2:50 p.m.: Activist sentenced for comments on the war
An activist in Moscow has been sentenced to eight and a half years in prison for making critical statements about the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine. Dmitry Ivanov, 23, has been convicted of spreading false information about the Russian military, a court in the Russian capital said. The corresponding law was passed a week after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
In posts on his Telegram channel, Ivanov described the Russian mission as a war and said that Russian soldiers had attacked civilians and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine and committed war crimes. Most posts consisted of redirects from other sources.
1.48 p.m .: UN Secretary-General Guterres on his way to Kiev
In view of the grain agreement that is about to expire, UN Secretary-General António Guterres is on his way to Kiev. The 73-year-old is already in Poland, according to the United Nations. On his third visit to the Ukrainian capital since the beginning of the war, the UN chief is scheduled to meet with President Zelenskyy tomorrow for talks about extending the deal.
The contract to export Ukrainian grain across the Russian-controlled Black Sea expires on March 19, and the UN is insisting on another extension.
1:24 p.m .: Poland wants to deliver ten more Leopard tanks this week
According to the government, Poland will deliver ten Leopard main battle tanks to Ukraine this week. Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said at a press conference that four tanks are already in Ukraine and ten more will be delivered in the next few days. Poland had pledged a total of 14 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.
For its part, Germany has announced the delivery of 18 modern Leopard 2A6 tanks. According to the Defense Ministry, Germany, together with Portugal and Sweden, is thus in a position to provide Ukraine with an entire tank battalion as planned. The tanks from Germany should arrive in Ukraine by the end of the month. Until then, the Bundeswehr is training Ukrainian soldiers on the Leopard 2 at the Munster military training area in Lower Saxony.
12:57 p.m .: Ukrainian army clarifies identity of killed prisoners of war
The Ukrainian army has “provisionally” clarified the identity of a Ukrainian prisoner of war who was allegedly shot by Russian soldiers. The 41-year-old, who was filmed on video during his shooting, has been missing from the embattled town of Bakhmut since February 3, Ukraine’s land forces said on the Telegram news channel. The soldier served in the 30th Mechanized Brigade. A final confirmation can only be given when the suspected corpse in the Russian-occupied Donetsk region is found and handed over.
12.20 p.m .: After war criticism: Russian sentenced to eight and a half years in prison
A Moscow court has sentenced an anti-war activist to eight and a half years in prison for allegedly spreading false news about Russia’s army in Ukraine. The 23-year-old scientist Dmitry Ivanov had openly criticized the Russian invasion in his channel on the Telegram news service. The court convicted him in the proceedings, which were criticized as being politically motivated. Ivanov had also accused the Russian army of war crimes, for example in Bucha near the Ukrainian capital of Kiev. Hundreds of bodies had been found there, some with their hands tied behind their backs.
11:51 am: EU imposes sanctions on Russian military and police personnel
Shortly before International Women’s Day, the EU imposed sanctions for violence against women and girls for the first time. The punitive measures – entry and asset freezes – are also aimed at high-ranking Russian military and police officers, according to the sanctions list available to the AFP news agency. Among other things, the Russian military and police officers are said to have suppressed women’s protests against the Ukraine war and, in some cases, used sexual violence against women demonstrators.
10.25 a.m .: London: Conflicts over the Russian army are a sign of a difficult situation
British secret services see tensions between the Russian government and the Russian private army as a sign of the precarious situation in the Ukraine war. The conflicts, some of which have been played out in public, made it clear how difficult it is to maintain sufficient levels of manpower and ammunition in the current Russian offensive, according to the British Ministry of Defense’s daily briefing.
The British write that the fact that Ukraine is continuing to defend the heavily contested city of Bakhmut is weakening the armed forces on both sides. The Ukrainians were said to have been able to stabilize their defense line over the weekend after Russian troops had previously penetrated the north of the city. Supply, on the other hand, is becoming increasingly difficult because important access routes have been destroyed and the Ukrainians are increasingly having to resort to muddy, unpaved roads for supplies.
7:47 a.m .: Ukrainian military – numerous attacks in the east repelled
According to their own statements, the Ukrainian armed forces have fended off more than 140 Russian attacks on the front in the east of the country in the past few days. Despite heavy losses, the enemy is still trying to storm the city of Bakhmut and its surroundings, which has been heavily fought over for months, according to the Ukrainian military. Russian troops trying to encircle the Ukrainian defenders launched 37 attacks just near the village of Dubovo-Vasilivka, northwest of Bakhmut.
07:23: China wants to expand relations with Russia
According to Foreign Minister Qin Gang, China must expand its relations with Russia in view of the increasing turbulence in the world. The close cooperation between China’s President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin is the anchor for relations between the two countries, Qin said at a press conference on the sidelines of the annual session of the National People’s Congress in Beijing.
He did not comment on speculation that Xi could travel to Russia after the Chinese parliamentary session, which lasted about a week. Asked whether it is possible for China and Russia to abandon the dollar and euro for bilateral trade, Qin says countries should use any currency that is efficient, safe and credible. “Currencies should not be used as a trump card for unilateral sanctions, much less as a cover for harassment or coercion,” he said.