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A Russian fighter collided on Tuesday with an American drone in the Black Sea, as the Pentagon said in a statement in which it described as "reckless" the attitude of two Kremlin fighter planes, which they accuse of dumping fuel into the American aircraft and fly in front of it.
Washington has acknowledged having lost the drone, model MQ-9 Reaper, after falling into international waters.
The crash occurred around seven in the morning Spanish peninsular time and occurred when one of the Russian fighters collided with the drone's propellers.
"This unsafe and unprofessional act on the part of the Russians hardly caused both devices to fall," the US stated. In addition, the President of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelenski, has met with the country's military leadership, which has supported continuing the defense of the city of Bakhmut,
located in Donetsk (east) and under constant siege by Russian troops, who already dominate three of the four flanks of the city and have made small advances in the last week.
General Valeri Zaluzhni, Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, has said that the defense of the city "is key to the stability of the defense of the entire front."
Key dates of the war
A year of war, in pictures
00:57
A Russian missile hits the city of Kramatorsk
Emergency workers work in the Kramatorsk apartment building hit by a Russian missile on Tuesday. Photo: YEVGEN HONCHARENKO (EFE/EPA)
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The country
Ukraine starts making 125mm shells for its Soviet-era tanks
One of Ukraine's largest arms manufacturers announced Tuesday that it has begun producing 125-millimeter shells for kyiv's Soviet-era tanks.
The ammunition is being manufactured outside of Ukraine and with the cooperation of an unspecified NATO member country, state company Ukroboronprom has said.
The production of these projectiles is part of Ukraine's attempt to increase its weapons capabilities in the face of a more than possible counteroffensive against Russian troops next spring.
"The first batch of 125-millimeter shells for the T-64, T-72 and T-80 tanks, used by the Ukrainian defense and security forces, has already been delivered," the company wrote in a Telegram message. .
According to it, the shells were produced on the basis of an order of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
Although they are produced abroad, there are Ukrainian personnel involved in the manufacturing process, according to Ukroboronprom.
While the Western tanks donated by the allies to Kiev will soon be available for Ukraine - in fact, some countries such as Poland have already delivered units - the batch of 125-millimeter shells will help the Ukrainian army to continue operating Soviet tanks in the short term.
In fact, the caliber of shells used by most Western tanks is 155mm.
(Reuters / EL PAÍS)
ACT.14 MAR 2023 - 18:40
The country
A Russian fighter crashes into an American drone in the Black Sea, according to the Pentagon
A Russian fighter collided with an American drone on Tuesday over the Black Sea, in an incident that adds tension to the situation between the two powers.
According to the US General Staff European Command statement, the incident occurred when two Su-27 fighters were carrying out an "unsafe and unprofessional interception" of an unmanned MQ-9 Reaper drone, which Washington said was operating over international waters in the Black Sea.
According to the Pentagon, the Russian device was flying in front of the drone and was throwing fuel from its tanks, in a "reckless, environmentally irresponsible and unprofessional" manner.
"This demonstrates a lack of competition," the statement said.
The crash, which occurred around seven in the morning Spanish peninsular time, occurred when one of the Su-27s collided with the drone's propellers, forcing it to fall into the water.
"This unsafe and unprofessional act by the Russians narrowly caused both planes to go down," US Air Force Commander for Europe and Africa James B. Hecker said in the statement.
According to the Pentagon, this incident is one of a series of "dangerous actions" by Russian pilots during their contacts with US planes and their allies.
"These aggressive actions are dangerous and can lead to miscalculations and inadvertent escalations," Hecker said.
"US and allied aircraft will continue to operate in international airspace and we call on the Russians to conduct themselves professionally and safely."
ACT.14 MAR 2023 - 18:13
The country
The UN opens to signing with Russia a renewal of the grain export agreement for 60 days
The United Nations has opened this Tuesday to renew its agreement with Russia for the export of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea ports for another 60 days, as requested by Moscow, although it has recalled that "the agreement provides for a renewal for 120 days".
According to United Nations spokesman Stephane Dujarric, "in the present circumstances, the Secretary General [António Guterres] and his team are focused, in close contact with all parties, on doing everything possible to guarantee the continuity of the initiative."
Agreements for the export of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea were first signed in July last year for 120 days, which were renewed in November.
This second term expires on the 18th.
(Reuters)
ACT.14 MAR 2023 - 17:39
The country
Russian troops try to conquer the Bakhmut industrial zone
Russian troops continue on Tuesday their attempts to advance into the northwest of the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, in the eastern province of Donetsk, with movements in the industrial zone, where their immediate objective is the Vostokmash factory.
The leader imposed by Moscow in Donetsk, Denis Pushilin, stated on Tuesday that Vostokmash, located in the territory of the AZOM metallurgical company and which produced non-ferrous metals, will soon fall into the hands of the fighters of the Wagner mercenary group.
"There are premises that the factory will soon be under full control of the Wagner private military company," Pushilin has ventured, although he has admitted that the situation "remains difficult."
The Wagner group itself has said that it has already "taken control" of Vostokmash.
The group has released photos in which mercenaries allegedly pose inside the factory,
The President of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelenki, held a meeting with his General Staff on Tuesday, in which the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Valeri Zaluzhni, and other military leaders reported on the situation at the fronts, the march of the operations and, in particular, the defense of Bakhmut.
After considering the progress of the defensive operation on the Bakhmut front, all members of the General Staff expressed the common position to continue the defense of the Bakhmut city," the Ukrainian Presidency said.
Kiev has mobilized thousands of reservists to defend Bakhmut, according to the head of a Chechen commando unit and deputy commander of the 2nd Corps of the people's militias of the self-proclaimed Luhansk people's republic, Aptí Alaudinov.
“According to my estimates, 7,000 to 10,000 have been sent in an attempt to hold the city.
I cannot say how many Ukrainian troops have been eliminated so far, but I know that they have heavy losses every day," Alaudinov told Russian state television channel Rossia-1.
At the same time, the Chechen military has dismissed the possibility that the Ukrainian Army could launch a successful counteroffensive to unblock Bakhmut, a city that before the outbreak of the war had around 70,000 inhabitants and now less than 4,000, according to the latest reports. Kiev calculations.
“We are aware that the enemy is planning an attack to unblock Artiomovsk [the Soviet name for Bakhmut].
They have concentrated three groups for this purpose, but so far they have not been successful, ”he said.
(Eph)
ACT.14 MAR 2023 - 17:22
The country
Russian Donetsk leader says Vostokmash factory in Bakhmut will collapse soon
The leader of Donetsk imposed by Russia, Denís Pushilin, has assured this Tuesday that the Vostokmash factory, located in an industrial area north of Bakhmut, will soon fall into the hands of the Wagner mercenary group.
"There are premises that the factory will soon be under full control of the private military company Wagner," Pushilin said, according to the official TASS news agency.
Pushilin added that for the moment "the situation remains difficult."
The Vostokmash factory is located on the territory of the AZOM metallurgical company, where Wagner's fighters, according to their own statements, took "favorable positions" last weekend.
Hours earlier, the Wagner Group itself assured that it had "taken control of Vostokmash" and published on its Telegram account photographs in which mercenaries supposedly pose inside the factory.
According to the Telegram channel "Military Chronicle", at least 300 Ukrainian soldiers currently remain in the basements of Vostokmash.
(Eph)
ACT.14 MAR 2023 - 16:58
The country
Putin admits the danger for Russia of the medium-term impact of Western sanctions
Russian President Vladimir Putin admitted on Tuesday the danger of the medium-term impact of Western sanctions on the national economy in the context of Russia's military campaign in Ukraine.
“Yes, we must recognize that those who wish us harm hope to cause us problems in the medium term.
Indeed, that danger exists.
We are aware of this," Putin said when meeting with workers at a helicopter factory in the Siberian region of Buryatia.
When one of the workers acknowledged that his colleagues feared that the economy "would not withstand" the onslaught of the sanctions and "would collapse", Putin replied: "I am the same as you.
Trust me."
While he has recognized that companies need modern equipment and designs, and that real incomes have fallen, he has assured that wages are now growing and that "everything will be fine."
“They predicted that our GDP would collapse by 20% or more.
Nothing like that happened.
We have a contraction, but not 20%, but 2.1% ”, he pointed out.
Putin has highlighted that the Russian economy has grown uninterruptedly for the last seven months, the internal market has strengthened and that the financial system not only resisted, but also strengthened thanks to the good management of the Government and the Central Bank.
"Despite certain losses, I think that last year was good for us considering that we became more sovereign and self-sufficient in the economic and financial spheres," he insisted.
He also stressed that this year the agricultural harvest will reach 155 million tons, "a record in the new history of Russia."
Regarding the neighboring country, the scene of a Russian military campaign since February 2022, the head of the Kremlin has assured that the Ukrainian economy contracted more than 40%.
(Eph)
ACT.14 MAR 2023 - 15:32
The country
Poland weighs sending MiG-29 jets to Ukraine in the coming weeks
Poland is considering delivering Soviet-designed MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced Tuesday.
The Polish leader has explained that kyiv's allies are getting closer to an agreement on the next step in their military support for the country.
As the shipment would be made jointly with other countries, it is not clear how long that process might take, although Morawiecki estimates it could take place in the next four to six weeks.
Last Thursday, Slovak Defense Minister Jaroslav Nad said that the time had also come for his country to make a decision on whether or not to send planes to Ukraine.
Former Soviet republics that are part of NATO, such as Poland and Slovakia, have shown their close commitment to kyiv in the conflict from the beginning.
Warsaw was key in persuading European allies to donate heavy weapons to Ukraine such as tanks, a move that had been opposed by several governments, including the German one.
Poland has sent 14 German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine so far.
(Reuters)
ACT.14 MAR 2023 - 14:32
The country
Zelensky agrees with the Ukrainian military leadership to continue the defense of the besieged city of Bakhmut
The President of Ukraine, Volodímir Zelenski, met this Tuesday with the country's military leadership, which has supported continuing the defense of the city of Bakhmut, located in Donetsk (east) and under the constant siege of Russian troops, which dominate and three of the four flanks of the city.
In fact, Kiev only controls the western flank, the only way it can continue to supply food and weapons to its soldiers in the town, which numbered some 70,000 before the war began and now has fewer than 4,000 civilians. sheltered in basements to avoid heavy fighting between Russian and Ukrainian troops.
"After considering the defensive operation in the direction of Bakhmut, all members [of the military leadership] have expressed their agreed position to continue holding and defending the city of Bakhmut," said the statement released by the office of the Ukrainian presidency this afternoon. .
General Valeriy Zaluzhny, commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces, has said that the defense of the city is "of fundamental strategic importance."
"It is key to the stability of the defense of the entire front," he added, praising the strength and courage of the Ukrainian military stationed in the town.
Russia, which suffered a series of defeats last fall in the midst of a Ukrainian counter-offensive, is looking to Bakhmut for its first major battlefield victory in nearly seven months, despite the fact that the city is of no notable strategic importance.
Despite the fact that the Kremlin troops and the mercenaries of the Wagner group have launched intense bombardments and continuous attacks for eight months in which they have suffered a high number of casualties, Moscow has been unable to gain full control of the city in recent weeks.
(THE COUNTRY)
ACT.14 MAR 2023 - 16:35
The country
Lithuanian Parliament declares Wagner Group a terrorist organization
The Lithuanian Parliament – the Seimas – has declared the Russian group of Wagner mercenaries a terrorist organization on Tuesday, considering that the mercenaries who fight on its behalf “represent a threat to the security of the State and society”.
The declaration, approved by 117 deputies of the 141 that make up the chamber, similarly condemns the use of this type of company, under the auspices of the Kremlin authorities, to "commit war crimes in Ukraine."
“Since the beginning of Russia's military invasion of Ukraine, Russian soldiers and Wagner mercenaries have systematically committed serious crimes, such as killing and torturing the population, shelling residential buildings and other civilian objects, amounting to terrorism. ”, indicates the text approved in the Seimas.
According to this resolution, Wagner, founded by businessman Yevgeni Prigozhin, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, "is a tool in the shadow of power" of the Kremlin, since it receives weapons free of charge, uses the State's military infrastructures and its fighters are trained by the Intelligence Service (GRU).
The president of the Seimas Security and Defense commission, Lauryns Kasciunas, has warned that Russia is increasingly relying on this company for its military campaigns.
“Such private military and security companies can carry out operations against Lithuania,” he has argued.
The Wagner group is already considered a terrorist organization in the EU and in the United States.
ACT.14 MAR 2023 - 13:26
Elena G. SevillanoJournalist
Extension |
Germany changes the leadership of the Army to undertake its modernization
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has dismissed Bundeswehr (Armed Forces) Inspector General General Eberhard Zorn, who held the Army's highest rank since 2018. In his place he will appoint well-known Lieutenant General Carsten Breuer by the general population because the previous chancellor, Angela Merkel, put him in charge of the crisis team of the Chancellery to manage the coronavirus crisis.
The Ministry of Defense will officially confirm the changes throughout this week, probably on Thursday, according to German media.
The replacement at the top of the Army comes just a couple of months after the previous minister, Christine Lambrecht, was forced to resign.
Pistorius is setting up his own team with people he trusts, a Defense source says.
Breuer will not only be the highest-ranking military officer, but will also hold a very weighty position in the ministry, equivalent to that of a secretary of state.
As such, he will have under his supervision the task of modernizing the German Army and spending the 100,000 million euros of special budget announced by the chancellor, Olaf Scholz, as one of the mainstays of the zeitenwende, or change of era, caused by the
invasion
. Ukrainian Russian.
Zorn came under fire from other military officials last year after commenting in an interview that he doubted kyiv's military capabilities.
He told Focus
magazine
that the Ukrainian army could carry out "counterattacks, with the help of which it can recapture places on the front, but it cannot push Russia back on a broad front."
He also stated that Russian troops had the ability to attack other countries.
Among others, Ben Hodges, the former commander of the US Army in Europe, regretted his statements.
“This is a staggeringly poor analysis of Russian capabilities that sadly reflects much of the thinking of the German elite,” he said on his Twitter account.
ACT.14 MAR 2023 - 13:09
The country
Moscow orders double production of high-precision missiles
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on Tuesday ordered the Tactical Missile Weapons Corporation to double the production of high-precision missiles.
Several Western intelligence analyzes have highlighted in recent weeks that Russia is experiencing a shortage of ammunition and missiles due to the high rate of their use in the conflict in Ukraine.
The general has pointed out that the KTRV arms company, in the Moscow region, adequately complies with state defense orders, but that, even taking into account the increase in the manufacture of high-precision weapons this year, "it is now necessary to double its production".
(Eph)
ACT.14 MAR 2023 - 13:03
Javier G. Cuesta
Detail of the window of the Todos Libres bookstore, in Saint Petersburg, in three images uploaded to Telegram by its co-owner.
A bullet against the pacifist bookstore in Saint Petersburg
A shot at the word Peace, 'Mir' in Russian.
The co-owner of the Todos Libres (Vse Svobodny) bookstore in St. Petersburg encountered this threat last Saturday.
“The morning of March 11 turned out to be unkind.
There was a large hole in the window, near the letter M, from which deep cracks radiated.
It was a round and smooth hole, with the edges melted, similar to a shot”, the co-owner of the establishment, Liobov Beliátskaya, has related on her social networks, once the news has spread like wildfire.
"We are fine," Beliátskaya tells this newspaper.
"I hope it's just an isolated incident," adds the owner of one of the most reputable independent bookstores in the Russian
cultural capital
.
At the moment, there are no suspects.
"Until now we have not received threats, just some nonsense over the Internet from the ultranationalist bookstore Listva," says Beliátskaya, although her establishment had all the ballots to be the target of threats in today's Russia.
Located on the street that honors the poet Nikolai Nekrásov, on the window of
Todos Libres
a resounding message is written with adhesive tape: “Peace in the world”, (“Miru-Mir, a Soviet motto that makes a play on words in Russian) .
“I wrote about the incident on the store's website and started a collection for a new window, but the message spread beyond our community,” Belyatskaya says.
Three months earlier, in January, the bookseller told EL PAÍS how the war has changed the reading habits of Russians: according to Beliátskaya, readers "look for answers" in books that deal with the consequences of wars and the rise of totalitarianisms in the thirties of the last century.
Belyatskaya admits that from the beginning she did not think of notifying the authorities about the shot.
"What for?" She asks herself on her Telegram channel.
In her store, books are only dangerous for those who consider them a weapon.
Philosophy treatises and essays on anthropology and art share a shelf with publications written by Russians included in the
authorities'
blacklist , the label of foreign agents.
These are distinguishable by the '+18' mark that covers practically the entire lid.
Despite Beliátskaya's refusal, the police showed up twice “The second time was spectacular, with a loud cry: Everyone get out of the room!
We are going to carry out an investigation!” recalls the owner of the establishment.
Although she tried to "stop the justice machine" and she wanted to give up the trial, the agents continued to investigate her.
Moscow
ACT.14 MAR 2023 - 13:08
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