WAR IN UKRAINE: March 29, 2023
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Day 399
A locomotive depot in the Russian-occupied city of Melitopol in southern Ukraine was hit by Ukrainian shelling Wednesday morning, the city's administration said. The Melitopol city administration reported damage to infrastructure, but no casualties. “First responders are working at the site. We are clarifying information as it comes in,” the administration said - CNN
The United States has told Russia it will withhold some data on its nuclear forces in response to Moscow's suspension of participation in the New START nuclear arms treaty. Meanwhile, a deal to protect Europe's largest nuclear power plant from a catastrophic accident due to fighting in Ukraine could be "close," said the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi. However Russian promises of adhering to UN-brokered agreements has been extremely spotty.
Russia launched another wave of Iranian-made drones on Kyiv and its surroundings, but Ukraine's air defenses shot down almost all of them and there were no immediate reports of casualties, the military said on March 27, as heavy fighting continued in and around Bakhmut in the eastern region of Donetsk - RFE/RL
President Zelensky on Tuesday visited two war-torn cities in the northern Sumy region of the country, Okhtyrka and Trostianets, where fierce fighting occurred a year ago before Russia withdrew. He was continuing his tour in recent days of some of the cities that have borne the brunt of Russia's 13-month invasion - VOA
A Russian single father whose daughter was reported for drawing an anti-war picture has been given a two-year jail term for discrediting the army. But Alexei Moskalev, 53, was not in court in Yefremov for the verdict. The court press secretary said he had escaped house arrest. His daughter Masha, 13, was sent to a children's home in early March when the criminal case began. The family's problems began last April, she told the BBC, when Masha Moskaleva's school told the police that the girl had drawn a Ukrainian flag with the words "Glory to Ukraine", rockets and a Russian flag bearing the phrase "No to war!" - BBC
Belarus said Tuesday that political and economic pressure from the United States, Britain, NATO and the European Union prompted its decision to host Russian nuclear weapons on its soil. "In view of these circumstances, and the legitimate concerns and risks in the sphere of national security arising from them, Belarus is forced to respond by strengthening its own security and defense capabilities," the Belarusian foreign ministry said in a statement. Belarus further said that Russia's plans to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus would not go against international non-proliferation agreements, and that the Belarusian government would not be in control of the weapons. Putin announced on Saturday the deployment of the tactical nuclear weapons, saying it was warranted because of the West's increasing military support for Ukrainian forces, including Britain's decision last week to send armor-piercing rounds containing depleted uranium to Ukraine - VOA
Required reading…
‘When we are together, we drive these changes.’ What Xi and Putin’s deepening alliance means for the world order.
Russian President Vladimir Putin quoted Alexander III—tsar of Russia, king of Congress Poland, and grand duke of Finland—when asked in April 2015 what allies he could count on after he had begun his assault on Ukraine.
“Russia has only two allies,” he said, “its army and its navy.”
Now that Putin’s military has failed to achieve its war goals in Ukraine, demonstrating a surprising lack of discipline and capability, a more formidable ally stepped up this week who Putin hopes can help him turn his fortunes around: Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
In exchange, Putin is willing to offer China discounted energy deliveries, unique access to Russian markets abandoned by Western companies, military technologies ranging from ballistic missiles to nuclear submarines, and subjugation to China’s emerging ambitions for global leadership.
History will record Xi’s three days of meetings this past week with Putin in Moscow as the last pretense of neutrality in Putin’s war on Ukraine. It might seem to some that Xi is doubling down on last year’s bad bet of a “no limits” partnership with Putin, but Xi’s generational gamble is based on two fundamental convictions, which have grown as his relations with Washington have worsened.
Read the full Atlantic Council analysis by Frederick Kempe here