[Korrespondent] 22:40 Ukraine and Turkey announced the extension of the grain agreement for 120 days, but Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova continues to assert that Russia agreed only for 60 days.
21:47 Prigozhin said that the authorities of the city of Goryachiy Klyuch of the Krasnodar Territory of the Russian Federation forbade the burial in the cemetery in the village of Bakuskaya of the Wagner PMC mercenaries killed in the war against Ukraine. He threatens the head of the administration, Sergei Belopolsky, to bring the bodies of those killed to his home.
21:33 The United States for the first time since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine resumed the deportation of Russians, including those fleeing from mobilization, writes The Guardian. In particular, a few days ago, a man who had fled from mobilization was expelled from the United States to the Russian Federation, who was trying to obtain asylum. It came to the US from Mexico. According to the lawyer, the migration service, which considered the request of the Russian, came to the conclusion that the threat of being sent to war is not a sufficient basis for granting asylum.
20:45 Canada sent Bergepanzer 3 armored recovery vehicles to Ukraine, Defense Minister Anita Anand said.
20:04 Estonia demands to exclude representatives of the Russian Federation from among the employees of the Council of Europe, Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsal said: "Given the ongoing aggressive war of Russia against Ukraine and Russia's complete disregard for international law, it is unacceptable that Russian citizens continue to work in the Council of Europe."
19:09 Deputy Defense Minister Anna Malyar warned of another wave of Kremlin propaganda, including on the topic of discrediting mobilization in Ukraine. Thus, pro-Russian telegram channels again began to write about the alleged mobilization of women and the issuance of subpoenas through Diyu. Malyar stressed that women in Ukraine are not mobilized without their consent, and subpoenas are not issued through Diya, and this issue is not even worked out.
Another Russian narrative is that those mobilized immediately without preparation go to Bakhmut. "Actually, those who were mobilized, who did not do military service, are sent to training centers. Because of the large-scale war, the training of privates and sergeants takes place in a shortened time frame, but without compromising the quality of education," Malyar stressed.
She added that the mobilized are sent to different directions, and not just to the East. In addition, there are many rear military units in different regions of Ukraine - from educational institutions and units to bases, warehouses and arsenals, communications and cyber defense units.
18:48 Prigozhin announced plans to recruit 30,000 new mercenaries by mid-May. According to him, the recruiting centers of PMC Wagner, which have opened in 42 cities of Russia, allegedly recruit an average of 500-800 people a day, and sometimes 1,200 a day. Prigozhin boasted that "recruitment is going better than expected" and that "the volunteers are in better physical shape than the prisoners."
18:24 According to the Kramatorsk City Council, the number of wounded as a result of today's Russian shelling has increased to eight people, three of them are in serious condition. Two local residents were killed.
18:20 The international working group on sanctions against Russia, headed by the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak and the director of the Freeman-Spogli Institute (FSI), Ambassador Michael McFaul, together with experts from the Kiev School of Economics, published a study of the impact of sanctions on the Russian economy over the last year. The key conclusion reached by the experts is that the sanctions are working, but there is room for strengthening them.
17:37 The Russians shelled Kramatorsk with cluster munitions, hit the Bernatsky park and the ritual service. According to preliminary information, at least two people were killed and five injured, said the head of the Donetsk OVA Pavel Kirilenko.
17:11 Scholz commented on the decision of the International Criminal Court on the arrest warrant for Putin: "The International Criminal Court is the right institution to investigate war crimes. No one is above the law, and this is what is becoming clear now."
16:49 Russians today fired from cannon artillery and systems of volley fire Hurricane Konstantinovka of Donetsk region - six people were injured, the regional prosecutor's office reported.
15:58 The agreement on the grain initiative has been extended for another 120 days , Minister of Infrastructure Alexander Kubrakov said. According to him, from August 1 to this day, Ukraine has sent 25 million tons of grain for the needs of the world, but the main challenge remains the acceleration of inspections in Turkey. Also, work continues on joining the grain initiative of the ports of Mykolaiv region and expanding the range of cargo.
15:27 Putin arrived in Crimea on the occasion of the ninth anniversary of the annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula. The "governor" of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhaev, said that the Russian president allegedly arrived in the city himself driving his car.
14:49 Zelensky put into effect the decision of the National Security and Defense Council on the application of personal sanctions against 300 individuals and 141 legal entities. The list includes predominantly Russians, as well as Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Prime Minister Hussein Arnus and Foreign Minister Faisal al Miqdad, as well as Iranian drone manufacturer Shahed.
14:25 Slovakia has signed an agreement with Ukraine on the transfer of 13 MiG-29 fighters and two Kub air defense systems, Defense Minister Yaroslav Nagy said. He emphasized that the gratuitous transfer of military equipment to Kyiv meets the foreign policy interests of Bratislava and the general principles of international law.
13:52 Ukrainian banks will check clients for ties with Russia, the NBU said. Such checks should promote transparency and reveal the hidden presence of Russia in the Ukrainian market, the regulator explained.
13:33 Putin signed a law that provides for up to 15 years in prison for "discrediting" and spreading "fakes" about all participants in the war in Ukraine. Now the law will also apply to "volunteers" and mercenaries of PMC Wagner.
12:30 The United States believes that Russia used Chinese ammunition in Ukraine, Kyodo reports, citing sources in the US government. According to them, it remains unclear whether the ammunition was supplied by China directly or through the use of disguised intermediaries. The US government determined that the munitions found in Ukraine were manufactured in China after analyzing their composition and other factors. However, the publication's sources do not disclose what kind of ammunition was found.
10:43 Putin signed a law allowing citizens of Ukraine who have received a Russian passport to apply to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation for renunciation of Ukrainian citizenship - in this case, it will be terminated for them on the day of application.
10:28 British intelligence believes that the Russian authorities are preparing for a wider conscription. So, on March 13, State Duma deputies introduced a bill to change the age limit for conscription for military service of men aged 21-30 from the current 18-27 years. The law is likely to be passed and enter into force in January 2024.
Many men aged 18-21 are currently applying for an exemption from conscription in connection with higher education. The authorities are likely changing the age group so that students are eventually forced to serve, analysts say. And even if Russia continues to refrain from using conscripts in the war, additional conscripts will free up a large part of the professional soldiers to participate in hostilities, intelligence concludes.
09:21 The Russians attacked the Lviv region at night with six Shahed kamikaze drones. Three of them shot down air defense forces, three more hit non-residential premises in the Yavorovsky district. The premises were damaged, people were not injured, said the head of the OVA Maxim Kozitsky.
09:14 In the Donetsk region over the past day, as a result of Russian shelling, one person was killed (in Ukrainsk), three more were injured. In the Kherson region, two people were injured due to enemy shelling, and another was injured due to a Russian mine, according to the IVA.
09:05 The American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) predicts that Xi Jinping will offer Putin help in evading sanctions during his visit to Moscow.
08:44 The General Staff announced the approximate losses of the Russian Federation as of the morning of March 18.
- personnel - about 164,200 (+880) people liquidated,
- tanks - 3511 (+5),
- armored combat vehicles - 6830 (+7),
- artillery systems - 2560 (+8),
- MLRS - 506 (+2),
- air defense systems - 265 (+0),
- aircraft - 305 (+0),
- helicopters - 290 (+0),
- UAV operational-tactical level - 2159 (+14),
- cruise missiles - 907 (+0),
- ships/boats - 18 (+0),
- automotive equipment and tankers - 5404 (+3),
- special equipment - 259 (+1).
08:29 The Russian army is concentrating its main efforts on conducting offensive operations in the Limansky, Bakhmutsky, Avdeevsky, Maryinsky and Shakhtyorsky directions. During the day, the defense forces repelled more than 100 enemy attacks in the indicated directions, the General Staff said in the morning summary .
In the Luhansk region, local "authorities" announced the start of large-scale military exercises involving the entire conscript male population of Starobelsk, Shchastya, Novy Aydar, Novopskov and Nyzhneteply, who have Russian and "LPR" passports. Thus, the invaders are trying to hide the total mobilization in these settlements.
In the Crimea, between the settlements of Ishun and Voinka, the Russians began the construction of fortifications and trenches. To carry out the work, the civilian population is forcibly involved on a gratuitous basis.
06:43 The Russians fired at Zaporozhye - according to preliminary information, the rocket destroyed the catering establishment, people were not injured, said the secretary of the City Council Anatoly Kurtev.
05:01 The United States intends to provide Ukraine with $7.4 billion in additional financial assistance by September 2023, said US Representative to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield. She recalled that since the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the United States has allocated almost $2 billion for humanitarian assistance, almost $15.5 billion of direct budgetary support to Ukraine through the mechanisms of the World Bank.
03:35 Biden called "justified" the decision of the International Criminal Court to issue a warrant for the arrest of Putin. At the same time, the head of the White House stressed that the ICC was not recognized by the States, but the warrant "is a very strong argument." "Putin has clearly committed war crimes," Biden added.
02:26 On the evening of March 17, the Russians attacked Ukraine with Iranian Shahed-136/131 kamikaze drones from two directions - from the eastern coast of the Sea of Azov and from the Bryansk region of the Russian Federation, the command of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported. Air defense forces destroyed 11 out of 16 strike UAVs in the central, western and eastern regions.
01:34 The Russians launched Shahed kamikaze drones in the direction of Kiev, all air targets were destroyed by air defense forces. According to preliminary information, there were no casualties or damage, said the head of the KGVA Sergey Popko.
01:17 The United States has no doubt that Russia and its army are committing war crimes on the territory of Ukraine, State Department spokesman Ned Price said. He also commented on the decision of the International Criminal Court to issue an arrest warrant for Putin: "The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court is an independent person and makes his own decisions based on the evidence he has. Those responsible for war crimes must be held accountable."
00:48 Yermak and Zaluzhny held an online meeting with Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley. Reznikov, Syrsky and other commanders also took part in the meeting, and Zelensky joined at the end of the conversation. Representatives of Ukraine informed the allies about the current situation at the front, the fighting in the most difficult areas, as well as the urgent needs of the Ukrainian army.
00:20 Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said that the decision of the International Criminal Court to arrest Putin could cause "an escalation of the conflict, which, in turn, could provoke a Third World War." Vučić stressed that his country's position should be to avoid involvement in "foreign conflicts."