk-Vuzlovye has not taught us anything. Even after all the "debriefings" in the "West" grouping, the scenario is the same: to pretend victory, and then how will it turn out," the military noted.
The result for the "taken" Kivsharivka is as follows: minus four invaders and six more prisoners (four on the spot, two more the day before).
The Ukrainian defenders conveyed a special greeting to the 153rd Tank Regiment of the Russian Federation and advised them to load more ammunition and provisions onto their "flag carriers" next time, because they need to feed the prisoners something.
13.22 The words of the head of the German defense concern Rheinmetall, who compared drones from Ukraine to a "Lego game" created by "housewives with 3D printers," are "strange." President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said this while answering journalists' questions online on Monday, March 30.
The head of the German concern, Armin Papperger, said in an interview with The Atlantic that there is no innovation in Ukrainian drones and compared their production to playing Lego. Papperger called Ukrainian defense companies Fire Point and Skyfall "housewives with 3D printers."
According to the President of Ukraine, such a statement "sounds strange."
12.59 The Latvian government has decided to allocate a new aid package of 6.8 million euros to Ukraine. The funds will be used to strengthen energy, infrastructure, shelters, and develop drone capabilities. This was announced by the country's Foreign Minister Baiba Braže on the X platform.
12.58 In the city of Konotop, Sumy region, after an explosion due to Russian shelling, infrastructure was damaged, and part of the city was left without gas supply.
12:30 The Armed Forces of Ukraine hit the Alchevsk Metallurgical Plant and a Russian convoy in Luhansk Oblast, the General Staff reported. Then, in the area of ​​the village of Gvardiyske in Crimea, it was confirmed that a launcher from the S-400 Triumph air defense system was hit.
12.05 The head of one of the National Guard support units was detained for trying to obtain a fictitious disability. The State Bureau of Investigation reported this.
According to the investigation, the colonel offered a member of the expert team for assessing daily functioning a bribe of $6,000. He wanted to receive a disability group II in order to later be released from military service. At the same time, the law enforcement officer did not have any real illnesses to obtain such a disability group.
11.57 SBI employees detained and reported the suspicion to the head of the Chernivtsi Military Hospital, as well as two servicemen who were working on civilian jobs instead of service.
The official allowed individual servicemen to avoid performing their official duties and go about their own business. They arranged this through acquaintances or relatives. At the same time, information about possible payment for such "loyalty" is also being checked.
The State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) officers exposed two servicemen who were not actually serving in the military. One of them was selling women's headscarves at the market in a stall connected to the hospital commander's entourage. The other worked at a service station.
Two servicemen are suspected of evading military service during martial law, and the hospital chief is suspected of aiding and abetting it. The articles carry penalties of up to 10 years in prison.
10.58 In Khmelnytskyi, a series of terrorist attacks that were being prepared by an FSB agent were prevented. The SBU reported this. The woman was detained "red-handed" when she was conducting additional reconnaissance near a parking lot with cars of Ukrainian defenders.
10.29 On Monday morning, seven regions of Ukraine experienced power outages due to new Russian shelling. Ukrenergo reported this. Emergency restoration work has already begun wherever security conditions allow.
09.16 In the Dniprovsky district of Kyiv near the Podilsko-Voskresensky bridge, police discovered an unexploded warhead of a Russian drone. Police explosives technicians will carry out a controlled detonation at the site.
08.56 On the night of March 30, Russian troops attacked Ukraine with an Iskander-M ballistic missile and 164 Shahed, Gerbera, Italmas attack UAVs and other types of drones, about 90 of them "Shaheeds".
Air defenses shot down/suppressed 150 enemy drones. A ballistic missile hit and 12 strike UAVs were recorded at seven locations, as well as the fall of downed drones (fragments) at two locations.
08.23 Over the past 24 hours, 147 combat clashes were recorded on the front. The Defense Forces' aviation struck three areas of concentration of personnel and a control point for unmanned aerial vehicles of the Russian troops.
07.24 From February 24, 2022 to March 30, 2026, the total combat losses of Russian troops on the territory of Ukraine amounted to approximately 1,296,700 people (+870 per day).
05.10 Social media is reporting an attack on the KuibyshevAzot chemical plant in Tolyatti, Russia.
02.30 Drones attacked occupied Alchevsk, in Luhansk region. Social media reports say a strike on a metallurgical plant and substation captured by the Russians. OSINT analysts confirm the fire, a strike on the substation and a subsequent fire. A blackout occurred in the city.
00.40 In Taganrog, Russia, in the Rostov region, on Sunday evening, an attack by Ukrainian drones was reported, destruction and evacuation of people, social networks write about powerful explosions that lasted more than two hours. Social networks also report that this is the "most powerful attack" on Taganrog during the entire war.
00.19 Russian troops struck a critical infrastructure facility in Chernihiv