[Korrespondent] 22:50 Lukashenka visited Iran in the interests of Moscow, US State Department spokesman Ned Price said. According to him, this visit is "in a sense, a continuation of the deepening of relations between Iran and Russia." Read more about the visit of the Belarusian dictator to Iran in the material Golden Parachute .
22:47 Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Kubrakov said that the grain deal cannot be extended for only 60 days, as Russia wants: "The agreement on the Black Sea Grain Initiative provides for an extension of at least 120 days, so Russia's position on extending the agreement for only 60 days days contradicts the document signed by Turkey and the UN. We are waiting for the official position of the UN and Turkey as guarantors of the initiative."
21:54 Zelensky said in an evening video message that it is “very tough and very painful” in the east of the country: “It is necessary to destroy the military power of the enemy - and we will destroy it. We are now deciding what our future will be."
21:32 Washington welcomes a possible conversation between Xi Jinping and Zelensky, Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan said: "This will be a good thing, because it will potentially bring more balance and opinions to the PRC's approach to the war in Ukraine. And we hope that further We will dissuade them from providing lethal assistance to Russia."
20:24 Russian conscripts or their wives and mothers are turning to Putin with a request to take the military from the front. At the same time, as a rule, the mobilized and their relatives do not oppose the war as such, but only complain about poor uniforms, weapons, and command mistakes. In recent years, such requests have increased exponentially. More details - in the material Revolt of the mobilized .
20:07 EU countries next week will sign a joint plan for the purchase of ammunition for Ukraine, writes Bloomberg.
19:55 In the Kherson region, four pyrotechnicians of the State Emergency Service were blown up by Russian explosives in the village of Posad-Pokrovskoye, the OVA reported. Explosives specialists arrived from Nikolaev to help colleagues. During demining work, an ammunition exploded. All victims are in a state of moderate severity.
19:21 The first ten Ukrainian military crews have completed a four-week training on Leopard 2 tanks in Spain, the country's Ministry of Defense reported. A total of 55 Ukrainian soldiers, both professional soldiers and reservists, aged 21 to 60, have been trained.
19:00 In the Kharkiv region, there are three gray zones where active hostilities are taking place, Oleg Sinegubov, head of the OVA, said. He added that 29 settlements of the region are under temporary occupation. "There are three settlements that we consider to be a gray zone, on the territory of which active hostilities are being conducted. In particular, this is the settlement of Gryanikovka. However, our soldiers stand on their positions and do not yield," Sinegubov stressed.
He noted that the Russians are trying to identify weak positions in the defense of the Ukrainian military, probably preparing a more serious offensive in these areas. But now the Russian troops are suffering losses and are retreating to previously occupied positions.
18:28 The Cabinet of Ministers supported a bill to increase state budget spending by 537 billion hryvnias, of which more than 518 billion are proposed to be additionally allocated to the security and defense sector, Shmyhal said.
18:05 Russia does not object to the next extension of the grain deal after its expiration on March 18, but not for 120 days, as it was before, but for 60, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin said following negotiations with the UN in Geneva. He added that the further position of the Russian Federation on the grain deal will be determined "depending on real progress in the normalization of Russia's agricultural exports."
17:31 In the Kharkiv region, in the village of Kupyansk-Uzlovoy, police detained a Russian from the 27th motorized rifle brigade, who had been hiding in abandoned buildings since at least September 2022, when the area was liberated by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the regional police said.
17:23 The Russians fired from cannon artillery and multiple launch rocket systems Hurricane Avdeevka and Konstantinovka in Donetsk region: one person died in Avdiivka and five were injured in Konstantinovka, the regional prosecutor's office said.
16:58 In Moscow, forests are being cut down to accommodate air defense systems, writes The Insider. According to the publication, the sites began to be cleared for military needs at the end of 2022. S-400 air defense systems and radar systems are already in the fields of the Timiryazev Agricultural Academy, and about 100 hectares have been cut down on the territory of the protected zone of the Kolomenskoye Museum-Reserve for air defense. Another site is being prepared in the park-reserve Losiny Ostrov.
The authorities do not pay attention to the protests of residents, as well as to the warnings of environmentalists and experts who talk about safety violations and possible uncontrolled launches. All these sites are located in close proximity to residential areas.
16:39 In the Kherson region, a resident of the Nikolaev region was killed, who, moving along the outskirts of the village of Posad-Pokrovskoye in his own car, ran into an anti-tank mine, the Office of the Prosecutor General reported.
16:07 The International Criminal Court intends to initiate a war crimes case against Russia, writes The New York Times, citing sources among current and former officials who are aware of the preparation of the decision. According to the newspaper, the Russian Federation will be accused of kidnapping Ukrainian children and deliberately attacking civilian infrastructure. The court is expected to ask for arrest warrants for several people.
15:56 In Geneva, negotiations began between the Russian Federation and the UN to extend the grain agreement, which expires on March 18, Reuters reports.
15:17 In the Sumy region, the number of people injured as a result of a missile attack on the building of a professional agricultural lyceum in Znob-Novgorodsky has grown to five, one person died, OK Pivnich reported.
14:51 Russian saboteurs have probably entered the territory of the Kherson region. Currently, they are being searched for, so in the region from March 13 to 17, a curfew will be temporarily in effect from 17:00 to 6:30, said the head of the OVA, Alexander Prokudin.
14:33 The Russians fired two missile attacks at a school in Avdiivka, killing one person, the President's Office reported.
14:31 In the Kherson region, the Russians fired at a brigade of power engineers who were going to repair work in one of the villages of the Daryev community - one of them was wounded, the OVA reported.
14:12 The "authorities" of the occupied Zaporizhia region announced that from September 1, the compulsory study of the Ukrainian language will be canceled in schools. Parents are promised to be given the opportunity to choose which language their children will learn as their native language - Russian or Ukrainian.
13:38 The European Union has extended for another six months without changes the sanctions against 1,473 individuals and 205 legal entities from the Russian Federation, imposed in connection with the aggressive war against Ukraine, Radio Liberty correspondent Rikard Jozwiak said.
13:13 Xi Jinping plans to hold an online meeting with Zelensky for the first time since a full-scale war, writes The Wall Street Journal.
12:59 Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili criticized Zelensky for supporting mass protests in Tbilisi against the law on "foreign agents", accusing Kiev of interfering in the country's internal affairs and trying to drag it into the war. In turn, the speaker of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, Oleg Nikolenko, called these statements unfriendly and "almost word for word repeating the theses of Russian propaganda."
"We categorically reject such insinuations, which have nothing to do with reality. The Georgian authorities are looking for an enemy in the wrong place. We are convinced that the statements of Georgian politicians will not be able to shake the strong friendship between the Ukrainian and Georgian peoples. We highly appreciate the support of Georgians at a time when Ukrainians fighting for their independence. For its part, Ukraine has been and will remain a friend of the Georgian people, whom we wish not to stop in the development of the European future," Nikolenko said.
12:36 In the village of Znob-Novgorodskoye, Sumy region, the Russians launched a missile strike in the area of the local professional agricultural lyceum: one person was killed, four were injured, the President's Office reported.
12:17 Putin on March 16, for the first time since the start of a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, will hold a meeting with the oligarchs - the leading members of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, writes Bloomberg. The publication notes that if last year many tycoons were concerned that a public appearance with Putin could make them targets for sanctions, now most of the main members of the board of the RSPP are subject to restrictions.
12:11 Peskov said that there are no prerequisites for the transition of the situation in Ukraine to a peaceful course, "at the moment, achieving the goals of the special operation is possible only by military means." He also called "an absurd curiosity" the proposal to rename Russia to Muscovy: "Russia is a great power and will remain Russia."
12:08 Major General Viktor Nikolyuk has been appointed commander of the training of the Command of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and Brigadier General Dmitry Krasilnikov has become commander of OK Pivnich, the Ministry of Defense reported.
11:57 Serviceman Alexander Matsievsky, whom the Russians shot for the words "Glory to Ukraine" and to whom Zelensky awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine, was a citizen of Moldova, the country's Foreign Ministry said. Official Chisinau condemned the murder and stated that it could be qualified as a war crime.
11:49 An urgent debate will be held at the spring session of PACE on the forced deportation of Ukrainian children by Russia, said Maria Mezentseva, head of the permanent delegation of the Verkhovna Rada to PACE. At the end of the debate, a resolution should be adopted. In addition, according to Mezentseva, the issue of deportation of Ukrainian children to the Russian Federation will be discussed at the summit of the leaders of the member countries of the Council of Europe at the end of May in Iceland.
The deputy stressed that Russia does not give access to either the UN structures or the International Committee of the Red Cross in the so-called "summer camps" where Ukrainian children are kept. According to the UK, there may be approximately 43 such camps on the territory of the Russian Federation. Mezentseva recalled that more than 16,000 complaints about Ukrainian children illegally taken to Russia have been officially registered, of which 307 children have already been returned home.
11:24 OK Pivden warned of an extremely high threat of a missile attack: there is an increased activity of tactical aviation of the Russian Federation in the eastern direction and over the Sea of Azov. The activity of enemy reconnaissance UAVs is not ruled out. Two surface launchers launched into the Black Sea in a salvo of up to 16 Caliber missiles.
11:15 Luxembourg sent Ukraine eight out of 14 armored ambulances manufactured by the British company Venari.
10:34 At the end of 2022, Ukraine became the third largest importer of major types of weapons (after Qatar and India) and the 14th largest importer in 2018-2022, according to a report by the Stockholm Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). In total, over a five-year period, Ukraine accounted for 2% of world arms imports.
10:16 The blowing up of a section of the railway track by partisans in the Kherson region is a "rehearsal" before a large-scale action, said the speaker of OK Pivden Natalya Gumenyuk: "In order to carry out a large-scale action, you need to rehearse a little. certain directions in order to free others for their actions.
The day before, the ATESH partisan movement announced that its members blew up the railway between the settlements of Abrikosovka and Radensk in the Kherson region.
10:04 Xi Jinping plans to visit Moscow next week, Reuters reports, citing sources.
09:58 Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Nikolai Patrushev said that Russia does not know for certain who is the author and perpetrator of the explosions on the Nord Streams, but Moscow does not believe in the Ukrainian trace. In particular, Patrushev questioned the existence of "Ukrainian terrorists capable of such an operation," while the United States and Britain "definitely have units that could arrange this sabotage." In addition, he noted that the explosions in the Nord Streams Ukraine were useless - "Kyiv has not lost or gained anything from these terrorist attacks."
09:42 British intelligence notes that in recent weeks, Prigozhin has lost access to recruitment in Russian prisons due to disputes with the leadership of the Russian Ministry of Defense and is now directing his efforts to recruit civilians. So, since the beginning of March, Wagner has created visiting groups in sports centers in at least 40 settlements throughout Russia. In recent days, masked Wagner recruiters have also held career talks at Moscow universities, handing out "young warrior questionnaires" to collect contact details of those interested.
According to analysts, about half of the prisoners sent by PMC Wagner to fight in Ukraine have most likely already died, and "new initiatives" are unlikely to compensate for the loss of the flow of prisoners. If the situation does not improve, then Prigozhin is likely to be forced to reduce the scale or intensity of Wagner PMC operations in Ukraine, intelligence adds.
09:15 The situation around Bakhmut remains difficult: the assault detachments of PMC Wagner are advancing from several directions, trying to break through the defenses of the Ukrainian troops and advance into the central regions of the city, said Alexander Syrsky, commander of the Ground Forces. He added that in the course of tough battles, the Defense Forces inflict significant losses on the enemy and repel all enemy attempts to capture the city.
08:48 As a result of morning attacks of the settlement of the Kutsurubsky community two people were lost, three more are wounded, among them the seven-year-old child, the head of the Nikolaev OVA Vitaly Kim reported.
08:39 In the Donetsk region over the past day, as a result of Russian shelling, seven people were injured, in the Kherson region - one person, according to the OVA.
08:17 Russians fired at the settlement of the Kutsurubsky community of the Nikolaev area in the morning. According to preliminary information, one person died, there may be more people under the rubble of residential buildings, said the head of the Nikolaev OVA Vitaly Kim.
08:12 The General Staff announced the approximate losses of the Russian Federation as of the morning of March 13.
- personnel - about 159,800 (+710) people liquidated,
- tanks - 3474 (+8),
- armored combat vehicles - 6774 (+5),
- artillery systems - 2503 (+16),
- MLRS - 493 (+0),
- air defense systems - 259 (+0),
- aircraft - 304 (+0),
- helicopters - 289 (+0),
- UAV operational-tactical level - 2109 (+1),
- cruise missiles - 907 (+0),
- ships/boats - 18 (+0),
- automotive equipment and tankers - 5354 (+6),
- special equipment - 251 (+9).
08:07 The Russian army continues offensive operations in the Limansky, Bakhmutsky, Avdeevsky, Maryinsky and Shakhtyorsky directions. Over the past day, units of the Defense Forces repulsed 102 enemy attacks in the indicated directions, the General Staff said in the morning report .
Against the backdrop of heavy losses, the Russian Federation uses alternative sources of replenishment of manpower. Last week, movement was noted towards the Donetsk region of a train with reserved seats for the transport of prisoners. One of the carriages is with convicted women.
06:26 The American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) believes that Putin is looking for "scapegoats" on whom he can lay the blame for Russian failures in the war against Ukraine. Thus, the head of the Kremlin is using the Wagner PMC's heavy losses, reports of bad morale and war crimes to distract the population from similar or possibly worse problems in the Russian military.
At the same time, the RF Ministry of Defense remains in Putin's good graces, despite the crushing defeats near Ugledar in early February. Analysts say Prigozhin's troubles should encourage other Kremlin officials, such as Kadyrov, to lower their ambitions to avoid the fate of PMC founder Wagner.
05:55 The authorities of the Belgorod region of the Russian Federation said that an air defense system worked over Belgorod and the Belgorod region, four missiles were allegedly shot down, one person was injured.