5:19 p.m
Russian attack in Odessa, Gentiloni: “Shame”
“Russian drones in Odessa against the motorcade of Zelensky and Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis. They gathered to remember the victims of another Russian attack. Shame!”. EU Economic Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni writes it in X.
3:36 p.m
Friendly fire, five dead in a minibus struck by a mine in Lugansk, an area in eastern Ukraine controlled by Russia since 2014
Five civilians traveling in a minibus in the Russian-occupied Luhansk region of Ukraine were killed when the vehicle hit a mine in the city of Kirovsk. This was announced by the head of the self-proclaimed Luhansk Republic, Leonid Pasechnik, citing the Ria Novosti agency. Three other passengers were injured. Meanwhile, in Kremennaya, also in Lugansk, two people were killed and two injured in a Ukrainian bomb attack, according to local authorities.
2:58 p.m
Kasparov was placed on the terrorist list by Moscow
Russian opponent Garry Kasparov, who lives abroad, has been added to the list of “terrorists and extremists” by the Moscow authorities. This was reported by Tass.
11:42 a.m
Explosion in Odessa, Zelensky in the city
A powerful explosion was reported today in Odessa, where, according to unconfirmed media rumors, a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is planned: several Ukrainian Telegram channels report this. Greek media reports that Mitsotakis arrived in Odessa today to meet Zelensky. One of the videos posted on social media shows a procession of several limousines and minibuses. Sources said the explosion occurred near the city's port and was preceded by an air raid alert.
10:52
Navalnaya: “Elections against Putin, everyone goes to the polls on March 17 at 12 p.m.”
Yulia Navalnaya is calling on Russians to go to the polls on March 17 at 12 p.m. to protest against Putin's government. The widow of Alexei Navalny therefore launched the “Southern Against Putin” initiative in a video on the Internet, which the dissident had already supported before he died in the Arctic prison, where he was imprisoned for political reasons. In Russia, the presidential elections are scheduled for March 15-17.
10:19 a.m
The Kremlin: “We do not recognize the arrest warrants of high-ranking officials”
Russia does not recognize ICC arrest warrants, including against high-ranking Moscow officials. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said this today, commenting on the decision against two Russian officers announced yesterday by the same court.
09:26
Russian drone attack, fire in a fuel depot in Kursk
A Ukrainian drone strike caused a fire at a fuel and lubricants warehouse in the Kursk region. Governor Roman Starovoit reported this on Telegram, adding that there were “no casualties” and that emergency services were responding to the scene.
08:40
Russia ready to “lose aircraft to advance”: report
The Russian Air Force continues to conduct relatively high levels of glide bombing attacks in Ukraine, although Ukrainian officials have lost several bombers in recent weeks, meaning Moscow is willing to accept the risks of these missions to advance on the battlefield. This is what the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) writes on its website. Forbes reported on Monday that Russian Su-34 fighter-bombers, accompanied by Su-35 multi-role fighters, are flying a hundred or more sorties a day to carry out glide bombing attacks on Ukrainian positions at a distance of about 40 kilometers, the American research center reports. For its part, The New York Times reported yesterday that Russian tactics were changing to intensify air operations and that “more aggressive” front-line air support had recently helped Russian forces advance into eastern Ukraine. ISW experts comment that this news suggests that the Russian Air Force maintains a high deployment rate in Ukraine and is willing to tolerate the risks to its fighter aircraft, probably because the command may have decided that the positive impact of such deployments outweighs their costs exceed. The report concludes that Russian forces used glide bombing to achieve tactical effects in the capture of Avdiivka in mid-February and that they will likely seek to reproduce these effects to support ongoing offensive operations elsewhere on the front.
08:26
The Russian army lost 1,250 soldiers yesterday
L'Russian army Yesterday, 1,250 soldiers lost in Ukraine, a figure that brings the total losses since the conflict began on February 24, 2022 to 420,270: the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces announced this on Facebook, Ukrinform reports. In addition, Ukrainian forces have so far destroyed 6,678 Russian tanks, 12,728 armored fighting vehicles, 10,308 artillery systems, 1,008 multiple rocket systems and 701 air defense systems. Kiev's troops also shot down 347 Russian warplanes, 325 helicopters, 7,921 drones and 1,918 cruise missiles and destroyed 26 warships and a submarine.
08:25
USA: “We will not send soldiers into battle”
The United States will not send troops to fight in Ukraine. This was said by US National Security Council Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby, commenting on French President Emmanuel Macron's appeal to allies not to be cowards. “Macron certainly has every right and every ability to speak for himself and express his opinion. I can only speak for President Biden, the commander in chief,” he added. “It has been very clear since the beginning of this war. There will be no American troops on the ground fighting in Ukraine. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky is not calling on his allies to send troops to Ukraine, Kirby emphasized. “President Zelensky does not demand this. He just asks for the tools. He never asked for foreign troops to fight for his country. He and his troops want to do it, but they need the tools to do it.
08:25
38 of 42 Russian drones shot down
Russian forces fired five anti-aircraft missiles and 42 kamikaze drones over Ukraine overnight, 38 of which were shot down by Kiev's air defense: the Ukrainian Air Force announced this on Telegram. The Shahed drones were launched from four directions: Chauda and Balaklava in occupied Crimea, as well as from the Kursk region and the Primorsko-Akhtarsk region in Russia. The 38 destroyed drones were intercepted in the Dnipropetrovsk, Odessa, Kherson, Khmelnytsky, Cherkassy, Kharkiv, Vinnytsia and Sumy regions. The five S-300 rockets were fired from the occupied territory of the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine.