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Russia-Ukraine war: Putin’s plan to station nuclear weapons in Belarus ‘irresponsible’ and ‘escalatory’, says Germany

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Berlin says Moscow’s announcement is ‘another attempt at nuclear intimidation’

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Mon 27 Mar 2023 14.00 EDTFirst published on Mon 27 Mar 2023 00.30 EDT
Vladimir Putin during a meeting in Moscow on Monday.
Vladimir Putin during a meeting in Moscow on Monday. Photograph: Mikhael Klimentyev/SPUTNIK/KREMLIN POOL/EPA
Vladimir Putin during a meeting in Moscow on Monday. Photograph: Mikhael Klimentyev/SPUTNIK/KREMLIN POOL/EPA

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Key events

Summary of the day so far

It’s 6pm in Kyiv. Here’s where we stand:

  • The UN nuclear watchdog chief, Rafael Grossi, has said he had met the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in Zaporizhzhia, the region that houses Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, which has been occupied by Russian forces since early in the invasion. The two had a “rich exchange” on the protection of the plant and its staff, Grossi said, adding that he reiterated the IAEA’s full support for Ukraine’s nuclear facilities.

  • President Zelenskiy visited frontline positions in Zaporizhzhia on Monday, his office said, during a visit to one of the partly occupied regions that the Russian Federation claims to have annexed as part of its own territory. Zelenskiy “visited advanced positions in the Zaporizhzhia region, learned about the operational situation, and presented awards to the military”, his office said.

  • At least two people have been killed in a Russian missile strike in the eastern city of Sloviansk on Monday, according to the regional governor. The attack left 29 others wounded, Pavlo Kyrylenko said, adding that a number of high-rise buildings and offices were also damaged or destroyed. President Zelenskiy posted a short video clip that showed vehicles on fire and debris strewn across the road.

  • Ukraine’s ground forces commander has said his troops were continuing to repel heavy Russian attacks on the eastern city of Bakhmut and that defending it was a “military necessity”. Col Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi’s comments signalled again Ukraine’s intention to keep fighting in Bakhmut despite the heavy death toll there.

  • The chair of Ukraine’s parliament, Ruslan Stefanchuk, has told British lawmakers that Kyiv is ready to send its pilots to be trained in the use of western fighter jets. Stefanchuk, speaking during a visit to the UK, said Kyiv could bring “joint victory for Ukraine and the world” once it “gets the wings”, in language echoing that of President Volodymyr Zekenskiy’s speech to the British parliament last month.

  • The 18 Leopard 2 battle tanks promised by Germany to support Ukraine have been handed over at the Ukrainian border, according to a report. About 40 Marder infantry fighting vehicles have also reached Ukraine, Der Spiegel reported, citing unnamed sources.

  • An attempt was made this morning to assassinate the police chief in occupied Mariupol, according to Russian state media. A Russian-installed official in the occupied territory was cited by state-run Tass news agency as saying: “In the morning they blew up the car of police chief Mikhail Moskvin. He is alive, everything is in order.”

  • A Russian diplomat has said Moscow may seek compensation for the damage to the Nord Stream gas pipelines caused by two explosions last September, according to state media. The pipelines were ruptured by unexplained blasts that Moscow has – without providing evidence – accused the west of being responsible for. The Kremlin said it was for all shareholders to decide whether the two pipelines should be mothballed.

  • A leaked phone conversation allegedly between prominent the Russian music producer Iosif Prigozhin and the billionaire Farkhad Akhmedov, in which the two men give a far-ranging criticism of the war in Ukraine and Russia’s leadership, has been published by Ukrainian media. If confirmed genuine, the audio would provide a rare insight into the mood within the Russian elites.

  • Ukraine has accused Russia of destabilising Belarus and making its smaller neighbour “a nuclear hostage”, after Vladimir Putin’s announcement that Moscow had made a deal to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarusian territory. The country’s opposition leader in exile, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, said the move “grossly contradicts the will of the Belarusian people” and reflected the further subjugation of Belarus under Russian control.

  • Russian and Belarusian athletes should be banned from the 2024 Olympics in Paris unless Moscow pulls its forces out of Ukraine, Poland has said, after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said it planned to let them compete as neutrals.

  • Poland has detained a foreign citizen on charges of spying for Russia, prosecutors have said. The arrest comes after Poland dismantled a Russian espionage network that had been preparing acts of sabotage and monitoring rail routes to Ukraine. If found guilty, the suspect could face up to 10 years in prison.

Good afternoon from London, it’s Léonie Chao-Fong here to bring you all the latest developments from the war in Ukraine. Feel free to drop me a message if you have anything to flag, you can reach me on Twitter or via email.

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Pjotr Sauer
Pjotr Sauer

Ukrainian media last week published a 30-minute leaked phone conversation allegedly between the prominent Russian music producer Iosif Prigozhin and billionaire Farkhad Akhmedov, in which the two men give a far-ranging criticism of the war in Ukraine and the Russian leadership.

Akhmedov, a former Russian senator, has been targeted by western sanctions for his proximity to the Kremlin regime, while Prigozhin (no relation to Wagner group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin) is seen as a longtime supporter of the Kremlin.

“There’s no doubt about the fact that they fucked up the country,” a man whose voice closely resembles that of Prigozhin’s says on the recording.

The same man also refers to Putin’s inner circle as “washed-up lowlifes” who act as if they are “gods”.

“He is Satan. Totally vacuous,” Akhmedov allegedly said of Putin.

He screwed all of us over. Everyone and everything. The entire country. The entire population, for fuck’s sake.

It was not possible to independently verify the clip’s veracity,

Prigozhin on Sunday called the audio a “provocation” aimed at “creating a split” within the Russian elites. While initially calling the clip “fake news”, Prigozhin in a later reaction said that the clip contained “some real moments” from his conversation with Akhmedov.

“The voice is similar to mine. But it is not clear how the call was glued together. We need to figure it out,” the producer said.

Akhmedov has not yet commented on the recording.

If confirmed genuine, the audio provides a rare insight into the mood within the Russian elites, many of whom have privately voiced their opposition towards the war.

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Germany’s Leopard 2 tanks handed over to Ukraine – report

Der Spiegel is reporting that the 18 Leopard 2 battle tanks promised by Germany to support Ukraine have been handed over at the Ukrainian border.

About 40 Marder infantry fighting vehicles have also reached Ukraine, the report added, citing unnamed sources.

In January, the German government announced it would supply Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, overcoming misgivings about sending heavy weaponry that Kyiv sees as crucial to defeat the Russian invasion.

Berlin’s decision paved the way for other countries to re-export some of their German-made Leopard tanks to Ukraine.

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Zelenskiy meets UN nuclear chief Rafael Grossi during visit to Zaporizhzhia

The UN nuclear watchdog chief, Rafael Grossi, said on Monday he had met the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in Zaporizhzhia, the region that houses Europe’s largest nuclear power plant. The power plant has been occupied by Russian forces since almost the very beginning of the Russian invasion.

The two had a “rich exchange” on the protection of the plant and its staff, Reuters reports that Grossi wrote in a tweet, adding that he reiterated the IAEA’s full support for Ukraine’s nuclear facilities.

I met 🇺🇦@ZelenskyyUa today in Zaporizhzhya City & had a rich exchange on the protection of the #Zaporizhzhya NPP and its staff. I reiterated the full support of the @IAEAorg to #Ukraine’s nuclear facilities. pic.twitter.com/fSPIMnYfhL

— Rafael MarianoGrossi (@rafaelmgrossi) March 27, 2023
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Adding to his previous message on Telegram, Volodymyr Zelenskiy has given his account of a meeting held while he was visiting to Zaporizhzhia region. Ukraine’s president posted:

Meeting on the situation in Zaporizhzhia: operational situation, readiness of military units to perform assigned tasks, socioeconomic situation in the region, meeting the needs of internally displaced persons. The regional leadership of the security service and the national police of Ukraine delivered reports. We are working and keeping all important issues under control.

Zelenskiy visits Zaporizhzhia region

Suspilne, Ukraine’s state broadcaster, reports that Volodymyr Zelenskiy has visited frontline positions in Zaporizhzhia today. Citing the president’s office, it said Ukraine’s president “visited advanced positions in the Zaporizhzhia region, learned about the operational situation, and presented awards to the military”.

Zaporizhzhia is one of the partially occupied regions that the Russian Federation claims to have annexed as part of its own territory.

Zelenskiy himself posted to his Telegram channel a video clip of him meeting soldiers, alongside the message:

I visited the command post of the “Zaporizhzhia” operational group of troops. I presented orders and medals to employees of the security service of Ukraine, the national guard, the national police, the state border guard service, and the state emergency service of Ukraine.

Thank you for protecting our state, our homes, territorial integrity and life in Ukraine. I wish you good health. I wish you a great victory and it will definitely come true.

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Here are some drone images from Bakhmut that were released at the weekend showing the extent of the destruction of the city, which had a population of about 70,000 before the start of the war.

Drone footage from Bakhmut, Donetsk region, released on Sunday. Photograph: 93rd Mechanised Brigade/Kholodny Yar/Reuters
A wider view of the same building in Bakhmut, Donetsk region. Photograph: 93rd Mechanised Brigade/Kholodny Yar/Reuters
The social media video was sourced to the 93rd Mechanised Brigade ‘Kholodny Yar’. Photograph: 93rd Mechanised Brigade/Kholodny Yar/Reuters
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A Ukrainian court has sentenced a Russian-appointed social worker in the liberated eastern city of Lyman to five years in prison after finding her guilty of collaborating with Russian authorities, Ukraine’s prosecutor general’s office said.

The unnamed accountant at Lyman’s department of social protection and labour was accused of registering a local tax office, treasury and social insurance fund with the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, as well as recruiting workers and paying them salaries in rubles.

Ukrainian forces recaptured Lyman in September, after which the official was arrested.

Nikolai Patrushev, the secretary of Russia’s security council, has warned that Moscow has the weapons to destroy any enemy, including the US, if its own existence is threatened.

Patrushev, in an interview with the state Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper, said:

American politicians trapped by their own propaganda remain confident that, in the event of a direct conflict with Russia, the United States is capable of launching a preventive missile strike, after which Russia will no longer be able to respond. This is shortsighted stupidity, and very dangerous.

He added:

Russia is patient and does not intimidate anyone with its military advantage. But it has modern unique weapons capable of destroying any adversary, including the United States, in the event of a threat to its existence.

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More on this story

More on this story

  • Belarus votes in tightly controlled elections opposition have called a ‘farce’

  • Belarusian president signs law granting him lifelong immunity from prosecution

  • Belarus musicians jailed for up to nine years amid protest crackdown

  • Tensions rise as Belarus begins military drills near Poland and Lithuania

  • Putin warns Poland against ‘unleashing aggression’ against Belarus

  • Video appears to show Wagner chief for first time since aborted mutiny

  • Anti-Lukashenko artist Ales Pushkin dies in Belarus prison aged 57

  • Wagner boss Prigozhin has returned to Russia, Lukashenko says

  • Belarusian exiles’ hopes dashed as Lukashenko boasts of saving Putin

  • Belarusian Nobel peace prize winner moved to brutal prison

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