Russian Security Council Deputy Chairperson Dmitry Medvedev, who used to be the countries leader for Putin and moderate pro-Westerner, now keeps saber rattling about Russia conquering the Ukraine to bring it back into the fold, solething that just is NOT gonna happen….
Russia sent rockets into Odessa causing deaths and injuries or almost 100 people…
The countries keep shooting at each other….
Russian hold’s an Presidential election this weekend…
Putin will be declared the winner….
European leaders keep assuring Ulraine that they have their back….
The French and German leaders annouce that interest from frozen Russia assets will used to purchase arms and ammo for Ukraine….
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A Russian ballistic missile attack hit civilian infrastructure in Ukraine’s Black Sea port city of Odesa on Friday, killing at least 16 people and wounding more than 70 in Moscow’s deadliest attack in weeks, Ukrainian officials said. Two Russian Iskander-M missiles fired from the Moscow-occupied peninsula of Crimea struck a residential area in Odesa, Oleh Kiper, the region’s governor said on national television. A medic and rescuer were killed by a second missile after rushing to the scene to treat people hurt in the initial strike, he added.
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114 million Russians are eligible to vote in a presidential contest that began on Friday, and will end on Sunday with an almost inevitable victory for president Vladimir Putin. He is running against Communist Nikolai Kharitonov, Leonid Slutsky, leader of the nationalist Liberal Democratic Party, and Vladislav Davankov of the New People party. Two anti-war candidates, Boris Nadezhdin and Yekaterina Duntsova were barred from running by the electoral commission.
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Voting is also taking place in the four occupied regions of Ukraine which Russia claims to have annexed despite its forces only partially controlling the territory. Ukraine has said the election there is illegal. Speaking at a meeting of Russia’s security council, Putin accused Ukraine of trying to disrupt the voting process and people in the border regions with “a number of criminal armed actions”. Putin said the attempts to break into Russia did not succeed. He said the acts would not go unpunished.
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The election has not been without incident so far. Authorities in St Petersburg “stopped a woman from throwing a molotov cocktail at a polling station sign” and in Moscow a woman was arrested after appearing to pour ink into a ballot box.
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Germany’s chancellor Olaf Scholz, France’s president Emmanuel Macronand Poland’s prime minister Donald Tusk met in Berlin. In a public briefing they promised Europe was united and determined in its support for Ukraine, and said they would use frozen Russian assets to purchase more weapons for Ukraine on the world market.
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The regional governor of Belgorod announced on Telegram that one person has been killed by Ukrainian shelling in the Russian city of Grayvoron in the region. Earlier Russia claimed it had thwarted attempts by Ukraine to stage cross-border raids into the territory, while a senior Ukrainian intelligence official claimed that Kursk and Belgorod regions were “active combat zones”.
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Ukraine claims it shot down all 27 “Shahed” drones with which the Russian army attacked overnight, however there were missile strikes in Kharkiv, Poltava and Donetsk regions, and two people were reported killed by shelling in Sumy region.
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Ukraine claims to have attacked an oil refinery in Kaluga region with drones, causing damage. Russian authorities said air defences had shot down the drones, and there was “no infrastructure damage or casualties”.
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Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Friday that a Russian national had been detained in Moscow on suspicion of treason and had confessed to assembling and launching drones on behalf of Ukraine.
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The EU is set to agree sanctions on several people seen as involved in the mistreatment and death of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny in an Arctic penal colony, three diplomats said on Friday…..
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Mar 15, 2024 – ISW Press
Russian forces will likely continue ongoing offensive efforts to destabilize Ukrainian defensive lines in Spring 2024 while also preparing for a forecasted new offensive effort in Summer 2024. The provision of Western security assistance will likely play a critical role in Ukraine’s ability to hold territory now and to repel a new Russian offensive effort in the coming months.
Mar 14, 2024 – ISW Press
Russian Security Council Deputy Chairperson Dmitry Medvedev posted a detailed call for the total elimination of the Ukrainian state and its absorption into the Russian Federation under what he euphemistically called a “peace formula.” Medvedev’s demands are not novel but rather represent the Kremlin’s actual intentions for Ukraine — intentions that leave no room for negotiations for purposes other than setting the precise terms of Ukraine’s complete capitulation.