Ukraine: Russian missiles in Crimea destroyed by an explosion
02:50 | Russian missiles transported by rail to the northern part of the Crimean peninsula were destroyed in an explosion, Ukraine’s defense ministry reported on Monday evening. Kiev did not say whether it was behind the explosion near the city of Dzhankoy, but said in a statement that “the demilitarization of Russia” continues.
A Russian representative in Crimea confirmed the blast, according to Reuters news agency, saying it was the result of a drone strike. According to the official, one person was injured in the attack, buildings were also damaged and electricity went out.
According to the Ukrainians, the Kalibr cruise missiles used by the Russian Navy in missions over the Black Sea have been destroyed. Reuters news agency says it cannot verify the claims made by either the Ukrainians or the Russians.
While it is true that Russian cruise missiles were detonated by the Ukrainian attack, it is a “rare” attack in Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014, according to the BBC. The British broadcaster shares images of an illuminated sky that appeared on social media.
Last summer, a large ammunition depot exploded near Dzhankoy. Even then there may have been a Ukrainian drone strike, but Kiev rarely admits to being behind such attacks.
Situation on Monday 20 March
Russian cruise missiles for use by Moscow’s Black Sea Fleet were destroyed in an explosion in the town of Dzhankoi in the north of the Crimean peninsula, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said.
Russia and China “They have the same or similar goals,” Xi Jinping told Vladimir Putin during informal talks in the Kremlin on Monday.
Putin told Xi that he did Beijing proposal to end Ukraine’s “acute crisis” and viewed the plan with respect.
THE US Secretary of State Antony Blinken he criticized Xi for providing Russia with a “diplomatic cover” to continue committing war crimes.
Any future peace plan it must request Russia to withdraw its troops from all of Ukraine, reiterated Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council.
THE Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida he will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev, Japanese broadcaster NHK reported.
Russia expects the beginning of April an informal meeting of the United Nations Security Council on what it says is “the real situation” of Ukrainian children being brought to Russia, reports the Associated Press.
Yevgeny Prigozhinthe head of the Russian mercenary group Wagner, warned in a letter to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu that the Ukrainian military is planning a menacing offensive to isolate its forces from Russian forces in eastern Ukraine.
THE Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court he said the world “must have the stamina” to uphold international law by bringing those accused of war crimes to Ukraine, four days after the tribunal took action against Vladimir Putin. Karim Khan also challenged the Kremlin to allow the return of Ukrainian children kidnapped in Russia.
EU ministers have reached an agreement on the supply of 1 million cartridges to Ukraine to strengthen defenses against the Russian invasion.
The United States will be Ukraine $350 million in weapons and equipment send, Blinken announced. The latest aid package includes a large amount of different types of munitions, such as missiles for High Mobility Artillery Missile Systems (Himars).
Norway has eight Leopard 2 tanks supplied to Ukraine, a spokesman for its military said.
This live blog is based on reports from our correspondents and editors BNR, The Guardian, ANP, Al Jazeera, Reuters, Associated Press, CNN, BBC, CNBC and Agence France-Presse. BNR also uses online reports from news agencies Tass and RIA Novosti (Russia) and Belta (Belarus). Since the reporting of these agencies is not verifiable and cannot be qualified as independent, in these cases the origin of the report is explicitly stated.