Closing summary
Ukraine hopes to have enough ammunition for its troops to repel Russian aggression starting from April, amid a Czech-led initiative to source shells for supply, Ukraine’s prime minister, Denys Shmyhal, said on Tuesday.
Estonia’s prime minister, Kaja Kallas, called on Nato allies to increase their defence spending to over 3% of gross domestic product (GDP), saying her country is already investing more than 3% of its GDP in defence and that all Nato allies should follow suit.
Russia has launched 130 missiles of various types, more than 320 Shahed attack drones and almost 900 guided bombs in attacks on Ukraine so far this month, Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said.
A Russian energy ministry official earlier revealed plans to defend oil and gas facilities with missile systems. “We are jointly working, including with colleagues from the Russian National Guard, to cover objects, on installing, accordingly, protection systems such as Pantsir,” Artyom Verkhov, director of energy ministry’s department for gas industry development, told a parliament meeting.
The EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said he will propose that the EU uses 90% of the revenues from Russian assets frozen in Europe to buy arms for Ukraine via the European Peace Facility fund. Borrell told reporters in Brussels he would propose that the remaining 10% be transferred to the EU budget to be used to boost the capacity of the Ukrainian defence industry. He said he would submit the proposal to EU member states on Wednesday, ahead of a summit of EU leaders on Thursday and Friday.
Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, said that Vladimir Putin was not the legitimate president of Russia and that the official results of the election had no meaning. “We proved to ourselves and others that Putin is not our president. We did not elect him,” Navalnaya said of the “noon against Putin” protests held on the last day of the presidential election on Sunday.
Russia appointed Adm Alexander Moiseyev as acting navy chief, replacing Nikolai Yevmenov, according to the state RIA news agency, which confirmed earlier reports of the reshuffle.
About 9,000 children will be evacuated from the Russian border city of Belgorod and from several districts in the wider region of the same name due to Ukrainian shelling, Vyacheslav Gladkov, the regional governor, said earlier today. The first group of 1,200 children will be evacuated on 22 March, Gladkov said.
Vladimir Putin will travel to China in May for talks with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in what could be the Russian president’s first overseas trip of his new presidential term, sources told Reuters. “Putin will visit China,” one of the sources, said. The details were independently confirmed to Reuters by four other sources, who also spoke on condition of anonymity. Putin’s trip to China is thought likely to take place in the second half of May, according to one source.
This blog is closing now but you can read all our Ukraine coverage here.
Updated
The UK’s prime minister, Rishi Sunak, will host European leaders at Blenheim Palace in July.
Sunak said the European Political Community summit on 18 July would offer the chance to discuss issues including support for Ukraine and “stopping the scourge of people smuggling”.
He said:
I am delighted that the UK will host the next European Political Community meeting at the historic Blenheim Palace.
It is an important forum for cooperation across the whole of Europe on the issues that are affecting us all, threatening our security and prosperity.
From putting our full support behind Ukraine to stopping the scourge of people smuggling and illegal migration, under the UK’s leadership the meeting will bring together our European friends, partners, and neighbours to address our shared challenges.
A date is finally announced. UK PM will host leaders from across Europe at the European Political Community meeting on 18 July. Gathering to bring together around 50 leaders from across the region to discuss shared challenges such as Ukraine and illegal migration.
— Patrick Wintour (@patrickwintour) March 19, 2024
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