Spain trains Ukrainian military on Leopard 2A4 Tanks
The Spanish military shows Ukrainian soldiers how to use Leopard 2A4 tanks during a training exercise conducted at the San Gregorio military base outside Zaragoza, Spain.
The military aid for Ukraine has stoked tensions within Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's governing coalition with its junior partner, the far-left Unidas Podemos party, urging the administration to focus on pushing for peace instead of sending weaponry.
Ukrainian military personnel listen to a briefing ahead of a Leopard 2A4 tank training exercise conducted by the Spanish military, at the San Gregorio military base outside Zaragoza, Spain, on Monday, March 13, 2023.
Paul Hanna | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Spanish Armed Forces soldiers during a simulation at the presentation of the Spanish Armed Forces training to Ukrainian soldiers, at the San Gregorio Training Center, on 13 March, 2023 in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain.
Fabian Simon | Europa Press | Getty Images
Spanish military personnel load dummy ammunition in a Leopard tank simulator during a training exercise, at the San Gregorio military base outside Zaragoza, Spain, on Monday, March 13, 2023.
Paul Hanna | Bloomberg | Getty Images
An Armed Forces soldier watches a simulation on a screen during the presentation of the Spanish Armed Forces training to Ukrainian soldiers at the San Gregorio Training Center, on 13 March, 2023 in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain.
Fabian Simon | Europa Press | Getty Images
Ukrainian military personnel prepare a Leopard 2A4 tank ahead of a training exercise conducted by the Spanish military, at the San Gregorio military base outside Zaragoza, Spain, on Monday, March 13, 2023.
Paul Hanna | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Ukrainian military personnel receive armoured manoeuvre training on German-made Leopard 2 battle tanks at the Spanish army's training centre of San Gregorio in Zaragoza on March 13, 2023.
Oscar Del Pozo | AFP | Getty Images
Ukrainian military personnel board a Leopard 2A4 tank ahead of a training exercise conducted by the Spanish military, at the San Gregorio military base outside Zaragoza, Spain, on Monday, March 13, 2023.
Paul Hanna | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Ukrainian military personnel operate Leopard 2A4 tanks during a training exercise conducted by the Spanish military, at the San Gregorio military base outside Zaragoza, Spain, on Monday, March 13, 2023.
Paul Hanna | Bloomberg | Getty Images
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Georgian PM tells Ukraine's Zelenskyy not to meddle in his country
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili accused Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy of meddling in his country's political situation by commenting on protests there last week, prompting an angry response from Kyiv.
During the protests against a "foreign agents" law that critics said signalled an authoritarian shift in Georgia, Zelenskiy thanked protesters for waving Ukrainian flags, saying it showed respect, and he wished Georgians "democratic success".
Last Friday, Georgia's parliament dropped the bill, which had threatened to harm Tbilisi's bid for closer ties with Europe. Critics had said it was inspired by a 2012 Russian law that has been used widely to crack down on dissent in Russia.
"When a person who is at war... responds to the destructive action of several thousand people here in Georgia, this is direct evidence that this person is involved, motivated to make something happen here too, to change," Garibashvili said in an interview with the Georgian IMEDI television broadcast on Sunday, referring to Zelenskiy.
"I want to wish everyone a timely end to this war, and peace," Garibashvili added.
However, Ukraine's foreign ministry spokesperson Oleh Nikolenko accused Garibashvili of repeating "Russian propaganda" by suggesting that Kyiv sought to draw Georgia into its conflict with Moscow.
Protesters wave Georgian, Ukrainian and NATO flags during clashes in Tbilisi on March 7, 2023.
- | Afp | Getty Images
"We categorically reject such claims, which have nothing to do with reality. The Georgian authorities are looking for an enemy in the wrong place," Nikolenko said on Facebook on Monday.
"Ukraine has been and will remain a friend of the Georgian people, whom we do not wish to stop (in their task of) building a European future."
Despite Garibashvili's comments, Georgian public opinion is strongly pro-Ukrainian and anti-Russian. Georgia fought its own brief war with Russia in 2008 over the status of two Moscow-backed breakaway regions, Azkhazia and South Ossetia.
Georgia and Ukraine both aspire to join the European Union one day.
— Reuters
A day in the life of a Ukrainian artillery unit in Donetsk
Ukrainian servicemen from the 10th Brigade aim a D-30 Howitzer towards Russian infantry along the frontline outside of Soledar, Ukraine on March 11, 2023. The artillery battle between Ukranian and Russian forces near Soledar has been intense for months.
The cannon is inherited from the Soviet era but the 122mm ammunition comes from Western countries.
Ukrainian servicemen from the 10th Brigade aim a D-30 Howitzer towards Russian infantry along the frontline outside of Soledar, Ukraine on March 11, 2023.
Ignacio Marin | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
Ukrainian servicemen from the 10th Brigade unload heavy artillery ammunition at a position along the frontline outside of Soledar, Ukraine on March 11, 2023.
Ignacio Marin | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
Ukrainian servicemen from the 10th Brigade unload heavy artillery ammunition at a position along the frontline outside of Soledar, Ukraine on March 11, 2023.
Ignacio Marin | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
Ukrainian servicemen from the 10th Brigade fire a D-30 Howitzer towards Russian infantry along the frontline outside of Soledar, Ukraine on March 11, 2023.
Ignacio Marin | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
Ukrainian servicemen from the 10th Brigade brigade known as Edelwiess work along the frontline outside of Soledar, Ukraine on March 11, 2023
Wolfgang Schwan | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
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China's President Xi plans to speak with Ukraine's Zelenskyy, WSJ reports
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks with U.S. President Joe Biden on the phone in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Dec. 11, 2022.
Ukrainian Presidential Press Service | Reuters
Chinese President Xi Jinping plans to speak with his Ukrainian counterpart President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the first time since Russia invaded Ukraine a year ago, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Citing people familiar with the matter, the newspaper said the call would probably take place after President Xi visited Moscow, an event that could take place next week, Reuters and the WSJ reported today.
The WSJ said that President Xi's likely virtual meeting with President Zelenskyy comes as China looks to play more of an active role in brokering an end to the war.
— Holly Ellyatt
Kremlin tight-lipped on Xi Russia visit rumors
Chinese President Xi Jinping is pictured here on Oct. 23, 2022, after consolidating his control of the ruling Communist Party of China.
Kevin Frayer | Getty Images News | Getty Images
The Kremlin's press secretary said Monday that it won't comment on a report by Reuters that suggested Chinese President Xi Jinping could visit Russia to meet President Vladimir Putin as soon as next week.
Asked about the report, which cited unamed sources, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that there was "nothing to say on this topic," news agency Ria Novosti reported.
"As a rule, the announcement of official foreign visits is carried out simultaneously by mutual agreement of the parties," Peskov said, adding that an announcement would be made when both parties are ready.
There have been several reports suggesting that a visit by President Xi Jinping to Russia could take place in March or April although both sides have been tight-lipped about the plans. The Wall Street Journal reported in February that the Chinese leader is expected to use Moscow trip to push for multiparty peace talks to find an end to the war in Ukraine.
— Holly Ellyatt
Executed soldier was a Moldovan citizen, ministry says
A Ukrainian soldier watches a self-propelled 220 mm multiple rocket launcher "Bureviy" firing toward Russian positions on the front line in eastern Ukraine on Nov. 29, 2022.
Anatolii Stepanov | AFP | Getty Images
A Ukrainian serviceman who appeared to be executed by Russian troops in graphic footage that emerged last week was a citizen of Moldova, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of Moldova.
Oleksandr Matsievsky was named last week as the Ukrainian soldier seen to be executed while standing unarmed in a trench. The footage, which emerged last week, showed Matsievsky as a prisoner of war, smoking a cigarette before saying "Glory to Ukraine!" to the camera before he's shot by automatic weapons. Ukraine launched an investigation into the killing, calling it a war crime.
In a Facebook post Monday, Moldova's foreign ministry said that the soldier was one of its citizens.
"After the Ukrainian side confirmed the fact that the Ukrainian serviceman executed by Russian soldiers is Oleksandr Matsievsky, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly condemns the killing of a citizen of Moldova."
"This is an act that can be qualified as a war crime and gross violation of international humanitarian law. We express our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Oleksandr Matsievsky," the ministry said.
Ukraine's president conferred a posthumous "Hero of Ukraine" award on Matsievsky over the weekend. On Sunday evening, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was "a man whom all Ukrainians will know. A man who will be remembered forever. For his bravery, for his confidence in Ukraine and for his 'Glory to Ukraine!'"
— Holly Ellyatt
China's Xi plans Russia visit as soon as next week, sources say
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping plan to meet next week in Uzbekistan at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization forum, a Russian official said on Wednesday.
Photo by Alexei Druzhinin/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images
Chinese President Xi Jinping is planning to travel to Russia's capital, Moscow, to meet his counterpart, Vladimir Putin, as soon as next week, people familiar with the matter said.
China's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment and the Kremlin declined to comment.
No other details were immediately available. The sources briefed on the matter declined to be identified given the sensitivity of the issue.
— Reuters
Ukraine claims more than 1,000 Russians killed in Bakhmut in last week
Ukrainian servicemen from 24th brigade along the front line south of Bakhmut near New York, Ukraine, on March 10, 2023.
Wolfgang Schwan | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said ongoing fighting in the besieged city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine is taking a big toll on Russia's forces.
In his nightly address Sunday, Zelenskyy said that "in less than one week — since March 6 — in the Bakhmut sector alone, they managed to eliminate more than 1,100 enemy soldiers."
He added that Russia had also seen 1,500 soldiers suffer wounds that would prevent them from fighting. In addition, dozens of units of Russian equipment were destroyed, Zelenskyy said, and more than 10 Russian ammunition depots were burned. CNBC was not able to verify the claims.
There have been questions over how long Ukraine could choose to defend Bakhmut, a city almost completely surrounded by Russian forces, with mercenary fighters from the Wagner Group advancing into parts of the city. Last week, Ukraine said it would continue to defend Bakhmut, however, and would send in reinforcements.
The commander of Ukraine's ground forces Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrskyi said Monday that that "the situation around Bakhmut remains difficult," noting that "Wagner's assault units are advancing from several directions, trying to break through the defenses of our troops and advance to the central districts of the city," according to the latest post on the Military Media Centre, translated by NBC News.
"In the course of fierce battles, our defenders inflict significant losses on the enemy. All enemy attempts to capture the city are repelled by artillery, tanks, and other firepower," Syrskyi said, adding that "the defense of the fortress continues."
— Holly Ellyatt
Wagner Group chief likely pivoting recruitment toward Russian citizens
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the owner of Russia's mercenary force known as the Wagner Group, has likely lost access to recruiting in Russian prisons because of his ongoing disputes with top Russian defense officials, and is "highly likely pivoting recruitment efforts towards free Russian citizens," the U.K. said Monday.
Since the start of March 2023, Wagner has set up outreach teams based in sports centers in at least 40 locations across Russia, Britain's Ministry of Defense noted in an intelligence update on Twitter.
"In recent days, masked Wagner recruiters also gave career talks in Moscow high schools, distributing questionnaires entitled 'application of a young warrior' to collect the contact details of interested pupils."
Visitors in military camouflage stand at the entrance of the "PMC Wagner Centre," associated with the founder of the Wagner private military group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, during the official opening of the office block on the National Unity Day, in St. Petersburg, on Nov. 4, 2022.
Olga Maltseva | Afp | Getty Images
The Wagner Group has been fighting in eastern Ukraine for months, alongside regular Russian units, but Prigozhin has had a high-profile spat with Russia's Ministry of Defense after criticizing the military strategy in Ukraine.
The Wagner Group had been allowed to recruit prisoners to fight in its forces in Ukraine and the U.K. said it believed that around half of the prisoners Wagner has already deployed in Ukraine have likely become casualties. "The new initiatives are unlikely to make up for the loss of the convict recruit pipeline," the British defense ministry said.
"If the ban endures, Prigozhin will likely be forced to reduce the scale or intensity of Wagner operations in Ukraine."
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Ukraine war live updates: Kyiv claims over 1,000 Russians died in Bakhmut in the last week; Wagner mercenaries pivoting recruitment - CNBC
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