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Ukraine Invasion
Defense Policy / Programs
Foreign Policy
News Reports

Ukraine Invasion

• The total combat losses of the enemy from 24.02.2022 to 16.03.2023 Ukraine MOD 16 Mar 2023
• Russia Launches More Attacks On Bakhmut, 'Regardless Of Losses,' As U.S. Warns Of 'Tough Fight' Ahead RFE/RL 16 Mar 2023 -- Russian troops launched several waves of attacks on Ukrainian positions in and around Bakhmut over the past day, Ukraine's military said on March 16, as the monthslong battle for the city in the eastern region of Donetsk continued at high intensity.
• Russia's energy grid attacks, torture in Ukraine, could be crimes against humanity: UN rights probe UN News 16 Mar 2023 -- Russian forces in Ukraine faced fresh accusations of war crimes on Thursday as UN-appointed independent human rights investigators released the latest findings of their ongoing probe.
• UN: Russian Attacks on Civilians in Ukraine Could Amount to War Crimes VOA 16 Mar 2023 -- United Nations investigators accused Russian authorities of a pattern of grave, wide-ranging human rights violations against Ukrainian civilians that, in many cases, could amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
• War crimes, indiscriminate attacks on infrastructure, systematic and widespread torture show disregard for civilians, says UN Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine OHCHR 16 Mar 2023 -- Russian authorities have committed a wide range of violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law in various regions of Ukraine, many of which amount to war crimes, the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine said in a new report Thursday.
• UN Report: Russia Committed Torture, War Crimes, Possible Crimes Against Humanity In Ukraine RFE/RL 16 Mar 2023 -- Russia has perpetrated large-scale violations of international human rights and humanitarian norms - some of them amounting to war crimes - since the start of its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine more than a year ago, the UN-backed Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine said in a report released on March 16.

Defense Policy / Programs

• MEDIA ADVISORY: Camera footage release from U.S. Air Force MQ-9 interaction with Russian SU-27 in Black Sea EUCOM 16 Mar 2023 -- U.S. European Command released declassified footage of a Russian Su-27 aircraft conducting an unsafe/unprofessional intercept of a U.S. Air Force MQ-9 in international airspace over the Black Sea, March 14. In addition to the footage, a storyboard of the events with declassified stills from the MQ-9 footage is also released.
• U.S. Releases Footage From Drone Incident Over Black Sea RFE/RL 16 Mar 2023 -- The United States on March 16 released a video showing an encounter between one of its surveillance drones and two Russian fighter jets over the Black Sea that resulted in the loss of the U.S. aircraft, further heightening tensions between Washington and Moscow.
• US Releases Video of Encounter Between Russian Fighter Jets and US Drone VOA 16 Mar 2023 -- The U.S. military released a video Thursday of a Russian military intercept that resulted in the downing of a U.S. surveillance drone Tuesday over the Black Sea.
• Russian, US defense ministers discuss drone incident, hinting at little possibility of escalation Global Times 16 Mar 2023 -- Communications between the Russian and US defense ministers over the incident in which a US drone crashed into the Black Sea hinted that both sides are trying to avoid an escalation of the situation despite showing no compromise on words, and the following encounter may focus on retrieving and dealing with the wreckage, analysts said.
• Russia seeks to retrieve remains of U.S. drone from Black Sea People's Daily 16 Mar 2023 -- Russia will try to retrieve the wreckage of a U.S. surveillance drone that crashed into the Black Sea on Tuesday, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev said Wednesday.
• Central Africa Calls for Investments to Counter Impact of Russia's War VOA 16 Mar 2023 -- Central African economy ministers are calling for investing in energy and farming as Africa's poorest region struggles to recover from natural disasters, armed conflicts, and fallout from Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Heads of state from the six nations of regional bloc CEMAC meet Friday to discuss the challenges.
• Don't Call It Mobilization: Across Russia, Military Recruiters Send Out New Orders RFE/RL 16 Mar 2023 -- In Voronezh, south of Moscow, military recruiting offices are sending out orders to draft-age men, telling them to update their contact information.
• Russia's Wagner Mercenary Group Turns To Pornhub For Ukraine War Recruits RFE/RL 16 Mar 2023 -- The Russian mercenary group Wagner has placed advertisements on Pornhub, the world's largest pornographic website, as it tries to recruit fighters to reinforce its troops fighting as part of the Kremlin's war against Ukraine.

Foreign Policy

• Briefing by Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, Moscow, March 16, 2023 Russia Ministry of Foreign Affairs 16 Mar 2023
• Plenary session of RSPP Congress President of Russia 16 Mar 2023 -- Vladimir Putin took part in the annual congress of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs.
• Statement by Committee of Ministers President on the anniversary of the expulsion of the Russian Federation from the Council of Europe Council of Europe 16 Mar 2023 -- The Icelandic Minister for Foreign Affairs and President of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, Thórdís Kolbrún Reykfjörd Gylfadóttir, has made the following statement on the anniversary of the expulsion of the Russian Federation from the Council of Europe:
• US, Canada, EU Demand Africa Stop Contacts With Russia - Russian Foreign Ministry Sputnik 16 Mar 2023 -- Delegations from the United States, Canada and the EU, in anticipation of the upcoming second Russia-Africa summit, are demanding that African leaders in fact stop cooperation with Moscow, Russian Foreign Ministry Ambassador-at-Large Oleg Ozerov told Sputnik.

News Reports

• Russia slams Denmark over Nord Stream investigation 'fraud' Press TV 16 Mar 2023 -- Russia has slammed Denmark for not giving Moscow access to investigations about the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines, describing an earlier probe on this matter as a fraudulent "scam".
• Former Mayor Of Yekaterinburg Detained Again On Extremism Charge RFE/RL 16 Mar 2023 -- The former mayor of the Urals city of Yekaterinburg, Yevgeny Roizman, who is under investigation on a controversial charge of discrediting the armed forces involved in Russia's invasion of Ukraine, has been sentenced to 14 days in prison on a separate charge of distribution of extremist symbols.
• Russian Uranium Company Appeals Namibian Government Decision VOA 16 Mar 2023 -- A court in Namibia is hearing an appeal by the local branch of Russia's state-owned atomic energy agency, Rosatom, which is seeking water permits needed for uranium mining.