President Volodymyr Zelensky held another meeting of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief's Staff on March 14, discussing the battlefield situation on the Bakhmut front line. "After considering the defense operation's progress in the Bakhmut area, all staff members expressed a common position
kyivindependent.com
In his evening address on March 13, Zelensky
said it was "very tough in the east, very painful," adding that the country's future "is being decided" on Ukraine's eastern front line. Earlier, he
told CNN that Russian forces would have an "open road" to seize other critical settlements in eastern Ukraine if they capture Bakhmut, defending Kyiv's decision to continue the city's defense despite Ukrainian troops suffering heavy losses.
The embattled city of Bakhmut has been Russia's main target for over seven months. Despite being surrounded on three sides by Russian troops, Ukraine's military has committed to its defense of Bakhmut, ostensibly to inflict large-scale attrition on the forces of the Wagner paramilitary group.
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A Russian fighter jet struck the propeller of a U.S. surveillance drone over the Black Sea on Tuesday in a “brazen violation of international law,” causing American forces to bring down the unmanned aerial vehicle, the U.S.
apnews.com
A Russian fighter jet
struck the propeller of a U.S. surveillance drone over the Black Sea on Tuesday in a “brazen violation of international law,” causing American forces to bring down the unmanned aerial vehicle, the U.S. said.
But Russia insisted its warplanes didn’t hit the MQ-9 Reaper drone. Instead, it said the drone maneuvered sharply and crashed into the water following an encounter with Russian fighter jets that had been scrambled to intercept it near Crimea.
This blog is now closed. You can read our full report of the drone incident here:
www.theguardian.com
The Pentagon said the drone was on a routine ISR (intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance) mission.
In a statement, US air force General James Hecker, said, ““Our MQ-9 aircraft was conducting routine operations in international airspace when it was intercepted and hit by a Russian aircraft, resulting in a crash and complete loss of the MQ-9”.