Victorious news of 754th day of war: over 600 Russian soldiers killed in Belgorod and Kursk regions, Drone Army destroys 88 tanks in two weeks

Ukrainian government approves Ukraine Facility plan to receive €50 billion from the EU

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced this.

The plan includes structural reforms aligned with over 100 quarterly indicators. It serves as the foundation for the European Union's financial support to Ukraine for the years 2024-2027 totaling €50 billion under the Ukraine Facility program.

"These are European approaches to public administration reform, the fight against corruption, and economic and sectoral reforms in various areas, from energy to agriculture. In addition, the document outlines cross-cutting areas such as green transition, digitalization, and European integration," Shmyhal said.

The Prime Minister added that the plan was developed together with European partners to bring Ukraine's membership in the EU closer. According to Shmyhal, the document will be submitted to the European Commission for consideration "in the near future."

"Thanks to the implementation of the reforms of the Ukraine Facility plan, Ukraine will be able to receive about €16 billion this year," the Prime Minister added.

Cabinet of Ministers allocates additional UAH 5 billion for drones

At a meeting on March 18, the Ukrainian government allocated an additional UAH 5 billion from the state budget reserve fund for the purchase of drones for the Armed Forces.

This was announced by Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.

"Every hryvnia that comes to the state budget in the form of taxes will be used to strengthen our defense capabilities," he wrote.

In turn, Taras Melnychuk, the Cabinet's representative in the Ukrainian parliament, clarified that the funds were allocated to the State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection. UAH 5 billion will be used "for the purchase of defense equipment with the subsequent transfer of the acquired military property to the management of the bodies that manage military formations in accordance with the established procedure.”

Freedom of Russia Legion claims to have killed more than 600 Russian military during raid in Belgorod and Kursk regions

The Freedom of Russia Legion reported this on Telegram.

According to their data, as of the morning of March 18, the Russian army's losses in the Belgorod and Kursk regions amounted to:

Personnel:

• irrecoverable losses: 613 servicemen;
• sanitary losses: 829 servicemen;
• captured: 27 servicemen.

Destroyed equipment:

• 7 tanks (including three T-72, one T-72BZ)
• 20 infantry fighting vehicles (including BMP-2, BMP-3)
• 6 D-30 howitzers
• 4 armored personnel carriers
• 4 mortars
• 2 MT-12 Rapier
• 2 2S19 Msta-S
• 2 ZALA UAVS
• 1 BM 21 Grad
• 1 LNG system
• 1 Murom complex
• 1 electronic warfare station
• 2 units of armored vehicles
• 2 units of engineering equipment (excavators)
• 57 units of various automotive equipment (heavy and light).

Damaged equipment:

• 1 T-80 PVM tank
• 1 T-72 tank
• 1 armored personnel carrier
• 1 BM 21 Grad
• 2 MT-LB
• 1 Msta-B
• 1 TOS-2
• 1 BM 21 Grad
• 1 2C1 Carnation
• 1 electronic warfare station
• 1 armored vehicle
• 20 units of various automotive equipment (heavy and light).

"Also, places of concentration of personnel, ammunition depots, dugouts, towers with antenna complexes, fortifications, video surveillance cameras, a cellular communication station, a bridge in the village of Gorky, etc. were destroyed or damaged," the statement says.

EU takes final decision to allocate €5 billion for military support to Ukraine

The EU Foreign Affairs Council has finally decided to allocate an additional €5 billion in military aid to Ukraine under the European Peace Fund.

This is reported by Ukraine's Foreign Affairs Ministry.

The meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council was also attended by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. He expressed his gratitude to his colleagues for the decision to allocate an additional €5 billion for military support to Ukraine under the European Peace Fund.

In particular, he thanked the Czech Republic for taking the initiative to purchase artillery ammunition for Ukraine and the EU countries that contributed to the plan.

"I urge those who are still considering making contributions to do so as soon as possible. This applies not only to the Czech initiative, but also to several other similar initiatives. Every day matters," Kuleba said.

At the same time, the minister emphasized that Russia's threats to NATO and the EU demonstrate Putin's desire to expand his aggression.

"The Ukrainian soldier is Europe's only hope for peace. There should be no restrictions or delays in providing the Ukrainian military with everything they need to break the back of the invading Russian forces on Ukrainian soil," he emphasized.

Drone Army destroyed 88 Russian tanks in two weeks

Mykhailo Fedorov reported this on Telegram.

Ukrainian drones at the front successfully continued to disarm the Russian army. During this time, they managed to destroy 88 tanks, 174 armored combat vehicles, 180 trucks, and 133 guns.

Within Temptation filmed a music video in Kyiv

The Dutch metal band Within Temptation is to release a joint song with the musician Alex Yarmak titled A Fool's Parade on April 5. The video for the song was filmed in Kyiv.

It was reported by Slukh.

On the band's official Instagram page, they called their trip to Kyiv an experience they will never forget. 

"We just finished recording our music video for A Fool's Parade in Ukraine! We are extremely grateful for this experience and the warm welcome to all the people who participated. You are all amazing and a great inspiration to us. This trip is an experience we will never forget. Thank you, stay strong and see you soon!" writes Within Temptation.

Romanian President Iohannis approves training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16s at a military base in Romania

This is reported by Digi24.

The Romanian leader, in addition to training about 50 Ukrainians on F-16 aircraft, agreed to transport some weapons for Ukraine through the territory of his country.

Iohannis informed the parliament of his approval of the transit of military aid to Ukraine from Finland and the training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16s by letter.

Now, this letter is to be considered by the leadership of both chambers of the Romanian parliament on Monday. The vote should take place at the next joint plenary session

At present, the Romanian authorities don't disclose the date of the training of Ukrainian pilots. However, the publication's sources claim that the Ukrainians are expected to arrive at the air base in Fătesti this summer.