Live blog: Swift US Congress aid decision crucial for Ukraine — Zelenskyy

Monday, March 18, 2024

1740 GMT — President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that a swift decision by the US Congress on billions of dollars of military aid for Ukraine was "critically important", during a meeting with US Senator Lindsey Graham.

"It is critically important for us that the Congress soon completes all the necessary procedures and makes a final decision... which will strengthen the Ukrainian economy and our armed forces," Zelenskyy was quoted as saying in a presidential office statement.

A $60 billion aid package for Ukraine has been blocked in the Republican-led House of Representatives as Speaker Mike Johnson insists the funds must be linked to more action against illegal immigration.

Ukrainian troops have reported ammunition shortages as a result of the delay and Russian forces have been advancing along parts of the front line in eastern Ukraine.

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1711 GMT — Putin addresses Red Square crowd after election win blasted by West

Russian President Vladimir Putin won over 87 percent of the vote in a three-day ballot which included voting in parts of Ukraine held by Russian forces.

"Hand in hand, we will move forward and this will make us stronger... Long live Russia!" Putin told the crowd attending a pop concert to mark 10 years since Russia's annexation of the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine.

Putin boasted of a new rail link in areas of Ukraine captured by Russian forces, saying those regions had "declared their desire to return to their native family." He appeared at the concert alongside the three candidates who ran against him after hosting them at a Kremlin meeting in which they all congratulated him.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Putin's victory showed Russians were consolidating "around his path", calling it "an exceptionally perfect result."

1650 GMT — Putin hails 'return' of annexed Ukrainian territories

Putin has said that Ukrainian territories annexed by Russia had "returned" to their homeland as he attended a Red Square concert following his election victory.

"As for Novorossiya, as for the Donbas, the people living there ... declared their desire to return to their native family. Their way back to their homeland turned out to be harder, more tragic, but nevertheless, we did it," Putin told crowds on the tenth anniversary of the annexation of Crimea.

1621 GMT — Ukrainian shelling kills four family members in Russia's Belgorod: governor

Four people were killed in Ukrainian shelling of the village of Nikolskoye in Russia's Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, the local governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.

Gladkov said in his Telegram channel that the victims — a couple, a grandmother and a boy of 17 — were killed when their house took a direct hit from a shell. He said a girl survived and was in intensive care.

Attacks on Belgorod have taken place frequently since 2022 but escalated in recent months, with 25 people killed in a single incident in late December.

1455 GMT — EU council agrees on $5.44B aid to Ukraine armed forces

The European Council agreed to increase its support to Ukrainian armed forces by $5.44 billion, through a dedicated assistance fund, it said in a statement.

"With the fund, we will continue to support Ukraine defend itself from Russia’s war of aggression with whatever it takes and for as long as we need to", EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said.

1311 GMT — Putin's comment on buffer zone is a clear sign of escalation: Ukrainian presidential aide

Putin's statement that he wanted to create a buffer zone in Ukrainian territory to protect Russia is a clear declaration that the war between the countries will escalate, Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak told Reuters.

"This is ... a direct manifest statement that the war will only escalate," Podolyak said.

1016 GMT — Ukrainian shelling kills two in Belgorod: Russia

Ukrainian shelling killed two people and wounded four in a village near the Russian border city of Belgorod, the region's governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.

"In the Belgorod district, after air defences repelled an air attack by the Ukrainian army, two people were killed and four injured in the village of Nikolskoye," Gladkov said.

Attacks on Belgorod have taken place frequently since 2022 but escalated in the run-up to Russia's presidential election which concluded on Sunday.

0831 GMT — Russia's FSB detains woman planning attack on Crimean railway

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) has said that it had detained a 24-year-old Russian woman in Moscow-occupied Crimea who was attempting to sabotage rail infrastructure bringing military equipment to the frontline in Ukraine, Russian state news agency TASS reported.

The woman had corresponded with a Ukrainian handler regarding the planned attack, and was under suspicion of terrorism and treason, the FSB was cited as saying in the report.

The FSB has said it has detained a string of Ukrainian agents in recent days, amid an upsurge in Ukrainian strikes on Russia amid presidential elections that concluded on Sunday.

0400 GMT — Cheap drones 'cannot match' artillery power in Ukraine: experts

Ukraine is relying on the massive use of drones to compensate for an artillery shell shortage and undermine Russian military capabilities, but experts warned they cannot tip the balance.

"Ukraine can reduce its requirements for artillery ammunition by significantly increasing production of strike drones" continued Michael Kofman and Franz-Stefan Gady in the IISS review.

But drones have a small load capacity of just hundreds of grams of explosive and a few kilograms for the largest commercial drones.

"Even large numbers of small drones cannot match the potency of artillery fire," agreed Stacie Pettyjohn in a study by American security think-tank "CNAS".

Drones can supplement indirect fire weapons, but they are not substitutes, she added.

0204 GMT — Russia to send US a diplomatic note on secret service

The Russian embassy in the US will send Washington a diplomatic note on Monday protesting the actions of the secret service during Russia's presidential election TASS state news agency has reported.

Citing Russia's ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov, TASS reported on Monday that secret service officers "allowed blocking the entrance to the Russian embassy and creating obstacles for Russian citizens who came to vote."

2337 GMT — Direct conflict with NATO risks third world war, warns Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned the West that a direct conflict between Russia and the NATO military alliance would mean the planet was one step away from World War Three but said hardly anyone wanted such a scenario.

The Ukraine war has triggered the deepest crisis in Moscow's relations with the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.

"It is clear to everyone, that this will be one step away from a full-scale World War Three. I think hardly anyone is interested in this," Putin told reporters after winning the biggest-ever landslide in post-Soviet Russian history.

Putin has often warned of the risks of nuclear war but says he has never felt the need to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine.

French President Emmanuel Macron last month said he could not rule out the deployment of ground troops in Ukraine in the future, with many Western countries distancing themselves from that while others, especially in eastern Europe, expressed support.

For our live updates from Sunday, March 17, click here.