Venezuelan Minister for Foreign Affairs Felix Plasencia has said Caracas is ready to sell oil to the United States again, while remaining “loyal” to Moscow.
Plascenia told the Turkish Anadolu Agency on Saturday that it would not be a “strange relationship” for Washington and Caracas to work together on oil, as Venezuela had “been doing oil business with the Americans for a long time.”
The minister argued that it would “be good for everyone” if Venezuela’s energy exports to the US get “back on track,” adding that Americans were welcome in the country as long as they “respect the sovereignty” of Venezuela and recognize President Nicolas Maduro as “Venezuela's only and legitimate head of government.”
Plascenia said he hopes that US sanctions against Venezuela that had targeted its oil sector would be lifted.
The minister stressed, however, that Venezuela would remain “loyal allies of the Russian government,” and said the country sees President Vladimir Putin “as a responsible head of government.”
“We respect him as a member of the international community. We believe he will do the best for his people,” Plascenia concluded.
The US broke all relations with Venezuela in 2019 and recognized pro-US opposition leader Juan Guaido as “interim president” instead of Maduro.
Senior US officials traveled to Venezuela last week to meet with Maduro’s government amid Russia’s ongoing offensive in Ukraine. The US government has sanctioned Russia’s oil industry in response to the conflict, causing US gas prices to rise. There have been suggestions that Washington could turn to Venezuela as an alternative supplier of crude, though no deal has been announced as of yet.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the UAE reportedly rejected phone calls with US President Joe Biden to discuss oil in recent weeks.
With Russia now officially cut off from both the US dollar and the euro, the state-owned VTB Bank has offered its clientele the opportunity to open Chinese yuan savings accounts that yield a maximum interest rate of 8%. The country’s second-biggest bank has been hit by the Western sanctions aimed at the total financial isolation of Russia over its war in Ukraine.
“In light of the rising dollar and euro exchange rates, many clients are showing interest in investing in other currencies, and the yuan is one of the most affordable and promising options for investing funds,” the bank said in a statement.
Existing customers are reportedly able to open deposits remotely on VTB Online with a minimum amount of 100 yuan ($16). At VTB branches, they can deposit a minimum of 500 yuan.
According to the bank, the latest offer will be the most profitable alternative to deposits in other foreign currencies. The annual yield on a three-month deposit is 8% in dollars and 7% in euros.
Meanwhile, a six-month ruble deposit currently offers an annual percentage yield of 21%. VTB said that, over the past week, customers had invested over a trillion rubles ($15 billion) in traditional savings products.
Russian financial institutions have been placed under increasing pressure after Ukraine-related sanctions were introduced. The banks have had to turn to China to start using its UnionPay system for credit cards, after Visa and Mastercard announced the suspension of operations in the country.
“Some Russian banks can’t get access to other currencies, so yuan is probably the best other alternative,” Khoon Goh, head of Asia research at the Australia & New Zealand Banking Group, told Bloomberg.
“Still, the easiest way for Russia to raise yuan would be to receive yuan via trades. Russian banks’ clients who are exporters could sell to China and receive renminbi as payment.”
Half of the gold and foreign exchange reserves of the Bank of Russia have been frozen due to sanctions, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said in an interview with the Rossiya 1 TV channel.
"This is about half of these reserves that we had. We have a total amount of reserves of about $640 bln. Currently we cannot use about $300 billion of these reserves," he said.
The minister added that part of the Russian foreign exchange reserves is in Chinese currency. However, Western countries are now putting pressure on China in order to limit trade with it.
"Of course, there is pressure to limit access to those reserves that we have in yuan. I think that our partnership with China will allow us to maintain the cooperation that we have achieved, and not only to maintain, but also to multiply it in conditions when Western markets are closed," Siluanov said.
The minister reiterated that the debts of countries that were unfriendly to Russia would be paid in rubles.
"But - I repeat once again - the debts that we have to pay to the countries that are unfriendly to the Russian Federation and have made such restrictions on the use of foreign exchange reserves, it is to these countries that we will pay debts in ruble equivalent," he stressed.
Armenia’s fifth president, Vaagn Khachaturyan, was sworn in and took office on Sunday at a special session of the National Assembly.
Khachaturian put his hand on a special copy of the Constitution and the 12th Century Gospel to take the oath to be loyal to the Armenian Constitution, stay impartial in performing his duties, be guided by the national interests and spare no effort to strengthen national unity.
The Catholicos of All Armenians, Karekin II, was the first to congratulate and bless Armenia’s new president. He concluded his statement with a prayer. The ceremony was attended by foreign diplomats, social and public figures, senior clergy and officials. The parliamentary opposition refused to participate.
Khachaturyan was elected president at the parliament’s session on March 3. In the runoff he was supported by 71 legislators. The 2015 constitutional reform introduced parliamentary rule and the president began to be elected by the National Assembly.
Khachaturyan’s predecessor, Armen Sarkisyan, resigned on January 23. He said he lacked the leverage to influence major domestic and foreign policy issues. After that the faction of the ruling party Civil Contract nominated Khachaturyan for the head of state. Earlier, he was high-tech industry minster. In 1992-1996 he held the post of Yerevan’s mayor.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC, the elite units of the Iranian Armed Forces) claimed responsibility for the missile attack on Erbil, the target of which was Israeli facilities in Iraq, the Iranian agency Young Journalists Club reported on Sunday citing IRGC statement.
"Last night the strategic center of the Zionist conspiracy and evil was targeted by the powerful missiles of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps," according to the statement.
It is noted that the missile blow was delivered "following the recent crimes" of Israel.
"Once again, we warn the criminal Zionist regime that the repetition of any evil will face harsh, decisive and destructive responses," the statement says.
On Sunday night, several rockets landed near the US Consulate General in the northern Iraqi city of Erbil. A number of Arab media outlets reported that the strike could have hit Israeli Mossad intelligence facilities. The authorities of Iraqi Kurdistan denied the information that Israeli intelligence centers are located in the province of Erbil.
On March 8, the IRIB Broadcasting Corporation reported that two IRGC officers were killed during an Israeli strike in the Damascus region.
Russian State Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin believes that private businesses should refrain from attempts at profiteering and try to devise alternative solutions to emerging problems, even at the cost of private gains.
"Businesses should by all means refrain from making money on the people. They should reconsider approaches and devise solutions capable of eliminating the emerging problems, even at the cost private gains," Volodin said on his Telegram channel on Sunday.
He recalled that in the current situation "some give away their last savings to raise humanitarian aid for Donbass refugees, while others prefer to go abroad to wait for the turmoil to subside, or, while staying inside the country, raise prices their fellow citizens have to pay."
"Those who have been obsessed with profit-seeking all along in the current situation must take care of the people and the country. They must give thought to preserving jobs and expanding production in view of the foreign capitals’ flight from the Russian market," Volodin said.
Sunday’s latest reports from the regions say the prices of diesel fuel and fertilizers have been going down.
"This means we will have essential foods not only this year, but in the future, too," Volodin said, adding that the legislators supported the Ministry of Industry and Trade in its efforts to reduce metal prices.
"The foreign markets’ influence on price hikes has eased. There should follow a reduction in the domestic prices of metals and other goods," Volodin said.
He stressed that "each individual must be aware of one’s responsibility for Russia’s future."
"Our soldiers and officers are giving their lives for the security of Russia and for a chance to have a future. They are saving our citizens and compatriots in the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics and in Ukraine from nationalists. During these troubled times we should take a more considerate attitude to each other and to extend a helping hand," Volodin said. He warned that "panic and tensions in society are precisely the aim of Washington’s and NATO’s unprecedented economic war."
The Ukrainian crisis may evolve into World War III, former US president Donald Trump told his supporters in South Carolina.
This could lead, by the way, this could lead to World War III, I see what’s happening," he said in a speech broadcast by the Newsmax channel.
In his opinion, Russia "is not going to stop" in achieving its goals, but the US administration does not have "anybody to talk to" Moscow, in particular to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation in response to a request for help by the heads of the Donbass republics. He stressed that Moscow had no plans of occupying Ukrainian territories, but aims to demilitarize and denazify the country. The Russian Defense Ministry said that Russian troops are not targeting Ukrainian cities, but are incapacitating Ukrainian military infrastructure, therefore there are no threats to the civilian population.
Subsequently, the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union and some other countries announced sanctions against Russian companies and individuals. On March 8, US President Joe Biden signed a decree to prohibit imports of fuel from Russia and new investments into Russia’s energy sector.
More than 140 citizens of different countries, including the United States, India, Vietnam, Bulgaria, were taken by bus to the Crimean city of Armyansk from the Kherson region of Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Sunday.
"Today, 141 citizens of foreign states were taken from the Kherson region of Ukraine to the city of Armyansk of the Republic of Crimea from the Kherson region of Ukraine to the city of Armyansk of the Republic of Crimea. Russian military personnel on the central square of the city of Kherson ensured the safe loading of citizens of Turkey, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Lebanon, Lithuania, Vietnam, Greece, India, the USA and the Russian Federation, who may wish to leave the areas special military operation, in buses, and also ensured their safety when moving to the territory of the Russian Federation," the ministry said.
Earlier the armored train of the South military District carried 247 foreign citizens, including 38 children, to Crimea.
"According to the decision of the Russian leadership, on the appeal of foreign countries, the Russian armed forces are carrying out a set of measures to evacuate foreign citizens from areas of a special military operation on the territory of Ukraine," the Defense Ministry stressed.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a televised address on February 24 that in response to a request by the heads of the Donbass republics he had made a decision to carry out a special military operation in order to protect people of the Donbass republics. Putin noted that the suspension of the special operation is possible only if "Kiev ceases hostilities and fulfills the well-known demands of Russia."
As Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated, these conditions include the demilitarization of Ukraine, its denazification and a neutral status. According to him, the list of requirements also includes the recognition of Crimea as a Russian territory. Also the independence of the People republics of Donetsk and Lugansk should be recognized "within the boundaries of the respective regions."
During the special operation, the Russian armed forces disabled 3,687 military infrastructure facilities of Ukraine, Defense Ministry Spokesman Igor Konashenkov said on Sunday.
"In total, 3,687 military infrastructure facilities of Ukraine were disabled during the operation," he said.
According to him, 99 aircraft, 128 unmanned aerial vehicles, 1,194 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 121 multiple rocket launchers, 443 field artillery pieces and mortars, 991 units of special military vehicles were destroyed.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a televised address on February 24 that in response to a request by the heads of the Donbass republics he had made a decision to carry out a special military operation in order to protect people "who have been suffering from abuse and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years." The Russian leader stressed that Moscow had no plans of occupying Ukrainian territories.
When clarifying the developments unfolding, the Russian Defense Ministry reassured that Russian troops are not targeting Ukrainian cities, but are limited to surgically striking and incapacitating Ukrainian military infrastructure. There are no threats whatsoever to the civilian population.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken ordered additional providing military assistance to Ukraine in the amount of up to $200 million, in accordance with a memorandum from President Joe Biden.
"This package will include further defensive assistance to help Ukraine meet the armored, airborne, and other threats it is facing," Blinken said in a statement released by the US Department of State.
According to him, "this drawdown will bring the total security assistance provided by the United States to Ukraine to more than $1.2 billion since the beginning of the Administration."
"America and its Allies support their efforts (of Ukraine) to defend their country and protect their fellow citizens, and urge Russia to recognize that force will never defeat Ukraine’s spirit. We are committed to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and will continue to provide Ukraine the support it needs," Blinken said.
In late February, the US authorities allocated up to $350 million in immediate military assistance to Ukraine. In early March, NBC reported that, as part of this package, the United States delivered several hundred Stinger man-portable air defense systems, as well as Javelin anti-tank missile systems and ammunition to Ukraine.
Russia’s COVID-19 case tally rose by 44,989 over the past day to 17,335,186, the anti-coronavirus crisis center reported on Sunday.
In relative terms, it reached 0.26%.
As many as 3,191 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 in Russia over the past day, 52.9% fewer than in the previous day. The number of hospitalized patients declined in 78 regions. A day earlier, 6,775 people were rushed to hospitals.
Moscow’s COVID-19 cases surged by 1,437 over the past day versus 1,655 a day earlier, reaching 2,721,335, according to the anti-coronavirus crisis center.
St. Petersburg’s COVID-19 cases increased by 1,923 over the past day versus 2,381 a day earlier, reaching 1,477,137.
Patients' deaths
Russia’s COVID-19 death toll surged by 596 over the past day to 360,811 the anti-coronavirus crisis center told reporters on Sunday.
A day earlier 630 COVID-19 deaths were registered.
The average mortality rate went down to 2.08%, according to the crisis center.
Patients' recoveries
Russia’s COVID-19 recoveries rose by 128,629 over the past day, reaching 15,480,407, the anti-coronavirus crisis center told reporters on Sunday.
Western countries are helping Ukraine, but Kiev is yet to pay for it, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has said.
"The money allocated by Europe and other nations are spent only on humanitarian aid or weapons. Sometimes we receive weapons directly, but you have to understand that everything has its price," he said. "Whenever the money that we get is mentioned - well, it all came at a cost, it’s not for free."
In late February, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky requested the EU to let his country join the union immediately. Ukraine’s application for EU membership under the accelerated procedure has been accepted, registered and is being considered, Head of the Office of the Ukrainian President Andrey Yermak said on March 1.
The heads of EU states and governments, who gathered for an informal summit in France’s Versailles, expressed their solidarity with Ukraine in a joint statement, but stopped short of granting the candidate status to Kiev. According to the final statement, EU will keep strengthening its ties with Ukraine, which belongs to the "European family." However, according to Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, the process of Ukraine’s accession to EU may take months or even years.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said that both Russia and the West should provide security guarantees to his country.
"Apart from the Russian Federation, the security guarantees should be provided by other leaders as well," he said in an interview to foreign media on Saturday.
The Ukrainian president said NATO offered no protection to his country.
"What we need now is not words, but security guarantees from countries and unions of countries that are capable of providing them," he said. "We don’t want to wage any more wars."
Zelensky went on to say that Russian-Ukrainian negotiations continue.
"Groups of Ukrainian and Russian negotiators are discussing some matters," he said, adding that his country informed other states about the ongoing talks.
"We have no secrets, we are absolutely frank about this agenda. We informed certain leaders about the questions that are being discussed by the Russian and the Ukrainian sides," Zelensky added.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky claimed that all previously agreed humanitarian corridors were functioning on Saturday, and 12,729 people used them to flee violence-hit areas.
"All previously agreed corridors were functional. We managed to evacuate 12,729 people. Humanitarian cargo for Mariupol will be delivered tomorrow," he said in a video address, posted by the presidential office in its Telegram channel.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian deputy prime minister for issues of reintegration on uncontrolled territories, Irina Vereshchuk, said nine out of 14 humanitarian corridors were operating in the reported period.
"Yesterday we managed to evacuate over 7,000 people, but today their number is slightly less than 13,000," she said. "Of course, this is very, very reassuring," she added.
The deputy premier went on to say that the possibility of opening humanitarian corridors from the Lugansk and Kiev regions on Sunday was being considered.
Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev, chief of Russia’s National Defense Management Center, said on Saturday Russia suggested ten humanitarian corridors for March 12 from Kiev, Chernigov, Sumy, Kharkov and Mariupol, whereas Ukraine added one more, towards Zhitomir. "At the same time, not a single humanitarian corridor to the Russian Federation has again been confirmed by Kiev, which once again proves the current government’s indifference to their own people," the general said.
On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation in response to a request for help by the heads of the Donbass republics. He stressed that Moscow had no plans of occupying Ukrainian territories, but aims to demilitarize and denazify the country. The Russian Defense Ministry said that Russian troops are not targeting Ukrainian cities, but are incapacitating Ukrainian military infrastructure, therefore there are no threats to the civilian population.
On your screens is a lightning-fast operation to take control of one of the airfields in Ukraine by Russian forces. First, the landing of airborne units from helicopters, the forward detachments organized all-round defense to meet the main forces, our military department reported. Special attention of commanders when setting tasks to prevent harm to civilians and their property.
And this is footage of the destruction of the warehouse with ammunition of the Armed Forces of Ukraine by Russian artillerymen. In the video, the Ukrainian military unloads ammunition from a car. And once the job is done, a high-precision projectile dusts the building.
Well, in the Krasnopol case. They destroyed an infantry fighting vehicle of the Ukrainian forces. The BMP was at an equipped firing position in the Kiev region. A high-precision artillery projectile guided by a laser beam hits exactly on target. It is known that the range of destruction can be up to 25 kilometers.
The grouping of troops of the Lugansk People's Republic, continuing offensive operations, took control of Surovtsevka, Schedrischevo, Zhitlovka and blocked Rubezhnoe. The advance was 6 kilometers.
The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, continuing the offensive on a broad front, reached Novodonetskoe, Novomayorskoe and Pavlovka. The advance was 21 kilometers.
On the morning of March 12, high-precision long-range weapons attacked Ukraine's military infrastructure.
The military airfield in Vasylkov and the Main Centre of Radio and Radio-Intelligence of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Brovory have been disabled.
During the day, Russian aviation and military air defence shot down 5 unmanned aerial vehicles, including 2 Bayraktar TB-2 and 1 Tochka-U tactical missile.
Operational-tactical and army aviation hit 145 military assets of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Including: 3 anti-aircraft missile systems, 8 command posts and communication centres, 5 ammunition and fuel depots, 78 areas of military equipment concentration.
In total, during the operation, 3,491 objects of the military infrastructure of Ukraine were disabled.
Destroyed: 123 unmanned aerial vehicles, 1,127 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 115 multiple launch rocket systems, 423 field artillery guns and mortars, 934 units of special military vehicles.
Kazakh airline Qazaq Air suspends flights to Russia due to lack of insurance coverage in the country, the company announced on Saturday.
"Qazaq Air has received a notification from an insurance company about the failure to provide insurance coverage on the territory of Russia and in its airspace. In view of this situation, the airline is not able to operate flights to Russia until the issue of insurance coverage over the territory of Russia is resolved," the statement said.
On Friday, Kazakh airline Air Astana announced that it was suspending flights to and over Russia due to the termination of insurance coverage for commercial flights to and from the Russian Federation.
Sony Pictures announced the suspension of all activities in Russia against the backdrop of events in Ukraine, according to Variety magazine.
"We stand with many businesses around the world who have now paused their business operations in Russia, and in support of the humanitarian efforts currently underway in Ukraine and the surrounding region," Sony Pictures Entertainment chairman and CEO Tony Vinciquerra wrote in a memo to staff on Friday, Variety reported.
"Two weeks ago, we paused the upcoming theatrical release of ‘Morbius’ in Russia. Since then, we have also halted our planned home entertainment releases, including ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home,’ and any future television distribution deals. And just this morning, Crunchyroll suspended its anime streaming service in Russia," he added.
Russia will work to protect itself from the negative impact of US economic sanctions, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said in an interview with Channel One.
"Russia is a modern, strong state, confident in its own capabilities, using its potential, being an integral part of the multipolar world," he said, adding "We will work … focusing on avoiding the negative impact of any US sanctions, and there are opportunities for this," he said.
Ryabkov stressed that Western sanctions are not related to a special military operation, the authorities of these countries would have found other reasons to implement their plans without it. "We were preparing for this situation, which we are witnessing now," he added.
По словам замминистра, при «снятии масок» в отношениях со странами Запада России «открыто объявлена экономическая война». Он подчеркнул, что США «беззастенчиво спекулируют на определенных полномочиях», которыми они обладают в финансовой системе.
In a phone call on Saturday Russian President Vladimir Putin, his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz touched upon the issues related to pending agreements on the implementation of Russia’s demands concerning Ukraine, the Kremlin said in a statement.
"The Russian president spoke in detail about a series of talks held between Russian and Ukrainian representatives via video conference in recent days. In this regard, the three leaders considered some issues related to the agreements, which are being worked out, on implementation of the known Russian demands. It was agreed to continue contacts on the Ukraine-related issues," the statement says.
On February 24, Putin announced a special military operation in response to a request for help by the heads of the Donbass republics. Russia demands that Ukraine should be demilitarized and de-Nazified, should have a non-aligned and non-nuclear status, should recognize Crimea as part of Russia and recognize the sovereignty of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics.
Moscow and Washington are not negotiating or consulting on the Ukrainian issue, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said in an interview with Channel One.
"There is no consultative negotiation process with the United States on Ukraine," he said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a televised address on February 24 that in response to a request by the heads of the Donbass republics he had made a decision to carry out a special military operation in order to protect people "who have been suffering from abuse and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years." The Russian leader stressed that Moscow had no plans of occupying Ukrainian territories.
Official Kiev, as before, continues to reject humanitarian corridors towards Russia, arguing that there are simply no civilians and foreign citizens who want to go to the territory of the Russian Federation.
The results of daily monitoring show the opposite – 23,127 more people have taken refuge in the Russian Federation from the horrors and arbitrariness staged by nationalists in the last 24 hours alone, and there are already 2,619,026 of them from almost 2,000 settlements of Ukraine, Chief of the National Centre for State Defence Control Mikhail Mizintsev reported on on Friday.
Video from a checkpoint on the outskirts of the city of Chernihiv, where Ukrainian nationalists block the exit of a car convoy with civilians from the city along a humanitarian corridor.
Representatives of the nationalists (black uniforms) turn the cars around and return them to the city.
Ukraine's military refuse to use the humanitarian corridor for the civilian population of the city and actually turn the civilian population into hostages, hiding behind them.
Another provocation of nationalists was recorded in Kharkov, where, in order to conceal research on nuclear topics, militants of territorial defence battalions blew up one of the buildings of the Physics and Technology Institute on Akademicheskaya Street. Up to 50 employees of the institution can be under the rubble.
In addition, in the same city, in the basement of an art school on Yesenin Street, militants hide the bodies of civilians killed during a punitive operation against persons who did not support the criminal Kiev regime.
In Sumy, nationalists conduct raids on private households, during which, under threat of physical violence and murder, forcibly seize food, fuel, equipment, as well as personal cars from people.
The variant of evacuation from Volnovakha proposed by the Ukrainian side, due to ignorance of the true situation on the "ground", once again puts official Kiev in an absurd position, since this locality is currently completely controlled by the units of the People's Militia of the Donetsk People's Republic, who are already building a peaceful life in Volnovakha. Appropriate humanitarian measures are being carried out with the population, and none of the residents are going to leave their homes.
About the situation in Mariupol. The city is blocked, all bridges and approaches to the city are destroyed, the main roads are mined by nationalists, and armed men walk through the streets, open fire indiscriminately, thereby forcing the civilian population to stay in their homes.
To date, more than 7,000 from 21 foreign countries remain hostage to Ukrainian neo-Nazis, whom the nationalists continue to hold as "human shield."
1,671 tons of humanitarian cargo have already been delivered to Ukraine, 212 humanitarian actions have been carried out, including 26 actions in Chernigov region, as well as in Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics, during which 250 tons of basic necessities, medicines and food were transferred to the civilian population of the liberated areas.
Now a massive blow is being dealt at the economy. But practice over the past few years shows that wherever the West imposed restrictions on us, we acquired new competences and restored our old skills at new technological levels. And all this is working. We have of course become stronger in this respect, you are right.
This is indeed a time of opportunity when we must strengthen our technological and economic sovereignty, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko on Friday.
"We had a premonition of hard times. I have told you over the phone more than once: the Russian Federation, and even more so Belarus, is always under sanctions, which have become more extensive today. However, we are already used to this, pardon my language, beastly Western behaviour. Why beastly? Because it is illegitimate, as they are fond of saying, and runs counter to international agreements and treaties, which they and we have joined, in part. So, once again, the third time round: this is just disgraceful from my point of view. I have already been through this, and you have had enough of it as well," Lukashenko stressed.
"So, this is a time of opportunity. If we find our bearings, believe me, in six months or by the end of the year people will forget this happened, in terms of the economy. And we should not say “we will survive the sanctions” or “we will not survive the sanctions.” Look, we have survived them so many times. We must develop our economy. We can do without them. We have everything we need for normal life and work," he added.
The General Staff has analysed all the measures taken by the West to beef up their forces near Russia’s western borders, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu reported to President Vladimir Putin at the Security Council on Friday.
"New units are arriving every day, and they are deploying them at a time when absolutely nothing threatens them. Nevertheless, we believe that they want to take advantage of this situation and to saturate the area along the border with forces and resources to the maximum extent, and they will undoubtedly want to preserve this situation for a long time.
Consequently, the General Staff is drafting and has nearly completed a plan for reinforcing Russia’s western borders, including, naturally, with those new modern systems and the deployment of military units to defend our western borders.
We are waiting for your instruction, so that we can report on our proposals at the next Security Council meeting or in any other format, for their subsequent approval" he reported.
"The matter deals with the reinforcement of the Russian Federation’s western borders in view of the NATO countries’ actions in this area and in response to what they are doing. This calls for a separate discussion. I would like to ask you to prepare a report on the issue separately. We will make the decision following its discussion in the near future," Putin replied.
During a meeting of the Russian Security Council on Friday, President Vladimir Putin approved the proposal of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to transfer all captured NATO weapons, as well as Ukrainian weapons, to the Armed Forces of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics to increase their ability to defend the republics.
Vladimir Putin and Sergei Shoigu discussed the possibility of volunteers participating in the liberation of the DPR and LPR at the Security Council on Friday.
"We receive a huge number of applications from all sorts of volunteers from different countries who would like to come to the Luhansk and Donetsk People's Republics in order to participate in what they consider to be the liberation movement.
The largest number is from the countries of the Middle East: already more than 16 thousand applications. And here, of course, we consider it right to respond positively to requests, especially since these requests are not for money, but according to the true desire of these people. We know many of them, they helped in the fight against ISIS at the most difficult time, in the last ten years," Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said.
"As for gathering mercenaries from all over the world and sending them to Ukraine. We see that they do not hide (the Western sponsors of Ukraine, the Ukrainian regime) do not hide it, they do it openly, disregarding all the norms of international law.
Therefore, if you see that there are people who want to come and help people living in Donbas on a voluntary basis, especially not for money, well, you need to meet them halfway and help them move to the war zone," Russian President Vladimir Putin answered.
With regard to the countries that are taking hostile steps towards our country and our economy, we are well aware that they are calling on their citizens to tighten their belts, to dress warmer and are pointing to the sanctions that they are imposing on us as the reason for the deterioration of the situation in their respective countries. This is very strange, especially since we are meeting our commitments, President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday.
Once again, I want to emphasise that we are respecting all our commitments regarding energy supplies. Deputy Prime Minister [Alexander] Novak talked about this a couple of days ago. Everything that we are supposed to supply, we are supplying to our core consumers in Europe and other regions of the world in full; even the Ukrainian gas transit system is filled to 100 percent under our contracts. This may be surprising, but it is true. We are doing all this. Prices are increasing in these countries, but not because of us. This is the result of their own miscalculations, so they cannot blame us for that.
The same goes for higher oil and petroleum product prices in the United States. They announced that they were shutting down imports of Russian oil to the US market. Prices there are high, and inflation rates are unprecedentedly high, too, probably an all-time high. Still, they are trying to blame us for the consequences of their own mistakes.
This is obvious to the analysts, because Russian oil distribution to the US does not exceed 3 percent. This is a negligible amount, but their prices are up. We have absolutely nothing to do with that. And even the ban on Russian oil imports has absolutely nothing to do with it. They are simply hiding behind these decisions in order to once again deceive their own people. They are already trying to reach agreements with countries they imposed illegitimate restrictions on at some point before. They are now ready to make peace with Iran and sign all the documents right away, and with Venezuela as well. They went to Venezuela to have talks. But of course, they should not have imposed these illegitimate sanctions in the first place.
The same will happen in relations with our country, I have no doubt. However, along with our partners – the ones who do not recognise these illegal actions – we will certainly find a solution to all the problems they are trying to create for us.
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin briefed President Vladimir Putin on measures to minimize the consequences of sanctions on the Russian economy and citizens during a virtual Cabinet meeting on Thursday.
Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Igor Konashenkov dwell separately on the informational provocation of Kiev regime about alleged “strike” by Russian aircraft on Mariupol hospital No. 3.
"First of all, I note that the Russian Defence Ministry yesterday established cease-fire for safe evacuation of civilians in the city.
Russian aviation had no missions of hitting targets on the ground in the Mariupol area," he said.
The analysis of the statements of representatives of Kiev nationalist regime and photos from the hospital, leaves no doubt.
The "air strike” that took place is a completely directed provocation to maintain the anti-Russian stir among the Western audience.
"We have repeatedly stated earlier that the medical institutions of Mariupol, including Hospital No. 3, stopped their full-time work at the end of February. All staff and patients dispersed by the nationalists.
The hospital building, due to its favorable tactical location close to the city center, was re-equipped into a stronghold of the Azov National Battalion.
This is reported by residents of the city, who moved both to the areas controlled by Kiev and controlled by the Donetsk People's Republic," Konashenkov noted.
Photos of the hospital grounds contain evidence of two separate staged explosions near the hospital. An underground explosion and another of minor power, aimed at the hospital building.
The nature of the external and internal damage to the building can mislead non-professional audience of Europe and the United States. For whom this was made.
But not experts. Comparing to staged explosion of the Ukrainian Nazis, even less power high-explosive aviation bomb would destroy the outer walls of the building.
"I emphasize that all these and other war crimes in Mariupol are committed by nationalist locked in the city. We have repeatedly warned that as the ring shrinks, the number of Nazi provocations will increase. There is no way for them to escape.
These are the Nazis of the Azov battalion who had been eliminating the civilian population in Donetsk and Lugansk republics for eight years," he stated.
In recent days, attacks by Ukrainian nationalists and mercenaries who arrived in Ukraine from the United States, Great Britain and Europe on Russian medics and special medical vehicles have become more frequent.
The Nazis deliberately ambush ambulances with a red cross symbol.
Snipers fire from long distances at medics evacuating wounded Russian servicemen in combat areas. Even at medics providing assistance to local residents in settlements.
All this once again confirms the Nazi essence of the Kiev regime, which calls for the killing of any Russians without exception, in violation of international humanitarian law.
"We warn again, the best thing that awaits foreign mercenaries detained in combat areas is criminal prosecution," General stressed.
2,998 Ukrainian military facilities were destroyed as a result of strikes, Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Igor Konashenkov reported on Thursday.
The grouping of troops of Lugansk People's Republic, continuing offensive operations, took control of Maryanovka, Lazarevka, Lesnoe.
The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation advanced to a depth of 10 kilometers and took control of Stepnoe, Krapivnitskoe, Maly Kremechik, Novopetrikovka and Yalynskoe.
During the day, operational-tactical aviation hit 68 assets, including: 2 assets of the control system of the Ukrainian armed forces, 12 CSS assets, 3 Osa anti-aircraft missile systems.
Russian air defence systems destroyed 1 MiG-29, 3 Bayraktar TB-2 unmanned aerial vehicles and 1 Tochka-U tactical missile.
In total, since the beginning of the operation, the losses of the security agencies of Ukraine amounted to: 98 aircraft, 110 unmanned aerial vehicles, 144 anti-aircraft missile defence systems, 88 radar posts, 1,007 tanks and other armored vehicles, 109 multiple launch rocket systems, 374 field artillery and mortars, 793 special military vehicles.
Units of People's Militia of DPR advanced 1 kilometer inside Mariupol from the northern direction.
The Russian Defence Ministry continues to study materials on the implementation of military biological programs of the United States and its NATO allies on the territory of Ukraine, Chief of Russia’s Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Force Igor Kirillov said on Thursday. https://disk.yandex.ru/d/62hsNB8kC7MXPQ
The information received from various sources confirms the leading role of the US Defence Threat Reduction Agency in financing and conducting military biological research on the territory of Ukraine.
Details of the UP-4 project became known, which was implemented with the participation of laboratories in Kiev, Kharkov and Odessa and was designed for the period up to 2020.
Its purpose was to study the possibility of the spread of particularly dangerous infections through migrating birds, including highly pathogenic H5N1 influenza, the mortality rate of which reaches 50 percent for humans, as well as Newcastle disease.
Due to the fact that Ukraine has a unique geographical location where transcontinental migration routes intersect, 145 biological species were studied within the framework of this project. At the same time, at least two species of migratory birds were identified, whose routes pass mainly through the territory of Russia. At the same time, information about migration routes passing through the countries of Eastern Europe was summarized.
Of all the methods developed in the United States to destabilize the epidemiological situation, this is one of the most reckless and irresponsible, since it does not allow to control the further development of the situation. This is confirmed by the course of the pandemic of a new coronavirus infection, the occurrence and features of which raise many questions.
In addition, the R-781 project is interesting, where bats are considered as carriers of potential biological weapons agents.
Among the priorities identified are the study of bacterial and viral pathogens that can be transmitted from bats to humans: pathogens of plague, leptospirosis, brucellosis, as well as coronaviruses and filoviruses.
It is noteworthy that the research is carried out in close proximity to the borders of Russia – in the areas of the Black Sea coast and the Caucasus.
The project is being implemented with the involvement of not only Ukrainian, but also Georgian biological laboratories controlled by the Pentagon in cooperation with the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and the US Geological Survey.
The analyzed materials on the UP-8 project, aimed at studying the Congo-Crimean hemorrhagic fever virus and hantaviruses in Ukraine, clearly refute the US public statement that only Ukrainian scientists work in the Pentagon biolabs in Ukraine without the intervention of American biologists. One of the documents confirms that all serious high-risk studies are conducted under the direct supervision of specialists from the United States.
The payroll of Ukrainian contractors clearly demonstrates how they are financed. It has been confirmed that the US Department of Defence paid the money for research participation directly, without the involvement of intermediaries. The extremely modest pay, by US standards, is noteworthy. This indicates a low estimation of the professionalism of Ukrainian specialists and the neglect of their American colleagues.
In addition, the studied materials contain proposals for the expansion of the US military-biological program in Ukraine. Thus, there was evidence of the continuation of completed biological projects UP-2, UP-9, UP-10, aimed at studying the pathogens of anthrax and African swine fever.
The Pentagon is also interested in insect vectors capable of spreading dangerous infectious diseases. The analysis of the obtained materials confirms the transfer of more than 140 containers with ectoparasites of bats - fleas and ticks from the biolab in Kharkov abroad.
Significantly, similar research was carried out in the 1940s on the development of biological weapons components by the Japanese unit 731, whose members later fled to the US to escape prosecution for war crimes.
At the same time, available documents confirm numerous cases of transferring biological samples of Ukrainian citizens abroad. For example, 350 cryocontainers with blood serum samples were transferred from the Public Health Centre of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine to the reference laboratory for infectious diseases of the Australian Doherty Institute under the pretext of determining antibody titers.
Another example is the German-funded project No. 68727 EN on the study of Congo-Crimean haemorrhagic fever pathogens and hantaviruses. As part of this project, one thousand blood serum samples of citizens from different regions of Ukraine belonging exclusively to the Slavic ethnic group were donated to the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine (Hamburg).
It is highly likely that one of the objectives of the US and its allies is to create bioagents capable of selectively targeting different ethnic populations.
During a hearing of the US Senate Foreign Affairs Committee on 8 March, Undersecretary of State Victoria Nuland reported on the presence of bioweapons in Ukraine where biosecurity research had been conducted. She expressed concern about the possibility of these bio-laboratories and the materials there being taken over by the Russian Armed Forces.
According to available information, the Americans have already managed to evacuate most of the documentation, including databases, biomaterials and equipment from laboratories in Kiev, Kharkov and Odessa to the Lvov Research Institute of Epidemiology and Hygiene and the US Consulate in Lvov. The possibility of transferring part of the collection to Poland has not been excluded.
In fact, with her statement, Nuland indirectly confirmed the Pentagon's military-biological program in Ukraine in circumvention of existing international agreements.
Any armed activity against Russian military personnel will be cut short immediately, and the armed groups of foreign mercenaries and “volunteers” will be eliminated, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday.
During a news conference on March 1, 2022, Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen said that the Danish citizens who wish to volunteer for such activities would not be subject to criminal persecution. You see, the Ukrainian embassies are not only and not so much appealing to Ukrainian citizens who are living in foreign countries, but directly to the citizens of these countries. The Danish Prime Minister’s Russophobic statements are wide open to criticism and are reminiscent of the recruiting of Danish “volunteers” to SS units Danish Legion (Free Corps Denmark), Wiking and Nordland, which committed atrocities in the Soviet Union during WWII. Everyone knows what happened to them.
Such irresponsible statements have also been made by UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, who said on February 27, 2022, that it was up to people to make their own decisions on joining the hostilities in Ukraine. The goal of such statements is obvious. On the one hand, they want to justify the participation of private military companies in the developments in Ukraine. "I know that UK officials don’t like to answer questions, but now is a good opportunity to ask them: Can you tell us about the participation of your private miliary companies and agencies in developments in Ukraine in 2022, a year ago and during the past 15 years? Or you will say that these are private companies, and the UK government has no connection to them? But you have no connection to the “volunteers” either, so why speak about them now? On the other hand, they will use the inevitable destruction of these “volunteers” to whip up anti-Russia hysteria and Russophobia in the UK," Zakharova noted.
"I have a big request to the countries and their governments, foreign ministers and other officials who are promoting and support the idea of recruiting “volunteers” for the war against Russia on Ukrainian territory: Please, don’t call Moscow later to help you find out what happened to your citizens. We will answer in your own words: They made their own decision, and you helped them make it," she stated.
Judging by the reaction in the UK, Liz Truss’s cynical attempt to score political points on blood has shocked even her colleagues in the Conservative Party, who walked back from her. On February 28, 2022, the UK government issued a statement saying that British citizens are not recommended to go to Ukraine and that their participation in fighting or assistance to combatants in that country could amount to committing a criminal offence under British anti-terrorist laws. Disavowing Liz Truss’s statements has become a new tradition in the UK.
"We would like to tell our foreign partners once again that we do not bear any responsibility for the lives of your citizens who decided to take part in illegal military activities in Ukraine. I will not list the documents you have violated by declaring your support for such actions, the documents you have signed. I will certainly find them, but not today, because this would take too long. Any armed activity against Russian military personnel will be cut short immediately, and the armed groups of foreign mercenaries and “volunteers” will be eliminated," Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman stated.
As part of the special operation of the Russian Armed Forces, control was taken of the Chernobylskaya and Zaporozhskaya nuclear power plants and the adjacent areas, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday.
This measure was only taken to prevent Ukrainian nationalist or other terrorist groups, or foreign mercenaries from taking advantage of the current situation in the country to carry out nuclear provocations; such risks are real.
The situation at the Chernobylskaya and Zaporozhskaya nuclear power plants is being monitored jointly by Ukrainian specialists and the Russian military. Background radiation at both nuclear power plants is normal.
The Zaporozhskaya nuclear power plant is operating in normal mode, so civilians living in the adjacent areas are not exposed to risk.
As a country that has a developed nuclear power industry, Russia is fully conscious of the potential risks to nuclear infrastructure and we are doing our best to ensure the safety and security of Ukraine’s nuclear facilities.
We are outraged by the behaviour of the Kiev authorities, who are spreading disinformation about the Russian military’s actions with respect to Ukrainian nuclear power plants. This is information warfare. We will disavow all of it.
The lion’s share of responsibility for the [Ukraine] crisis lies with the NATO member countries, which encouraged and supported Kiev’s Russophobic policy and not only recognised, but orchestrated the anti-constitutional coup in 2014, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday.
The official statements by Ukrainian politicians about seeking nuclear weapons were the last straw.
"Our long-standing fears, which we have expressed multiple times over many years, regarding the development by the United States in Ukraine of the corresponding military-grade biological materials under the guidance of the relevant US special services, were confirmed recently. They were confirmed not only on the basis of the materials and data obtained directly in Ukraine, and not only from the statements by the corresponding Ukrainian agencies. This was also stated today in Washington by US Undersecretary of State Victoria Nuland when she took questions from US legislators," she added.
The goal of the special military operation is to protect the residents of the DPR and LPR, to demilitarise and denazify Ukraine, to eliminate the military threat to Russia emanating from Ukraine due to it being settled by NATO countries which flood Ukraine with weapons. It is not designed to occupy Ukraine, destroy its statehood, or topple its government. It is not directed against civilians. We have to go over the same things time and again in order to counter the vast amount of disinformation and classic fakes developed by Western intelligence services in the corresponding Western media.
The Ukrainian side’s methods of conducting operations are of major concern. "We are well aware that extremists, who until recently were legally registered as nationalist paramilitary battalions, are now an integral part of the Ukrainian armed forces. The Russian side recorded the use of phosphorus munitions, which are banned by the third protocol of the UN Inhumane Weapons Convention, by the armed forces of Ukraine. The nationalist battalions, mercenaries from the Middle East and some countries of Western Europe who are fighting alongside them, are using civilians as human shields and taking up fighting positions in residential buildings and at civilian sites. This tactic was used by ISIS terrorists. We observe obstacles to the evacuation of local residents and foreign citizens from hazardous areas. Information about humanitarian corridors is deliberately withheld. People wishing to leave for Russia are forced to evacuate in the western direction. There were instances where nationalists shot civilians who wanted to leave the areas of hostility," Zakharova stated.
A great danger is posed by criminals who were released from prisons deliberately by people who were fully aware of the consequences. Not only that, they were given firearms as well. Now, in addition to neo-Nazis and mercenaries, Ukraine, as was the case during the civil war, is now home to gangs of looters, robbers and rapists.
"Concurrently with the special military operation, we are holding talks with the Ukrainian side in order to end as soon as possible the unnecessary and senseless bloodshed and resistance by the armed forces of Ukraine. The third round ended in Belarus on March 7. The discussion of political, military and humanitarian issues continued. Some progress has been made, in particular on humanitarian corridors for the civilians to leave war zones. We were approached with requests for evacuation to Russia from about 2 million people with about 140,000 people already in Russia. Unfortunately, agreements are often not followed in real life. I would like to draw your attention to the statistics that the Emergencies Ministry is providing regularly and clearly. It has all the statistics on the number of people who crossed into the territory of the Russian Federation, the districts and regions of our country where they reside, their numbers and social status," she said.
Unfortunately, the agreements are often not complied with in real life. "We call on the Ukrainian side to do everything possible to ensure the safe passage of civilians. We hope that the next rounds of talks will help produce a more substantial step forward," she added.
The Russian Ministry of Defence continues analysis of documents provided by employees of Ukrainian biological laboratories on the secret military biological activities of the United States on the territory of Ukraine, Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Igor Konashenkov reported on Thursday.
Russian specialists of the NBC protection troops have studied documents on the transfer of human biomaterials taken in Ukraine to foreign countries on the instructions of US representatives.
Detailed information about the implementation of a project by the United States on the territory of Ukraine to study the transfer of pathogens by wild birds migrating between Ukraine and Russia and other neighboring countries was of particular interest.
According to the documents, the American side planned to organize work on pathogens of birds, bats and reptiles in Ukraine in 2022. And further study of the possibility to transfer of African swine fever and anthrax by them.
According to the documents, experiments with samples of bat coronavirus were carried out in biological laboratories created and funded in Ukraine.
The purpose of these and other Pentagon-funded biological researches in Ukraine was the creation of mechanism for the covert spread of deadliest pathogens.
In the near future, we will show another set of documents received from Ukrainian employees of biological laboratories and present the results of their assessment.
In total, 2,911 military infrastructure facilities of Ukraine were destroyed during the operation, Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Igor Konashenkov reported on Thursday.
The grouping of troops of Lugansk People's Republic, continuing offensive operations, took control of Blizhnee and Tavla. The advance was 4 kilometers.
The operation to liberate Mariupol from nationalists continued.
The units of People's Militia of Donetsk Republic took control of Azovskiy, Naidenovka, Lyapino, Vinogradar disticts in the east of the city and went to Azovstal plant. "Western" neighbourhood has been liberated in the west part of the city.
The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue to strike at the military infrastructure of Ukraine.
In total, 2,911 military infrastructure facilities of Ukraine were destroyed during the operation.
Among them: 97 aircraft, 107 unmanned aerial vehicles, 141 anti-aircraft missile defence systems, 86 radar posts, 986 tanks and other armored vehicles, 107 multiple launch rocket systems, 368 field artillery and mortars, 749 special military vehicles.
The humanitarian situation throughout Ukraine continues to deteriorate rapidly, Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev, head of the Russian National Center for Defense Management said on Wednesday.
In Mariupol, the conditions of citizens, as a result of the monstrous actions of the nationalists and the city administration, has reached catastrophic proportions.
In the same city, on Kuprina street, nationalists blew up a power line and several tanks with fuel, without evacuating nearby residential buildings.
In Sumy, the nationalists of territorial defence, who allegedly assumed obligations to ensure law and order, do not prevent a surge in looting, moreover, they have formed a criminal community.
The children's hospital building is used by the Sumy territorial defence unit as a stronghold.
There are two territorial defence checkpoints on the Sumy-Grayvoron highway, the personnel of which are in civilian clothing, armed with small arms and Molotov cocktails with the task of preventing the exit of refugees.
In Kharkiv, nationalists, under threat of using weapons, force local residents to set up barricades of car tires at every intersection in order to prevent civilians from reaching humanitarian corridors.
Ordinary Ukrainians come to understand that they mean nothing to the current regime. Residents of cities and towns have lost their already dubious faith in the current government, which prefers not to notice human suffering.
Moreover, the Kiev regime has sanctioned nationalists to use weapons against those who attempt to evacuate to the Russian Federation, threatening to kill relatives remaining on Ukrainian territory. There are threats of physical violence from radicals against those who are trying to receive humanitarian aid.
The civilized world, the UN, the OSCE, the International Committee of the Red Cross, as well as other international organizations in the catastrophic situation that has developed for Ukraine have no moral right to stand aside, ordinary Ukrainians and foreign citizens should not "one on one" fight Nazism that has overwhelmed the Kiev authorities.
We appeal to reputable international organizations, to the International Committee of the Red Cross with a request to take urgent measures to encourage the Kiev authorities to carry out the entire complex of measures to prepare for the evacuation and the formation of humanitarian convoys. And the most important thing is that notification of the gathering places and the opening of humanitarian corridors should be carried out through all communication channels, as well as using a centralized information and notification system for the population. We very much hope for your effective monitoring mechanism, including on the ground, how the mayors of Ukrainian cities are in practice preparing for humanitarian operations, as the lies and deception of the Kiev authorities are becoming unbearable.
We have sent an official appeal to the International Committee of the Red Cross on this issue. The militants of the nationalist battalions continue to use prohibited methods of warfare, namely, violence to life and physical integrity, murder, torture of civilians. At present, the radicals continue to hold more than four and a half million civilians hostage as "human shields," as well as 1,197 foreigners who have already expressed a desire to evacuate to places of safety from the horrors and arbitrariness of the neo-Nazis.
At the same time, without the participation of the Ukrainian side, 5,460 people, including 1,125 children, were evacuated from dangerous zones in various regions of Ukraine, as well as the Luhansk and Donetsk People's Republics during the day. In total, since the beginning of the special military operation, there have been more than 179 thousand people, including 45,436 children evacuated.
20,961 vehicles crossed the state border of the Russian Federation, including 867 vehicles per day.
Yesterday, as a result of the humanitarian operation carried out by the Russian Federation, 247 foreign citizens were evacuated from dangerous areas of the Kherson region to Novorossiysk, including 166 from Turkey, 41 from Ukraine, 11 from Egypt, 8 from Italy, 7 from Azerbaijan, 6 from Pakistan, 5 from India, one each from Sweden, Morocco and Brazil.
I would like to draw your attention to the fact that all evacuated citizens, including foreigners, are fully provided with comfortable conditions for recreation, hot meals, and medical assistance has been provided to those in need.
More than 9.5 thousand temporary accommodation centers continue to function normally in the regions of the Russian Federation. Individual work is organized with each person arriving in Russia.
A sufficient number of vehicles for the transportation of refugees are kept in constant readiness at checkpoints and places of temporary accommodation.
Ukraine approved only three humanitarian routes of 10 proposed by Russia for March 9, Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev, head of the Russian National Center for Defense Management said on Wednesday.
"The Russian Federation, solely for humane purposes, came up with another initiative for Kiev officials to open 10 humanitarian corridors today and evacuate civilians and foreign citizens from Kiev, Chernigov, Sumy, Kharkov and Mariupol," he said. "Only three routes have been agreed upon: one from Kiev to the south, as well as from Sumy to Poltava and from Mariupol to Zaporozhe."
"But three more have been proposed: from the city of Energodar to Zaporozhe, from Volnovakha to Pokrovsk, from the city of Izyum to the city of Lozovaya," Mizintsev said. Russia agreed to the additional routes that were proposed by Ukraine, he said.
The military officer also said Ukraine makes untenable demands for opening a humanitarian corridor.
"In addition, the Ukrainian side put forward absurd and obviously unrealistic demands: to make sure demining is carried out along one route, with the mines having been put in place by nationalists, and to restore a highway bridge, which was destroyed by the armed forces of Ukraine during their retreat, on the other route," Mizintsev said.
According to Mizintsev, the absurdity of these demands also lies in the fact that both routes pass through territories controlled by nationalist battalions. "This suggests that those, who coordinate humanitarian corridors with us in Kiev, don’t have a full control of the situation on the ground," he said.
In total, 2786 military infrastructure facilities of Ukraine were destroyed during the operation, Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Igor Konashenkov reported on Wednesday.
Destroyed: 953 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 101 multiple rocket launch systems, 351 field artillery and mortars, 718 units of special military vehicles, 93 unmanned aerial vehicles.
I will focus on the results of the defeat of aviation and air defence systems of the armed forces of Ukraine.
By the beginning of the special operation, the Ukrainian armed forces had up to 250 serviceable combat aircraft and helicopters.
The Russian Aerospace Forces destroyed 89 combat aircraft and 57 helicopters on the ground and in the air.
Part of the Ukrainian aircraft flew to Romania and does not participate in hostilities.
90 percent of the Ukrainian military airfields have been disabled. There are no trained Ukrainian pilots of the first and second class left. Today, only single attempts of sorties of the Ukrainian air force aircraft have been recorded.
Now about the results of the defeat of Ukrainian air defence systems.
During the special operation, the Russian Armed Forces destroyed 137 S-300, Buk M-1 and S-125 anti-aircraft missile systems. This is more than 90 percent of the long and medium-range anti-aircraft missile systems in service.
81 Ukrainian air defence radar posts were destroyed. This led to the loss of combat control of aviation and air defence of Ukraine. At present, the air defence system is only focal and is incapable of providing significant countermeasures to Russian aircraft.
The leadership of the Ukrainian armed forces is trying to remedy the absence of information about the air situation by receiving data from the E-3A aircraft of the AWACS-NATO system at the air force command post in Vinnytsia.
These aircraft are on around the clock duty in Poland airspace.
The grouping of troops of Lugansk People's Republic, continuing offensive operations, took control of Toshkovka and Grachevo. The advance was 2 kilometers.
Units of People's Militia of Donetsk People's Republic in the course of offensive operations advanced 4 kilometers and took control of Signalnoe, Taramchuk, Yelenov and Trudovoye.
The depth of advance of units of the People's Militia of the Donetsk Republic in Mariupol per day was more than one kilometer.
The units of the Russian Armed Forces took control of Krasnaya Polyana and Stepnoe.
During the day, bomber and attack aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces destroyed 49 military facilities. Among them: 2 command posts, 6 radar stations, 4 ammunition and fuel depots and 37 areas of concentration of weapons and military equipment.
Unfortunately, several facts of the presence of conscripts in the units of the Russian Armed Forces participating in a special military operation on the territory of Ukraine have been revealed.
Almost all such servicemen have already been withdrawn to the Russian territory.
At the same time, one of the units performing combat service support tasks was attacked by a sabotage group of the nationalist battalion.
A number of servicemen, including conscripts, were captured.
Comprehensive measures are currently being taken to prevent conscripts from being sent to combat areas and to release captured soldiers.
During special military operation, secret documents of the command of the National Guard of Ukraine ended up in the hands of the Russian servicemen, Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Igor Konashenkov reported on Wednesday.
These documents confirm the covert preparation by the Kiev regime of an offensive operation in the Donbass in March 2022 https://disk.yandex.ru/d/i27vyXSwZwLjLw
The Russian Ministry of Defence publishes the original secret order of the commander of the National Guard of Ukraine, Colonel-General Nikolai Balan, dated January 22, 2022.
Order "On organizing the training of a battalion tactical group of the 4th operational brigade to perform combat (special) tasks in the joint forces operation as part of a brigade of the armed forces of Ukraine."
The document is addressed to the heads of the northern Kiev, southern Odessa and western territorial departments of the National Guard of Ukraine.
The order, brought to the command of the National Guard of Ukraine, details the plan for preparing one of the shock groups for offensive operations in the so-called “Joint Forces Operation” zone in Donbass.
The document approves the organizational structure of the battalion-tactical group of the 4th operational brigade of the National Guard, the organization of its comprehensive support and reassignment to the 80th separate air assault brigade of Ukraine.
I would like to emphasize that since 2016, this formation of the air assault troops of Ukraine has been trained by American and British instructors under the “NATO standard” training programs in Lvov.
In accordance with the order, the Deputy Commander of the National Guard was tasked with organizing joint combat training of the battalion-tactical group of the National Guard as part of the 80th separate air assault brigade of the armed forces of Ukraine from February 7 to February 28, 2022.
I draw your attention that as many as five paragraphs of 4th paragraph are devoted to the issues of careful selection of personnel, psychologists examination and ensuring their high motivation.
For this reason, the National Guard servicemen are provided with "visual agitation, information and propaganda materials, flags, and printing products."
The deputy commander of the National Guard for Staffing (personnel) was ordered to organize "an effective system of moral and psychological support for the battalion tactical group of the 4th operational brigade, internal communications of commanders with subordinates, informing."
At the same time, it is important to provide "an explanation to the personnel of command decisions and the importance of upcoming tasks."
I draw special attention to the fact that the 12th paragraph of the order prohibits sending National Guard servicemen who showed “unsatisfactory” results of psychological testing according to the criterion of “risk appetite” to the area of joint command training and to the place of “combat special tasks”.
All events of joint combat training of the nationalists are ordered to be completed by February 28 in order to further ensure the fulfillment of combat missions as part of the Ukrainian “Joint Forces Operation” in Donbass.
The document contains the original signatures of the officials of the command of the National Guard of Ukraine responsible for the tasks.
We remember the statements by the leadership of the Kiev regime replicated by the Western media in February, that there were no plans for an armed seizure of Lugansk and Donetsk people's republics. About their desire to resolve all issues in "political and diplomatic way."
However, the originals of the secret military documents of the National Guard of Ukraine clearly prove the falsity of these statements.
A special military operation of the Russian Armed Forces, conducted since February 24, thwarted a large-scale offensive operation of Ukrainian troops on the Lugansk and Donetsk people's republics in March of this year.
Thus, only one question remains unclear so far: how deeply the US leadership and its NATO allies were involved in the planning and preparation of the operation to storm the Donbass by the Ukrainian joint force grouping in early March. All those who care so much about peace in Ukraine today.
