As the war between Russia and Ukraine enters its 398th day, we take a look at the main developments.
This is the state of affairs on Tuesday, March 28, 2023:
Diplomacy
Russian President Vladimir Putin says Western criticism will not affect Russia’s plans to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus. The United Nations Security Council has rejected a resolution from Russia calling for an independent inquiry into the September explosions at the Nord Stream gas pipelines. Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy met with Rafael Grossi, the head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog, in the city of Zaporizhzhia, where they discussed the situation at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, amid Ukraine’s fears that the nuclear power plant would experience a water shortage. Russia has warned Armenia of “serious consequences” if it submits to the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which has issued an arrest warrant against Putin, state news agency RIA reported. Hungary’s parliament has approved Finland’s NATO membership after months of delay. The move means that 29 of the 30 parliaments of NATO member states have ratified Finland’s accession, with Turkey also expected to give Helsinki its approval next month. Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland have one joint statement calling on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) not to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
To fight
The Ukrainian governor of Donetsk claims at least two people have been killed and 29 injured, including a child, following a Russian attack on the city of Sloviansk. Russian troops are turning Avdiivka, a town in the Donetsk region near Bakhmut, into “a place out of post-apocalyptic movies,” a Ukrainian official said. Zelenskyy has met with troops in southeastern Ukraine on ongoing visits to front-line regions.
Weapons
Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of Russia’s Security Council, warns that Moscow has enough nuclear weapons to “destroy any opponent”, including the United States. Germany has delivered 18 advanced Leopard battle tanks, 40 German Marder infantry fighting vehicles and two armored recovery vehicles to Ukraine, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said. Poland and the European Union have discussed the production of artillery ammunition as part of a new 2 billion euros ($2.2 billion) program to supply Ukraine and also supply European armed forces. (TagsToTranslate)News