Latest news on Russia and the war in Ukraine

Ukraine’s foreign ministry on Thursday stated it would be unlawful for Russia to hold elections in occupied areas of Ukraine, which the votes would not have any legal repercussions.

“Forcing millions of Ukrainian citizens who live in temporarily occupied territories or who have been forcibly transferred to Russian Federation territory to participate in the so-called ” elections” is equally illegal,” a ministry declaration stated.

Russia’s effort to hold elections in occupied areas revealed the nation’s “flagrant disregard” for worldwide laws and conventions, the foreign ministry included.

“We urge Ukrainian citizens who live in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine or are forced to stay in the territory of the Russian Federation not to participate in the ‘pseudo-elections’ of the Russian President,” it stated.

Separately, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg informed press reporters that any efforts to arrange elections in Ukraine’s occupied areas would be unlawful, Reuters reported.

— Sophie Kiderlin

Deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, on Thursday shared a proposed peace strategy from a Russian viewpoint, which to name a few points requires Ukraine to give up.

The strategy is an action to the 10- point peace formula proposed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, which is being gone over by allies as a possible basis for peace settlements.

“Everyone understands perfectly well, including the out-of-touch Western liars, that even in much simpler situations during war, peace can be achieved either with the mutual will of the parties on the basis of a reasonable compromise, or through the surrender of one of the parties to the conflict,” Medvedev composed in a Telegram post, according to a Google translation.

Ukraine was not ready to work out, he included, before recommending an alternative six-point strategy. Ukraine must acknowledge its defeat and dedicate to “complete and unconditional surrender,” along with de-militarize.

Medvedev likewise required the dissolution of Ukrainian authorities and the election of a provisionary parliament, which must acknowledge “that its entire territory is the territory of the Russian Federation,” and pass a reunification act, before liquifying once again.

The United Nations and worldwide neighborhood must condemn the existing Ukrainian federal government and eventually acknowledge the reunification, he included.

— Sophie Kiderlin

The Kremlin protected remarks made by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday in which he stated Russia was “technically” all set for a nuclear war, and was all set to carry out nuclear tests if the U.S. did so, stating the remarks did not make up a danger to utilize them.

The remarks, released in pro-Kremlin media Wednesday, echoed previous remarks Putin has actually made about Russia’s nuclear toolbox, stating Russia would just think about utilizing them if the nation’s presence was under hazard. The White House reacted that it saw no factor to change its own “nuclear posture” after the remarks.

Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov stated Thursday that Putin was simply responding to concerns from Russian reporter Dmitry Kiselev, which the remarks had actually been misshaped by the Western media.

“Putin did not make any threats about the use of nuclear weapons in this interview. He answered, firstly, the journalist’s questions, and these were precisely the journalist’s questions, and not some special statements,” Peskov stated, according to remarks released by news company RIA Novosti and equated by Google.

“And the president was just talking about the reasons that could make the use of nuclear weapons inevitable. These are the reasons that are indicated in our relevant documents, which are well known throughout the world,” he included.

“This is an intentional distortion of the context and an unwillingness to listen to PresidentPutin Again, there is absolutely nothing brand-new in this. This is what we are extremely concentrated on [and have] observed for a long period of time and particularly in the last 2 years,” Peskov stated. Moscow has actually consistently slammed what it views as a “Russophobic'” Western media because it attacked Ukraine 2 years earlier.

— Holly Ellyatt

Russia has actually introduced “massive” drone and weapons strikes versus Ukraine over night, Ukrainian authorities stated, with civilian facilities targeted in the northeast, east and south of the nation.

The strikes followed a sharp uptick in Ukrainian drone and rocket attacks versus Russian areas over the last couple of days, with a variety of significant Russian oil refineries targeted and interfering with production.

Oleh Synehubov, the guv of the eastern border area of Kharkiv, stated on Telegram on Thursday early morning that Russia had actually performed “massive” attack utilizing drones, or UAVs (unmanned aerial cars), on tv facilities in the area, with remediation work continuous.

“About 15 settlements of the Kharkiv region were hit by enemy artillery and mortar attacks,” Synehubov stated. There seemed no casualties from the attacks, he stated, according to a Google translation.

In the surrounding Sumy area, the military administration stated civilian facilities had actually been targeted in the cities of Sumy, Shostka, Trostyanets, andBilopillya Missile strikes were likewise performed on Shostka and Trostyanets.

All in all, around 150 settlements in the Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson and Mykolaiv areas had actually come under Russian weapons fire, Ukraine’s armed force stated in its newest upgrade on Thursday early morning.

— Holly Ellyatt

The White House stated it had no factor to change the U.S.’ “nuclear posture” after remarks by Russian President Vladimir Putin Wednesday in which he stated Russia was “technically” all set for nuclear war.

Asked to react to the remarks, White House spokesperson Karin Jean-Pierre stated Wednesday that the Biden administration saw no requirement to change its evaluation of the nuclear hazard presented by Moscow.

“We have not seen any reasons to adjust our own nuclear posture … nor any indication that Russia is preparing to use a nuclear weapon in Ukraine,” she informed press reporters.

In an interview released by pro-Kremlin media Wednesday, Putin stated, “from a military-technical perspective, we are, obviously, all set … [and] continuously in a state of fight preparedness,” for nuclear war.

He included, nevertheless, that cool heads were most likely to dominate to avoid a “rushing” towards such a circumstance. Nonetheless, Putin stated Russia would be all set to carry out nuclear tests if the U.S. did so.

— Holly Ellyatt

Russian- set up authorities at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear reactor (ZNPP) implicated Ukraine’s militaries of shelling crucial facilities at the plant on Thursday.

On Thursday, authorities at the website in southern Ukraine stated the plant had actually been shelled which an explosive gadget was dropped into a location where tanks with diesel fuel lay, including that the action might have had “dire consequences.”

“Such attacks are unacceptable … But despite everything, we are recording ongoing shelling,” the Russian- run ZNPP Telegram channel mentioned, in remarks equated by Google.

Russia has actually inhabited the ZNPP because March 2022, early on in the intrusion ofUkraine The nuclear center has actually been a centerpiece of stress and skirmishes in between Ukrainian and Russian forces since, with both implicating each other of threatening the security of the plant and running the risk of a nuclear catastrophe.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which has actually been keeping an eye on the website throughout the war, was alerted of the event, the Telegram post included.

CNBC was not able to instantly confirm the claims made in the post and Ukraine has actually not talked about the claims.

–Holly Ellyatt

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova stated on Wednesday that the United States prepared to phase cyberattacks on Russia’s electronic ballot system throughout its governmental election from March 15-17

Zakharova likewise stated Washington had actually charged U.S. non-governmental organisations with weakening the election by reducing citizen turnout. Her remarks echoed comparable allegations by Russia’s foreign intelligence service made today.

–Reuters

European Union ambassadors concurred in concept on Wednesday to reform the European Peace Facility fund in order to provide help worth 5 billion euros ($ 5.48 billion) to Ukraine this year, the Belgian presidency of the EU stated in a post on social networks platform X.

“The [EU] stays identified to offer enduring assistance to [Ukraine] & & make sure that the nation gets the military devices it requires to safeguard itself,” the post stated.

The European Peace Facility is a system established in 2021 intending to support the EU’s capability to develop peace, security and avoid dispute, which member specifies pay into every year based upon the concurred budget plan.

— Sophie Kiderlin

Russia does not mean to sign up with a top-level peace conference that intends to bring an end to the war in Ukraine, even if it is officially welcomed, a representative for the Russia Foreign Ministry stated in a declaration.

Switzerland stated previously this year that it would intend to host a peace conference in the coming months.

Russian Foreign Ministry representative Maria Zakharova pointed out a variety of factors for Russia not taking part in the occasion, consisting of that the conference will talk about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s 10- point peace formula.

Ultimatums to Russia are a crucial part of the strategy and are undesirable, she included.

“Secondly, Switzerland can hardly serve as a platform for various peacekeeping efforts, since this assumes a neutral status, which Bern has lost,” the declaration stated, according to a Google translation.

Zakharova stated previous efforts by the West to broker peace, such as the so-called Minsk arrangements, had actually revealed its failure to work out.

Russia would in concept be open to settlements, Zakharova stated, however just if Russian interests are taken into consideration and military help to Ukraine was stopped, to name a few conditions.

— Sophie Kiderlin

Ukraine’s Security Service on Wednesday declared duty for drone attacks on 3 oil refineries in Russia.

Oil refineries in Ryazan, Kstovo in the Nizhny Novgorod area and Kirishy, in the Leningrad area, were all intentionally targeted, according to a Ukrainian security source who requested privacy due to the fact that they are not licensed to speak openly about operations.

The source validated to NBC that the most recent attacks are an extension of a series of unique operations versus Russian oil refineries which were formerly introduced by the security service.

“We are systematically implementing a detailed strategy to reduce the economic potential of the Russian Federation. Our task is to deprive the enemy of resources and reduce the flow of oil money and fuel, which the Russian Federation directs directly to the war, to the murders of our citizens,” the source included.

The security source stated video footage on social networks showed that the repercussions of the attacks were considerable amidst reports of fires at the centers. The refineries assaulted today are amongst the leading 5 biggest plants in the Russian Federation, the source kept in mind.

In addition, the SBU, together with other agents of the defense forces, assaulted the air base of the Russian Air Force in Buturlinivka and the military airfield in Voronezh with drones.

–Holly Ellyatt

Russia’s defense ministry declared on Wednesday that Russian air defense systems had actually ruined many drones and rockets fired at its area by Ukraine over the past 24 hours.

“During the [past] day, air defense systems shot down 136 Ukrainian unmanned aerial cars, 4 HIMARS MLRS rockets made in the United States, 6 Grad MLRS rockets, along with 3 Hammer directed aerial bombs made in France,” the ministry stated on Telegram.

CNBC was not able to confirm the info in the post and Ukraine has actually not talked about the evident boost in attacks. Russian media companies have actually released several reports over the last couple of days of tried drone and rocket attacks versus Russian areas, especially those along the border with Ukraine, along with damage to energy facilities, with oil refineries being targeted.

–Holly Ellyatt

Several significant oil refineries in Russia seem out of action following Ukrainian drone attacks.

Two main oil refining systems were closed down in Rosneft’s Ryazan oil refinery on Wednesday after a fire brought on by a drone attack, 2 sources knowledgeable about the scenario informedReuters Rosneft has actually not talked about the event.

Meanwhile, operations at the Novoshakhtinsky oil items plant in the Rostov area were stopped after drones shot down by Russian air defenses fell on the center, local Governor Vasily Golubev stated onTelegram No one was hurt in the event.

Production was likewise stopped at Lukoil’s NORSI refinery in the Nizhny Novgorod area on Tuesday after a drone attack triggered a fire.

Ukraine’s security service on Wednesday declared duty for the drone attacks on oil refineries in Ryazan, Kstovo in the Nizhny Novgorod area and Kirishy, in the Leningrad area, stating the most recent attacks were an extension of a series of unique operations versus Russian oil centers.

“We are systematically implementing a detailed strategy to reduce the economic potential of the Russian Federation,” a Ukrainian security source, who requested privacy due to the fact that they are not licensed to speak openly about operations, informed NBC News.

“Our task is to deprive the enemy of resources and reduce the flow of oil money and fuel, which the Russian Federation directs directly to the war, to the murders of our citizens,” the source included.

Oil rates were around 2% greater Wednesday versus the background of refinery attacks and possible interruption to oil materials from significant manufacturer, Russia.

— Holly Ellyatt