A massive Russian drone attack in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro late Friday resulted in the deaths of four people and the injury of 19 others, while sparking fires in a hotel and restaurant complex, as well as other buildings. The attack also caused damage to a high-rise apartment block and nearly 10 homes, according to regional governor Serhiy Lysak. Although firefighting crews brought the blaze in the hotel complex under control, it is purported that the casualty toll could rise as three of the injured are in serious condition. Additionally, it has been confirmed that over 20 drones had been directed toward the city, though most were taken down.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed that Ukraine would not accept any mineral rights deal that could endanger its integration with the European Union, but deemed it premature to offer judgment on a significantly expanded minerals deal proposed by the US. He mentioned that Ukraine’s legal team needs to examine the draft before he can comment further. The summary of the US proposal suggests that it is requesting all of Ukraine’s natural resources income for several years. Zelenskyy also stated that Kyiv would not recognize billions of dollars of past US aid as loans, though he did not specify if this demand featured in the latest draft version received by a senior government official. The president noted that the text of the proposal was “entirely different” from an earlier framework agreement that he had been intending to sign with the US president, Donald Trump, before a televised dispute at the White House late last month.

It has been reported that Ukrainian forces have made an incursion into Russia’s Belgorod region, while their control over the captured pocket of Russia’s adjacent Kursk region is weakening. Several Russian military bloggers have acknowledged the presence of Ukrainian troops in Belgorod and described battles with Russian forces. Neither Kyiv nor Moscow has confirmed these reports, although Russia’s defense ministry stated that it had thwarted five Ukrainian attempts to cross the border in Belgorod. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s military announced that its air force struck a border post in Russia’s Bryansk region, destroying military infrastructure in an area that Kyiv identified as the site of drone launches.

Russian President Vladimir Putin advocated for a “transitional administration” in Ukraine, which implies the ousting of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and pledged that Russia’s army would “finish off” Ukrainian troops. However, Zelenskyy dismissed Putin’s call as another ploy to delay a peace deal. The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, emphasized that Ukraine has a legitimate government that must be respected. It remains uncertain how serious Putin’s suggestion for a UN-led temporary administration is, as the Kremlin clarified that this idea was not discussed in recent phone calls with Donald Trump.

The UN rights chief urged an end to the “horrific suffering” inflicted on civilians in Ukraine, following recent unrest around a possible ceasefire. Volker Turk, speaking at the UN Human Rights Council, acknowledged that limited ceasefires to protect shipping lanes and infrastructure are a positive step. However, he stressed that an end to the daily suffering in Ukraine is most urgently required. Despite Donald Trump’s push for a ceasefire since returning to office in January, fighting in Ukraine has intensified, resulting in a higher number of civilian casualties than in the same period last year.

Ukraine announced on Friday that it has received the bodies of 909 soldiers killed in battles with Russia, representing the largest repatriation in over three years of war. The Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, a government agency, expressed gratitude for the assistance of the International Committee of the Red Cross, and stated that the remains were returned from the Donetsk, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia regions.

The EU’s agriculture commissioner stated that the bloc plans to reduce farm imports from Ukraine when it renegotiates a trade deal with Kyiv set to expire in June. Import quotas in the existing deal, which granted duty-free access to the EU for Ukrainian agricultural goods following Russia’s 2022 invasion, will not remain the same.

The International Monetary Fund’s board completed a review that paves the way for disbursing $400 million to Ukraine for budget support. Despite challenging conditions, the IMF noted that Ukraine’s economy remains resilient. However, economic growth, which slowed in the second half of last year, is expected to slow further in 2025 due to a tight labor market and attacks on energy infrastructure.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/29/ukraine-war-briefing-russian-drone-attack-kills-four-in-dnipro-as-zelenskyy-cautious-on-new-us-minerals-deal