The democratic states in the world seem to have accepted that you can’t have peace talks with someone who is trying to kill you, and are increasing the quantity of weapons and ammunition that they are willing to supply to Ukraine. However, there are countries that still believe that the war can end with peace talks. That is little consolation for those who are dead, or who are injured, and Russia shows no sign of being interested in any talks if they have to leave any occupied territories in Ukraine. While it is a positive sign that Germany and France are increasing the amount of weapons they are sending to Ukraine, one can read between the lines in that they are doing so to avoid the war extending outside of Ukraine. Historians will look back and note that the weapons are about a year late.
At final last, the promised tanks from Germany and other countries have arrived in Ukraine, and now we await the fighter jets and how Russia and Belarus will react. Private donations have paid for a new fleet of reconnaissance drones that will be used for strategic purposes in Ukraine. Neutral Switzerland has offered to help rebuild the dairy and organic markets destroyed by the war, but Ukraine needs to win the war first.
Zelenskyy has been visiting some of the regions that have been liberated and met with Grossi of the IAEA at Zaporizhzhia, where the troubled nuclear power plant is still occupied by the Russians, and continues to be unstable. The Ukrainian army in Bakhmut is still holding, and there are signs that the Russians are moving to another target instead. The missile strikes continue in Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro, and Kyiv—the air defence systems can intercept some of the missiles, but not all of them. The question is how long can this continue? The energy grids in Ukraine have been repaired and Ukraine says it is ready to provide energy to other EU countries. This would provide a source of income for the country and also means that European countries will no longer be reliant of Russia for energy.
Day 397 (27 March)
Four FSB agents were arrested in Ukraine, and one had been recruited by a Russian consul in Kharkiv. They had collected information about the Ukrainian army, planned missile strikes and sought targets, and recruited proxies to head the administration of the occupied territories.
The network consisted of eight people, which included an assistant to an active member of Parliament.
Documents from the FSB show that Putin had been planning a ‘cleansing of Ukraine which would amount to genocide. This included sending people to concentration camps, and ‘house-to-house terror’, which is what happened in Bucha and perhaps other cities that the world is not yet aware of. We also know that those loyal to Ukraine have been sent to concentration camps to be rehabilitated. There are many missing in Ukraine, feared dead or imprisoned in Russia.
Moldova has announced that it will carry out joint military drills with the UK and the US. Soldiers from Romania will also take part, and the exercises will be held from 27 March to 7 April 2023. This will give Moldova the opportunity to learn new tactics and to better arm themselves should the Russians attack. The move is a message to Russia—the West will support Moldova, so give up the plans now.
Day 398 (28 March)
Leopard tanks from Germany and Portugal have arrived in Ukraine, as have the Challenger 2 tanks from the UK. This has taken months and the delay was in the hands of Germany who had taken months to consider permitting the re-exportation of the tanks.
Germany seems eager to help now that they know talks will fail, and are said to be increasing the €3 billion in aid to Russia to €15 billion. Anything to stop the war spreading out.
Now, the focus will be on how long it will take for jets to be provided. France is said to be considering sending 40 fighter jets Dassault Mirage 2000.
Russia is forcing Western companies who wish to exit Russia to ‘donate’ to Russia. In the past, companies have had to sell at a loss to exit, and also to accept that the Russian government would seize some goods and property. Now, it seems that Russia is demanding that companies make a 10% ‘voluntary’ donation of the sale value to the state. This is another means of corruption, by making companies pay in order to leave the country.
Overnight, Shahed missiles attacked Ukraine again. Reports of the same happen each day, and there is no sign of the attacks stopping.
Bulgaria may send its old stocks of ammunition to Ukraine, where reports claim that it will be handled by a third party. Claims states that the value of the ammunition could be $189 million.
Zelenskyy met with Grossi of the IAEA to discuss the safety of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Grossi still has issues with the rotation of the staff observing the plant, and the Russians don’t seem to be interested in leaving at all.
Zelenskyy also visited Nikopol in Dnipropetrovsk and Okhtyka in Sumy where he gave ‘the Hero of the City’ to the mayor, marking a year of liberation.
The UN Security Council meeting on Belarus receiving nuclear weapons from Russia will be held tomorrow (Wednesday). The EU has already said that Russia would face consequences if the weapons were stored in Belarus.
Avdiivkaa is now closed to volunteers as the situation grows worse and where entering or exiting the city is now impossible.
The former head of Motor Sich, Vyacheslav Bohuslayev has been charged with blocking the delivery of military equipment in Ukraine. He ordered that documentation be hidden and the motor blades on helicopters to be removed so that they could not be used.
France is the 26th country to recognise the Holodomor as an act of genocide. Why’s is it relevant? It shows that Russia has a history of trying to wipe out the Ukrainians through acts of genocide.
More than 4,000 orphans have been forced to move to Russia, while some were semi-orphans with parents displaced. This is why the arrest warrant has been issued against Putin by the ICC, and these children are evidence of a war crime being committed.
The Quality FOOD trade program in Switzerland are planning to help rebuild the dairy and organic industries in Ukraine. That’s all fine and dandy, but Ukraine needs weapons to fight and win before you can rebuild industries.
Investigators claim to have found the Russian commander who gave the order to bomb the Mariupol theatre. Sergy Atroschenko ordered the pilots of the Primorsko-Akhtarsk to bomb the theatre.
Ukraine has a fleet of drones that will be used for reconnaissance and also for strike missions. The UAVs were made in Ukraine and were funded by private donations.