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ukrainenews · 1 year

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Daily Wrap Up March 22-23, 2023

Under the cut:

Ukrainian troops, on the defensive for four months, will launch a long-awaited counterassault "very soon" now that Russia's huge winter offensive is losing steam without taking Bakhmut, Ukraine's top ground forces commander said on Thursday. The remarks were the strongest indication yet from Kyiv that it is close to shifting tactics, having absorbed Russia's onslaught through a brutal winter.

Spain is expected to send its first shipment of modern battle tanks to Ukraine by the end of next week, once officials have completed final firing tests in the field, the Spanish Defense Ministry said in a statement Thursday. The six Leopard 2A4 tanks have been undergoing final checks at a weapons factory near Seville in southern Spain, the statement said.

Finland has pledged three more Leopard 2 tanks from its arsenal to Ukraine, bringing the total to six, MTV Uutiset reported on March 23.

The Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) responded on March 23 to threats made by Russia, expressing regret over the country's attempts to obstruct "international efforts to ensure accountability" for violations of international law. "The Presidency of the Assembly emphasizes that the Court, its elected officials, and its staff have the strong support of the Assembly of State Parties to the Rome Statute," the statement read. "We reaffirm its full confidence in the Court as an independent and impartial judicial institution and reiterate our strong commitment to uphold and defend the principles and values enshrined in the Rome Statute and to preserve its integrity undeterred by any threats," the statement added.

Finland’s president, Sauli Niinistö, has signed legislation to make his country part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) during a ceremony on Thursday.

“Ukrainian troops, on the defensive for four months, will launch a long-awaited counterassault "very soon" now that Russia's huge winter offensive is losing steam without taking Bakhmut, Ukraine's top ground forces commander said on Thursday.

The remarks were the strongest indication yet from Kyiv that it is close to shifting tactics, having absorbed Russia's onslaught through a brutal winter.

Russia's Wagner mercenaries "are losing considerable strength and are running out of steam", Kyiv's ground forces commander Oleksandr Syrskyi said in a social media post.

"Very soon, we will take advantage of this opportunity, as we did in the past near Kyiv, Kharkiv, Balakliya and Kupiansk," he said, listing Ukrainian counteroffensives last year that recaptured swathes of land.

There was no immediate response from Moscow to the latest suggestions its forces in Bakhmut were losing momentum, but Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin has issued pessimistic statements in recent days warning of a Ukrainian counterassault.

On Monday, Prigozhin published a letter to Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, saying Ukraine aimed to cut off Wagner's forces from Russia's regular troops.

Reuters journalists near the front line north of Bakhmut saw signs consistent with the claim that the Russian offensive in the area could be flagging. At a Ukrainian-held village west of Soledar, on Bakhmut's northern outskirts, the intensity of the Russian bombardment had noticeably lessened compared with another visit nearby just two days earlier.

"It was really hot here a week ago, but in the last three days it has been more quiet," said a Ukrainian soldier who used the call sign "Kamin", or "Stone".

"We can see this in the enemy's air strikes. If before there were 5-6 air raids in a day, today we had only one helicopter attack and it was too far and so ineffective," said the soldier, a member of an anti-aircraft unit in the 10th Mountain Assault Brigade.

A slow-down in Russia's assault on Bakhmut could be in part a consequence of Moscow diverting its troops and resources to other areas. Britain said on Thursday that Russian troops had been making gains further north this month, partially regaining control over the approaches to the town of Kreminna, a Ukrainian target. Intense battles were also under way further south.

But any shift in momentum in Bakhmut, if confirmed, would be remarkable given the city's symbolic importance as the focus of Russia's offensive, and the scale of the losses on both sides there in Europe's bloodiest infantry battle since World War Two.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged Europe to provide more weapons, faster to his forces and impose additional sanctions on Russia, warning the war could otherwise drag on for years.

"If Europe waits, the evil may have time to regroup and prepare for years of war. It is in your power to prevent this," a clearly frustrated Zelenskiy said in a video address to European Union leaders, delivered from a train.”-via Reuters

“Spain is expected to send its first shipment of modern battle tanks to Ukraine by the end of next week, once officials have completed final firing tests in the field, the Spanish Defense Ministry said in a statement Thursday.

The six Leopard 2A4 tanks have been undergoing final checks at a weapons factory near Seville in southern Spain, the statement said.

Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles visited the factory Thursday and said four more Leopard tanks due for Ukraine will arrive there soon for inspection and testing.

The first group of Ukrainian troops to learn how to operate the Spanish tanks are wrapping up training at a military base in northern Spain, the Defense Ministry announced last week.

Some background: Robles initially told Spain's parliament last month that the country would send six Leopard tanks to Ukraine.

A day later, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez made a surprise visit to Kyiv on the anniversary of Russia’s invasion. He met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and announced Spain would bump its commitment to 10 fighting vehicles.”-via CNN

“Finland has pledged three more Leopard 2 tanks from its arsenal to Ukraine, bringing the total to six, MTV Uutiset reported on March 23.

Defense Minister Antti Kaikkonen also confirmed that Ukraine had approached Finland's Defense Ministry about supplying F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets.

Kaikkonen said that Finland "will respond to this query in due time," as cited by MTV Uutiset.

The transfer is part of Finland's 14th defense aid package to Ukraine since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion.

Finland will also provide Ukraine with training relating to the use and maintenance of the tanks.”-via Kyiv Independent

“Slovakia has handed four of its Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jets over to Ukraine, the country’s Defense Minister Jaro Nad said in a Facebook post on Thursday.

This comes days after the country pledged 13 Mig-29 fighter jets to Ukraine, along with Poland which pledged four.

On the question of a military advantage, Russia has been dismissive, claiming the gift of more Soviet-era MiGs to Ukraine will not alter the course of the conflict. Which might be why it is F-16s – and not MiGs – that are in fact at the top of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s wish list.

MiG-29s are analog aircraft, using older flight technology. Zelensky’s sought-after F-16s are digital. MiGs can be used for short combat missions, they can deploy weaponry and shoot down Russian aircraft with good maneuverability at short range. But F-16s can fly for longer, are more versatile, possess integrated weapons systems and have dramatically better long range and radar capability, therefore providing improved early warning.”-via CNN

“The Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) responded on March 23 to threats made by Russia, expressing regret over the country's attempts to obstruct "international efforts to ensure accountability" for violations of international law.

"The Presidency of the Assembly emphasizes that the Court, its elected officials, and its staff have the strong support of the Assembly of State Parties to the Rome Statute," the statement read.

"We reaffirm its full confidence in the Court as an independent and impartial judicial institution and reiterate our strong commitment to uphold and defend the principles and values enshrined in the Rome Statute and to preserve its integrity undeterred by any threats," the statement added.

The ICC issued arrest warrants on March 17 for Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, the Russian official overseeing the forced deportations of over 16,000 Ukrainian children to Russia.

In its statement, the ICC wrote that it believes Putin “bears individual criminal responsibility” as the leader of Russia for the crimes committed against Ukrainian children.

Russian ex-President Dmitriy Medvedev went on to threaten a missile strike against the Hague on March 20.

"Everyone walks under God and missiles. It's quite possible to envision a scenario where a Russian ship stationed in the North Sea could strategically strike the Hague courthouse with a hypersonic Onyx (cruise) missile," Medvedev, who is currently the deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, wrote.

He went on to warn judges of the International Criminal Court to "look carefully at the sky."

Russian investigators also announced on March 20 that they had opened a case against members of the ICC for issuing the arrest warrants.

Namely, the Investigative Committee of Russia targeted ICC prosecutor Karim Khan, as well as judges Tomoko Akane, Rosario Salvatore Aitala, and Sergio Gerardo Ugalde Godinez.

According to a press release, the committee is accusing the ICC of "bringing a known innocent person to criminal responsibility" and preparing "an attack on a representative of a foreign state who enjoys international protection, with the aim of complicating international relations."

Russia withdrew from the ICC in 2016 after the international organization criticized its illegal annexation of Ukraine's Crimean peninsula, meaning that Putin cannot be arrested unless he sets foot in one of the 123 countries that are party to the court.”-via Kyiv Independent

“Finland’s president, Sauli Niinistö, has signed legislation to make his country part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) during a ceremony on Thursday.

Last year, Finland sought to join the military alliance in response to Russia’s war in Ukraine, and legislation incorporating Nato’s founding treaties was passed in parliament in Helsinki on 1 March.

Hungary and Turkey, the only Nato members that have yet to ratify Finland’s membership, have both signalled they will soon do so.”-via The Guardian

#Daily Update #Ukraine #Russia #War in Ukraine #Finland #Spain #ICC #Slovakia #Bakhmut

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