Saturday, March 16, 2024

1639 GMT –– Russia has accused Ukraine of stepping up "terrorist activities" during the Russian presidential election in order to attract more aid and weapons from the West.

"It is obvious that the corrupt regime in Kiev has intensified its terrorist activities in connection with the ongoing presidential elections in Russia in order to demonstrate its activity to its Western handlers and to beg for even more financial assistance and lethal weapons," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

It said that in one such incident, a Ukrainian drone had dropped a shell on a voting station in a Russian-controlled part of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region.

There was no mention of any casualties from the incident, which could not be independently verified.

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1642 GMT –– Ukrainians in Istanbul mark 2nd anniversary of air strike on Mariupol theatre

Ukrainian citizens in Istanbul marked the second anniversary of the bombing of a theatre building used as a shelter in Ukraine's Mariupol city.

Hundreds of people lost their lives in the air strike carried out on March 16, 2022, amid the Russia-Ukraine war.

Gathering in the Beyoglu district, Ukrainian citizens displayed banners with photos of children and soldiers killed in the war. They also exhibited a photo showing the theatre building in Mariupol before the bombing.

According to international organizations, at least 300 people were killed in the air strike on the theatre, where a large number of civilians were hiding.

1503 GMT –– Russia claims to have hit military targets in Ukraine

Russia claimed that it has successfully hit Ukrainian military targets in southern Odessa and northeastern Sumy regions.

The Defence Ministry said in a statement that Russian forces used operational tactical air forces, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), a missile, and artillery units to hit military targets in Ukraine.

It said air defence systems also shot down 108 Ukrainian UAVs, 15 Czech-made Vampir rockets, one HIMARS manufactured in the US, and one grad rocket launcher, for a total of 17 multiple launch rocket systems, during the day.

1058 GMT — Russia's Belgorod closes malls, schools after Ukrainian attacks

Authorities in the Russian border city of Belgorod have announced that they were closing schools and shopping centres due to an uptick in Ukrainian strikes coinciding with Russia's presidential election.

"Based on the current situation, we have decided that shopping centres in Belgorod and the Belgorod district will not work on Sunday and Monday," regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote on social media, noting that schools would also be closed on Monday and Tuesday next week.

1047 GMT — Russia repelled more attempts to penetrate its territory from Ukraine: defence ministry

Russia repelled several attempts to penetrate its territory from Ukraine, the defence ministry has said, the latest in a series of raids it has reported in recent days.

In a statement, the ministry said the attempted incursions were made by Ukrainian "sabotage and militant groups".

Reuters could not independently verify the statement.

1008 GMT — Europe needs clear, united strategy against Russia : Italy minister

Europe should avoid "grand statements" and contradictions but rather have a clear and unified strategy against Russia with regards to its war in Ukraine, Italy's defence minister has said, adding that Rome would never send troops to the conflict zone.

"The West should avoid grand statements - such as sending NATO to Ukraine trying to make itself look better. Or avoid splitting into meetings of two or three when there are 27 of us in Europe," Guido Crosetto told the daily la Repubblica in an interview, referring to the Europe an Union's member states.

In order to counter Russia, "a monolith," Crosetto said Europe needed "a clear, non-contradictory strategy, and perhaps built together as a coalition'.

0733 GMT — Russia's FSB detains suspected Ukraine agent planning railway attack: TASS

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) has said it had detained a 61-year-old Russian man for planning what it called a terrorist attack on Ukraine's behalf on a Trans-Siberian railway junction in the Ural mountains' Sverdlovsk region, state news agency TASS reported.

TASS quoted the FSB as saying the man had been recruited by Kiev's intelligence services in the Ukrainian city of Lviv and sent to Russia.

The agency said he had confessed to the charges and was cooperating with the investigation.

0718 GMT — Two killed in shelling of Russian border city Belgorod: governor

Two people were killed and three injured in a Ukrainian missile strike on the Russian border city of Belgorod, the regional governor has said, as Russian citizens vote through Sunday in a three-day presidential election.

President Vladimir Putin on Friday accused Ukraine of trying to sabotage the polls, which he is certain to win.

0553 GMT — Ukrainian drones hit Russia's Syzran oil refinery — governor

The governor of Russia's Samara region has said that Ukrainian drones had struck two Rosneft oil refineries in the region, causing no casualties but leaving one facility on fire.

Governor Dmitry Azarov said in a statement posted on the Telegram messaging app that the Volga River region's Syzran refinery was on fire, but that an attack on the Novokubyshev refinery had been thwarted.

He said workers at both plants had been evacuated, and that there were no casualties.

Unverified footage published online showed what appeared to be a major fire at the Syzran refinery, with emergency services working at the scene.

0028 GMT —Infiltration attempt by Ukrainian army thwarted: Russia

The Russian Defence Ministry has reported that infiltration attempts into its southern territory by the Ukrainian army have been thwarted for the last four days.

It was reported that the army, in conjunction with the Russian Federal Security Service [FSB] units, thwarted attempts by Ukraine to enter the Belgorod and Kursk regions from March 12 to 15.

"More than 550 soldiers, 16 tanks, 19 armoured vehicles including 11 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles made in the US, and 15 vehicles were destroyed by air strikes and artillery fire," said a statement from the ministry.

The statement said Russian forces launched 50 group attacks on Ukrainian military targets, including airfields, weapon workshops, UAV depots, ammunition stores and fuel depots using precision weapons, rocket launchers and drones in the last week.

All designated targets were hit, including locations of Ukrainian Armed Forces units, nationalist formations and places where foreign mercenaries are present, it said.

0020 GMT — World faces either WW3 or Ukraine ceasefire: Serbia's Vucic

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has said that the world is facing two possible scenarios — a third world war or a long-term ceasefire in Ukraine.

"One scenario is whether the West will go in the direction of a full conflict with Russia since it is not entirely easy to stop the Russian army on the ground," Vucic said at a news conference in Belgrade with the President of Bavaria state in Germany, Markus Soder.

"The second is that, with the help of the United States of America and China, some kind of long-term truce, if not permanent peace, would be established, which would mean a huge relief for the world."

He added that if it goes in the direction of conflict, nobody would gain anything.

For our live updates from Friday, March 15, click here.