03/28/2023
Ukraine war in the live ticker
+++ 01:39 Lithuania accuses Moscow of “nuclear blackmail” +++
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda condemns the Kremlin’s announcement that Russian nuclear weapons will be transferred to neighboring Belarus. “Russian nuclear blackmail continues,” writes the head of state of the Baltic EU and NATO country on twitter. Russia’s plans are once again a “complete disregard” of international agreements. “The attacker must be prevented from causing a nuclear catastrophe,” continues Nauseda.
+++ 00:55 British Challenger main battle tanks are in Ukraine +++
The first British main battle tanks of the Challenger type have arrived in Ukraine and are to be used in a counter-offensive by Ukraine in the spring. This was confirmed by a spokeswoman for the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense. Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov says he has inspected “newcomers” to the Ukrainian armed forces. In addition to Challenger tanks, these include German Marder infantry fighting vehicles, Cougar armored trucks and Stryker armored transporters from the USA. He describes the British Challengers as “military works of art”.
+++ 23:56 Selenskyj holds briefing in eastern Ukraine +++
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has held his military briefing with the General Staff outside of the capital Kiev for the first time. “We discussed the general situation in the front areas, strengthening and protecting our borders along the entire front – from the Kherson region to the Kharkiv region,” he says in his daily video address. The briefing took place in the industrial city of Dnipro, where there are many armaments factories.
+++ 23:06 Moscow’s Nord Stream resolution fails in the UN Security Council +++
Russia fails with its resolution for an investigation into the explosions at the Baltic Sea pipelines Nord Stream 1 and 2 in the United Nations Security Council. In a vote by the most powerful UN body, only China and Brazil voted with Moscow, while the other twelve countries abstained. The decision would have called on UN Secretary-General António Guterres to launch an independent international investigation into the alleged act of sabotage. Some Council members abstained because they see Russia’s move as a political maneuver.
+++ 22:20 nuclear weapons in Belarus: Moscow accuses West of double standards +++
The Foreign Ministry in Moscow has accused the West of double standards after its criticism of plans to station Russian nuclear weapons in Belarus. “The inadequate reaction of a number of Western capitals to our cooperation with Belarus on the military use of nuclear power can only cause astonishment,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, according to a statement released by the ministry. Finally, NATO had introduced the concept of joint nuclear missions and the US had stationed nuclear bombs in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey.
+++ 21:55 ISW: Putin continues to believe in “complete victory” +++
The Institute for the Study of War sees no willingness on the part of Putin to negotiate. Accordingly, Russia’s president continues to seek “complete victory” and is convinced that he can still achieve it, even through a protracted war. The Kremlin chief continues to believe he can impose his will on Ukraine as soon as the West has abandoned Kiev. The current military realities apparently did not convince him that he had to strive for a negotiated solution, the experts write.
You can read earlier developments in the Ukraine war here.