Russia launched a drone attack on Kyiv oblast

Russia launched another drone attack on Kyiv Oblast during the night of March 5, causing damage to residential buildings, a kindergarten, and a school due to falling debris.

According to the Kyiv Regional Military Administration, air defense forces successfully intercepted multiple drones. Authorities urged residents to take air raid alerts seriously.

"The enemy continues to target Kyiv Oblast with UAVs. The alarm was triggered three times overnight. Air defense forces were active, and several enemy targets were destroyed. Fortunately, there were no casualties, and critical infrastructure remained intact," the statement read.

However, in Boryspil district, debris damaged the windows of 85 apartments in two residential buildings, 20 cars, two vans, a store, a private house, two warehouses, two hangars, and the windows of a kindergarten and a school, according to the Kyiv City Military Administration.

Odessa was under drone and balistick missile attack last night

On the evening of March 4, Russian forces launched another Shahed drone attack on Odesa, causing explosions that left parts of the city without electricity, water, and heat. Two civilians were killed, and several others were injured.

Mayor Hennadii Trukhanov confirmed the strike on critical infrastructure, stating that emergency services were working to restore essential services. Earlier, he had urged residents to take shelter as the drones approached.

Odesa Oblast Governor Oleh Kiper reported that debris from downed drones damaged private homes in the suburbs, sparking fires that were extinguished by emergency crews. The attacks also targeted energy facilities, port infrastructure, and civilian buildings.

A 77-year-old man from the village of Lymanka died from shrapnel wounds, while a 73-year-old resident was killed in another strike. At least one other person sustained moderate injuries. The State Emergency Service (SES) reported extensive destruction, including damage to 20 private homes, a business center, a post office, a medical laboratory, and multiple vehicles.

"More than 60 rescuers worked to mitigate the consequences of this attack. Information on possible injuries is still being clarified," the SES stated.

Additionally, around 9:30 p.m. on March 4, a Russian missile struck a recreation center in the Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi district of Odessa, nearly leveling a three-story building. Fortunately, no casualties were reported.

Under the procedural leadership of the Odesa Regional Prosecutor’s Office, a pre-trial investigation has been launched into war crimes committed by Russian forces, which resulted in civilian casualties and widespread destruction.

As of 8:50 a.m. on March 5, city services had restored water and heat supplies in Odesa.

Possible consequences of pausing U.S. military aid

The suspension of U.S. military aid to Ukraine will not cause an immediate collapse of the front lines, but the effects of the pause will become more pronounced over time, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

ABC News, citing two U.S. officials, reported that approximately 90% of the weapons pledged under the Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA) have already been delivered to Ukraine. This includes essential ammunition and anti-tank systems. The remaining 10% of supplies are expected to arrive by August 2025.

Additionally, private arms contracts between Ukraine and U.S. defense companies, many of which have already been paid for by Kyiv, will ensure a continued, albeit limited, flow of weapons in the coming years.

Oleh Katkov, editor-in-chief of the Ukrainian defense publication Defense Express, explained that U.S. supplies make up about 30% of Ukraine's military aid, another 30% comes from European allies, and the remaining 40% is produced domestically within Ukraine’s defense industry.

ISW analysts emphasize that Ukraine will continue to fight using available resources, European military support, and domestically produced weapons.

"The pause in U.S. assistance will negatively impact Ukraine’s ability to sustain both defensive and offensive operations at the current intensity," the ISW report states. "However, it will not lead to a complete collapse of the front in the coming months."

Experts warn that Russia may take advantage of the situation, just as it did during the previous suspension of U.S. aid in early 2024.

"The Russians will attempt to use the pause in American assistance to advance further in eastern and southern Ukraine and solidify their territorial claims over the entire Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions," the report concludes.

They threatened to kill her children and strangled her: Russian soldiers who served with notices of suspicion raped woman and threatened to kill her children in Donetsk Oblast

Ukrainian law enforcement officials have formally charged two Russian servicemen with war crimes for the rape of a woman during the occupation of a village in Donetsk Oblast, according to the Prosecutor General's Office.

The soldiers, aged 27 and 29, are from Khabarovsk Krai and Irkutsk Oblast in Russia’s Far East and Siberia. They serve as a senior driver and a refueling driver in one of the military units of the Russian Armed Forces.

In June 2022, during the occupation of the settlement, the suspects forcibly entered the garden of a home where a local woman lived with her husband and children. The armed men abducted her, taking her to a neighboring property. Inside an abandoned house, they injected her with an unidentified substance to prevent her from resisting.

The attackers then raped the woman in turns, using physical violence and threatening to kill her children. One of the soldiers strangled the victim with his hands.

The suspects have been charged in absentia with violating the laws and customs of war, committed by a group of persons acting in prior conspiracy, under Articles 28.2 and 438.1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

Torture signs were found on most of the bodies of Ukrainians repatriated from Russian captivity

Ukrainian forensic experts have found signs of torture on most of the bodies repatriated from Russian detention centers, officials revealed during the premiere of the documentary Way Home. Heroes on the Shield on March 5.

According to Inna Padiei, head of forensic medical examinations at Ukraine’s Bureau of Forensic Medicine, 80% of the bodies recovered from Russian prisons and pre-trial detention centers show evidence of torture. "This includes the use of physical force, electric shocks, and deprivation of basic needs such as food and medical care," she said.

Andrii Yusov, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, stated that the recovery of Ukrainian civilian bodies underscores the widespread nature of Russia’s war crimes. "Many of those returned show signs of violations of detention conditions. However, we must be cautious in making statements, as families of the missing are still awaiting their loved ones’ return," Yusov added.

Maksym Tsutskiridze, head of the Main Investigation Department of the National Police, explained that identification efforts rely on visual inspections, tattoos, scars, and prostheses, alongside DNA testing. So far, 4,600 individuals have been identified, while over 3,200 bodies remain unidentified.

Investigators handling these cases have seen their workload increase by 300% since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion. Currently, 2,000 law enforcement officers are investigating around 70,000 cases of missing persons under special circumstances, including civilians and military personnel lost in occupied territories.