Author: dmitriy.vasyura@gmail.com

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has acknowledged that Ukraine's defence forces have thwarted a large-scale offensive that Russia had deliberate to proceed this spring.

Supply: Zelenskyy in an interview with CNN and on social media

Quote: "Russia ready an enormous offensive operation which they needed to launch on the finish of final yr and proceed this spring. We performed our personal counteroffensive actions in flip to stop Russia from attacking us on a big scale.

It was successful, not solely due to the land, but additionally due to our folks, in addition to stopping a serious Russian offensive."

Particulars: Zelenskyy defined that every one this has largely been made potential due to Ukrainian drone applied sciences. Russia has began dropping 30,000-35,000 troops each month due to first-person view (FPV) drones and different forms of unmanned methods.

Zelenskyy additionally stated Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin has by no means needed to cease the battle towards Ukraine.

"He has been afraid of President Trump and of strain from the US. That's why he has performed this sport, pretending he has needed negotiations. I hold believing that America has to extend strain on Putin. In any other case, he won’t negotiate in good religion. He solely needs to place ahead ultimatums to Ukraine, as his demand to withdraw from our territory. However this won’t satiate his urge for food," he stated.

Zelenskyy careworn that the scenario round Iran is producing extra revenues for Russia.

Quote: "Our intelligence studies that because of all of the sanctions imposed by the US and the EU, and due to our deep strikes on Russian power infrastructure, Russia confronted a deficit of greater than US$100 billion in 2026 alone.

Now we see they’ve made round US$10 billion over two weeks of the battle within the Center East. That is actually harmful. It offers Putin extra confidence that he can proceed the battle."

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Russia and China are offering help to Iran in a number of areas, together with "navy cooperation", Iranian International Minister Abbas Araghchi has stated.

Supply: Araghchi in an interview with broadcaster MS NOW on Saturday 15 March, as reported by Politico, a Brussels-based politics and coverage information organisation

Particulars: Araghchi stated Russia and China are Tehran's strategic companions in the course of the struggle with the US and Israel.

Quote: "We’ve got had shut cooperation prior to now, which nonetheless continues, and that features navy cooperation as nicely."

Extra particulars: Araghchi added that Iran has "good cooperation with these international locations: politically, economically, even militarily".

Politico notes that US President Donald Trump prompt on Friday that Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin could also be serving to Iran "a bit".

In 2021, Iran signed a 25-year financial cooperation settlement with Beijing targeted on the sale of Iran's wealthy oil reserves to produce China.

In Saturday's interview, Araghchi additionally touched on the state of affairs in the important thing maritime route – the Strait of Hormuz, which runs close to the coast of Iran and Oman and thru which one-fifth of world oil and fuel provides cross. Tensions within the strait have pushed oil costs to greater than US$100 per barrel and threaten financial turmoil world wide.

Araghchi stated that the strait is closed to tankers and ships belonging to "our enemies, to those that are attacking us and their allies".

"The Strait just isn’t closed. It’s only closed to American, Israeli ships and tankers, and to not others," he added.

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A Russian drone attacked a checkpoint close to the village of Novoselivka within the Kyselivka hromada within the Chernihiv district on the afternoon of 15 March. The strike killed one soldier and injured 5 others, together with a police officer. [A hromada is an administrative unit designating a village, several villages, or a town, and their adjacent territories – ed.]

Supply: Dmytro Bryzhynskyi, Head of Chernihiv Metropolis Army Administration, on social media and in a remark to Suspline, a Ukrainian public broadcaster

Particulars: Chernihiv Metropolis Army Administration mentioned the assault resulted in a single fatality and several other accidents amongst army personnel.

A police officer can also be recognized to have been injured.

Quote from Bryzhynskyi: "Unidentified explosive units dropped from the UAV are nonetheless detonating; the suitable providers are working on the scene."

Replace: Bryzhynskyi informed Suspilne that 5 service members are recognized to have been injured as of 16:00. They’re at present being handled at medical services in Chernihiv. The police officer is affected by concussion.

Background: On 14 March, two medics have been killed close to the village of Chervona Khvylia in Kharkiv Oblast on account of a Russian assault.

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