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The Polish government has confirmed this Thursday the shipment of four MiG-29 fighters "in the coming days", becoming the first of the allies to provide combat aircraft to Ukraine, as confirmed by the Polish president, Andrzej Duda.
At first, the country's prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, had said that the delivery could be made in four or six weeks because an agreement was expected to be reached with other countries to make a joint shipment.
The UN international commission investigating Ukraine's war crimes has announced that it has sufficient evidence to point out that Russian authorities have committed war crimes in various regions of Ukraine and Russia, including sexual violence and deportation of children.
Russian President Vladimir Putin
He has warned of the danger in the medium term for the Russian economy, hit by Western sanctions.
The president has called for more investment in the war effort despite international isolation.
Meanwhile, on the ground, Denis Pushilin, the Kremlin-imposed boss of Donetsk province in eastern Ukraine, has claimed there are "no signs" Kiev troops are withdrawing from the besieged city of Bakhmut.
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Poland will be the first allied country to send four MiG-29 fighters to Ukraine
Polish President Andrzej Duda has announced that Poland will send four MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine "in the coming days", becoming the first of kyiv's allies to provide these fighters.
"Literally in the next few days, we will deliver four fully operational aircraft to Ukraine," Duda told a news conference, though he noted that any transfer of fighters would be done "as part of a coalition."
Since the start of the war, Warsaw has taken the lead in persuading allied countries that are hesitant to send Kiev heavy weapons, and was also the one that took the lead in sending main battle tanks.
At first, the Polish president, Mateusz Morawiecki, had said that the delivery of the fighters could take place in four or six weeks because an agreement was expected to be reached with other countries to carry out a joint shipment.
The prime minister explained that the country has between 10 and 20 MiG 29 aircraft.
Slovakia is another of the countries that is considering whether to send MiG-29 fighters to Ukraine, but has not yet made a decision.
For her part, the Prime Minister of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen, said this Thursday that the debate on sending combat aircraft is open.
"This is something that we are discussing in the group of allied countries," she said.
(Reuters)
ACT.16 MAR 2023 - 17:50
The country
China urges Ukraine, Russia to resume peace talks "as soon as possible"
Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang spoke by phone on Thursday with his Ukrainian counterpart, Dmitro Kuleba, and urged him to resume peace talks with Russia "as soon as possible."
"China fears that the crisis will worsen and become uncontrollable," Qin told him, according to a statement published by his ministry.
On his part, Kuleba explained on his Twitter account that in the conversation they discussed "the importance of the principle of territorial integrity."
This is the first official conversation between the two representatives since Qin took office at the end of December.
At the end of February, China published a document in which it already asked Moscow and kyiv to resume peace talks.
The text opposes any use of nuclear weapons and demands respect for the territorial integrity of all countries.
Chinese diplomacy seeks to establish itself as a mediator in this conflict.
However, her position as a close associate of Moscow disqualifies her in the eyes of several Western countries.
"China will continue to play a constructive role to reach a ceasefire and stop the fighting, to ease the crisis and ensure a return to peace," they stress.
Chinese President Xi Jinping plans to travel to Moscow next week for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin;
Next, the Chinese leader plans to speak virtually for the first time since the conflict with Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky began.
The Chinese president's plans, revealed on Monday by Reuters and
The Wall Street Journal,
citing anonymous sources, have not been confirmed by the Chinese Foreign Ministry or the Kremlin.
(Reuters / EL PAÍS)
ON MAR 16, 2023 - 16:55
The country
The UN commissioners Jasminka Dzumhur, Erik Mose and Pablo de Greiff this Thursday in Geneva.
/ MARTIAL TREZZINI / EFE
The UN has evidence that the Russian authorities committed war crimes in Ukraine
An international UN commission investigating Ukraine's war crimes said Thursday that it has enough evidence to point out that Russian authorities have committed war crimes in various regions not only of Ukraine, but of Russia itself, including sexual violence and deportation of children.
In addition, Russian combat forces have perpetrated crimes against humanity in the wave of attacks that began in October 2022 against energy infrastructure, as have policy makers in validating the use of torture.
"The commission has concluded that the Russian armed forces have perpetrated attacks with explosive weapons in populated areas with apparent disregard for the suffering and harm to civilians," can be read in the report presented today and which will be presented next week to the Council of UN Human Rights.
As the Russian forces advanced into Ukrainian territory, the murders of civilians multiplied, as well as their detention and confinement in facilities built for this purpose both in occupied Ukraine and in Russia, according to the document.
In those places, the mistreatment quickly turned into torture for reasons such as "speaking Ukrainian" or "not remembering the words of the Russian anthem",
Of the children deported to Russian territory, the witnesses interviewed by the commission have indicated that the youngest may have permanently lost contact with their families.
On the other hand, the commission's investigations have also allowed it to establish that Russia's invasion and attacks against Ukraine can constitute an act of aggression, which can be investigated and for which the International Criminal Court can open a case.
In the course of their investigation, the members of the UN group (Erik Mse, from Norway; Jasminka Dumhur, from Bosnia and Herzegovina; and Pablo de Greiff, from Colombia) traveled eight times to Ukraine, visiting 56 cities and interviewing close than 600 people, in addition to visiting destroyed places, detention and torture centers, and witnessing all the remains of weapons and explosives that have been scattered.
The commission has also investigated human rights violations and excesses committed by Ukrainian forces, although in this case they found "a small number of violations", in particular two incidents in which Russian soldiers were wounded, tortured or shot at. , "what qualifies as war crimes."
From their interviews, the commissioners drew the conclusion that the greatest desire of the Ukrainian population, and in particular of the victims of atrocities, is for justice to be done and those responsible to be brought to justice.
"What is called for is an approach to accountability that includes both criminal responsibility and the right of victims to truth, reparation and non-repetition," the report states.
(Eph)
ACT.16 MAR 2023 - 15:32
Javier G. Cuesta
Putin warns Russian businessmen of the medium-term threat of sanctions
The Russian economy has endured the first blow of the sanctions for the offensive in Ukraine, but danger looms on the horizon in the medium term, as President Vladimir Putin himself acknowledged on Thursday.
"I perfectly understand both the threats that are taking place and those that the evildoers point out to us, who affirm that in the medium term problems will arise in Russia," the president said in a meeting called overnight with the employers, the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs.
"What is good for the Russians, for the Germans is death", has been another of Putin's quotes when commenting on the double-edged effects of European sanctions.
With this popular phrase, the Russian leader has boasted of the country's economic situation a year after beginning his invasion of Ukraine and being subjected to massive sanctions.
"Yes, this is a threat that we must take into account," Putin admitted, stressing that the situation could still worsen.
The Russian president has commented on the current situation of the country surrounded by the oligarchs who have made their fortune from the Russian economic strengths, from metals to fertilizers, including hydrocarbons.
Days after the Russian Parliament passed a law that will replace prison terms with fines for financial crimes such as money laundering, Putin has called on businessmen to invest more in the war effort.
The president has promised them that investing in the country is a winning bet in the long term despite the international isolation.
"Today's opportune investments will bear good fruit tomorrow without any doubt", the Head of State assured.
“This is the case both for the manufacturing industry and for internal tourism;
and the same for Russian consumer brands”, said Putin,
Moscow
ACT.16 MAR 2023 - 14:49
The country
France sends its first tanks to Ukraine
The Ukrainian Armed Forces have received this Thursday the first armored cars from France.
These are AMX-10 RC model light tanks, the number of which has not been specified, with which Paris wants to improve the military capacity of its ally in the face of the military offensive launched more than a year ago by Russian troops.
These first armored vehicles "have just arrived in Ukraine", Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu announced in the National Assembly.
"Some have already left for the front line," he added, without going into details regarding the number of vehicles, according to the newspaper Le Figaro.
The French Government promised the delivery of said cars at the beginning of January and in mid-February it even suggested that the shipment was already imminent.
However, Paris has avoided including the more powerful Leclerc tanks in this aid, claiming that it does not have as many - it would have about 200 operatives - and it does not have the capacity to manufacture new cars.
ACT.16 MAR 2023 - 14:59
One killed in an explosion at a Russian security forces building in Rostov-on-Don
At least one person has been killed and two injured in a fire sparked by an explosion at a building owned by the border control section of the Russian Federal Security Service (internal security forces, formerly the KGB) in Rostov-on-Don. , a city near the border with Ukraine.
The Russian agencies, which have reported the fire, do not provide details about the possible cause of the explosion.
Video footage released by Reuters shows a large column of smoke rising from a one-story building near a residential area and a shopping mall.
Local authorities have reported that the fire affects an area of almost 900 square meters.
(Reuters)
ACT.16 MAR 2023 - 14:59
The country
Ukrainian volunteer medics treat wounded soldiers in a medicalized bus near Bakhmut.
/ VIOLETA SANTOS MOURA / REUTERS
What has happened in the last hours
On the 386th day of the war started by Russia against Ukraine, these are the key data at 12:00 this Thursday, March 16:
-
Kremlin-imposed authorities say there are "no signs" Ukraine is pulling out of Bakhmut
.
Kremlin-imposed authorities in the eastern Ukraine's Donetsk province say there are "no signs" of kyiv troops withdrawing from the besieged city of Bakhmut.
This has been confirmed by the head appointed by Moscow in the Donetsk area controlled by Russia, Denis Pushilin, in statements collected by the Russian state news agency RIA.
-
Some 3,000 people "absolutely" refuse to be evacuated from the besieged city of Bakhmut
.
Some 3,000 residents, including 33 children, still remain in the besieged city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, the scene of intense fighting between Russians and Ukrainians for six months.
Civilians trying to survive in this city in the Donetsk province “absolutely” refuse to be evacuated, Pavlo Kirilenko, regional governor, said Thursday.
In view of the situation and in the midst of the constant bombardments that take place in the area, Kirilenko explained that a "mandatory evacuation" of all minors is being carried out throughout the front line.
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Poland says it has dismantled a Russian spy ring
.
Poland has affirmed this Thursday that it has completely dismantled a Russian spy network that was working to support the invasion of Ukraine.
"It was an espionage group, a group of people who collected information for those who have attacked Ukraine," Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak reported.
The minister insisted that "the threat was real" and did not provide further details.
According to journalistic information on Wednesday, six were arrested who worked for the Russian secret services and who would have been preparing acts of sabotage in Poland.
-
Russia says it is not interested in an escalation in the Black Sea, but will respond to "all provocations"
.
The Russian version of the conversation between the Russian Defense Minister, Sergei Shoigu, and his American colleague, Lloyd Austin, after the shooting down of an American drone by Russian fighters establishes that the cause of the incident was "non-compliance with the declared air restrictions". by Russia in the area regarding the invasion of Ukraine.
The international air authorities do not consider the restrictions imposed by Russia in Ukrainian airspace valid.
According to Moscow, the US is "strengthening its intelligence activities against" Russian interests.
"The US strategic drone flights off the Crimean coast are provocative in nature, creating possible conditions for an escalation of the situation on the Black Sea coast."
-
Zelenski commemorates the first anniversary of the attack on the Mariupol theater.
The President of Ukraine, Volodímir Zelenski, recalled on his Telegram channel that this Thursday marks one year since the Russian attack on the Mariupol theater, in which hundreds of civilians took refuge and which resulted, according to the Ukrainian authorities, with more of 300 dead.
Zelenski recalls that the word "children" was written on the square that gives access to the theater to be seen from the air and that his government is taking steps to hold those responsible for the crime accountable.
ACT.16 MAR 2023 - 13:17
The country
Video |
This was the incident between a Russian fighter and a US drone in the Black Sea
The US broadcasts images of the crash of a Russian fighter against an American drone
ACT.16 MAR 2023 - 14:29
Poland says it has dismantled a Russian spy ring
Poland has affirmed this Thursday that it has completely dismantled a Russian spy network that was working to support the invasion of Ukraine.
"The entire network was dismantled," Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak told PR1 public radio.
“It was a spy group, a group of people collecting information for those who have attacked Ukraine,” he added.
The minister insisted that "the threat was real", and did not give further details at the moment.
On Wednesday, the private Polish radio RMF FM indicated, citing anonymous sources, that the internal security agency ABW had detained six foreigners who worked for the Russian secret services, and that they would have been preparing acts of sabotage in Poland.
The suspects were arrested after hidden cameras were discovered in important railway infrastructure, which recorded and transmitted data on train traffic.
According to RMF, "dozens of devices" of this type were installed, some near the Jasionka airport, one of the main infrastructures used to send Western weapons and ammunition to Ukraine.
(AFP)
ON MAR 16, 2023 - 12:59
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