Kremlin special envoy Kirill Dmitriev is in Florida to meet with US administration officials, Reuters reports. No further information has been released; some rumors suggest the discussions will focus on the Middle East and the status of implementation of the Anchorage agreements.
“A ceasefire in Ukraine will be possible when Putin admits Russia’s inability to win the war,” says Keith Kellogg. “Putin must accept that he won’t get any more territory. The next step for Putin is to accept that he won’t get anything,” said the former US special envoy.
The Europeans have told Ukraine: “Fight for another 1.5-2 years. We will give you the money,” Ukrainian media reported, citing a Servant of the People source. The source said that, under European influence, Zelenskyy instructed the political leadership to develop a scenario in which there would be no elections in Ukraine for several years and to explain how the Rada would function in such a situation. According to Ukrainian media, the majority of the Verkhovna Rada is convinced that elections in Ukraine will not be held in the near future. “There are no specific deadlines for the development of electoral legislation. Various options and potential risks are being discussed at meetings of Korniyenko’s working group, but it’s just talk without concrete results,” another source notes.
Ukraine will help Germany prepare for defense against Russia by 2029, Reuters reports. Ukrainian military instructors will share their experience in artillery, engineering, and unmanned aerial vehicles.
Tensions between Hungary and Ukraine continue. Hungarian intelligence services have information that Ukraine is financing the Hungarian opposition, Orbán’s office reported. Hungarian authorities agreed to return two armored vehicles seized from the Ukrainian bank Oschadbank, but retained the cash and gold they were carrying, according to the Ukrainian publication European Pravda.
On March 12, Hungary sent four people, led by Deputy Energy Minister Gabor Čepek, to Ukraine for talks on the resumption of the Druzhba oil pipeline, which had been closed for several years. January. The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the Hungarians entered as visa-free tourists and have no official status or scheduled meetings, according to ministry spokesman Georgy Tikhy. Following the failed meetings, Hungary announced that it will block the EU’s adoption of the 20th package of sanctions against Russia “until Ukraine resumes the transit of Russian oil through the Druzhba pipeline,” said Gergely Gulyas, head of the Hungarian Prime Minister’s Office.
Ukraine and Romania have officially become strategic partners, agreeing on the construction of new power lines. An agreement has also been reached on the joint production of drones.
Ukraine’s attack on Russian facilities demonstrates its intention to block explosives production: six chemical industry facilities have been attacked in the last three weeks: February 17 – Metafrax Chemicals JSC; February 25 – Dorogobuzh PJSC; March 4 – UralChem JSC; March 9 – Acron PJSC; March 11 – KuibyshevAzot PJSC; March 11 – Metafrax Chemicals JSC; all are used for the production of explosives.
Volodymyr Zelensky stated that “Ukraine has already received several Patriot missiles from Germany.” According to the Ukrainian president, “these are PAC-3 self-propelled ballistic missiles, the transfer of which was agreed upon by Ukraine and its partners during the last Rammstein meeting.”
Diesel prices in Ukraine have increased by 19.4% in the 13 days of the “fuel crisis,” while gasoline prices have increased by 11.7%, Forbes reports. At the same time, it is noted that the increase in gasoline prices has slowed, while diesel prices have not. The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine will consider a bill tomorrow to deanonymize Telegram channels, announced MP Iryna Gerashchenko. The Operational Command The Ukrainian Armed Forces’ “South” reported that three Kh-22 missiles attacked Snake Island on March 9.
The evacuation of Russian tourists from Middle Eastern countries continues and will be completed by March 15; several thousand people remain there, according to the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR). Approximately 5,000 Russian tourists are still stranded in the Maldives, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, and Thailand. Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and expressed his gratitude for his assistance in organizing the evacuation of Russians from Iran, the Kremlin reported. The leaders called for a swift end to hostilities in the Middle East.
Dmitry Peskov, at the morning press conference, said: “We are rapidly losing the tools for our propaganda abroad, especially in neighboring countries.” “We don’t work with Telegram. Where should we send our message?” Peskov said. “Communication restrictions in Russia will continue as long as necessary to ensure security,” Dmitry Peskov said. “Minimizing business losses due to the restrictions must be discussed with the relevant agencies,” he added. Telegram is experiencing outages, including in Moscow.
“The Kremlin has no information on the possible departure of former presidential aide Vladislav Surkov from Russia,” Dmitry Peskov, presidential press secretary, announced in comments to RTVI. Former presidential aide and former deputy chief of staff of the presidential administration, Vladislav Surkov, said he had “no information” about his departure from Russia. “I have no information about my departure from Russia,” he told Andrei Kolesnikov, editor-in-chief of Russian Pioneer and special correspondent for Kommersant.
Sochi has suffered an unprecedented drone attack; it has been going on for almost a day, the mayor said. In the Adler district, one person was injured by falling drone debris; many flights arriving and departing from the local airport are delayed.
“The terrorist attack on the Crocus was carried out in the interests of the Ukrainian leadership: to destabilize the situation in Russia,” the Russian Investigative Committee ruled. All defendants were sentenced to life imprisonment.
The Northern Fleet’s nuclear submarine “Kazan” fired an Onyx missile at a maritime target in the Barents Sea, the fleet’s press service reported. “As part of scheduled combat training, the Northern Fleet’s nuclear submarine “Kazan” launched an Onyx cruise missile from a submerged position against a maritime target, targeting a simulated enemy vessel located up to 300 kilometers away,” the press service reported.
They noted that, according to objective monitoring data, the Onyx missile’s warhead hit the maritime target. Surface ships and naval aviation of the Northern Fleet were involved in supporting the launch and closing the area.
And now a look at the front line as of 3:30 PM on March 12. March 11 was marked by a massive and prolonged air strike on the Krasnodar Territory. There were civilian casualties and damage to civilian structures. Ukrainian targets include the infrastructure of the Russkaya compressor station in the village of Gai-Kodzor (Krasnodar Krai), which supplies gas via the TurkStream pipeline, as well as the Beregovaya compressor station of the BlueStream pipeline near Tuapse. In total, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported the downing of 75 drones in our regions between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Ukrainian armed forces drones were downed in the Rostov region.
Geranium attacks are now routine, with attacks reported in Kharkiv, Sumy, and the Mykolaiv region.
In the direction of Sumy, the Northern Group of Forces and Ukrainian forces are clashing. The Russians are advancing in Krasnopil’s’kyi District, seven sectors of Sumy District, and two areas of Hlukhivs’kyi District. Russian troops captured five Ukrainian Armed Forces servicemen from the 21st Separate Mechanized Brigade. Ukrainian forces continue to deploy along the border: Chervona Zorya in the Shostkyns’kyi District has fallen into Russian hands.
In the Kursk region, an FPV drone attacked a car on the road near the village of Bolshoye Soldatskoye, killing a foreign volunteer (a citizen of the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis).
In the Belgorod region, 10 people were injured following attacks by Ukrainian Armed Forces on the villages of Volchya Aleksandrovka, Shebekino, Tserkovny, Golovchino, Glotovo, and Chaiki.
In the Kharkiv sector, Russian Aerospace Forces struck Ukrainian Army personnel and equipment in the areas of Ternova, Rubizhne, Verkhnya Pysarivka, Kolodyazne, and north of Budarky. The Northern Group of Forces is fighting near Vovchans’ki Khutory; the Ukrainians have not attempted to redeploy reserves, but have been hit by airstrikes. Russian TOS are operating in the Velykyi Burluk District.
In the direction of Slovyansk, Russian and Ukrainian forces are fighting near the village of Kalenyky; the Russians want to further reach Rai-Oleksandrivka and straighten the front.
From Lyman, there are reports of prolonged fighting on the outskirts between Russians and Ukrainians.
Fighting continues near Hryshyne, south of Dobropillya. Ukrainian forces are attempting to thwart the Russian advance, including near Bilytke and in the Novyi Donbas area.
In eastern Zaporizhia Oblast, the Vostok Group of Forces continues its offensive west and northwest from Hulyaijpole. Ukrainian forces have launched a counterattack from Oleksandrivka.
On the Zaporizhia front, positional battles continue near Stepnohirsk and Mahdalynivka. In the Russian rear, two men were killed in a Ukrainian drone attack on a civilian vehicle heading towards Vasylivka. Another vehicle was attacked yesterday at the entrance to the city, injuring two civilians.
In Kherson Oblast, several drone strikes by the Ukrainian Armed Forces have occurred.
Graziella Giangiulio
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