Russia's army apparently wants to force a victory in Ukraine.
The US government released a video of the drone incident.
News ticker on the Ukraine war.
After
Russian
jet
incident
: US government releases video of drone crash
In
competition
with
Wagner Group
?
The Russian army probably wants to force victory in Wuhledar in the Ukraine war
Offensive
in
Wuhledar
falters: probably also because of the tactics used by the Ukrainians against Vladimir Putin's army.
Update from March 17, 11 a.m.:
After Poland announced the delivery of combat aircraft to Ukraine on Thursday, the next NATO member is now following suit.
Slovakia intends to provide a total of 13 MiG-29 Soviet-designed fighter jets.
The Slovakian Prime Minister Eduard Heger confirmed this on Friday.
"Promises must be kept," Heger wrote on Twitter about the decision.
As the Reuters news agency reports, the corresponding jets were retired last summer.
The majority is therefore not immediately ready for use.
Update from March 17, 10:45 a.m .:
The Russian pilot of the fighter jet, who collided with a US drone over the Black Sea, was honored for his service in Moscow on Friday.
As the state news agency RIA reported, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu presented the pilot with several awards.
The Russian government cited “prevention of the violation of the borders of the special operations area by the American MQ-9 Reaper drone” as the reason for the awards.
Ukraine war: Putin's troops are making new advances around Bachmut
Update from March 17, 10:23 a.m .:
The British Ministry of Defense has reported that Russian forces have seen progress in the battle for the city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine.
According to estimates by British intelligence, some units of the Russian army and mercenaries from the Wagner Group have seized control of areas west of the Bakhmutka River.
Ukraine war: Prigozhin senses Putin conspiracy
Update from March 17, 7:00 a.m.:
Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin apparently complains of a conspiracy against himself and his Wagner group.
Vladimir Putin allegedly said that there would be nothing left of his mercenaries in Ukraine in "one and a half to two months".
At least that's what the Russian daily newspaper
Nezavisimaya Gazeta
is said to have found out.
Putin wants to "neutralize Wagner and especially Prigozhin".
Prigozhin may have fabricated the story, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), which mentions the incident in its most recent report.
+
Head of the "Wagner" mercenary troupe: Yevgeny Prigozhin.
© SERGEI ILNITSKY/afp
Ukraine war: Selenskyj with announcement
Update from March 17, 5:29 a.m
.: On the anniversary of the bombing of the Mariupol theater, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi announced the recapture of the city and a war crimes tribunal against Russians.
"The day will come and we will liberate Mariupol," Zelenskyy said in his daily video address on Thursday evening (March 16).
+
Volodymyr Zelenskyy promises the liberation of Mariupol (archive photo).
© -/Ukrainian Presidential Office/Planet Pix via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
Ukraine war: Scholz promises Kiev support
Update from March 16, 7:49 p.m .:
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) has assured Ukraine of Germany’s continued support because of Russia’s war of aggression – for as long as necessary.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has canceled the agreement that borders would not be moved, Scholz said on Thursday at the reception of the Brandenburg SPD parliamentary group in Potsdam.
"We will not accept that." If that goes through, peace will be endangered for a long time.
Ukraine war: major concert in Moscow on the anniversary of the annexation of Crimea canceled
Update from March 16, 6:31 p.m .
: According to the media, the traditional major concert in Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium on the anniversary of the annexation of the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea on March 18 has been canceled.
Instead, the anniversary will be celebrated this Saturday with smaller events in a number of regions, the daily
Vedomosti
reported on Thursday.
Until recently, preparations were being made for the mass event, which Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin traditionally also takes part in.
Russia seized Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.
Participants for the event were sought via social networks.
They were lured with free food and performances by musicians considered patriotic.
"For reasons beyond our control, the format of celebrations for the reunification of Crimea with Russia has been changed in the city," the organizers said.
A more detailed explanation has not yet been given.
Ukraine War:
Update from March 16, 4:10 p.m .:
The forced transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia or to Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine is a war crime, according to UN investigators. The large-scale deportation of children “violates international humanitarian law and comes tantamount to a war crime," a senior UN investigative team said in a report.
The investigative team assembled by the UN Human Rights Council cited evidence that Russian authorities are placing Ukrainian children in orphanages or foster families and granting them Russian citizenship.
Among other things, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree according to which children can become Russian citizens under certain conditions using a simplified procedure.
According to their own statements, the experts examined in detail a case in which 164 children and young people between the ages of four and 18 were deported from the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Kharkiv and Cherson.
The parents and the children themselves have been informed by the Russian social authorities that the children should be placed with foster families or adopted.
The children were afraid of being permanently separated from their families.
The report lists numerous other alleged Russian war crimes, including attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, torture and rape.
Ukraine war: Polish government now wants to supply fighter jets to the Ukrainian military
Update from March 16, 1:30 p.m .:
Poland wants to deliver the first Soviet-made MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine very soon.
This was announced by President Andrzej Duda on Thursday after talks with his Czech colleague Petr Pavel in Warsaw.
"In the coming days we will (...) transfer four aircraft to Ukraine," said Duda in Warsaw.
Soldier confesses to war crimes – Russian court convicts him of spreading “false information”
Update from March 16, 12:56 p.m .:
In Russia’s far east, a soldier in Ukraine confessed to war crimes – and was then sentenced to five and a half years of imprisonment on probation for spreading “false information”.
This was announced by the civil rights organization OVD-Info, citing an entry in the register of the military court in the Khabarovsk region.
Last summer, the man is said to
have told the independent investigative portal
Vashnye Istorii ("Important Stories") that he shot a civilian near the Ukrainian capital of Kiev about a year ago at the beginning of the war.
According to the journalist who conducted the interview, after returning to Russia, the soldier accused his superior of having given orders to kill and loot in Ukraine.
According to research, Ukrainian survivors in the village of Andriyivka later identified the soldier as one of the perpetrators.
It is unclear where he is currently staying.
Ukraine War: FSB building catches fire
Update from March 16, 12:19 p.m .:
In the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, not far from the border with Ukraine, a building of the border guards of the domestic secret service FSB caught fire.
Photos of it are currently being shared on social networks.
Among other things, Yulia Mendel, ex-spokeswoman for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, shared a video on Twitter showing the fire and a huge cloud of smoke.
The Russian Ministry of Civil Protection confirmed the reports of eyewitnesses.
The background was unclear.
According to the Russian news agency Ria Novosti, one person was killed and two injured.
In the Belgorod region, which is also close to the border, the authorities also reported that the Russian air defense system had again shot down two missiles.
Residential buildings and administration buildings were damaged by fallen fragments.
There are no injuries, said Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov.
He accused the Ukrainian troops of increased activity.
In the past four days, 58 buildings and 31 cars have been hit by debris.
After Russian jet incident: US government releases video of drone crash
Update from March 16, 11:57 a.m .:
The US Department of Defense released video footage on Wednesday showing the collision between a US drone and a Russian fighter jet over the Black Sea.
The approximately 40-second video was recorded by the drone's camera.
In it you can see how the Russian jet flies over the drone twice, releasing fuel.
During the second overflight, during which the collision is said to have occurred, the image breaks off briefly.
The camera then points to the rear of the drone, where damage to the propeller can be determined.
BREAKING: US military releases dramatic declassified video taken by MQ-9 Reaper drone that shows the moment that a Russian Su-27 fighter jet collided with it after attempting to spray the drone with jet fuel.
https://t.co/XGoVQN7ppJ pic.twitter.com/X9vH6qtFGf
— ABC News (@ABC) March 16, 2023
War in Ukraine: Polish secret service apparently smashes Russian spy network
Update from March 16, 10:50 a.m.:
The Polish secret service has broken up a ring of suspected Russian spies.
"The whole espionage network was dismantled," Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak told Polskie Radio.
There was a real threat to Poland.
"It was clearly a spy ring collecting information for the benefit of those who attacked Ukraine and are committing war crimes there," Blaszczak said.
According to unofficial information from the radio station Rmf.fm, the espionage network is said to have primarily dealt with spying on railway lines.
Accordingly, Polish secret services discovered hidden cameras on important routes and railway junctions, which recorded the traffic on the tracks and transmitted the images to the Internet.
In competition with Wagner Group?
Russian army now wants to force victory in Wuhledar
Wuhledar - The Russian army urgently needs a success in the Ukraine war in order to implement Vladimir Putin's plans - but probably also in order to distinguish itself from the Wagner private mercenary group, which is also operating in Ukraine.
According to an assessment by the British secret service, the Russian Ministry of Defense is currently pushing for the capture of the Ukrainian city of Wuhledar in the south-west of the Donetsk region.
“Partly because you want to report your own successes in competition with the achievements of the Wagner troupe,” it says.
Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin appears to be at odds with Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu.
He has recently repeatedly criticized the inefficiency of the Russian army compared to its fighters.
War in Ukraine: Successes in Bachmut can largely be attributed to the Wagner group
In the past few months, Russia has been able to record its only tactical successes in the city of Bakhmut, which has been fought over for months, writes the British Ministry of Defense in its current situation report.
However, successes in Bachmut would largely be attributed to the Wagner group, since they are represented there in large numbers.
So Shoigu may be keen to force a win in Wuhledar to restore his reputation.
Putin's circle of power in the Kremlin - the confidants of the Russian President
Putin's circle of power in the Kremlin - the confidants of the Russian President
The offensive in Wuhledar has come to a halt - probably also because of the Ukrainians' clever tactics
However, Russia's attempts to conquer Wuhledar have been stalled for a few weeks, the British write.
This is due, among other things, to a sophisticated tactic used by the Ukrainians in the use of the "Remote Anti-Armor Mine System" (RAAM) weapon system.
The system allows anti-tank mines to be scattered up to 17 kilometers from the launch site.
The Ukrainian army fired such mines behind and over advancing Russian troops, causing chaos as the troops retreated.
Recently there were also reports that Russia lost more than a hundred tanks due to Ukrainian ambushes near Wuhledar.
Already in February, the Russian army suffered heavy losses in Wuhledar when trying to capture the area around the city.
The "Institute for the Study of War" wrote in early March 2023 that the Russian units had been re-formed there at least seven times since the start of the Ukraine war.
Ukraine war: Is Russian bankruptcy threatening in Bakhmut?
In the battles in Bakhmut, however, Russia may also face bankruptcy: "The Wagner Group's offensive will not be enough to take Bakhmut," said the US Institute for War Studies (ISW) in its report of March 15.
The number of Russian attacks there has "significantly" decreased in the last few days, it is said.
(smu/dpa)