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Ukraine Invasion
Defense Policy / Programs
Foreign Policy
News Reports

Ukraine Invasion

• Shelling Of Kharkiv Kills 5 As Kyiv's Forces Continue Hitting Russia's Belgorod Region RFE/RL 20 Mar 2024 -- Five people were killed on March 20 as a result of Russian shelling of the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv during the afternoon as Kyiv's military said more than 60 combat clashes took place along the front line.
• Shelling Intensifies Along Border In Both Ukraine, Russia RFE/RL 20 Mar 2024 -- Russian troops on March 19 shelled border territories and settlements in the northeastern Sumy region, targeting more than a half dozen communities in at least 30 incidents on a single day.
• Russia warns French forces in Ukraine 'priority, legitimate' target Press TV 20 Mar 2024 -- Russia's foreign intelligence (SVR) top brass said any French military unit sent to Ukraine to help it fight Russia would be a "priority" target for the Russian army.
• Statement by Russian Defence Ministry Russia MoD 20 Mar 2024 -- At around 11:30 Moscow time, the Russian Armed Forces have foiled attempts by the Kiev regime to launch terrorist attacks on the territory of the Russian Federation using RM-70 Vampire MLRS projectiles.
• Statement by Russian Defence Ministry Russia MoD 20 Mar 2024 -- Last night, the Russian Armed Forces have foiled attempts by the Kiev regime to launch terrorist attacks on the territory of the Russian Federation using fixed-wing UAVs.
• Ukraine's Military Losses Amount to Over 71,000 People Since Start of 2024 - Shoigu Sputnik 20 Mar 2024 -- Ukraine has lost more than 71,000 soldiers and over 11,000 units of various weapons since the start of the year, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Wednesday.
• Air Defenses Shot Down 5 Ukrainian Drones Over Belgorod, Saratov Regions - MoD Sputnik 20 Mar 2024 -- Russian air defense systems shot down four Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) over the Saratov Region and another one over the Belgorod Region overnight, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday.
• Russia Warns Japan of Consequences if Patriot Missiles Sent to Ukraine Sputnik 20 Mar 2024 -- Russia has warned Japan via diplomatic channels of consequences in the event of transferring missiles for the Patriot missile defense systems to the United States, which could end up in Ukraine, the acting director of the Russian Foreign Ministry's Third Asia Department, Sergey Zhestkii, has told Sputnik.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Russian Defence Ministry Board session takes place in Moscow Russia MoD 20 Mar 2024 -- Today, the National Centre for State Defence Control has hosted the Defence Ministry Extended Board session chaired by Defence Minister General of the Army Sergei Shoigu.
• Pacific Fleet's corvette detachment undergoes complex exercise with artillery fire in Sea of Japan Russia MoD 20 Mar 2024 -- The Pacific Fleet's detachment comprising of corvettes Hero of the Russian Federation Aldar Zydenzhapov, Gromky, and Sovershenny underwent complex drills with artillery live fires in the Peter the Great Bay and in the Sea of Japan.

Foreign Policy

• Briefing by Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, Moscow, March 20, 2024 Russia Ministry of Foreign Affairs 20 Mar 2024
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulates President Putin on his re-election India MEA 20 Mar 2024
• Telephone conversation with Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi President of Russia 20 Mar 2024
• Telephone conversation with President of the UAE Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan President of Russia 20 Mar 2024
• Telephone conversation with King of Bahrain Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa President of Russia 20 Mar 2024 -- Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with King of Bahrain Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa at the latter's initiative.
• Press release on Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's upcoming meeting with First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Serbia Ivica Dacic Russia Ministry of Foreign Affairs 20 Mar 2024
• Russia Delivers 25,000 Tonnes of Grain to Zimbabwe Free of Charge Sputnik 20 Mar 2024 -- Russia has delivered 25,000 tonnes of grain to Zimbabwe free of charge, Russian Ambassador to Zimbabwe Nikolai Krasilnikov said on Wednesday.
• Russia Donates Fertilizer, Grain to Zimbabwe VOA 20 Mar 2024 -- Russia donated 25,000 tons of grain and 23,000 tons of fertilizer to Zimbabwe to help combat the effects of El Nino-induced drought, which has dwindled crop yields in most parts of Southern Africa.
• Imposing Sanctions on Actors Supporting Kremlin-Directed Disinformation Efforts US Dept. of State 20 Mar 2024 -- The United States is today designating two individuals and two entities for providing services to the government of Russia in connection with a foreign malign influence campaign.
• Treasury Sanctions Actors Supporting Kremlin-Directed Malign Influence Efforts US Treasury 20 Mar 2024 -- Today, the Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated two individuals and two entities for services they provided the Government of the Russian Federation (GoR) in connection with a foreign malign influence campaign, including attempting to impersonate legitimate media outlets.
• Talks Held between DPRK and Russian Officials KCNA 20 Mar 2024 -- Talks between Yun Jong Ho, minister of External Economic Relations of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, and Oleg Kozhemyako, governor of the Maritime Territory Administration of the Russian Federation, took place at the Mansudae Assembly Hall here on March 19.
• China, Not Russia, Still Tops List of Threats to US VOA 20 Mar 2024 -- Russia's war in Ukraine — portrayed by top U.S. officials as posing a danger to the United States itself — still trails China when it comes to long-term threats to America's security, according to a top Pentagon official.

News Reports

• The Russian Polling Places Where Putin Lost, Even By The Official Count RFE/RL 20 Mar 2024 -- The day after voting concluded in Russia's election, the state news website in Kamchatka's capital published the official preliminary results for the Far Eastern region, noting every district reported at least 80 percent support for President Vladimir Putin. Two districts reported over 90 percent for the incumbent.
• Historian Says Putin Has Slipped Up Geostrategically, Geoeconomically, And Geopolitically RFE/RL 20 Mar 2024 -- Robert Service is among the world's most authoritative historians of Soviet and Russian history and the author of books including biographies of Trotsky, Lenin, and Stalin as well as 2019's Kremlin Winter: Russia And The Second Coming Of Vladimir Putin. He is emeritus professor of Russian history at Oxford and a senior fellow of the Hoover Institution at Stanford.