March 29, 2023 5:57 p.m
EU sources: “Possible measures for inclusion in the 11th package of sanctions against Russia were discussed”
Permanent Representatives to the EU today discussed possible measures to be included in the 11th set of sanctions against Russia for unleashing the conflict in Ukraine. Diplomatic sources make it known. At the moment, however, it is “too early” to say what the 27 will concentrate on beyond the fight against circumventing the sanctions that have been decided so far. Regarding the originally decided revision of the price cap for Russian oil (which should have happened by March), the sources emphasize that “no agreement has yet been reached within the G7”. Regarding Belarus, a stalemate persists between those who want to tighten the imposed sanctions and those who favor humanitarian and food exemptions instead.
March 29, 2023 5:54 p.m
Indian Prime Minister Modi meets the Secretary of the Russian Security Council
Secretary of the Russian Security Council Nikolai Patrushev and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met in New Delhi: this was reported by the Interfax agency, citing the press office of the Moscow Security Council, according to which Patrushev and Modi “discussed matters of mutual interest bilateral cooperation between Russia and India”.
March 29, 2023 5:48 p.m
Ukrainian media: “Russian army attacked village of Podily in Kharkiv region”
The Russian army has attacked the village of Podily in the Kharkiv region. Three elderly people were injured by shrapnel. This was announced by the local governor Oleg Sinegubov via telegram. This is reported by Ukrainska Pravda. “These are three pensioners aged 70, 69 and 68. A woman’s conditions are serious,” he explained.
March 29, 2023 5:46 p.m
Zelenskyy: “A European nation sent an air defense system to Ukraine that didn’t work”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a European nation sent an air defense system to Ukraine that failed. “They had to keep changing it,” the president said in an interview with the PA published on the website, without naming the country.
Zelenskyy expressed his gratitude for western military supplies but said some of the promised weapons have not yet been delivered. “We made big decisions about the Patriots, but we don’t really have them,” he said, referring to the US-made air defense system.
The President then reiterated his call for fighter jets, stressing that “we still have nothing on modern fighter jets”.
March 29, 2023 5:40 p.m
Poland decides to increase ammunition production for Kiev
The Polish government has adopted a resolution to increase ammunition production in view of a possible Ukrainian counter-offensive: this was announced by Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, while Ukraine’s allies are increasing supplies of weapons and military systems. This is reported by Sky News internationally. “I encourage private companies, state-owned companies and foreign companies to quickly rise to the challenge of establishing new ammunition production facilities on Polish territory,” Morawiecki said at a press conference. “We aim to allocate £375.91m for the investment in the budget”.
March 29, 2023 5:33 p.m
Iran: “Western arms sales to Ukraine only complicate the conflict”
Western countries’ supply of arms to Ukraine only complicates the ongoing conflict with Russia. This was stated by Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, as reported by Irna, during a press conference in Moscow with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.
“We welcome any initiative leading to peace in the region and the world, and welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping’s idea regarding Ukraine based on our principled vision of avoiding war and supporting diplomatic solutions and dialogue,” Amirabdollahian said adding that Tehran is ready to push for an end to the Moscow-Kiev conflict.
March 29, 2023 4:53 p.m
Kiev: “Drones with a flight range of 3,000 kilometers are arriving”
Attack drones with a range of 3,000 kilometers will soon be part of the arsenal of the Ukrainian military. Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Oleksiy Danilov announced this in a message on Twitter. And post a photo with the plane of the German pilot Matthias Rust, which in 1987 flew over a thousand kilometers, bypassed Soviet air defense systems and landed on Red Square in Moscow. Ukraine recently established the first three drone strike companies, which are now combat-ready.
March 29, 2023 3:46 p.m
Putin: “Sanctions could have a negative impact in the medium term”
“In the medium term” the sanctions against Russia could have “negative effects”. This was acknowledged by Russian President Vladimir Putin at a government meeting, where he claimed, however, that “the Russian economy has been showing positive dynamics since last July…” but “the return to the path of growth must not let up, it is necessary that the to support and strengthen positive tendencies of our economy, to improve its efficiency, to ensure technological, human and financial sovereignty, and at the same time the measures must be quick, without excessive bureaucracy, since the unlawful restrictions imposed on our economy can even affect negatively in the medium term .”
March 29, 2023 3:46 p.m
Prigozhin: “Bachmut Wagner is ailing, but we will win”
The founder and head of the private Russian military company Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said in an audio message that the battle for the eastern city of Bakhmut “already practically destroyed the Ukrainian army, although the Wagner is pretty battered.” Asked by a reporter about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s promise to defend Bakhmut to the bitter end, Prigozhin said: “If two powers are fighting today – Ukraine with the whole West on one side and Russia with a small number of allies on the other hand others – then Wagner’s general battle against the armed forces of Ukraine, which we will win, is the greatest turning point in this war and in all of modern history”. In her Telegram voice note, she said that Wagner “destroys the foreign powers that are trying to bring Russia to its knees. This is a major turning point in the war, as only the Russian army remains on the board and all other pieces are removed from it. And if Wagner dies in the Bakhmut meat grinder, but wins the Armed Forces of Ukraine and those linked by foreign arms and gives the Russian military the opportunity to go further to protect Russia’s interests, then we have fulfilled our historic role , Point”.
March 29, 2023 3:44 p.m
Kiev: “Counteroffensive with the Leopards before the summer”
The Ukrainian army could launch a counter-offensive before the summer, the armed forces of Kiev will attack in different directions, also with German Leopards at the front: this was announced by the Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov in an interview with Err, after weeks of the hypothesis of a counter-attack circulated before the spring. They will see the Leopards “counterattacking by decision of our General Staff,” he said, adding that “the counteroffensive has already been planned in several directions. It depends on what is the best moment, on how the commanders will decide. The Defense Minister said he believed “that the world will see very positive changes for Ukraine already this year” and reiterated that the planning of the Ukrainian General Staff’s counter-offensive also depended heavily on weather conditions: “In the spring we have a lot of ground wet. Only tracked vehicles are allowed to be used. I think the right time could be between April and May,” Reznikov told Estonian broadcaster Err.
According to the defender, after the Soviet weapons, the Leopards for Ukrainian fighters can be compared to a Mercedes, after only Ziguli were available (the famous cars produced by the Russian Lada-Vaz since 1970, starting with the Fiat 124 model).