March 16, 2023 Russia-Ukraine news

Britain believes that the best way to protect Moldova from a Russian attack is not by sending it military support, but by protecting Ukraine, according to Foreign Minister James Cleverly.

"We strongly believe that one of the best ways of protecting Moldova from physical attack is helping the Ukrainians defend themselves against Russian aggression," Cleverly said Thursday at a press conference during an official state visit to Moldova.

The visit is part of the United Kingdom’s plan to announce additional financial support for Moldova and Georgia.

Moldova is set to receive more than $12 million (£10 million) in "funding for economic and governance reforms, including in the energy sector.”

“The new pledge for Moldova comes on top of the £12 million (over 14 million dollars) already contributing to critical anti-corruption and transparency work in the country,” a UK government statement said Thursday.

Cleverly will also announce a more than $600,000 (£500,000) contribution “aimed at creating an environment for free and fair elections in 2024, protecting them from external interference.”

“The UK is ramping up its financial support to Moldova and Georgia, as they continue to suffer from the destabilising impact of Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine,” the statement said. 

Social media video shows a large fire in the southern Russian city of Rostov on Don, geolocated by CNN to the vicinity of a building used by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB).

The video shows thick plumes of black smoke rising from the area.

It is unclear what caused the blaze, and Russian authorities have not yet issued any comment on the fire.

Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported that "a building with garages and a warehouse is on fire near the Border Guard of the Federal Security Service of Russia in the Rostov Region."

"People were evacuated," adds the report, citing a source from the emergency services.

The agency did not comment on the cause of the fire. 

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the combative boss of Russia’s Wagner private military group, relishes his role as an anti-establishment maverick, but signs are growing that the Moscow establishment now has him pinned down and gasping for breath.

Prigozhin placed a bet on his mercenaries raising the Russian flag in the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, albeit at a considerable cost to the ranks of his force and probably to his own fortune.

He spent heavily on recruiting as many as 40,000 prisoners to throw into the fight, but after months of grinding battle and staggering losses he is struggling to replenish Wagner’s ranks, all the while accusing Russia’s Ministry of Defense of trying to strangle his force.

Many analysts think his suspicions are well-founded – that Russia’s military establishment is using the Bakhmut “meat-grinder” to cut him down to size or eliminate him as a political force altogether.

Read the full analysis here.

The Kremlin has said a decision on whether to retrieve the downed US Reaper drone from the Black Sea will come from Russia’s Ministry of Defense. 

Peskov said he did not know what the ministry has decided to do.

A Russian fighter jet forced a US Air Force drone into the Black Sea on Tuesday, according to the US military.

Moscow and Washington have been in contact through military and diplomatic channels following the incident.

The leader of the self-declared and pro-Russian Donetsk People's Republic, Denis Pushilin, says that the situation in the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut remains "complicated" and that Ukrainian forces show no sign of leaving.

Pushilin was quoted Thursday by Russian state news agency RIA Novosti as saying that "the situation in Artemivsk [the Russian name for Bakhmut] remains complicated, Kyiv is not going to withdraw its troops."

Pushilin said that the only road to Bakhmut for Ukrainian forces is "now under even more significant fire control of the Wagner Group. Because of this, it is extremely difficult for the enemy to deliver ammunition, food, and reinforcements."

Irina Rybakova, a press officer of Ukraine's 93rd separate mechanized brigade, told Ukrainian television Thursday that "for two weeks now there has been a difficult situation with the roads [into Bakhmut], which complicates logistics."

"The center of Bakhmut is controlled by the Ukrainian forces. Russian artillery is constantly working on our section of the front," said Rybakova. "They are now focused on the road."

Forces from Russia’s Wagner private military group have made very limited gains in the last week in and around Bakhmut.

Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin Wednesday spoke of ammunition shortages and heavy fighting around the city, and claimed that his fighters had taken a very small settlement 8 kilometers (5 miles) northwest of the city.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said that "manpower, artillery, and equipment losses in fights for Bakhmut will likely constrain Wagner’s ability to complete a close encirclement of Bakhmut or gain substantial territory in battles for urban areas."

"It seems that the Wagner offensive itself will not be sufficient to seize Bakhmut," added the ISW.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has warned that it is crucial to urgently provide Ukraine with fresh ammunition to counter Russia's invasion.

"It is very important that we quickly supply Ukraine with the necessary ammunition and do so quickly," Scholz told lawmakers at Germany's lower house of parliament on Thursday, promising action at a European Union summit next week.

"At the European Council, we will decide on further measures together with our EU partners to achieve an even better, continuous supply," he said, adding that ''we are prepared to open our procurement approaches with other countries as well.''

Scholz said that over the last 12 months Germany has supported Ukraine with nearly $15 billion to help fend off Russia's invasion, which is ''a considerable sum – but it is appropriate for our country," he said.

''And then there is Germany's participation in the comprehensive European Union support for Ukraine – for example in the form of direct budget aid – which is 18 billion euros (more than $19 billion) this year alone," said Scholz.

Europe's sanctions package ''continues to make it harder for Russia to pursue their war of aggression – and we will keep up the sanction pressure," said Scholz, adding that ''we will be ensuring together that third party countries do not find loopholes in these sanctions.''

Scholz said that the 27 European leaders are due to discuss issues such as competitiveness and energy, as well as the war in Ukraine, in Brussels next Thursday and Friday.

The US military's European Command has released footage of the Tuesday encounter between a US surveillance drone and a Russian fighter jet as it played out over the Black Sea.

The newly declassified video depicts critical moments in the mid-air encounter, which the Pentagon said lasted 30-40 minutes.  

The video shows the camera of the MQ-9 Reaper drone pointed backward toward its tail and the drone’s propeller, which is mounted on the rear, spinning.

Then, a Russian Sukhoi SU-27 fighter jet is shown approaching. As it draws closer, the Russian fighter dumps fuel as it intercepts the US drone.

In another portion of the footage, the Russian jet makes another pass. As it approaches, it again dumps fuel.

The video from the drone is then disrupted as the Russian fighter jet collides with the MQ-9 Reaper, damaging the propeller and ultimately forcing the US to bring down the drone in the Black Sea. Russia has denied that a collision occurred. 

When the camera comes back online in the footage, the view is again pointed backward, and the propeller is shown damaged from the collision.

With the propeller damaged, the drone operators effectively flew the aircraft as a glider as it descended over the Black Sea, bringing it down in international waters southwest of Crimea.

On Wednesday, National Security Council communications coordinator John Kirby told “CNN This Morning” that the drone had not been recovered, and that he was “not sure” the US would be able to recover it. 

Moscow had made clear it would attempt to retrieve the wreckage of the drone, and two officials told CNN Wednesday that Russia had reached the MQ-9 crash site in the Black Sea.

Kirby would not confirm the reported development, but said the US had “made it impossible for them to be able to glean anything of intelligence value off the remnants of that drone, whatever remnants there might be on the surface of the water.”

Watch the video here:

RELATED

Watch: US releases video of Russian fighter jet forcing down US drone | CNN

Russian police have detained Kremlin critic and former mayor of the city of Yekaterinburg, Yevgeny Roizman, his wife said Thursday.

Roizman was accused of reposting a comment by imprisoned opposition leader Alexey Navalny on the Russian social media network Vkontakte, said Yulia Kruteyeva.

Kruteyeva added that Roizman does not have an account on VKontakte, and the repost was allegedly made in a group named after him which “he has nothing to do with.”

Roizman's lawyer Vladislav Idamzhapov confirmed to state news agency TASS that Roizman is accused of having made a repost on the VKontakte social network.

Idamzhapov added that Roizman has “never had a personal page on VKontakte, he never used this social network.“

The case will be considered in court Thursday, the lawyer said.

“On this unfounded accusation, [Roizman] faces an arrest for either 10 or 15 days," Idamzhapov told TASS.

The court banned him from using the phone and Internet as well as from visiting public places.

Roizman came to prominence as a mayor of Yekaterinburg from 2013-18. His popularity and his opposition views resulted in authorities abolishing direct mayoral elections in Yekaterinburg in 2018.

Despite the loss of public office, Roizman has continued to be one of the most influential voices in Russian opposition and was a close friend of Navalny. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday vowed to hold Russia accountable for the bombing last year of a theater in the southeastern city of Mariupol that killed hundreds of people.

The bombing of the theater, where Ukrainian officials say up to 1,300 people had sought refuge, was among the most brazen of Russia’s attacks on civilians since its invasion began in late February last year.

Painted on the ground outside the building — in giant Russian letters — was the word “CHILDREN.” The message — large enough to be viewed from the sky — was scrawled near a public square. Russia has denied its forces hit the theater, claiming instead that the Azov battalion, the Ukrainian army’s main presence in Mariupol, blew it up.

"Step by step, we are moving towards ensuring that the terrorist state is fully held to account for what it has done to our country and our people. We will not forgive a single life ruined by the occupiers," Zelensky said.