Russia-Ukraine War, Live: US Confirms Its Fears About China and Latest News

Here’s what you need to know about the Russian invasion of Ukraine today

Belarusian anti-government activists from Bypol claimed to have blown up a Russian military surveillance plane on Sunday. In a drone strike At the airport near the country’s capital, Minsk, neither Russia nor Belarus confirmed. The Periv A-50 aircraft, known as the “Mainstay” in NATO slang, is an airborne early warning aircraft with command and control capabilities and can track up to 60 targets simultaneously. Belarus, a staunch ally of Russia, has allowed Moscow to use its territory to launch attacks against Ukraine, although it has so far avoided direct involvement in the war.

“It was drones (that carried out the attack). The participants in this operation were Belarusians.Aliaksandr Azarov, head of Belarusian anti-government organization Bypol, said on the messaging app telegram of the organization and on the Belsat news channel in Poland. Azarov did not provide immediate evidence to support his claim.

Bypol, which includes former law enforcement officers who support opposition politicians, is classified as a terrorist organization by Minsk. Belchat is a Polish station that focuses on Belarusian news that Minsk has labeled as extremist. The Kremlin declined to comment on Azaro’s claim, insisting the alleged incident took place on Belarusian territory, which it denied. There was no immediate response to requests for comment from the Belarusian or Russian defense ministries.

said Franak Viagorka, an adviser to Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Chikanusskaya. Twitter Two Belarusian “parties” were involved in the attack on Machulishchi Air Base outside Minsk. He said the drones damaged the front and center of the A-50, including the plane’s radar antenna and avionics. He added that the two attackers are now safe outside Belarus.

Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak admitted on Monday that the country’s authorities had sent the first batch of weapons to Ukraine “before” Vladimir Putin launched the invasion. February 24, 2022 night. According to Blaszczak, Poland has become one of the main guarantors of Ukraine’s regional security in recent months, thanks to the continuous export of weapons authorized by Warsaw, according to the Polish Agency. PAP.

“So far we have supplied the Ukrainian armed forces with T72 tanks, artillery shells and ammunition, portable anti-aircraft missile systems, drones and munitions,” the Polish minister recounted. Along these lines, he said, Warsaw also welcomes Ukrainian soldiers, whom he instructs to use howitzers and Western Leopard-type tanks, which will be sent to Ukrainian territory “soon.” “A free Ukraine means a free Poland”has told.

Officials from the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (RPD) assured on Monday that they had encircled the city of Bakhmut, the main scene of recent clashes between Russia and Ukraine. According to Yan Kagin, a key adviser to DPR officials, Bagmut “fell into a classic operational environment” as pro-Russian troops were able to take “complete control” of the roads leading to the city.

“The supply of ammunition to the garrison of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has been interrupted and stopped, the circulation and supply of replacement manpower has stopped,” Kagin confirmed to the Russian news agency TASS.

According to an adviser to pro-Russian officials in Donetsk, a region annexed by Moscow at the end of September, the conflict in Bakhmut will soon end, a city that was an important “logistical hub” for Ukraine and a place it lost. A large number of weapons and soldiers.

Russian officials have announced a series of developments in recent weeks near Bagmud, a city that has been a key match for Ukraine’s interests since the main transport routes for the supply of troops in the Donbass have been diverted from there.

Russia ruled this Monday that the plan proposed by China last week to resolve the conflict in Ukraine was “worthy of attention” but that the necessary conditions for a “peaceful” solution were not met “for now”. “We consider the plan of our Chinese friends very carefully (…) This is a long process. For now, we do not see the premises for this issue to go on a peaceful path,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

And Russian drone strike An Iranian-made fighter jet was left in the balance Two people died and three others were injured in the Ukrainian city of Khmelnytskyi (West), report of its mayor. Oleksandr Tsimshyn noted in Telegram that two first responders died in hospital after the attack by a dozen drones.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces claimed to have shot down 11 of 14 “shaded” drones used by Russia overnight. Nine of them were shot down over the capital Q, according to the head of the city’s military administration, causing no damage or casualties.

Russia has been conducting missile and drone strikes against critical infrastructure in Ukraine for months, prompting Kiev to bolster its air defense systems with Western help. These attacks left millions of people without power during the winter.

UK intelligence said today that Russia would “probably” be concerned about it “Unexplained Explosions” in Ukrainian Port of Mariupol, Under the control of Russian troops.

“Since February 21, pro-Russian officials have reported at least 14 explosions on the outskirts of the city. Locations of incidents include The airport has an ammunition depot, two fuel depots and a steel plant that Russia uses as a military base”, they pointed out, according to a series of messages published by the British Ministry of Defense through their account on the social network. Twitter.

“Although it was largely destroyed during the war, Mariupol is important to Russia because it is the largest city it captured in 2022 and still controls, as well as being located on an important logistics route,” the British military stressed. Moscow has not yet passed judgment on these incidents.

President Volodymyr Zelensky sacked the commander this Sunday Ukrainian Joint Force Operation Mykhailovich Moskalov, posted on the site Ukraine Pravda. There is no official explanation for this move.

Maj. Gen. Eduard Moskalov was appointed to the post last March when Lt. Gen. Oleksandr Pavlyuk was appointed head of the regional military administration of Kiev.

Zelensky did not provide an explanation for Moskalo’s firing, but he said it was the latest in a series of leadership changes made by his administration. CNN.

Ukrainian authorities carried out a series of anti-corruption searches and crackdowns across the country, and various high-profile dismissals followed.

It remains unclear whether Moscow’s firing is related to the latest crackdown on corruption.

America is “certain”. China is considering supplying lethal equipment to support Russia in Ukraine. This was stated by the CIA director. William Burns, In statements for the chain CBS on Sunday

Burns said, “That’s for sure “The Chinese leadership is considering supplying dangerous equipment.”But he noted that “we don’t see a final decision being made yet, and I don’t see any evidence of actual exports of dangerous equipment.”

The US has made it clear that such support in terms of weapons will have serious consequences.

White House National Security Adviser Jack Sullivan said in an interview with CNN:Beijing must make its own decisions about how to proceedIf it provides military assistance, but if it goes down that path, it will come at a real cost to China.”

In a recent report on Russian forces’ recruitment campaigns, the Institute for War Studies asserted that Russia will increase spending to replace its losses.

A DC-based think tank rated Russia “probably began to run out of combat-ready troops” In May 2022, Vladimir Putin was forced to employ various mobilization strategies.

Among other things, the Russian ruler chose to rely on voluntary recruitment efforts, not the voluntary recruitment efforts of ultranationalist groups such as Task Force Rusich and the Russian Imperial Movement.

Following Ukraine’s counteroffensive in September, Putin announced a partial mobilization to supplement volunteer recruitment efforts.

Due to the low success of voluntary recruitments and the increasing demand for reserve calls, Putin may find himself facing another dilemma “After another wave or two of reserve call-ups, the number of reservists fit for front-line fighting remains limited,” the report said.

The analysis is consistent with previous ISW assessments that Russia is “unlikely to exceed that Basic structural challenges“With mobilization as costs rise.

Ukraine’s state prosecutor’s office said Russian forces did it 71,586 war crimes and crimes of aggression in UkraineFrom the beginning of the total war in Russia.

Ukrainian law enforcement also said Russia’s war against Ukraine was minimal 461 child deaths and 927 injuriesCited since February 24, 2022 Kyiv Independent.

Earlier, the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling on member states to support it Creation of a Special International Court of Justice Russian war crimes committed in Ukraine should be tried, especially the crime of aggression.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will start the new week with a heavy schedule of a two-day visit to Baku. The visit is planned in view of the first anniversary of the bilateral declaration on friendship signed on February 22 last year.

Russia’s top diplomat is expected to meet Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev and the republic’s Foreign Minister Zeyhun Byramov.

Lavrov will discuss bilateral issues, current regional and international issues during the meeting with the Azerbaijani leaders, and will pay special attention to the implementation of the trilateral agreements of the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia, official spokesperson Russian Foreign Minister Maria Zakharova said earlier.

Nation