Here is the situation as it stands on Tuesday, March 28, 2023:
Diplomacy
- Russian President Vladimir Putin says Western criticism will not influence Russia’s plans to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in neighbouring Belarus.
- The United Nations Security Council has rejected a resolution by Russia calling for an independent inquiry into September’s explosions at the Nord Stream gas pipelines.
- Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy has met with Rafael Grossi, the head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog, in Zaporizhzhia city, where they discussed the situation at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant amid Ukraine’s fears the atomic plant could face a water shortage.
- Russia has warned Armenia of “serious consequences” if it submits to the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which has issued an arrest warrant for Putin, the state-owned RIA news agency reported.
- The Hungarian parliament has approved Finland’s NATO membership after months of delay. The move means that 29 of 30 NATO member state parliaments have ratified Finland’s accession, with Turkey expected to also give Helsinki the approval next month.
- Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland have issued a joint statement calling for the International Olympics Committee (IOC) to refrain from allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
Fighting
- The Ukrainian governor of Donetsk claims at least two people were killed and 29 injured, including a child, after a Russian attack on the city of Sloviansk.
- Russian forces are turning Avdiivka, a city in the Donetsk region near Bakhmut, into “a place from post-apocalyptic movies”, a Ukrainian official has said.
- Zelenskyy has met troops in southeastern Ukraine during ongoing visits to front-line regions.
Weapons
- Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of Russia’s Security Council, warns that Moscow has enough nuclear weapons to destroy “any adversary”, including the United States.
- Germany has delivered 18 advanced Leopard battle tanks, 40 German Marder infantry fighting vehicles, and two armoured recovery vehicles to Ukraine, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said.
- Poland and the European Union have discussed artillery munitions manufacturing as part of a new 2 billion euro ($2.2bn) program to supply Ukraine and restock Europe’s armed forces as well.
