"We are clear-eyed about the reality of what’s happening on the ground. No one should be fooled by Russia's announcement. We believe any movement of Russian forces from around Kiev is a redeployment, not a withdrawal."

— Reuters citing a U.S. official

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Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov recorded a video message, expressing disapproval for Moscow’s peace negotiations with “puppet” Zelensky.

Kadyrov also appealed directly to Putin, saying that fighters on the ground were discouraged by today’s news of a draw back near Kiev and want to complete the task of denazifying Ukraine.

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❗️Kremlin: The transition to ruble payments for Russian gas will not start on March 31. This is going to be a lengthy process.

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“We have information that Putin felt misled by the Russian military. There is now persistent tension between Putin and the MOD (Ministry of Defense), stemming from Putin’s mistrust in MOD leadership.”

— NBC News citing a U.S. official

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Zelensky’s adviser Alexei Arestovich admitted to the Washington Post that Ukrainian forces have been placing heavy military equipment in residential neighborhoods, but defended the tactic saying “international humanitarian laws or the laws of war don’t apply in this conflict."

The same article notes:

Over the past month, Washington Post journalists have witnessed Ukrainian antitank rockets, antiaircraft guns and armored personnel carriers placed near apartment buildings. In one vacant lot, Post journalists spotted a truck carrying a Grad multiple rocket launcher.

Ukraine’s strategy of placing heavy military equipment and other fortifications in civilian zones could weaken Western and Ukrainian efforts to hold Russia legally culpable for possible war crimes, said human rights activists and international humanitarian law experts.

The Ukrainian military has “a responsibility under international law” to remove their forces and equipment from civilian-populated areas, and if that is not possible, to move civilians out of those areas.

“If they don’t do that, that is a violation of the laws of war because they are putting civilians at risk. All that military equipment are legitimate targets.”

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❗️President of South Ossetia, whose independence from Georgia was recognized by Moscow in 2008, says he’s initiating the process of bringing the republic into Russia.

Days earlier, similar statements were made by the heads of the People’s Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk.

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Vladimir Putin's approval rating has soared to 83%, according to a recent survey by the Levada Center, Russia's independent pollster.

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Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov doubles down on his anti-negotiations rhetoric in regard to Ukraine.

In a new video recording, Kadyrov criticized Moscow’s chief negotiator for making misleading statements and promised to eventually take Kiev if Zelensky fails to surrender.

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❗️Germany: Putin agreed to keep gas payments for Europe in euros.

Following a Scholz-Putin phone call, Germany announced that it has received assurances that European companies could continue paying for gas in euros.

According to German officials, the Russian president told Scholz that under the new scheme payments in euros would be made through Gazprom Bank, which is not affected by sanctions, and then converted into rubles.

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Vast majority of Americans are big fans of Ukraine’s Zelensky.

72% of Americans have confidence in Zelensky, compared to 48% for their own President Joe Biden, and just 6% for Putin, according to a PEW Research survey.

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Kiev’s open glorification of WWII Nazi collaborators draws backlash from Poland, prompting the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine’s legislative body) to delete a post from their official Twitter account.

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Caught on camera: Ukrainian forces using ambulances for transportation, presumably as part of the same dirty tactic of hiding behind civilians and civilian infrastructure.

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❗️Putin signs decree mandating the sale of gas in rubles starting April 1.

European buyers are now required to open ruble accounts in specific Russian banks, which are then to be used for conducting payments.

Refusal to comply with the new scheme will result in a halt of gas supplies, Russia’s leader warned.

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❗️Putin: Europe will face massive deindustrialization and job losses as a consequence of U.S. actions.

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Russia sanctions threaten to erode dominance of U.S. dollar, says IMF.

Financial sanctions imposed on Russia by Western countries threaten to gradually dilute the dominance of the U.S. dollar and could result in a more fragmented international monetary system, Gita Gopinath, IMF's First Deputy Managing Director, told The Financial Times.

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A newly surfaced video reveals captured Russian pilot being threatened with castration.

While transporting the injured POW, Ukrainian soldiers filmed themselves calling the prisoner’s girlfriend and telling her that he will be castrated.

The pilot is believed to be Major Krasnoyartsev, whose capture was reported on March 5. His current condition or whereabouts are unknown.

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A journalist with insight into Russia’s power circles writes what the country’s elites think about the Ukraine war and its consequences.

Those in the West who supported sanctioning Russia will likely find the end result very disappointing.

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🇷🇺🎾 Russian tennis superstar Daniil Medvedev set to be BANNED from Wimbledon unless he signs key declaration denouncing Russian state

Tennis stars from both Russia and Belarus will have to sign declaration forms distancing themselves from their governments, according to new regulation for UK sporting events.

Players wishing to participate in British tournaments will have to give assurances they are not funded by either the Russian or Belarusian govts and that they will not speak out in support of Moscow’s military operation in Ukraine.

Participants will also be barred from wearing Russian or Belarusian colors or compete under their flags.

Politics ruining sports?

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Ukraine delivers a humiliating blow to Russia with a helicopter raid on a fuel depot in the city of Belgorod.

On the morning of April 1, two Ukrainian Mi-24 attack helicopters entered the Russian airspace at very low altitude and managed to successfully execute their strike without any interference.

The fact that the Ukrainian Air Force can operate in the sky undetected, and even crossover into Russian territory 36 days into this war, undoubtedly raises some uncomfortable questions for Moscow.

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❗️Ukrainian officials have informed their British colleagues that they don’t intend to comply with the Geneva Convention on Prisoners of War.

❗️The West is aware of Kiev's gross violations of international humanitarian law and is attempting to help Ukraine avoid responsibility.

— Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR)

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The U.S. and its allies are weighing security guarantees for Ukraine, but they're unlikely to give Kiev what it wants.

Per CNN:

The U.S. and its allies have been weighing how the West could provide Ukraine with alternative security guarantees should it forgo its NATO membership bid as a concession to Russia to end the war, multiple sources familiar with the matter tell CNN.

The discussions, which have included the Ukrainians directly, are in very early phases because it is not clear to U.S., Western and Ukrainian officials that the Russian negotiations are anything more than a smokescreen.

But it is unlikely, they noted, that the U.S. and its allies will ultimately offer Ukraine the kinds of legally binding protections it is requesting.

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