current Events/2024 March 22

• Russian invasion of Ukraine
  • Russian strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure
    • March 2024 Ukraine missile strikes
      • Russia launches dozens of ballistic missiles at Ukrainian cities for a second consecutive day with reports of power outages in Kharkiv after critical infrastructure was damaged. At least eight missile strikes on Zaporizhzhia are reported, while a "critical infrastructure object" is damaged in Vinnytsia. More than a million people are left without power across Ukraine due to the strikes, with five people killed and dozens more reportedly injured. (BBC News) (U.S. News & World Report)
      • The Dnieper Hydroelectric Station in Zaporizhzhia is hit by a missile causing extensive damage and a large fire. A trolleybus initially reported as carrying civilians was destroyed in the attack, later confirmed to have been empty apart from the driver who was killed. Shelling also damages one of the two power lines connected to the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. (The Guardian) (The Kyiv Independent)
  • The Russian government states in a press conference that the invasion of Ukraine is now a "war" and is no longer a "special military operation", the official term used for the war by the Russian government. In another press conference later in the day, Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov tells reporters that although the invasion is a de facto war, the Russian government is not currently planning to change the invasion's de jure status as a "special military operation". (NOS) (Reuters) (Meduza)
• Crocus City Hall attack
  • At least 135 people, including two attackers, are killed and more than 140 others are injured in a mass shooting at the Crocus City Hall music venue in Krasnogorsk, Moscow Oblast, Russia, with the building subsequently catching on fire following an explosion. The perpetrators remain at large after escaping in a vehicle. (Baza) (Meduza) (Baza 2) (Reuters)
  • The Islamic State claims responsibility for the attack in a statement issued by its official Amaq News Agency. (CNN)
  • The Freedom of Russia Legion claims that the Russian government committed the attack. (Ukrainska Pravda)
  • The Russian government claims that the Ukrainian government committed the attack. This was denied by them, who instead claim that the attack was a false flag attack by the Russian government designed to provoke public opinion in Russia against Ukraine and allow the Russian Army to mobilize more troops in its invasion of Ukraine. (Anadolu Agency)
• Jihadist insurgency in Niger
  • At least 23 Nigerien soldiers are killed, 17 are injured, and 34 others are missing after an ambush in Teguey [de], Tillabéri Region, Niger, by unknown jihadists. The Nigerien junta states that 30 jihadists were also killed. (Sahara Reporters)
• Moro conflict
  • The Philippines announces that Islamic terrorist group Abu Sayyaf has been "fully dismantled", bringing an end to the decades-long jihadist insurgency. Twenty members of the group remain in Sulu and Basilan provinces, and negotiations are ongoing for their surrender. (Atlas News) (Philippine Daily Inquirer)
• Nigerian bandit conflict
  • Fourteen people are rescued from kidnappers by Nigerian forces and local vigilante groups in Katsina State, Nigeria. (Channels TV)

Disasters and accidents

• 2024 East Java earthquakes
  • A magnitude 6.4 earthquake strikes Bawean, East Java, Indonesia, causing severe damage. (Detik)
• The International Organization for Migration (IOM) says that at least 65 bodies have been discovered at a mass grave in the Libyan Desert. The IOM says the bodies are those of migrants who were being smuggled towards Europe. (BBC News)

Law and crime

• Cannabis in Germany
  • The Bundesrat approves a partial legalization of cannabis in Germany, which is expected to come into effect on April 1. (DW)
• Gang war in Haiti
  • Prominent Haitian gang leader Ti Greg, who escaped from prison earlier this month, is shot dead by police in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. (Sky News)

Politics and elections

• Catherine, Princess of Wales announces that she was diagnosed with cancer following recent abdominal surgery and is currently undergoing chemotherapy. (BBC News)