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Ukraine-Russia news – latest: Putin and Wagner group reach ‘boiling point’ in Bakhmut rivalry

Tensions between the Russian ministry of defence and the rebel Wagner group have likely reached a “boiling point” in their rivalry over Bakhmut, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has said.

The city in Donetsk Oblast, which has been the site of bloody contention for several weeks, serves as a symbolic stepping stone for Moscow to push forward in its invasion.

According to ISW analysis, the Russian MoD is trying to “deliberately expend both elite and convict Wagner forces in Bakhmut in an effort to weaken [Yevgeny] Prigozhin and derail his ambitions for greater influence in the Kremlin”.

The analysis continued: “The Russian MoD is currently prioritising eliminating Wagner on the battlefields in Bakhmut, which is likely slowing down the rate of advance in the area.”

Meanwhile, the Kremlin said on Monday it was not ruling out Russian president Vladimir Putin attending a summit of leaders of the G20 developed and emerging economies on 9-10 September in Delhi.

Key points

  • Putin and Wagner group reach ‘boiling point’ in Bakhmut rivalry

  • Russia suffering ‘extremely heavy casualties’, says MoD

  • Russia moves to push conscription age back

  • Wagner chief ‘cut off’ by Putin over arms call

  • IAEA chief makes plea for Zaporizhzhia safe zone after outage

Putin and Wagner group reach ‘boiling point’ in Bakhmut rivalry

Monday 13 March 2023 11:38 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Tensions between the Russian ministry of defence and the rebel Wagner group has likely reached a “boiling point” in their rivalry over Bakhmut, the Institute of War has said.

The city in Donetsk Oblast, which has been the site of bloody contention for several weeks, serves as a symbolic stepping stone for Moscow to push forward in its invasion.

According to IoW analysis, the Russian MoD is trying to “deliberately expend both elite and convict Wagner forces in Bakhmut in an effort to weaken Prigozhin and derail his ambitions for greater influence in the Kremlin”.

The analysis continued: “The Russian MoD is currently prioritizing eliminating Wagner on the battlefields in Bakhmut, which is likely slowing down the rate of advance in the area.

“Prigozhin saw Bakhmut as an opportunity to gain leverage on the Russian MoD and likely in the Kremlin in pursuit of his own commercial and political aspirations.

“Putin used Wagner to protect his regime from detrimental societal ramifications of mobilization, which also continues to inhibit his war efforts in Ukraine.”

Man to walk London Marathon backwards in support of Ukrainians

04:14 , Arpan Rai

A father who previously crawled the London Marathon dressed as a gorilla is to walk the famous event backwards this year as a means of “looking over my shoulder for Ukraine”.

Tom Harrison, who lives in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, and works in project management, told the PA news agency that there are several reasons behind his idea to walk the London Marathon – which takes place on April 23 – backwards.

“At school we had a motto which was in Latin and it translated to: Look forward and look back,” he said.

Read the full story here:

Man to walk London Marathon backwards in support of Ukrainians

Rishi Sunak is not America’s No 1 ally like I was, says Tony Blair

04:00 , Liam James

Tony Blair has criticised Rishi Sunak’s lack of influence with Joe Biden - and said he backed the Iraq War to make sure he was the first person the White House phoned in a crisis.

In an interview to mark the upcoming 20th anniversary of the conflict, the former Prime Minister admitted he turned down a last minute offer from President George Bush for British troops not to take part in the war.

He said he was ‘uncomfortable’ about British troops joining the US invasion but went ahead because our special relationship with America would have been wrecked if we had let them fight alone.

Mr Blair defended his conduct, saying that when he was in Downing St he was always the first world leader called on the White House “hot line”.

Rishi Sunak is not America’s No 1 ally like I was, says Tony Blair

Russia suffering ‘extremely heavy casualties’, though country’s elite ‘left relatively unscathed’, says MoD

02:00 , Liam James

Vladimir Putin continues to suffer “extremely heavy casualties” in Ukraine, though the impact of those losses varies “dramatically” across Russia’s regions, according to UK intelligence.

“In proportion to the size of their population, the richest cities of Moscow and St Petersburg have been left relatively unscathed,” the Ministry of Defence said in its daily update on Sunday.

“This is especially true for the families of the country’s elite,” it adds.

China’s Xi to speak with Ukraine’s Zelensky

00:00 , Liam James

Chinese leader Xi Jinping plans to speak with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky for the first time since Russia‘s invasion of Ukraine, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.

The newspaper, citing people familiar with the matter, said the call was likely to take place after Xi’s visit to Moscow next week to meet with Russian president Vladimir Putin.

Volodymyr Zelensky awards highest military honour to soldier executed on video

Monday 13 March 2023 22:00 , Liam James

Volodymyr Zelensky awarded a top military honour to the Ukrainian sniper and prisoner of war Oleksandr Matsiyevsky who was shot down by Russian-speaking forces as captured in a widely circulated video.

The man was heard chanting “Slava Ukraini” or “glory to Ukraine” as his last words before multiple shots from an unseen shooter or shooters behind the video camera claimed his life, leading to widespread condemnation of the alleged war crime.

“I conferred the title of Hero of Ukraine upon Oleksandr Matsiyevsky. A Ukrainian warrior. A man who will be known and remembered forever. For his bravery, for his confidence in Ukraine and for his “Glory to Ukraine!” Glory to the Hero! Glory to the Heroes! Glory to Ukraine!” Mr Zelensky said late on Sunday in his nightly address.

Russia ready to accept new deal for shipping food from Ukraine

Monday 13 March 2023 21:10 , Liam James

A Russian delegation at talks with senior UN officials has said Moscow is ready to accept an extension to a grain export deal that has helped bring down global food prices amid the war with Ukraine – but only for 60 days as the Kremlin holds out for changes to how the arrangement is working.

The United Nations and Turkey brokered a deal between the two warring countries in July that allows Ukraine, one of the world’s key breadbaskets, to ship food and fertiliser from three of its Black Sea ports.

The 120-day agreement, which helped take some of the sting out of rising global food prices, was renewed last November. That extension expires on Saturday, and another 120-day extension was on the table.

Moscow has been frustrated that a parallel deal to allow exports of Russian food and fertiliser, which is used across the globe, has only resulted in a trickle of Russian fertiliser getting out and no Russian grain at all.

Putin ally claims US and UK spreading lies about gas pipeline attacks

Monday 13 March 2023 20:30 , Liam James

One of Russian president Vladimir Putin‘s top allies claimed the United States and Britain were secretly sowing a lie that a pro-Ukrainian group blew up the Nord Stream gas pipelines on the bed of the Baltic Sea last year.

Last week The New York Times reported that intelligence reviewed by US officials suggested that a pro-Ukraine group – likely comprised of Ukrainians or Russians – attacked the pipelines in September.

Russian Security Council secretary Nikolai Patrushev cast doubt on that report, questioning if such a group would have the capability to carry out such a daring act of sabotage on Russia’s most important energy corridors to Europe.

“In an attempt to cover up the true people behind the crime, pro-government Anglo-Saxon media, on orders from above, have named a culprit – a group of Ukrainian terrorists,” Mr Patrushev told the Argumenti i Fakti newspaper.

Russia, Patrushev said, still did not know for certain who was behind the attack because it had not been included in an investigation of the blasts.

“If newspapers claim with zeal that the sabotage was committed by a group of Ukrainian terrorists, then it is necessary to ask whether or not there is indeed such a group at all, and if it is capable of carrying this out,” he said.

Leak in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline seen from above ground (AFP/Getty)
Leak in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline seen from above ground (AFP/Getty)

Casualties mount in battle for Bakhmut – as ICC ‘prepares first arrest warrants’ over Russia’s invasion

Monday 13 March 2023 19:40 , Liam James

Both Ukraine and Russia have reported inflicting heavy losses during fierce fighting around the eastern city of Bakhmut – while the International Criminal Court (ICC) is said to be planning to issue arrest warrants against a number of Russians (Chris Stevenson writes).

Commanders on both sides have reported relentless fighting around Bakhmut, which has become the focus of a months-long campaign to take the city in the region of Donetsk which has led to some of the bloodiest fighting since Moscow’s invasion began.

Meanwhile, the prosecutor at the ICC is expected to ask pre-trial judges to approve arrest warrants against Russian individuals relating to the abduction of children from Ukraine to Russia and the targeting of civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, according to reports from Reuters and the New York Times. If successful, it will be the first time ICC warrants are issued in relation to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

ICC ‘preparing first arrest warrants’ related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

Russian-Chinese relations crucial to global stability, says Kremlin

Monday 13 March 2023 19:00 , Liam James

Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu said relations between Russia and China were crucial to global stability, the Tass news agency reported.

“Bilateral relations between our countries have reached a new, unprecedented level and have become a major factor supporting global stability in the face of increasing geopolitical tensions in the world,” Tass reported Mr Shoigu as saying in a Telegram message to Zhang Youxia, vice chair of China’s Central Military Commission and a close ally of Chinese president Xi Jinping.

Beijing’s top diplomat Wang Yi met Vladimir Putin in Moscow last month, and Mr Xi could travel to Russia as soon as next week for a summit with the Russian president, people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

China has not denounced Russia’s invasion like some of its neighbours but has repeatedly called for caution and warned Moscow against using nuclear weapons. Beijing’s calls for peace talks align more closely with Russia’s desire to hold on to territory in Ukraine than Kyiv’s desire for Russian forces to leave its land entirely, given a negotiated settlement would likely require concessions from the invaded party.

UK has a ‘peactime budget’ that can’t handle Russia

Monday 13 March 2023 17:52 , Liam James

Conservative former minister Tobias Ellwood, who chairs the Defence Committee, warned the UK is operating on a “peacetime budget” as a new Cold War approaches.

Mr Ellwood said Brtiain’s UK’s land, sea and air military assets are headed for cuts which “many in the House were hoping would be reversed today”.

Signs have emerged that Britain’s military standing has dropped after years of cuts. In January defence sources revealed that an American general told Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, that the British Army is no longer regarded as a “tier-one” fighting force.

Despite concerns, Britain remains the second biggest donor country to Ukraine after the US, and one of few Nato members to meet the target of spending 2 per cent of GDP on military spending.

But Mr Ellwood, a former army captain, said the threat level was rising beyond the means of Britain’s current forces. He pointed to a review which noted the “risk of escalation is greater than at any time in decades”, adding in the Commons: “We are sliding towards a new Cold War. Threats are increasing but here we are staying on a peacetime budget.

“[Foreign Secretary James Cleverly] has two days before the Budget is announced. Please can we move to 2.5 per cent GDP now.”

Mr Cleverly replied: “We have committed to 2.5 per cent of GDP as a sustainable baseline. We have announced that additional £5bn to address the immediate impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – that is on top of the £20bn uplift that was announced in 2020 and over half-a-billion of new investment that was announced last year.”

Russia moves to push conscription age back

Monday 13 March 2023 16:43 , Liam James

A bill that would push back the age of conscription to compulsory service in the Russian military has been put forward in Moscow’s parliament.

The bill, backed by Russian president Vladimir Putin would raise the age boundaries from to 21-30 years from the current 18-27 years.

It would for a time increase the number of men subject to a year’s compulsory service as it sets out a transition period over 2024-2025 when the conscription age will span 10 or 11 years instead of the usual nine.

Mr Putin gave his backing in December to defence ministry proposals to push back the age range.

Defence minister Sergei Shoigu plans to increase the total number of serving combat personnel – professional contract soldiers and conscripts – to 1.5 million from 1.15 million.

Conscripts cannot legally be deployed outside Russia. However, in September Moscow unilaterally annexed four Ukrainian regions where fighting is continuing, and now considers them Russian territory.

Britain's Sunak boosts defence spending to try to silence critics

Monday 13 March 2023 16:01 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Britain cast China as representing an “epoch-defining challenge” to the world order, in an update to its foreign policy framework published on Monday which declared that the UK’s security hinged on the outcome of the Ukraine war.

In the refresh of Britain’s blueprint for security and international policy, the government warned of China’s deepening partnership with Russia, and Moscow’s growing cooperation with Iran following the invasion of Ukraine.

Only first released two years ago, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Britain’s Integrated Review (IR) had been updated to take account of events, with the hardening of language and positioning towards Beijing and Moscow.

But the decision to still not describe China as a threat was likely to disappoint many in Sunak’s governing Conservative Party, who also believe his vow to spend an extra 5 billion pounds ($6 billion) on defence is insufficient to support Ukraine without leaving Britain vulnerable.

“What could not be fully foreseen in 2021 was the pace of the geopolitical change and the extent of its impact on the UK and our people,” Sunak wrote in a foreword to the IR.

“Since then, Russia‘s illegal invasion of Ukraine, weaponisation of energy and food supplies and irresponsible nuclear rhetoric, combined with China’s more aggressive stance in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait, are threatening to create a world defined by danger, disorder and division.”

The unveiling of the update has been choreographed to coincide with Sunak’s visit to San Diego to agree the next steps in a landmark defence agreement, AUKUS, with U.S. President Joe Biden and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese

Of Britain’s extra defence spending, 3 billion pounds will go towards nuclear projects, including help for Australia to build nuclear-powered submarines for the first time, part of efforts to counter China in the Indo-Pacific.

When it was first published in 2021, the Integrated Review described China as a “systemic competitor” - a term some in Sunak’s party said was mealy-mouthed.

“China under the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) poses an epoch-defining and systemic challenge with implications for almost every area of government policy and the everyday lives of British people,” the updated document said.

“It has pursued rapid and opaque military modernisation with huge new investments, militarised disputed islands in the South China Sea, and refused to renounce the use of force to achieve its objectives with regard to Taiwan.”

While it outlined that Britain would step up its national security protections and boost work with partners in the region, the government said its preference remained for better cooperation and understanding with Beijing.

“But we believe that this will depend on the choices China makes, and will be made harder if trends towards greater authoritarianism and assertiveness overseas continue,” it said.

Rishi Sunak is not America’s No 1 ally like I was, says Tony Blair

Monday 13 March 2023 15:40 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Tony Blair has criticised Rishi Sunak’s lack of influence with Joe Biden - and said he backed the Iraq War to make sure he was the first person the White House phoned in a crisis.

In an interview to mark the upcoming 20th anniversary of the conflict, the former Prime Minister admitted he turned down a last minute offer from President George Bush for British troops not to take part in the war.

He said he was ‘uncomfortable’ about British troops joining the US invasion but went ahead because our special relationship with America would have been wrecked if we had let them fight alone.

Mr Blair defended his conduct, saying that when he was in Downing St he was always the first world leader called on the White House ‘hot line.’

Rishi Sunak is not America’s No 1 ally like I was, says Tony Blair

Slovenia's PM urges Bosnia to embrace 'historic' moment for EU integration

Monday 13 March 2023 15:28 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Slovenia’s Prime Minister Robert Golob on Monday urged Bosnia’s leaders to embrace a “historic moment” created by the war in Ukraine and kick off reforms required by the European Union to speed up the Balkan country’s membership process.

Slovenia was the strongest supporter of Bosnia’s bid to become a candidate to join the wealthy 27-member bloc, which was approved in December despite a poor reform record by the ethnically-divided country.

Golob, who chose Sarajevo for his first visit to the Western Balkans region since he assumed the job last year, said Russian aggression towards Ukraine had turned Brussels sceptics into supporters of the EU enlargement process, and that was “historic”.

 (AP)
(AP)

“For 20 years administrative issues have in reality stopped the enlargement process while today the EU enlargement process has become a political process that we want to take further on,” Golob told a news conference held jointly with Bosnia’s Prime Minister Borjana Kristo.

“Slovenia wants to be not only a friend on that path but the biggest ally, and that is why we shall offer you all possible help, from technical to administrative and financial support,” he said.

Slovenia is among the three top investors in Bosnia, and Golob said its private investors saw great potential in renewable energy sources in the country.

Following its devastating war in the 1990s in which about 100,000 people were killed, Bosnia remains divided ethically and politically among its Serb, Bosniak and Croat groups.

ICC to seek warrants against Russians over alleged Ukraine war crimes

Monday 13 March 2023 15:01 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is expected to seek arrest warrants against Russian individuals in relation to the conflict in Ukraine “in the short term”, a source with knowledge of the matter said on Monday.

The prosecutor of the ICC is expected to ask a pre-trial judge to approve issuing warrants against several Russians for the abduction of children from Ukraine to Russia and the targeting of civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, said the source, who commented on condition of anonymity.

It was unclear which Russian individuals the ICC would seek warrants for or exactly when.

The office of the prosecutor at the ICC declined to comment.

ICC prosecutor Karim Khan opened an investigation into possible war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Ukraine a year ago. He highlighted during three trips to Ukraine that he was looking at alleged crimes against children and the targeting of civilian infrastructure.

Ukraine‘s former prosecutor general in June told Reuters she hoped the ICC would prosecute the child abductions as genocide.

Russia has strongly denied that its forces have committed war crimes in Ukraine. It says it does not deliberately target civilians and has said that it is offering humanitarian aid to those wishing to flee Ukraine voluntarily.

ICC to open war crimes cases on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

Monday 13 March 2023 14:25 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The International Criminal Court (ICC) intends to open two war crimes cases tied to Russia‘s invasion of Ukraine.

The ICC will also seek arrest warrants for several people, the New York Times reported on Monday, citing current and former officials with knowledge of the decision.

Why did Russia invade Ukraine?

Monday 13 March 2023 14:05 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine has been raging for one year now as the conflict continues to record devastating casualties and force the mass displacement of millions of blameless Ukrainians.

Vladimir Putin began the war by claiming Russia’s neighbour needed to be “demilitarised and de-Nazified”, a baseless pretext on which to launch a landgrab against an independent state that happens to have a Jewish president in Volodymyr Zelensky.

Ukraine has fought back courageously against Mr Putin’s warped bid to restore territory lost to Moscow with the collapse of the Soviet Union and has continued to defy the odds by defending itself against Russian onslaughts with the help of Western military aid.

Here’s why Putin really invaded Ukraine

Volodymyr Zelensky awards highest military honour to soldier executed on video

Monday 13 March 2023 13:45 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Volodymyr Zelensky awarded a top military honour to the Ukrainian sniper and prisoner of war Oleksandr Matsiyevsky who was shot down by Russian-speaking forces as captured in a widely circulated video.

The man was heard chanting “Slava Ukraini” or “glory to Ukraine” as his last words before multiple shots from an unseen shooter or shooters behind the video camera claimed his life, leading to widespread condemnation of the alleged war crime.

“I conferred the title of Hero of Ukraine upon Oleksandr Matsiyevsky. A Ukrainian warrior. A man who will be known and remembered forever. For his bravery, for his confidence in Ukraine and for his “Glory to Ukraine!” Glory to the Hero! Glory to the Heroes! Glory to Ukraine!” Mr Zelensky said late on Sunday in his nightly address.

Volodymyr Zelensky awards highest military honour to soldier executed on video

Ukraine senior commander: situation around Bakhmut difficult, all Russian attacks repelled

Monday 13 March 2023 13:25 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The situation around Bakhmut remains difficult, but Ukrainian forces are repelling all Russian attempts to capture the town, the commander of Ukrainian ground forces Colonel general Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Monday.

“The situation around Bakhmut remains difficult,” Syrskyi was quoted as saying on the Ukraine‘s Media Military Centre Telegram messaging platform.

“All enemy attempts to capture the town are repelled by artillery, tanks, and other firepower.”

Syrskyi added that the Russian Wagner Group of mercenaries “are attacking from several directions trying to break through the defences of our troops and advance to the central districts of the town”.

Reuters was not able to independently verify the report.

A roadway destroyed in southern Bakhmut (Satellite image ©2023 Maxar Technologies)
A roadway destroyed in southern Bakhmut (Satellite image ©2023 Maxar Technologies)

China’s Xi to speak with Ukraine’s Zelensky

Monday 13 March 2023 13:09 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Chinese leader Xi Jinping plans to speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy for the first time since Russia‘s invasion of Ukraine, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.

The newspaper, citing people familiar with the matter, said the call was likely to take place after Xi’s visit to Moscow next week to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

 (AP)
(AP)

Talks underway on Black Sea grain deal extension in Geneva

Monday 13 March 2023 12:42 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Negotiations began on Monday between U.N. officials and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin aimed at discussing an extension to a deal allowing the export of grains from Ukraine since Russia‘s invasion, Russia‘s diplomatic mission in Geneva said.

The initiative, brokered by the United Nations and Turkey last July, is up for renewal on March 18.

United Nations trade official Rebeca Grynspan and aid chief Martin Griffiths arrived at the U.N. European headquarters in Geneva on Monday morning, without making a comment.

Russian lawmaker introduces bill pushing back conscription age

Monday 13 March 2023 12:19 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

A senior Russian lawmaker on Monday introduced a bill to push back the age of conscription to compulsory military service to 21-30 years from the current 18-27 years.

The bill was introduced by Andrei Kartapolov, a former general who chairs the State Duma’s defence committee and represents the ruling United Russia bloc, just over a year into Moscow’s military campaign in Ukraine.

Because there are two transition years - 2024 and 2025 - when the conscription age will span 10 or 11 years instead of the usual nine, the bill would for a time increase the number of men subject to a year’s compulsory service.

President Vladimir Putin gave his backing in December to Defence Ministry proposals to push back the age range.

The minister, Sergei Shoigu, plans to increase the total number of serving combat personnel - professional contract soldiers and conscripts - to 1.5 million from 1.15 million.

Conscripts cannot legally be deployed outside Russia. However, in September Moscow unilaterally annexed four Ukrainian regions where fighting is continuing, and now considers them Russian territory.

Georgian PM tells Ukraine's Zelenskiy not to meddle in his country

Monday 13 March 2023 12:14 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili accused Ukraine‘s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy of meddling in his country’s political situation by commenting on protests there last week, prompting an angry response from Kyiv.

During the protests against a “foreign agents” law that critics said signalled an authoritarian shift in Georgia, Zelenskiy thanked protesters for waving Ukrainian flags, saying it showed respect, and he wished Georgians “democratic success”.

Last Friday, Georgia’s parliament dropped the bill, which had threatened to harm Tbilisi’s bid for closer ties with Europe. Critics had said it was inspired by a 2012 Russian law that has been used widely to crack down on dissent in Russia.

“When a person who is at war... responds to the destructive action of several thousand people here in Georgia, this is direct evidence that this person is involved, motivated to make something happen here too, to change,” Garibashvili said in an interview with the Georgian IMEDI television broadcast on Sunday, referring to Zelenskiy.

“I want to wish everyone a timely end to this war, and peace,” Garibashvili added.

However, Ukraine‘s foreign ministry spokesperson Oleh Nikolenko accused Garibashvili of repeating “Russian propaganda” by suggesting that Kyiv sought to draw Georgia into its conflict with Moscow.

“We categorically reject such claims, which have nothing to do with reality. The Georgian authorities are looking for an enemy in the wrong place,” Nikolenko said on Facebook on Monday.

“Ukraine has been and will remain a friend of the Georgian people, whom we do not wish to stop (in their task of) building a European future.”

Despite Garibashvili’s comments, Georgian public opinion is strongly pro-Ukrainian and anti-Russian. Georgia fought its own brief war with Russia in 2008 over the status of two Moscow-backed breakaway regions, Azkhazia and South Ossetia.

Georgia and Ukraine both aspire to join the European Union one day.

Volodymyr Zelensky awards highest military honour to soldier executed on video

Monday 13 March 2023 10:53 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Volodymyr Zelensky awarded a top military honour to the Ukrainian sniper and prisoner of war Oleksandr Matsiyevsky who was shot down by Russian-speaking forces as captured in a widely circulated video.

The man was heard chanting “Slava Ukraini” or “glory to Ukraine” as his last words before multiple shots from an unseen shooter or shooters behind the video camera claimed his life, leading to widespread condemnation of the alleged war crime.

“I conferred the title of Hero of Ukraine upon Oleksandr Matsiyevsky. A Ukrainian warrior. A man who will be known and remembered forever. For his bravery, for his confidence in Ukraine and for his “Glory to Ukraine!” Glory to the Hero! Glory to the Heroes! Glory to Ukraine!” Mr Zelensky said late on Sunday in his nightly address.

Volodymyr Zelensky awards highest military honour to soldier executed on video

Kremlin doesn't rule out Putin attending G20 summit in India

Monday 13 March 2023 10:40 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The Kremlin said on Monday it was not ruling out Russian President Vladimir Putin attending a summit of leaders of the Group of 20 (G20) developed and emerging economies on Sept. 9-10 in New Delhi.

Putin has yet to travel beyond the borders of the former Soviet Union since sending his armed forces into Ukraine in February last year, and missed November’s G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia.

Asked whether Putin might attend the Delhi summit, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters:

“It can’t be ruled out. Russia continues to participate fully in the G20 framework. It intends to continue to do that. But no decision has been made yet.”

 (Sputnik)
(Sputnik)

Patchwork fixes to Ukraine grain shortfall leave world vulnerable a year into war

Monday 13 March 2023 10:24 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

A patchwork of fixes and increased crop plantings around the world to counter the impact of war in Ukraine on global grain supplies are not enough to ward off further risks of disruption.

Extensive damage to Ukraine‘s farm sector and uncertainty that the UN’s grain export corridor deal will be renewed this month suggest food prices may remain elevated, increasing the potential of hunger if other problems arise, agriculture experts warn.

Meanwhile, adverse weather, including a historic drought in No. 3 corn exporter Argentina, highlights the risks of increasingly severe weather around the world for food supplies.

A year after Russia‘s war on major grains producer Ukraine sent global crop values to decade highs on fears of shortages, prices of key crops have reverted back to pre-war levels, with benchmark corn futures down 10% and wheat futures more than 20% lower than the days before the invasion.

“The world has had some time to patch some holes,” said Dan Basse, president of AgResource Co in Chicago, citing larger-than-anticipated Russian wheat exports and the grain export corridor deal that allowed some 3 million tonnes of grain per month to be exported from Ukraine‘s Black Sea ports.

“If we don’t have another supply shock somewhere, the world can get by on the diminishment of Ukrainian grain. But it’s tenuous. Things have to go right,” he said.

 (AP)
(AP)

UK boosts defense spending in response to Russia and China

Monday 13 March 2023 10:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged Monday to increase UK military funding by £5 billion ($6 billion) over the next two years in response to Russia‘s invasion of Ukraine and the “epoch-defining challenge” posed by China.

The increase, part of a major update to UK foreign and defense policy, is less than military officials wanted.

Sunak said the UK would increase military spending to 2.5 per cent of gross domestic product “in the longer term,” but did not set a date. Britain currently spends just over two per cent of GDP on defense, and military chiefs want it to rise to three per cent.

The extra money will be used, in part, to replenish Britain’s ammunition stocks, depleted from supplying Ukraine in its defense against Russia.

Some will also go towards a UK-US-Australia deal to build nuclear-powered submarines.

Sunak will meet US President Joe Biden and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in San Diego on Monday to confirm next steps for the military pact, known as AUKUS, struck by the three countries in 2021 amid mounting concern about China’s actions in the Pacific.

Russia suffering ‘extremely heavy casualties’, though country’s elite ‘left relatively unscathed’, says MoD

Monday 13 March 2023 09:41 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Vladimir Putin continues to suffer “extremely heavy casualties” in Ukraine, though the impact of those losses varies “dramatically” across Russia’s regions, according to UK intelligence.

“In proportion to the size of their population, the richest cities of Moscow and St Petersburg have been left relatively unscathed,” the Ministry of Defence said in its daily update on Sunday.

“This is especially true for the families of the country’s elite,” it adds.

“In many of the Eastern regions, deaths are likely running, as a percentage of population, at a rate 30+ times higher than in Moscow. In places, ethnic minorities take the biggest hit; in Astrakhan some 75 per cent of casualties come from the minority Kazakh and Tartar populations.

“As the Russian MoD seeks to address its continued deficit of combat personnel, insulating the better-off and more influential elements of Russian society will highly likely remain a major consideration.”

Russian advance stalls in Ukraine's Bakhmut, think tank says

Monday 13 March 2023 09:34 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russia’s advance seems to have stalled in Moscow‘s campaign to capture the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, a leading think tank said in an assessment of the longest ground battle of the war.

The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War said there were no confirmed advances by Russian forces in Bakhmut. Russian forces and units from the Kremlin-controlled paramilitary Wagner Group continued to launch ground attacks in the city, but there was no evidence that they were able to make any progress, ISW said late Saturday.

The report cited the spokesperson of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ Eastern Group, Serhii Cherevaty, who said that fighting in the Bakhmut area had been more intense this week than the previous one. According to Cherevaty, there were 23 clashes in the city over the previous 24 hours.

Russian advance stalls in Ukraine's Bakhmut, think tank says

Indonesia's Bali wants to tighten visa requirements for Russian tourists

Monday 13 March 2023 09:10 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Authorities in Indonesia’s popular holiday island of Bali have asked the central immigration agency to cancel a visa-on-arrival policy for Russian and Ukrainian nationals after tourists were found working illegally.

Russian nationals are among the biggest groups of foreign arrivals in Indonesia, according to official tourism data. At least four Russian citizens were deported this month for visa violations and immigration authorities have repeatedly warned foreigners in Bali against working on tourist visas.

Bali Governor I Wayan Koster said on Sunday he has asked the Ministry of Law and Human Rights to tighten visa requirements by cancelling the visa-on-arrival facility specifically for Russian and Ukrainian citizens due to a series of violations.

“Because they are at war, so they flocked to Bali, including those who sought comfort or came to work here,” he said, according to a post on the immigration agency’s Instagram account. He added these two countries were singled out because their citizens’ infractions were more “significant” than those of others.

He did not provide details on the violations.

The move comes as Indonesians take to social media to complain about some Russian tourists’ actions in Bali, including a model who posed nude at a sacred tree and a man who allegedly hit a pedestrian while driving under the influence of alcohol.

A spokesperson for Indonesia’s immigration agency, which is under the law ministry, declined to comment.

The embassies of Russia and Ukraine in Jakarta did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Indonesia allows nationals of certain countries to apply for a visa upon landing in the country, while others have to apply before departure.

More than 77,500 Russians arrived in the Southeast Asian country between September 2022 and January 2023 as COVID-19 restrictions were eased, compared with about 88,000 in the same period just before the pandemic.

About 8,800 Ukrainian visitors arrived between September 2022 and January 2023.

Russia adding IKEA, Lancome and other luxury goods to parallel import list

Monday 13 March 2023 08:45 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russia‘s industry ministry said on Monday it was expanding its list of brands that can be imported without the trademark owner’s permission to include goods from companies such as IKEA and American toy manufacturers Hasbro and Mattel.

Moscow has been pushing a so-called “parallel imports” scheme to help Russian consumers maintain access to a host of foreign products in the face of tough punitive sanctions imposed by the West over the conflict in Ukraine.

The mechanism allows Russian companies to buy goods from any company outside Russia, including from the country of the goods’ origin, provided they were purchased legally.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade’s expanded list includes luxury brands, such as Lancome, Giorgio Armani and Yves Saint Laurent, domestic goods brands Wahl and Zanussi, and Japan’s Nintendo. Brands of motor oils and agricultural equipment makers were also added.

 (PA)
(PA)

The updated list was first reported by the Izvestia daily, which said that IKEA would be added towards the summer.

“Izvestia has the correct list and it is now being registered with the Ministry of Justice,” the ministry said in a statement.

Many goods of top brands that pulled out of Russia remain available, with parallel importing mechanisms having been consolidated and expanded in the past year, demonstrating the difficulty companies have in controlling supply chains when exiting a market.

The ministry said it was working on fine-tuning the mechanism, transitioning from including brand names to rights holders, a move it said would simplify the administrative procedure. (

China’s Xi plans Russia visit as soon as next week

Monday 13 March 2023 08:18 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Chinese President Xi Jinping is planning to travel to Russia to meet his counterpart, Vladimir Putin, as soon as next week, people familiar with the matter said, which would be sooner than previously expected.

Plans for a visit come as China has been offering to broker peace in Ukraine, an effort that has been met with scepticism in the West given China’s diplomatic support for Russia.

Russia‘s Tass news agency reported on Jan. 30 that Putin had invited Xi to visit in the spring. The Wall Street Journal reported last month that a visit to Moscow could take place in April or early May.

China’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the possibility of Xi going to Moscow and the Kremlin declined to comment.

No other details were immediately available.

The sources briefed on the matter declined to be identified given the sensitivity of the issue.

China and Russia struck a “no limits” partnership in February of 2022, weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine, and the two sides have continued to reaffirm the strength of their ties.

Chinese President Xi Jinping (AP)
Chinese President Xi Jinping (AP)

Russia's Patrushev doubts pro-Ukrainian group blew up Nord Stream

Monday 13 March 2023 07:55 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

One of President Vladimir Putin’s top allies said on Monday that he doubts that the Nord Stream pipelines were blown up by a pro-Ukrainian group, and said that Moscow still does not know who exactly was behind it, Interfax reported.

Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev said Ukraine had gained nothing from the destruction of the pipelines.

German and United States media have reported that the U.S. intelligence community believes that a pro-Ukrainian group was behind the September explosions that badly the pipelines. Russia has called the incident a terrorist attack, and suggested that Western countries were behind it.

Russia's security council secretary Nikolai Patrushev (AP)
Russia's security council secretary Nikolai Patrushev (AP)

What is the latest from Bakhmut?

Monday 13 March 2023 07:26 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Here is the latest update from the battle in Bakhmut:

* The situation in Bakhmut was difficult, the commander of Ukrainian ground forces said, though adding that his troops were repelling all Russian attempts to capture it.

* The head of Russia‘s Wagner mercenary group, which has led the assault on Bakhmut, said the situation in the mining town was “tough, very tough ... But we are advancing and we will be advancing”.

* Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian forces had suffered more than 1,100 dead in the past few days fighting along the Bakhmut section of the frontline. Russian forces also sustained 1,500 “sanitary losses” - soldiers wounded badly enough to keep them out of further action, he added.

* Russia‘s defence ministry said on Sunday its forces had killed more than 220 Ukrainian service members over the past 24 hours in the Donetsk direction.

* The Wagner chief said his army would begin to reboot once Bakhmut was captured. “In particular, we will start recruiting new people from the regions,” Yevgeny Prigozhin said in a clip posted on Telegram channels associated with Wagner.

Wagner chief likely lost access to Russian prisons for recruiting men – MoD

Monday 13 March 2023 06:58 , Arpan Rai

The British defence ministry has claimed that Wagner Group owner Yevgeny Prigozhin has likely lost access to recruiting in Russian prisons due to his ongoing disputes with the Russian defence ministry leadership.

“Prigozhin is highly likely pivoting recruitment efforts towards free Russian citizens,” the ministry said today in its latest intelligence update.

The defence ministry said that since the start of March 2023, Wagner has set up outreach teams based in sports centres in at least 40 locations across Russia.

“In recent days, masked Wagner recruiters also gave career talks in Moscow high schools, distributing questionnaires entitled ‘application of a young warrior’ to collect the contact details of interested pupils,” the MoD said.

tating that the new initiatives are unlikely to make up for the loss of the convict recruit pipelines, the ministry said that about half of the prisoners Wagner has already deployed in Ukraine have likely become casualties.

“If the ban endures, Prigozhin will likely be forced to reduce the scale or intensity of Wagner operations in Ukraine,” the ministry said.

Zelensky awards highest honour to Ukrainian man shot by Russia

Monday 13 March 2023 05:49 , Arpan Rai

Volodymyr Zelensky has awarded the highest military honour posthumously to the Ukrainian soldier gunned down by Russian forces for chanting “Glory to Ukraine”.

“Today I conferred the title of Hero of Ukraine upon Oleksandr Matsiyevsky, a soldier. A man whom all Ukrainians will know. A man who will be remembered forever. For his bravery, for his confidence in Ukraine and for his ‘Glory to Ukraine!’,” he said in his nightly address.

Ukrainian journalists lauded the deceased soldier and the award by the Zelenksy administration, confirming that the man was killed in December last year.

“We now know the name of this man. Oleksandr Matsiyevsky, a sniper of Chernihiv territorial defence brigade. He went MIA in late December 2022, and according to Ukrainian officials, was killed by Russians just before New Year. He has been posthumously awarded Hero of Ukraine. RIP,” said journalist Olga Tokariak.

Wagner chief says Bakhmut situation ‘very tough'

Monday 13 March 2023 04:59 , Arpan Rai

Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin has described the situation in Bakhmut as “tough, very tough”.

The mercenary gorup’s chief said: “The closer we are to the centre of the city, the harder the fighting ... The Ukrainians throw in endless reserves. But we are advancing and we will be advancing.”

Last week, the Wagner chief had complained of “ammunition hunger” among his soldiers but confirmed yesterday that the Russian army members helped his troops with ammunition.

“Yesterday, we got 15 truckloads, today we got 12. And I think we will continue to receive them,” he said, and added that there was no conflict between his fighters and Russian troops.

In a previous allegation, the private military organisation’s chief had accused Russia’s top brass was deliberately starving his men of ammunition, an allegation the defence ministry rejected.

He added that Wagner “will begin to reboot” and start hiring once Bakhmut is captured, adding he wanted to turn his private military company into an “army with an ideology” that would fight for justice in Russia.

Russia downs four missiles in Belgorod region – official

Monday 13 March 2023 04:23 , Arpan Rai

At least one person has been injuried in Russia after the country’s air defence forces shot down four missiles over the region and administrative centre Belgorod, regional governor said.

“At this time one person is known to have been injured. There is also damage from rocket debris in two residential buildings,” governor Vyacheslav Gladkov, said on the Telegram messaging app.

It is not immediately clear if the missiles were fired from Ukraine but officials in the past have accsued Ukrainian forces on the other side of the border of carrying out similar attacks.

Belgorod borders Ukraine‘s Kharkiv region and has repeatedly come under fire since the war began last year.

Russian and Ukrainian losses mount in Bakhmut

Monday 13 March 2023 04:12 , Arpan Rai

Volodymyr Zelensky has said his forces had killed more than 1,100 Russian soldiers in the past few days as they battled for control of Bakhmut.

“In less than a week, starting from the 6th March, we managed to kill more than 1,100 enemy soldiers in the Bakhmut sector alone, Russia’s irreversible loss, right there, near Bakhmut,” Mr Zelensky said in his nightly video address.

Russian forces also sustained 1,500 “sanitary losses”, soldiers wounded badly enough to keep them out of action, he added.

Similar claims have been made by Russia’s defence ministry and said that more than 220 Ukrainian service members have been killed in the Donetsk direction in the past 24 hours.

Rishi Sunak pledges £5bn for defence as UK faces a ‘volatile’ world

Monday 13 March 2023 03:51 , Arpan Rai

Rishi Sunak insisted the UK’s armed forces had the funding they needed for a “more volatile world” in the face of the growing challenges posed by China and Russia.

The prime minister promised an extra £5bn for the military over two years, but failed to meet Tory demands to commit to a goal of spending 3 per cent of the UK’s gross domestic product (GDP) on defence.

Significant sums of the promised new money will be swallowed up by replenishing ammunition stockpiles handed to Ukraine and work on the Aukus project to develop nuclear-powered submarines for Australia.

Read the full story here:

Rishi Sunak pledges £5 billion for defence as UK faces a ‘volatile’ world

Wagner chief admits Ukrainian forces are fiercely fighting in Bakhmut

Monday 13 March 2023 02:25 , Martha Mchardy

Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Russian private military company Wagner, has admitted that Ukrainian forces are fighting fiercely in Bakhmut.

In a new audio message posted on his Telegram page on Sunday, Mr Prigozhin said Ukrainian forces are “fighting for every meter.”

He continued: “the situation in Bakhmut is very difficult, the enemy is fighting for every meter. The closer we are to the city center, the harder the battles, the more artillery works against us, and the more tanks.”

“The Ukrainians are throwing up endless reserves,” Prigozhin added.

Support will put Ukraine in ‘strongest position’ to negotiate ceasefire – Sunak

Monday 13 March 2023 01:25 , Martha Mchardy

Rishi Sunak said new support measures for Ukraine agreed between the UK and France are designed to put Kyiv in the “strongest possible position” to negotiate a ceasefire.

The Prime Minister and French President Emmanuel Macron used the UK-France summit to sign off on jointly training Ukrainian marines and supplying weapons to the country in its fight against Russia’s invading forces.

Patrick Daly reports:

Support will put Ukraine in ‘strongest position’ to negotiate ceasefire – Sunak

Ukraine identifies PoW killed by Russians as Oleksandr Igorevich Matsievskyi

Monday 13 March 2023 00:25 , Martha Mchardy

Ukraine has identified the Prisoner of War (PoW) killed by Russia as Oleksandr Igorevich Matsievskyi.

Ukraine’s security services identified the prisoner killed Russian soldiers in a clip that spread quickly across the world, bringing an end to the dispute over his identity.

Volodymyr Zelensky vowed to “find the murderers” of the unarmed Ukrainian prisoner of war. While Ukraine’s chief prosecutor announced a criminal investigation into the killing, and human rights chief Dmytro Lubinets said it was a violation of the Geneva Conventions.

Volodymyr Zelensky vowed to “find the murderers” of the unarmed Ukrainian prisoner of war. (Ukrainian Presidential Office)
Volodymyr Zelensky vowed to “find the murderers” of the unarmed Ukrainian prisoner of war. (Ukrainian Presidential Office)

The 12-second video, orginally posted on Telegram before being shared on Twitter, shows the man in uniform with a Ukrainian insignia on his arm, standing and smoking a cigarette in a wooded area. The man says “Slava Ukraini!” – Glory to Ukraine – before multiple shots are fired. The man then slumps to the ground.

Ukraine’s military originally named the man as Tymofiy Shadura, a member of the 30th Separate Mechanised Brigade, who has been missing since 3 February near Bakhmut, but cautioned a final confirmation could not be made until the body had been recovered from currently Russian-controlled territory.

Oleksandr Igorevich Matsievskyi, 42, was deployed to Bakhmut in November.

Russia claims it is continuing military operations in Donetsk region

Sunday 12 March 2023 23:25 , Martha Mchardy

The Russian Defence ministry says it is conducting military operations in Ukraine‘s eastern Donetsk region.

Moscow claims its troops have taken out 220 Ukrainian soldiers in the last 24 hours. Ukraine also claiks it has killed 200 Russian soldiers.

Russia‘s defence ministry said: “In the Donetsk direction... more than 220 Ukrainian servicemen, an infantry fighting vehicle, 3 armoured fighting vehicles, 7 vehicles, as well as a D-30 howitzer were destroyed during the day.”

Saudi state-owned oil giant sees record profit after Russia invasion of Ukraine

Sunday 12 March 2023 23:10 , Martha Mchardy

Saudi oil giant Aramco has announced record profits of $161billion (£133 billion) for 2022, equivalent to £134billion, after soaring energy prices and bigger volumes.

The increase represents a 46.5 per cent rise on last year for energy firm Aramco.

Aramco also declared a dividend of $19.5bn (£16 billion) for the October to December quarter of 2022, most of which will go to the Saudi government in the first quarter of this year, which owns nearly 95 per cent of the shares in the company.

It comes as energy prices spiked following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Martha McHardy reports:

Saudi state-owned oil giant sees record profit of $161bn

Ethnic minorities bear the brunt of the Kremlin’s war, according to Britain’s Ministry of Defence

Sunday 12 March 2023 22:25 , Martha Mchardy

Ethnic minorities bear the brunt of the Kremlin’s war, according to Britain’s Ministry of Defence.

Deaths are more than 30 times higher in many eastern regions in Ukraine than in Moscow, with the capital and St Petersburg “relatively unscathed”, said the Ministry of Defence.

“Insulating the better-off and more influential elements of Russian society” is likely a “major consideration”, the ministry said, adding that none of the officials in the two front rows of the audience at Mr Putin’s state of the union speech on 21 February are known to have children in the military.

Hundreds of Russians killed in Bakhmut battle as snipers ‘create killing zone’

Sunday 12 March 2023 21:40 , Martha Mchardy

Hundreds of Russian troops have been killed in Bakhmut as Vladimir Putin’s troops seek to wrest control of the frontline Donetsk city – with Kyiv’s snipers said to have set up a “killing zone”.

Some 520 Russian troops were killed and wounded in Bakhmut alone in one day’s fighting, Ukraine’s military said, claiming Russia had suffered 2,000 fatalities since Friday – marking some of the deadliest days of the war since the invasion began.

Andy Gregory reports:

Hundreds of Russians killed in Bakhmut battle as snipers ‘create killing zone’

Turkish defence minister says he believes Black Sea grain deal will be extended

Sunday 12 March 2023 21:25 , Thomas Kingsley

Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said on Sunday that he believes that a deal allowing Ukrainian grain to be exported via the Black Sea will be extended from its current 18 March deadline.

The Black Sea Grain Initiative, brokered between Russia and Ukraine by the United Nations and Turkey last July, aimed to prevent a global food crisis by allowing Ukrainian grain blockaded by Russia's invasion to be safely exported from three Ukrainian ports.

The deal was extended for 120 days in November and will renew on 18 March if no party objects. However, Moscow has already signalled it will only agree to an extension if restrictions affecting its own exports are lifted.

Turkey has said previously that it is working hard to extend the deal.

“In separate talks with the Russian and Ukrainian sides, we saw that both sides are approaching this positively. We believe it will conclude positively,” Akar said in an interview with state-owned Anadolu Agency.

“We have the opinion that the duration will be extended on 18 March,” he added.

 (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
(Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Russia says forces continue attack in Ukraine's Donetsk region

Sunday 12 March 2023 20:55 , Thomas Kingsley

Russia's defence ministry said on Sunday that its forces continued to conduct military operations in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, claiming to have killed more than 220 Ukrainian servicemen over the past 24 hours.

“In the Donetsk direction... more than 220 Ukrainian servicemen, an infantry fighting vehicle, 3 armoured fighting vehicles, 7 vehicles, as well as a D-30 howitzer were destroyed during the day,” the defence ministry said.

Both sides claim to have inflicted significant losses and the exact numbers are difficult to verify.

Ukraine said on Saturday that more than 500 Russian troops had been killed or wounded in a recent 24-hour period as they battled for control of Bakhmut.

The Independent has not been able to independently verify these claims