The slowdown came as Moscow’s forces at the front struggled after Elon Musk cut the Russians’ access to Starlink internet terminals. Kyiv’s forces saw most success along the southern frontline, pushing Russia’s army back in the Dnipropetrovsk region. The Sheskharis oil terminal in Novorossiysk is Russia’s major oil outlet in the Black Sea, loading 700,000 barrels per day of crude oil. Three people were killed in the eastern city of Kramatorsk, a Ukrainian stronghold that Russian forces are advancing towards, officials said. Ukraine became a formal EU candidate country in the early days after Russia’s invasion in February 2022.

Source: The Guardian March 03, 2026 21:28 UTC