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Morning Headlines
FT: Satellite images shared exclusively with the Financial Times point to ‘arms-for-oil’ trade between Pyongyang and Moscow (archive).
CNN: Ukrainian front-line troops say they are experiencing connection problems with the vital Starlink internet service, owned by Elon Musk and used to run Kyiv’s fleet of attack drones, while also reporting an increase in Russian use of the devices, despite this being prohibited by US sanctions.
Reutes: Russia's security state has been ruthlessly effective at detaining Putin's opponents but was caught off guard by a mass shooting near Moscow, raising questions about its priorities, resources and intelligence gathering.
AP News: Ukraine needs any edge it can get to repel Russia from its territory. One emerging bright spot is its small but fast-growing defense industry, which the government is flooding with money in hopes that a surge of homemade weapons and ammunition can help turn the tide.
ISW: Kremlin officials’ and Russian ultranationalists’ continued insistence on blaming Ukraine for an attack that IS-K very likely committed may come at the expense of Russian internal security and civilian lives.
Reuters: Engineers worked round the clock to restore power on Monday to households in two Ukrainian cities -- Kharkiv and Odesa -- and officials warned that damage caused by repeated Russian strikes on energy infrastructure could take years to repair.
More News
The Kyiv Independent: Iceland has committed to spend two million euros in ammunition purchases for Ukraine as part of a Czech-led initiative to deliver much-needed artillery shells.
POLITICO: Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda has said that there needs to be a ‘broadening’ consensus on the need to defeat Putin among EU leaders.
BBC News: Russian state media is firmly blaming Ukraine and the West for the deadly attack on the Crocus Hall, echoing similar narratives by the Kremlin while ignoring Ukraine's denial of any involvement.
The Kyiv Independent: The EU has delivered 500,000 of the promised 1 million artillery shells to Ukraine and aims to deliver the total amount by the end of the year, the EU's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said in his blog on March 25.
AP News: The U.S. on Monday imposed sanctions on a collection of fintech firms and people, mostly in Russia, accused of enabling sanctions evasion.
Reuters: The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned the Charge d'Affaires of the Australian embassy in Moscow on Monday to complain about a social media post condemning the holding of Russian presidential 'elections' on parts of Ukraine Moscow claims to have annexed.
FT: US claims to a swath of mineral-rich seabed are being challenged by China and Russia because Washington has failed to ratify a treaty that governs access to resources in international waters (archive).
The Guardian: The former chief executive of Chelsea, once described as “the most powerful woman in football”, is facing questions about what she knew of secret payments made under the club’s former owner Roman Abramovich, amid a continuing investigation into alleged breaches of football spending rules.
The Kyiv Independent: The number of vehicles, aircraft, naval vessels, and weapons systems lost by Russian forces since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine has surpassed 15,000, the open-source investigative project Oryx announced on March 24. The figure includes 2856 tanks, 135 helicopters, 106 aircraft, 20 naval ships, and one submarine.
AP News: The Russian ambassador to Poland did not show up Monday for a meeting at the Polish Foreign Ministry where he had been summoned because of a Russian cruise missile that violated Polish airspace on the weekend, the Polish ministry’s spokesman said.
Reuters: Debris from a Russian missile attack wrecked part of a three-storey building in central Kyiv on Monday morning and wounded at least 10 people across the city, officials said. Schoolchildren had to run for cover during the assault, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said. The side of the building, which held an art academy's gym and exhibition hall, was reduced to rubble in an area packed with high-rise apartment blocks.
The Kyiv Independent: Except for the Yamal and Azov landing ships, Ukraine's March 23 missile attack on Russian-occupied Crimea could have damaged the Russian military's Ivan Khurs ship, Navy spokesperson Dmytro Pletenchuk said on March 25.
Kyiv Post: Kyiv Post's sources within the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) have confirmed that two ballistic missiles were launched from Russian-occupied Crimea toward Kyiv on Monday and were aimed at the SBU offices.
Reuters: The Rosneft-owned Kuibyshev oil refinery in Russia's city of Samara halted CDU-5, one of two primary refining units, knocking out half of its capacity following a drone attack over the weekend.
FT: Presidents of Latvia and Estonia say European states in alliance should do more to prepare for Russian threat (archive).
Reuters: France on Monday joined the United States in saying intelligence indicated Islamic State was responsible for an attack on a concert hall outside Moscow that killed 139 people, while Russia continued to suggest that Ukraine was to blame.
worth mentioning
Russia pinches Iceland with playbook propaganda for supporting Ukraine
Kyrgyzstan warns citizens against travel to Russia after concert attack
POLITICO: Why Ukraine’s refugees aren’t going to France
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