Romania counters Ukraine’s claim over straying Russian missiles

"Bucharest has denied that Russian missiles flew over Romania, countering Kyiv’s claims that two of Moscow’s rockets crossed the NATO member’s airspace on their way to Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said several Russian missiles had flown over Moldova and Romania, and that they were a challenge to the military alliance and collective security....Romania said authorities had detected an “aerial target launched from the Black Sea from a ship of the Russian Federation” but “at no point did it intersect with Romania’s airspace.” AlJazeera

International Criminal Court Issues Arrest Warrant for Vladimir Putin

"The International Criminal Court (ICC) has ordered an arrest warrant for Russian President
Vladimir Putin over allegations of war crimes in Ukraine, but the warrant is unenforceable — for now." Breitbart

Declassified Video Shows Russian Fighter Jet Collides with US Reaper Drone After Attempted Fuel Spray

"The U.S. has released declassified footage of the U.S. Reaper drone that crashed after
colliding with Russian jets. It was reported that the two Russian Su-27 jets were toying with the unmanned drone. ....you can see the Russian fighter planes dumping jet fuel on the MQ-9 reaper drone." TP

 

Russia, China, Iran Launch Naval Drills

"Russia, China and Iran launched the active phase of joint naval exercises near the Islamic
republic’s southernmost city.

“Maritime Security Belt 2023” will run from March 15-18 in three stages, including an active phase on March 16-17, in the Gulf of Oman near the Iranian port city of Chabahar." MT

Russian Opposition Ex-Mayor Roizman Jailed Over Social Media Post

"Russian opposition politician and former Yekaterinburg Mayor Yevgeny Roizman has been jailed over a social media post in support of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.

Roizman was accused of posting a video clip that briefly showed the logo of Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation, which was outlawed as an "extremist" organization in 2021, on social media platform VKontakte last February, according to police." MT

Russia Sentences Soldier Who Admitted to War Crimes in Ukraine

"A Russian court has sentenced a soldier who admitted to committing war crimes in Ukraine
to a 5.5-year suspended sentence.

The Khabarovsk Garrison Court Martial in Russia's Far East found Daniil Frolkin, 21, guilty of spreading ake news about the Russian military’s activities in Ukraine.

Frolkin is one of four Russian servicemen suspected of robberies, looting and murder of civilians in the Ukrainian village of Andriivka who iStories identified last year by using photos the soldiers took on a phone stolen from a resident.

When contacted by iStories, Frolkin confessed to the murder of a male resident of Andriivka who was identified as 47-year-old Ruslan Yaremchuk." MT

Israel nearing civil war

"Israeli President Isaac Herzog has warned that the Jewish state stands on the brink of civil
war over proposed judicial reforms by the newly-elected government. Amid nationwide protests, he presented a set of alternate reforms, which have been rejected by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

These legal changes would allow Israel’s parliament to override Supreme Court rulings with a simple majority vote, would grant the government more power in appointing judges, and would limit the ability of the court to review legislation it deems “unreasonable.” RT

Le Pen calls on French PM to resign

"The French right-wing National Rally party said that it intends to file a no-confidence motion against the government, after President Emmanuel Macron opted to push through controversial pension reform without a parliamentary vote.

Party leader Marine Le Pen also called on Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne to leave her post.

The reform, which would see France change its retirement age to 64 from 62 and which would require workers to contribute to the system for 43 years before receiving a full pension, has proven deeply unpopular, and has triggered weeks of protests and strikes across the country." RT

Chinese naval base in Africa a threat to US

"The head of US Africa Command, General Michael Langley, has insisted that China cannot
be allowed open a naval base in the west of the continent. 

China established its first overseas naval base in 2017, opening a facility in the east African nation of Djibouti. US officials have since claimed that Beijing is planning similar bases in 14 countries, including two – Equatorial Guinea and Angola – on Africa’s west coast." RT

Dutch food prices soar

"Food inflation has accelerated in the Netherlands with prices surging 18.4% year-on-year in
February from a 17.6% January reading. An economist at the third-largest Dutch bank ABN Amro, Aggie van Huisseling, said that unusually high energy prices continued to fuel inflation in the country. The increase in food prices stems mainly from the soaring costs of fresh vegetables, as products like tomatoes currently come mainly from greenhouses that are heated with gas, Van Huisseling explained." RT

Ukrainian forces hit five enemy command posts, two radar systems

"Ukrainian rocket and artillery forces in the last day hit five command posts of Russian troops,
five military personnel and equipment concentration areas, two radar systems, an electronic warfare station, and an anti-aircraft missile system.

According to the General Staff, forced passportization is ongoing in the temporarily captured territory of the Zaporizhzhia region. In Melitopol, the Russian occupation "authorities" forbade making any payments to citizens who do not have the registration number of the Russian taxpayer's registration card. Only the holders of Russian passports can obtain it." Ukrin

Ukranian Battalion commander of 46th brigade demoted after interview to Washington Post, hands in resignation

"Anatolii "Kupol" Kozel, was demoted from the post of combat battalion commander of the
46th Airmobile Brigade to deputy commander of the training center battalion after a controversial interview with The Washington Post. In response to such a move, Kupol wrote a resignation letter.

Commander Kupol was one of the interviewees of The Washington Post, and the conversation resulted in the outlet writing that the Defence Forces of Ukraine lost many of the most experienced fighters on the battlefield, and the inexperience of recruits, coupled with the lack of weapons, allegedly reduces optimism and calls into question Kyiv’s readiness for the spring offensive." Yahoo