Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,107

Here is the situation on Friday, March 7:

Fighting

• Russia’s Defence Ministry said its forces captured the village of Andriivka in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region. Moscow said the village, which used to be a main supply hub for Ukraine, was seized in January.
• Moscow launched an airstrike on a hotel in south-east Ukraine’s industrial city of Kryvyi Rih overnight, killing six people, Ukrainian officials said. According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, more than 30 people were injured.
• Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office said Dmitry Levin, a Russian citizen, was sentenced to 15 years in prison after he was convicted of high treason and having membership of a terrorist organisation. Authorities said he was found guilty of spying on Russia’s navy for Ukraine.
• A Russian drone attack on Ukraine’s Black Sea port of Odesa damaged energy infrastructure and caused fires, regional Governor Oleh Kiper said.

Politics and diplomacy

• Russian President Vladimir Putin appointed Alexander Darchiev as ambassador to the United States after Washington gave the go-ahead for his appointment in an earlier meeting between US and Russian officials.
• Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova criticised French President Emmanuel Macron for describing Moscow as a “threat to France and Europe.” Zakharova called the statements “contradictory” and “detached from reality.”

• Zakharova described France and UK’s peace initiative for Ukraine as an attempt to buy time for Kyiv to prevent its military collapse. Instead, “firm agreements on a final settlement are necessary,” she said.
• According to Zakharova, Russia is currently waiting on the US to appoint a team of negotiators to engage in peace talks with Ukraine, after which Moscow will appoint its own team.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin, reflecting on failed historic attempts by France to conquer Russia, reminded Macron of how Napoleon Bonaparte’s campaign against Moscow ended.
• Macron hit back at Putin calling him “an imperialist seeking to rewrite history”. “Napoleon carried out conquests. The only imperial power that I see today in Europe is Russia,” Macron said.
• French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu said Paris has been providing military intelligence to Kyiv after Washington put a pause on sharing information.
• Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s view of the Russia-Ukraine war being a Russia-US war by proxy is in line with Putin’s assessment as well.
• Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told state news agency RIA Novosti that Macron’s suggestion to discuss placing European allies under France’s nuclear protection posed a threat to Russia.
• Lavrov said deploying European peacekeeping troops to Ukraine would be regarded as NATO’s official involvement in the war between Ukraine and Russia.

• Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever said his country would send F16 fighter jects to Ukraine in 2026. He said the promised jets were being delayed due to the late arrival of new F35 jets to replace its F16s.
• The UK finalised a $38.68m deal with a defence tech company to allow Ukraine’s armed forces to use more advanced attack drones in the Black Sea, the UK’s Defence Ministry said.
• Zelenskyy called on European Union (EU) leaders in Brussels to support a truce in the air and at sea. “Everyone needs to make sure that Russia, as the sole source of this war, accepts the need to end it,” he said.
• Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr said his country would increase aid to Ukraine for this year by an extra $4.5bn. This would bring this year’s total Norwegian aid for Ukraine to $7.78bn.
• Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy to Russia and Ukraine, said the US’ decision to freeze aid to Ukraine was “like hitting a mule with a two-by-four across the nose,” adding that the move got Ukraine’s attention.
• US envoy Steve Witkoff told reporters that a US delegation will be travelling to Riyad, Saudi Arabia, next week to meet with Ukrainian officials.
• Witkoff said meeting would centre around a ceasefire with Russia and a “framework” on a more permanent agreement.
• Zelenskyy announced he would be travelling to Saudi Arabia for the meeting and revealed plans to have an audience with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
• EU leaders issued a statement in support of Ukraine at the Brussels summit. However, Hungary refused to endorse the statement on rearming Ukraine.