- The UN Secretary-General has rejected Putin’s call for an interim administration in Ukraine. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that Ukraine has a “legitimate government that must be respected.”
- The European Commission is preparing a response to US President Donald Trump’s plans to impose additional tariffs on EU goods. Closing the market to American goods is not ruled out.
- Russian ruler Vladimir Putin has ordered 160,000 Russians to be drafted into the military in April-July 2025. The relevant decree was published on the official legal information portal of the Russian Federation on Monday, March 31.
- European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, in a telephone conversation with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, called him a “complete idiot” for his negotiations with US President Donald Trump. “Today I spoke on the phone with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. We discussed two topics. The first is the tariffs that were imposed against us. She scolded me terribly: “Robert, what have you done? Why did you conduct such negotiations with Trump? Are you sane?” She scolded me for half an hour, saying that I was a complete idiot,” Fico said.
- Russia used a scheme with fake insurance certificates so that its shadow fleet could pass through NATO waters in the Baltic Sea without hindrance. At least 76 Russian tankers received fake documents from a shell company called Ro Marine, which posed as Norwegian but belonged to a Russian citizen, Andrei Mochalin. The investigation revealed that Ro Marine had issued fake insurance policies for 255 vessels, and after being exposed, even added a new tanker to the register. Eight Russian oil tankers passed through inspections in the Gulf of Finland without hindrance, even though their certificates were fake.
- During a visit to Kharkiv, Norwegian ministers had to seek shelter from a Russian attack. “The missile fell very close to where we were standing. The projectile hit a school playground, where a moment before, many children were playing. Kharkiv is located several dozen kilometers from the Russian border, so there can be no question of any mistake. The Russians knew perfectly well what they were doing. This is the clearest evidence that Moscow is stepping up attacks, and attacks on civilian objects, instead of preparing for the end of the war,” said Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide.
- The World Health Organization (WHO) has decided to reduce the number of staff and the scope of its activities due to funding problems, including the US withdrawal from the organization.
- Danish supermarkets Føtex, Netto and Bilka are marking European goods with an asterisk on price tags to make it easier for shoppers to choose products made in Europe. This is partly done in protest against US President Donald Trump’s trade policy.
- American singer and actress Barbra Streisand has made a charitable contribution of $24,000 to the UNITED24 fund, which is aimed at helping Ukrainian doctors. “They have seen more than anyone should have seen. And yet they continue to work. They continue to do what they do best — help heal and not give up. Let’s stay with them, with the brave people who, despite the conditions, save lives every day,” Streisand stressed. In 2023, Streisand donated four ambulances and a donation of $240,000 to Ukraine.
- Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga stressed that Ukraine will never recognize Russia’s occupation of Ukrainian territories, will not agree to any restrictions on the army, and will not allow the choice of alliances and unions to be blocked.
- Ukraine became the first country to destroy a missile cruiser during the war, sinking the Moskva in April 2022. The missile cruiser Moskva was hit by Neptune missiles.
- American “models and schemes” regarding Ukraine do not solve Russia’s main demand, noted Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov: “We have not heard a signal from Trump to Kyiv about ending the war. All that exists today is an attempt to find some scheme that would allow us to first achieve a ceasefire, as conceived by the Americans. And then move on to some other models and schemes, in which, as far as we can judge, there is no place for our main demand today, namely, solving the problems related to the root causes of this conflict. … We certainly have a deeply and carefully thought-out set of our own priorities and approaches to this topic, which is being worked out and has been worked out, in particular, by our negotiating team at recent talks with the Americans in Riyadh.”
The Camera Never Flinches: Caolan Robertson’s View from the War Zone
By Nadia Lemko In the shattered streets of Kherson, where the buzz of Russian drones now replaces the sound of...
