March 10, 2023 Russia-Ukraine news

By Kathleen Magramo, Andrew Raine, Aditi Sangal, Adrienne Vogt, Leinz Vales and Matt Meyer, CNN

Updated 4:16 p.m. ET, March 12, 2023
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3:18 a.m. ET, March 10, 2023

Russia launched 95 missiles over the past day, 34 were intercepted, Ukrainian military says

From CNN's Olga Voitovych

Three rockets launched against Ukraine from Russia's Belgorod region are seen at dawn in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on March 9.
Three rockets launched against Ukraine from Russia's Belgorod region are seen at dawn in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on March 9. (Vadim Belikov/AP)

Russia launched a total of 95 missiles of various types over the past day – and 34 of them were intercepted, the Ukrainian military said on Friday.

“The enemy also carried out 31 air strikes, in particular, using eight Shahed-136 UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles or drones), half of which were shot down,” the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in a morning update.

It added that Russia had "fired 65 times from multiple launch rocket systems.”

3:19 a.m. ET, March 10, 2023

Kyiv’s power and water supplies have been restored

From CNN's Olga Voitovych

A plume of smoke rises above the Holosiivskyi district in Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 9.
A plume of smoke rises above the Holosiivskyi district in Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 9. (Eugen Kotenko/Ukrinform/Future Publishing/Getty Images)

Kyiv’s power and water supplies were restored on Friday morning following a barrage of Russian missile attacks on Thursday, according to Serhii Popko, the head of the Kyiv city military administration.

“There are no power outages. Water supply is in regular mode. Heat supply is being restored,” he said.
“As of 7:50 a.m., 30% of consumers are without heat. The restoration work lasted all night and continues now.”

Some context: On Thursday, Russia launched one of its biggest aerial assaults with more than 80 missiles targeted at Ukrainian infrastructure. President Volodymyr Zelensky said it was a difficult night, with six people killed directly in the strikes.

Following the strikes, 15% of the capital went without electricity temporarily, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said earlier on Telegram. 

5:04 a.m. ET, March 10, 2023

Russia hit Ukraine with a barrage of missiles Thursday. Here's what to know to get up to speed

From CNN staff

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said six people were killed in a wave of Russian missile strikes across Ukraine on Thursday. Earlier, regional authorities said 11 people were killed in the Russian attacks, which included those who died in shelling and other kinds of attacks.

While energy has been restored to most of the country, Russian forces are keeping up their assaults near the invasion's eastern front, especially around the strategic city of Bakhmut.

Here are the headlines to know:

  • Wave of Russian strikes: At least 11 people are dead and more than 20 injured following a barrage of Russian strikes against critical infrastructure across Ukraine, according to regional authorities. Some of the strikes used advanced missiles that Ukrainian forces cannot shoot down. President Volodymyr Zelensky, in his nightly address, said six people were killed directly from missile strikes, describing it as a "difficult night" in Ukraine.
  • Russia's narrative: The Russian Ministry of Defense said the attack was retaliation for what the ministry called "terrorist actions" organized by Kyiv. Russian security officials claimed a small Ukrainian armed group had crossed into Russia's Bryansk region last week. Kyiv dismissed Moscow's claim the overnight assault on "peaceful cities and villages of Ukraine" was retaliatory.
  • A rare type of missile: Russia launched a total of 84 missiles over the last 24 hours, and Ukraine's air defenses intercepted 34 of them, the Ukrainian military said. However, six of the strikes involved Kinzhal ballistic missiles that eluded Kyiv's air defenses, the military said. Yurii Ihnat, a spokesperson for the Air Force Command of Ukraine, said they have "no capabilities to counter these weapons." The use of such a wide and unpredictable array of weaponry seemingly marks a shift in the Kremlin's strategy.

  • Impact at Zaporizhzhia: The power supply at Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is back on after it was “completely disconnected” from Ukraine’s power grid due to Russian shelling, according to the national energy company. The Russian-controlled plant is still operated mostly by Ukrainian workers and had been running in emergency mode after the shelling. In other parts of the country, engineers have restored the electricity supply in most regions where energy facilities were damaged, Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko.
  • Fighting in the east: Russian forces have kept up their assaults near the invasion's eastern front in Kupyansk, Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Shakhtarsk, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said. Holding on to the eastern city of Bakhmut is important for Ukrainians, as every day of sustained resistance allows Kyiv's forces to chip away at Russia's offensive capabilities, one of Ukraine's top military leaders said.
1:54 a.m. ET, March 10, 2023

"One day our luck will run out," IAEA chief warns after Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant loses power

From CNN's Bex Wright and Hande Atay Alam

Rafael Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), speaks at a news conference in Vienna, Austria, on March 6.
Rafael Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), speaks at a news conference in Vienna, Austria, on March 6. (Leonhard Foeger/Reuters)

The head of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog agency said the loss of power at Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant should serve as another reminder of the perilous situation facing the site and surrounding area.

"If we allow this to continue time after time, then one day our luck will run out," said Rafael Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The plant lost all off-site power due to Russian missile attacks Thursday, according to Ukrainian officials. Grossi said it was the first time the plant had lost all power since November 23, 2022.

"I am astonished by the complacency – yes, the complacency. What are we doing to prevent this from happening? We are the IAEA, we are meant to care about nuclear safety," Grossi said. 

"This is the largest nuclear power station in Europe. ... What are we doing?" Grossi asked. "How can we sit here in this room this morning and allow this to happen? This cannot go on."

"I call on everyone in this room today and elsewhere – we must commit to protect the safety and security of the plant. And we need to commit now. What we need is action," Grossi said.

Some background: The plant has been under Russian control since March last year, but is still mostly operated by Ukrainian workers.

Attacks at the complex have sparked concerns about the specter of a nuclear disaster, and IAEA staff have been visiting the site to assess the damage. Recently, the UN nuclear agency said it has been unable to rotate teams at the plant because of increased volatility in the area.

The IAEA head has assured Ukraine his agency will never recognize Russia as the owner of the Zaporizhzhia plant, according to Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. Grossi has also pledged a continuous IAEA presence at all of Ukraine's nuclear plants.

Watch Grossi's impassioned remarks Thursday here:

1:54 a.m. ET, March 10, 2023

Crews will work for as long as necessary to restore power following Russian strikes, Zelensky says

From CNN's Olga Voitovych and Jessie Gretener

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said work to restore power to parts of the country hit by a wave of Russian strikes Thursday is still underway, but efforts will continue "for as long as necessary."

The president said the situation in Kharkiv and the Zhytomyr region has been the most difficult.

“Another attempt by the terrorist state to wage war against civilization has led to temporary power, heat and water outages in some of our regions and cities,” Zelensky said.

Critically, power has already been restored to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. The plant is under Russian control, but it is being operated mostly by Ukrainians. It was running on emergency mode after the shelling, according to the national energy company.

“Russia is deliberately creating such critical situations at our nuclear facilities," Zelensky said.

Nearly a dozen people were killed in the attacks, officials said. Zelensky expressed condolences to those families.

1:54 a.m. ET, March 10, 2023

Ukraine's air defense systems "not coping well enough" against Russian hypersonic missiles, adviser says

From CNN's Jessie Gretener

Ukraine's air defense systems didn't withstand some of Russia's Kinzhal missiles, according to an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky, following a widespread attack from Moscow on Thursday.

A total of 84 missiles were fired on Ukrainian infrastructure, including six Kinzhal ballistic missiles that have the ability to elude Kyiv’s air defenses, the Ukrainian military said.

"They are using hypersonic missiles. They are using new types of weapons, and they are seeing how our air defense systems can cope with it," said Alexander Rodnyansky, an economic adviser to Zelensky. "They are not coping well enough."

Rodnyansky outlined what he saw as the Kremlin's tactical, economic and political objectives for Thursday's strikes, including what he described as "economic terrorism." 

"They're sending a very strong signal to everyone in Ukraine — and to perhaps some of our refugees outside of Ukraine — that life is very far from returning to normal despite the fact that over recent weeks there was more quiet," he said.

This could cause refugees to stay away and businesses to withhold investing in the country, Rodnyansky said.

"It is a question of managing expectations and showing this is a long game and that they are trying to plan this war for years," Rodnyansky added.

What else to know: Russia used the Kinzhal missile, which it has described as a hypersonic weapon, on a few occasions in the first weeks of its invasion last year. But the powerful weapon has rarely been seen over the country's skies.

Its first known use was last March, and then again in May, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

1:54 a.m. ET, March 10, 2023

Here's where else Russia is launching attacks, Ukraine says

From CNN's Radina Gigova and Olga Voitovych

The Ukrainian military shared updates Thursday from multiple fronts in its defense against Russia's invasion.

The battle for Bakhmut: Russian forces are still working to encircle the eastern city of Bakhmut, "with further access to the administrative borders of Donetsk and Luhansk regions," the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said.

The military said it "repelled numerous attacks" surrounding the city, saying more than half a dozen villages northwest, west and southwest of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region have recently taken enemy fire.

Elsewhere on the eastern front: North of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, Russian forces are trying to break through Ukraine's defenses in Kupyansk and Lyman, according to the General Staff.

South of Bakhmut, Russian forces conducted unsuccessful offensives on several towns near the eastern cities of Avdiivka and Shakhtarsk, Ukraine's military said.

In southern Ukraine: Russian forces are on the defensive in the southern regions of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, according to Ukraine.

The General Staff claimed that in some Russian-occupied settlements of Kherson, "Russian invaders have intensified looting," using ammunition delivery trucks to smuggle out household appliances and other property.

CNN is unable to verify Ukraine's claim.

Ukrainian strikes: Over the last 24 hours, Ukrainian forces have carried out seven strikes on areas where Russian personnel and military equipment are gathered.

Missile troops and artillery units hit a Russian command post, six areas where Moscow's troops were concentrated, two logistics centers, three ammunition depots, an electronic warfare station and an anti-aircraft missile system, the General Staff said. 

1:53 a.m. ET, March 10, 2023

Belarusian leader signs death penalty into law for treasonous officials and soldiers, state media says

From CNN’s Uliana Pavlova

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko meets with foreign media at his residence in Minsk, Belarus on February 16, 2023.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko meets with foreign media at his residence in Minsk, Belarus on February 16, 2023. (Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP/Getty Images)

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Thursday signed a law introducing the death penalty for “state treason” committed by government and military officials, state news agency Belta reported. 

Additionally, the law introduces criminal liability for “propaganda” of terrorism, discrediting of the country’s armed forces, other troops and military formations, paramilitary organizations, and violation of requirements for the protection of state secrets.

Belarus’ parliament last year passed a bill that would impose the death penalty for “high treason, in order to prevent” possible actions by “destructive elements” in the country, which Lukashenko signed into law on Thursday.

Human rights group Amnesty last year called the law the "latest display of Belarusian authorities’ profound disregard for human rights.”

Belarus' role in the Ukraine war: Lukashenko, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, said in February that “there is no way we are going to send our troops to Ukraine unless you are going to commit aggression against Belarus.”

“But don’t forget Russia is our ally — legally, morally and politically,” he added.

Lukashenko's government has claimed on numerous occasions that Ukrainian drones and missiles have entered its territory, sometimes without providing evidence.

Belarus helped Russia launch its initial invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, allowing the Kremlin’s troops to enter the country through the Ukrainian-Belarusian border north of Kyiv.

1:53 a.m. ET, March 10, 2023

Russia's “deliberate targeting” of civilians and energy grid is a war crime, EU chief says

From CNN's Sharon Braithwaite and Olga Voitovych

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen condemned the latest Russian missile barrage on Ukraine during a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

In a tweet, von der Leyen said "Russia’s deliberate targeting of civilians and energy grid is a war crime."

Zelensky said that during the call, "we welcomed the new package of EU sanctions and agreed on further pressure on the aggressor. We also discussed in detail Ukraine's progress in implementing the recommendations of the European Commission to start negotiations on Ukraine's accession this year."

Russia launched one of its biggest aerial assaults of the year on Thursday, with 84 missiles targeted at Ukrainian infrastructure across the country. 

This included six Kinzhal ballistic missiles that eluded Kyiv's air defenses, the Ukrainian military said. At least 11 people were killed.