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KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian troops are recapturing towns east of Kyiv and Russian forces who had been trying to seize the capital are falling back on overextended supply lines, Britain said, an indication of a shift in momentum in the war.
The mayor of a suburb east of Kyiv said Ukrainian troops had retaken a nearby village and thousands of civilians were now leaving the area, answering a call from the authorities to get out of the way of the counterattack.
Fighting
- Ukrainian authorities said Friday that about 300 people died when a Russian airstrike blew up a theater where hundreds of civilians were sheltering March 16 in Mariupol, the Associated Press reports.
- The United States assesses that Russia is suffering failure rates as high as 60% for some precision-guided missiles in Ukraine, three U.S. officials told Reuters.
- The northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv has in effect been cut off by Russian forces, the regional governor said. Governor Viacheslav Chaus also said the city was under fire from artillery and warplanes.
Energy/markets
- The United States will supply the European Union with more liquefied natural gas to help curb its reliance on Russian fossil fuels, U.S. President Joe Biden said as EU leaders met to deal with an energy crunch triggered by the war.
- European shares fell for a third straight session on Friday and were set to end the week lower as the Russia-Ukraine conflict kept investors cautious heading into the weekend.
- The Swiss trading arm of Russian energy firm Lukoil has scaled back operations after the oil company cut its supply of capital to guarantee nearly $1 billion in margin calls in the wake of sanctions, according to three sources.
Refugees
- President Biden begins a two-day visit to Poland Friday as his final stop in Europe this week. It's a chance to underscore the U.S. commitment to protect a key NATO member on Ukraine's doorstep and to thank Poles for their generous welcome to refugees fleeing Russia's invasion.
- About 3.7 million people have left Ukraine since the conflict began, a U.N. refugee official said.
- A United Nations human rights team is looking into allegations that civilians have been forcibly moved from Mariupol to Russia, a senior official said.
- If Mariupol resident Alexandra's husband could have stayed alive long enough to receive the humanitarian aid that finally came, he would have lived, she said.
Quotes
- "I told my wife to grab the children and to hide in the basement, and I went to the drafting station and joined my unit straight away. And the next day from the army base we moved to the frontline." — Andriy, a Ukrainian soldier on the frontline northwest of Kyiv.
- "We have to stay fully, totally, thoroughly united." — Biden in Brussels after meetings with Western allies.
