The 9 March Russian missile attacks against the entire territory of Ukraine are the biggest since the beginning of 2023, leading to civilian deaths, and water, electricity and heating outages. The situation is most difficult in the regions of Kharkiv and Zhytomir, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said. Odesa, the Dnipropetrovsk region, Kyiv and Zaporizhzhia are also facing difficulties.

The US condemned the attacks and the European countries called for supplying Ukraine with fighter jets for self-defence. Out of the 95 missiles launched, 7 of which hypersonic Kinzhals, Ukraine has downed 34. Russia has struck 8 Ukrainian energy facilities.

According to the US-based Institute for the Study of War, ISW: “Russian forces conducted the largest missile strike across Ukraine of 2023 likely only to advance Russian state propaganda objectives.” ISW continues to assess that these missile strikes will not undermine Ukraine’s will or improve Russia’s positions on the frontlines.

The next six months will be critical in the war in Ukraine, CIA Director William Burns said during a congressional committee hearing.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz can detect no willingness on the part of Russian President Vladimir Putin to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, he told the NBR group of German newspapers.