On Friday, March 25, the Ukrainian Armed Forces expected the Russian Armed Forces to attack eastern suburbs of the capital Kyiv. In the east, the invaders continued to focus on attacking long-besieged Mariupol. The warring sides have made the first official exchange of prisoners of war, which resulted in freeing Ukrainian sailors from the Black Sea Snake Island, who refused to surrender to a Russian war ship, Ukrinform and the BBC report.
Kyiv Territorial Defense Forces have stated that Ukrainian defenders have pushed back the enemy troops near the city of Kyiv, killing 40 Russian invaders. The organisation also claimed that the Ukrainian army now has more tanks than it did at the beginning of the war as it has seized more than enough Russian tanks to make up for the tanks it has lost.
According to the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the Russian invaders’ tasks of reaching the administrative borders of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, encircling the city of Kyiv, and establishing control over the left-bank part of Ukraine have not been fulfilled until, Friday, March 25.
The Ukrainian military admitted, however, that the invaders managed to partially succeed in the south-eastern Donetsk operational district in continuing the temporary maintenance of the land corridor between the Rostov region and the temporarily occupied territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea.
In the north of Ukraine, the Russian troops did not carry out offensive operations on Thursday, continuing to carry out artillery and air strikes and attempting to restore the position of its forces near Kyiv and Makariv.
In the north-eastern direction, the Russian troops were trying to concentrate forces and means to resume offensive operations with the help of certain units. It made unsuccessful attempts to block the city of Chernihiv. In the Brovary direction, it moved to the defence and carries out engineering equipment of positions.
The Russian troops are expected to resume offensive operations in the direction of Brovary and Boryspil in order to block access to the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, from the east.
In the south-eastern Donetsk direction, Russian troops were holding their positions. The invaders continued to focus their efforts to capture the cities of Popasna, Rubizhne and Mariupol, the Ukrainian military reported.
Prisoner swap results in freeing Snake Island sailors
On Thursday, the first full-fledged exchange of prisoners of war with Russia was held according to Iryna Vereshchuk, Deputy Prime Minister – Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine.
Ten Ukrainian soldiers were swapped for ten invaders and additionally 11 Russian civilian sailors rescued from a sunken ship near Odesa were also transferred to Russia. In return, Ukraine received 19 Ukrainian civilian sailors from the Sapphire rescue ship, captured by Russian invaders while trying to take the Ukrainian military from Zmiinyi (Snake) Island, return home, Ukrinform reports.
Zelenskyy issues state awards and addresses three summits
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his latest address to Ukrainians and the international community that on Thursday he issued state awards to members of the Ukrainian military, doctors and heads of local governments. Zelenskyy also addressed the summits of NATO, the European Union and the G7 group of countries by video link to Brussels.
Watch the address in Ukrainian with English subtitles.
Day 30 of war in Ukraine: Attack on Kyiv suburbs expected, prisoner swap frees Snake Island sailors
