Shelling of Regional State Administration building and negotiations on Crimea and ORDLO: Highlights on war in Ukraine as of March 29

Author

Olexandr Zakharov

The 34th day of the war against the Russian occupiers continues in Ukraine. This day was quite eventful for business, politics, and economics. offers a digest that will help you to know the situation in Ukraine.

The major developments of these days are:

Photo: facebook.com/VitaliiKimODA

Russian troops shelled the building of the Regional State Administration in Mykolaiv, seven people were killed, 22 people injured. This was reported by the head of the Regional State Administration Vitalyi Kim.

According to the State Emergency Service, the invaders struck the administrative building, and all 9 floors were destroyed.

The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation announced a radical reduction in military activity in the Kyiv and Chernihiv directions.

"We proceed from the fact that relevant key decisions will be made in Kyiv and conditions should be created for further normal work," the Russian propaganda media said in a statement, citing the Russian Defense Ministry.

At the same time, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu appeared before journalists for the first time in many days and said that the Russian armed forces would focus their efforts on "liberating Donbas."

Politics

Photo: facebook.com/david.braun.50951

Another round of talks between the Ukrainian and Russian sides was held in Istanbul. The positions of Ukraine on security, the issues of Crimea and ORDLO were clarified. In particular, according to David Arakhamia, Kyiv proposed the following:

stipulate the positions of Ukraine and Russia on Crimea for 15 years, during this time to hold bilateral negotiations on the status of Crimea and Sevastopol;
during these 15 years, Ukraine and Russia will not use armed forces to resolve the Crimea issue;
the ORDLO issue will be discussed at a personal meeting between the presidents of Russia and Ukraine, and only after the withdrawal of troops a referendum on this issue is possible.

Ukraine also requires, in exchange for a non-bloc status, to sign a security treaty similar to Article 5 of the NATO Charter: if Ukraine becomes an target of aggression, after three days of consultations, the guarantors must provide Ukraine with weapons, military assistance and close its skies. In addition, all guarantors should facilitate Ukraine's accession to the EU.

The Netherlands announced the expulsion of 17 Russian diplomats suspected of spying for Russia.

According to Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra, these intelligence officers under diplomatic cover threaten the security of the Netherlands.

Economy

On March 28, the Decree of the Cabinet of Ministers dated March 26, 2022 came into force. It imposed a limit on the markup on premium gasoline and diesel fuel — no more than 5% of the regulated retail prices of usual fuel, the decree reads. The price of premium gasoline and diesel fuel should now not exceed 35.21 UAH/liter and 39.30 UAH/liter.

The European Union (not only the G7 countries, as we reported earlier) will not pay for Russian gas in rubles. Eric Mamer. European Commission Chief Spokesperson, confirmed that the position of the EU coincides with the position of the G7.

Business

Photo: NATIONAL CRIME AGENCY

The UK has arrested the first yacht of a Russian businessman in its waters, the BBC reports.

Photo: NATIONAL CRIME AGENCY

The yacht bearing the name Phi is worth $49.9 million and is owned by a businessman who has not been named by British authorities. This person is not yet sanctioned, but has close ties to Vladimir Putin.

The Ukrainians created the Don't Fund War website that allows one to learn about the list of companies that have left the Russian market, partially remained there, or refuse to leave. The site was created by Iрor Barakaiev, a Ukrainian developer from Stanford. The site also gives advice on how to influence the companies stubbornly remaining in the Russian Federation.

Context.

We update daily the chronicle of the economic war of the world against Russia — here provides new data as of March 29.
Previously, we provided up-to-date information on the Russian-Ukrainian war as of 12:00 on March 29, 2022.
In addition, we daily cover the combat losses of the Russian invaders — here is the data on the enemy losses as of March 29, 2022.