Ukraine Breaking News Today Live on 03-05-2024

Two NATO fighter jets from Italy landed at the airbase on its inauguration.

In the city of Kucova, Albania a Soviet-era airbase was rebuilt and reopened to service NATO aircraft due to “probable threats to the region from Russia,” Reuters reported.

“This is a base that (will add) another element of security for our Western Balkans region which we all know it is a region endangered from the threat and neo-imperialist ambitions of the Russian Federation,” Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama is quoted saying during the inauguration of the Kucova Air Base on Monday, March 4.

The world in focus, as seen by a Canadian leading global affairs analyst, writer and speaker, in his review of international media.

The updated death toll from the weekend Russian drone attack on a residential complex in Odesa is now 12 - including five children. Twenty - including a pregnant woman - were injured. Local officials report extensive property damage. It now appears to be the deadliest Russian strike in the southern Ukraine port city. Early Tuesday morning another attack of 18 Shaheed drones caused infrastructure damage in Odesa

Former President Donald Trump scored a clear win at the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday, which unanimously ruled that states don't have the ability to bar him -- or any other federal candidates -- from the ballot under a rarely-used constitutional provision that prohibits those who "engaged in insurrection" from holding office. The decision shuts down a push in dozens of states to end Trump's candidacy through a clause in the 14th Amendment, written to prevent former Confederates from serving in government after the Civil War - AP

Jack Teixeira, the US airman responsible for leaking the US’s assessment of the Ukrainian military in 2023 – the worst leak in a decade – pled guilty to the charges and faced a 16-year sentence.

The US airman responsible for one of the most severe US intelligence leaks in a decade has pled guilty to six counts of willful transmission of national defense information and is now facing a sentence of up to 16 years and eight months.

The espionage charges that were dropped under the deal would have put him behind bars for life.

So far, no lethal poison gas use has been confirmed, it’s almost all CS gas grenades from quadcopters. Moscow accuses Kyiv of doing the same thing – but there’s less evidence.

One-quarter of all the Russian chemical weapons employed during the Kremlin’s two-year full-scale war in Ukraine were launched during the month of February 2024, an official Ukrainian military statement said.

Moscow’s troops have hit Ukrainian forces a total of 1,068 times with Geneva-banned tear gas since invading Ukraine, and 250 deployments of the irritant took place from Feb. 1-29 this year, a Monday statement from Ukraine’s Army General Staff said.

Users from around the world – including Ukraine – have reported issues with accessing Meta’s services such as Facebook and Instagram, as well as some Google services.

Thousands – potentially millions – of users worldwide have reported issues with accessing social media and messaging platforms under Meta. 

These included Facebook and Instagram at the time of writing. It is not immediately clear what caused the outage. 

For only the second time the global court has issued warrants linked to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the first for military commanders.

The Washington Post reported that the International Criminal Court (ICC) sitting in The Hague, Netherlands issued arrest warrants Tuesday for two high-ranking Russian military officers on charges linked to attacks on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.

The documents called for the arrest of Russian Lt. Gen. Sergei Ivanovich Kobylash and Russian navy Admiral Viktor Kinolayevich Sokolov. Kobylash was commander of the Long-Range Aviation of the Aerospace Force and Sokolov commanded the Black Sea Fleet at the times of the alleged crimes.

"We must take more responsibility for our own security, while, of course, remaining fully committed to our NATO alliance," said European Commission Vice President Margrethe Vestager.

EU officials on Tuesday unveiled an ambitious proposal to massively boost weapons production and procurement in the bloc to shift from a reliance on US arms and in reaction to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The European Commission says the 27-nation bloc is facing a new "security paradigm" with an expansionist Russia operating a wartime economy as it presses into year three of the conflict with Kyiv.

In four months as Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson has given Russia a chance to win its war in Ukraine, and thereby turn the world towards tyranny.

Johnson's term of office consists of stratagems to avoid funding Ukraine.  He and a minority of Trumpist Republicans have left Ukrainians without the means to defend themselves and enabled Russian aggressors to retake Ukrainian territory.  As a result, troops are killed and disabled every day.

Around the world, Johnson's behavior is seen as betrayal and weakness.  We tend to focus on the details of Johnson's various excuses, rather than seeing the larger pattern.  Johnson's success in making the war a story about him exemplifies the American propensity to miss the big picture.

A political party in Russia has urged authorities to investigate the “possible involvement of Western intelligence services” in the death of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, who died 71 years ago today.

The “Communists of Russia” party (CPKR) has urged Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) and the Prosecutor General’s Office to investigate the “possible involvement of Western intelligence services” in the death of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, who died 71 years ago today.

The party involved should not be confused with the official Russian communist party, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF), whose nominee Nikolay Kharitonov is one of the three approved candidates for this year’s presidential election alongside the incumbent, Vladimir Putin.

A reckless prospective foreign policy and a troubling unfitness to hold the nation’s highest office – why Donald Trump is the thorn in the side of the Republican party and a threat to democracy.

Political analysts have frequently noted the “division” within the Republican party between “centrist” Reagan Republicans and Trump’s “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) Republicans. Nikki Haley recently warned that “the party is completely divided”, adding “you can’t win the general election if you don’t acknowledge the 40 percent of Republicans who are saying ‘we don’t want Donald Trump’.”

Not a single American who has any shred of Ukrainian heritage or is concerned about the clear and present (foreign and domestic) danger of a second Trump term, should vote for him.

A retired US Army Lt. Colonel who worked at a US Air Force facility as a civilian employee has been arrested for disclosing “classified information” in relation to Ukraine on a foreign dating site.

Retired US Army Lt. Colonel David Franklin Slater, who worked as a civilian employee at Offutt Air Force Base while assigned to the US Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM), was arrested on March 2 for disclosing “classified information relating to the national defense (National Defense Information or NDI)” between February and April 2022.

According to the US Department of Justice press release, a “co-conspirator” who “claimed to be a female living in Ukraine on the foreign dating website” addressed Slater as her “secret informant love” and her “secret agent” in her messages and asked him to provide her with classified information on Ukraine.

Russian naval commander details how Ukrainian intelligence forces used 5 unmanned surface drones to sink the Russian naval patrol vessel Sergei Kotov along with a Ka-29 military helicopter.

In a newly intercepted conversation, a Russian Black Sea Fleet commander revealed details of the sinking of the Sergei Kotov naval patrol ship and a Ka-29 naval combat helicopter by Ukraine’s military intelligence forces using naval drones early Tuesday morning.

According to the transcript shared by the Ukrainian Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR), the commander of the Russian vessel’s 184th Naval Brigade detailed the Ukrainian force’s successful attack with five unmanned surface vessels (USV) that destroyed the patrol ship on Tuesday, March 5.

The Atesh guerrilla movement has discovered that Russian pilots and crew are using a number of nearby private homes as their quarters.

Atesh has documented the active use by Russian troops of areas within the destroyed Azovstal steel plant for the parking deployment of combat helicopters, which they have posted on Telegram.

The partisans released matching videos that they say show “The occupiers are deploying combat helicopters on Azovstal,” and said the helicopters are being used for combat missions.

"Super Tuesday" -- the primary cycle's largest single day of voting, with contests in 15 states and one territory -- is historically a defining moment in the race for the presidential nomination.

Donald Trump looks to cement his hold on the Republican presidential nomination Tuesday as the first polls open on one of the most important days of the US electoral calendar.

"Super Tuesday" -- the primary cycle's largest single day of voting, with contests in 15 states and one territory -- is historically a defining moment in the race for the presidential nomination.

Bulgarian Parliament Speaker Rosen Zhelyazkov said that diversifying the energy supply is increasingly important in the wake of Russia's military aggression against Ukraine.

Bulgaria has started negotiations with Azerbaijan to increase gas supplies to Romania, Moldova and Ukraine through the future vertical Balkan gas corridor, the Bulgarian parliament’s press center announced on Monday, March 4.

Bulgarian Parliament Speaker Rosen Zhelyazkov is on an official visit to Azerbaijan and has held talks with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on securing Azeri gas for Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Moldova and Ukraine.

French president emphasizes unpleasant realties and needs for Europe, and implicitly the US, too.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday urged Ukraine's allies not to be "cowards" in supporting the country to fight off the Russian invasion.

Macron's comments appeared to be a defiant reaffirmation of controversial remarks he made last week not ruling out sending Western troops to Ukraine that sent a shockwave around Europe.

At a press conference after a Paris meeting of EU leaders, Macron said that while there was no consensus about sending troops to Ukraine, given the dynamic unfolding, nothing could be ruled out.

The controversy over statements made by French President Emmanuel Macron last week continues. At a press conference after a Paris meeting of EU leaders aimed at boosting European support for Ukraine he had said that while there was no consensus about sending troops to Ukraine, given the dynamic unfolding, nothing could be ruled out. EU leaders were quick to reject the idea.

Europe getting nervous

The European Commission will discuss the possibility of a “war economy mode” transition today to boost arms production capacities across the bloc, but multiple hurdles remain along the way.

The European Commission is set to discuss the viability of a “war economy mode” transition today aimed at increasing the EU’s arms production capacities by encouraging EU countries to purchase weapons together domestically, as reported by Reuters.

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has highlighted the EU’s inability to produce and procure a large number of munitions in a short period, which has led to the munition shortages suffered by Ukraine at present.

Following the attack on the military facility, a fire erupted at the Russian oil depot in the Belgorod region, with sources confirming to Kyiv Post that it was a Ukrainian intelligence operation.

The Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR) of the Ministry of Defense carried out an attack on a Russian oil depot in the Belgorod region, resulting in a fire, sources in the special services told Kyiv Post.

“This is the HUR Operation. Successful destruction of a military object,” the source said, without providing further details.

Navalny, 47, who died in an Arctic prison colony, was laid to rest in Moscow on Friday, surrounded by crowds of defiant mourners who chanted his name.

More than 40 countries on Monday demanded an independent international investigation into the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny -- and said President Vladimir Putin bore ultimate responsibility.

European Union members, the United States, Britain, Ukraine, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway were among countries to voice outrage over Navalny's death at the UN Human Rights Council.

Military Intelligence said the special operation used Ukraine’s own MAGURA V5 maritime drones to sink the Russian patrol ship Sergey Kotov in the Black Sea in the pre-dawn attack.

Ukrainian naval drones from the Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR) of the Ministry of Defense on Tuesday morning sank one of the Russian Black Sea Fleet’s patrol ships in another blow to Kremlin naval power in the region, as disclosed by a source in the HUR to Kyiv Post.

The explosives, remotely controlled by operators from HUR, struck the vessel while it was patrolling in a Kerch strait.

Macron also stirred controversy last week when he suggested the West might send soldiers to Ukraine, an idea largely rejected by France's allies.

French President Emmanuel Macron will visit Prague on Tuesday to clarify his country's standpoint on a Czech plan to buy weapons outside Europe for war-ravaged Ukraine.

Macron is due to meet Czech President Petr Pavel and Prime Minister Petr Fiala, and address a nuclear forum during his one-day visit.

Latest from the Institute for the Study of War.

Key Takeaways from the ISW:

• Russian Security Council Deputy Chairperson Dmitry Medvedev promoted Russia’s extensive territorial objectives that expand deep into Ukraine’s territory.
• The Ukrainian Main Military Intelligence Directorate (GUR) reported that unknown actors detonated explosives and severely damaged a Russian railway bridge over the Chapaevka River near Chapaevsk, Samara Oblast on March 4.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly awarded a Russian Airborne Forces (VDV) and Spetsnaz-affiliated Russian milblogger, likely as part of the Kremlin’s longstanding efforts to co-opt milbloggers and make them loyal to the Kremlin.
• The Russian government reportedly hid data on recipients of social support services in 2022, likely to obfuscate casualties suffered in the first year of the war in Ukraine or to cover up the government’s inability to pay promised social support to vulnerable populations.
• The Kremlin is continuing efforts to ensure high voter turnout in the upcoming presidential election to present the guise of legitimacy and widespread popular support among Russian President Vladimir Putin’s domestic electorate.
• Russian authorities continue to exploit the leaked recording of German military officers discussing the theoretical provision of Taurus missiles to Ukraine to deter Western military aid provisions to Ukraine.
• Russian forces recently made confirmed advances near Bakhmut, Avdiivka, and Donetsk City amid continued positional engagements along the entire frontline.
• A Russian news aggregator claimed on March 4 that Russian forces replaced Storm-Z convict units with Storm-V units, a mechanism for distributing convicts into the regular Russian military as opposed to keeping them siloed within convict-only units, as was the case with Storm-Z formations.