Latest news on Russia and the war in Ukraine

Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu has awarded a Su-27 fighter pilot for approaching and injecting fuel into a US drone over the Black Sea, Russian state news agency RIA reported.

Tuesday’s incident was the first direct encounter between Russia and the United States since the start of the Ukraine war. The US called it reckless and dangerous harassment, while Moscow claimed the US was violating Russian airspace.

Russian and U.S. defense secretaries called infrequently Wednesday after the incident to discuss what happened. It claimed it crashed because it was flying “provocatively” near the airspace near Crimea, which it illegally annexed in 2014, and that no encounter took place.

The Pentagon released a video shortly thereafter confirming the US account of the incident. There, an approaching jet can be seen dumping chemicals on top of the drone. Having said that, it is unlikely that the Russians will be able to obtain the data while they are more likely to be able to do so themselves.

Shoigu on Friday awarded a Russian pilot “for preventing a violation of the perimeter of a special operations area by an American MQ-9 Reaper drone,” the RIA reported.

— Natasha Turak

Britain is asking China to ask Russian leader Vladimir Putin to withdraw troops from Ukraine when Chinese President Xi Jinping visits Russia next week.

A spokesman for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said, “If China wants to play a real role in restoring Ukraine’s sovereignty, we welcome it.”

“A peace deal that is not based on Ukrainian sovereignty and self-determination is clearly not a peace deal. We have asked Putin to withdraw the troops,” the spokesman added.

China’s foreign ministry and the Kremlin confirmed on Friday that President Xi Jinping will visit Moscow from March 20 to 22 at Putin’s invitation.

The two countries celebrated their “unrestricted” partnership in early 2022, just before Putin ordered an invasion of Ukraine. Beijing still refuses to call Russia’s actions aggression or participate in Western sanctions against Russia.

— Natasha Turak

The Slovak government has approved measures to send Soviet-era MiG jets to Ukraine, officials said. The jets are in varying states of readiness and were retired last summer, so they are likely to require significant maintenance to be operational.

Eastern European NATO members have announced they will send 13 jets to Ukraine, a day after Poland announced it would supply Kiev with four jets. have long requested fighters to combat the

“#Slovak Government approved the transmission of 13 #MiG29 To #Ukraine! We must &keep our promises Zelenskyy Ua asked for more #weapons Tax-included fighter, I said I’ll do my best. I’m glad other countries are doing the same,” Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Hager wrote on Twitter.

NATO allies’ acknowledgment of Kiev’s request more than a year after the start of the war further provoked Russia into their decision to send advanced weaponry to Ukraine that could give Ukrainian forces a significant combat advantage. It shows that there is a big change in willingness.

— Natasha Turak

Russian and Wagner Group forces have taken positions in the eastern Ukraine city of Bakhmut, where brutal fighting has continued for months, the British Ministry of Defense writes in a daily update.

“Recently, Russian and Wagner Group forces have established a foothold west of the Bakhmutka River in the center of the disputed Donbass town of Bakhmut. The military continues to defend the West “of the town,” the ministry wrote on Twitter.

However, “across the front line, Russia is conducting localized offensive actions at the lowest rate seen since at least January 2023,” it added.

That is probably because “even localized offensive actions are currently unsustainable because “Russian forces have temporarily depleted the combat strength of the deployed formations”, and the Russian leader has “manpower and ammunition stocks.” Once recovered, they will likely seek to regenerate the force’s offensive capabilities,” he said.

— Natasha Turak

Poland will soon send four MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine, the president said on Thursday, making Poland the first ally in Kiev to provide such aircraft.

Warsaw, one of Ukraine’s strongest supporters, has played a leading role in persuading sometimes reluctant allies to provide Kiev with heavy weapons. It says the jet transfer will be done as part of the coalition.

“First of all, literally within the next few days, as far as I remember, we will hand over four aircraft in a fully functional state to Ukraine,” Andrzej Duda told a press conference.

“The rest are in preparation. They are being serviced.”

On Tuesday, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said deliveries could take place in four to six weeks. Duda said Poland has roughly 10 to 20 MiG 29 jets.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, former communist eastern NATO allies such as Poland and Slovakia have been particularly vocal in their support of Kiev.

Slovakia is also considering sending MiG-29 jets to Ukraine, but has not yet reached a decision. Poland has sent 14 German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.

Asked last week how many MiG-29s Warsaw could supply, Presidential Chief of Staff Pavel Slot said it was “certainly not” less than 14.

— Reuters

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has again called for a court to punish Russia for war crimes allegedly committed in its more than a year-long invasion of Ukraine.

In his nightly speech, translated by NBC News, he said, “There will come a day when justice will be restored to our people, and a tribunal will be created. The same way invaders of the past have been punished, this will be done.” It’s a court that punishes invaders,” he said.

Zelensky said Ukraine “is mobilizing all the necessary partners for this.”

A UN-backed investigation accused Russia of war crimes, including torturing and attacking civilians.

Russia has previously said it would not target civilians.

— Jacob Pramac

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said it was “essential” to allow Russia to continue the deal that reopened major ports in Ukraine.

During a visit to Niger, a top US diplomat said the Black Sea Grains Initiative had helped alleviate food insecurity caused by the war and the Russian naval blockade.

“Therefore, millions of people around the world, especially here in Africa, rely on this initiative to address food insecurity. is essential,” he said.

Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the UN are discussing extending the agreement.

— Jacob Pramac