Russia Ukraine war live: Putin flies on nuclear bomber plane after claims Moscow used North Korean missiles in attacks

Lyudmila Navalnaya, 69, said that she was taken to the city morgue and that officials told her that if she didn’t agree to a secret funeral, they would “do something” to her son’s body. “They want this to be done secretly, with no farewell. They want to bring me to the edge of a cemetery, to a fresh grave and say: here lies your son. I don’t agree to this,” she said.

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When Putin sent his forces into Ukraine two years ago, Ukrainian men rushed to recruitment centers across the country to enlist, ready to die for their nation.

Today, with Russia in control of roughly one-quarter of Ukraine and the two armies virtually deadlocked along a 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line, that spirit to enlist has faded.

Now many Ukrainian men are evading the draft by hiding at home or trying to bribe their way out of the battle.

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Imprisoned opposition figure Vladimir Kara-Murza on Thursday urged Russians not to give up after the death of Alexei Navalny, and he alleged a state-backed hit squad was taking out the Kremlin’s political opponents, according to a video posted to social media.

A British-Russian citizen, Kara-Murza is serving a 25-year sentence for treason at Penal Colony No. 7 in the Siberian city of Omsk.

His comments came as he appeared via a video link in a court hearing over a complaint against Russia’s Investigative Committee for what he believes were two poisoning attempts against him. He alleges the committee didn’t properly investigate the attempts.

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A Russian military blogger has died in an apparent suicide after facing criticism for revealing heavy losses in Ukraine.

Andrei Morozov, who also served as a soldier on the front line in Ukraine, said in his last post on Wednesday that he decided to “execute” himself to help his comrades in arms avoid fallout from his critical publications, which had angered the military command.

Maxim Pashkov, a lawyer who knew him, confirmed Morozov’s death in a messaging app statement. Morozov was 44 years old and his supporters have blamed Kremlin propagandists for his death.

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That is the picture painted by Lieutenant Colonel “Kremen”, the codename of the commander of a Ukrainian battalion on the front lines southwest of the town of Avdiivka, which has become symbolically significant to both Kyiv and Moscow. He says one thing is clear, that in the days after Ukraine withdrew its forces from the town – in the Donetsk region – his men have come under heavily intensified attack from the Russians.

Kremen believes his battalion is now facing Russian men and weaponry freed up by the capture of Avdiivka to attempt further advances while they believe Ukrainian forces are reeling and off balance.

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Russia‘s President Vladimir Putin on Thursday took a co-pilot’s seat in a nuclear-capable strategic bomber on a flight that appeared aimed at bolstering his image ahead of next month’s election he’s all but certain to win.

Putin’s 30-minute flight in a Tu-160M supersonic strategic bomber also seemed intended to send a reminder of Russia’s nuclear might amid soaring tensions with the West over the fighting in Ukraine.

Putin, 71, who is running as an independent candidate, relies on a tight control over Russia’s political system that he has established during 24 years in power.

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Poland’s prime minister said on Thursday the Polish and Ukrainian governments would meet in Warsaw on March 28, but did not accept a request by Ukraine’s president for urgent talks on border blockades by Polish farmers.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on Wednesday for Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Polish President Andrzej Duda and European Union officials to come to the Ukrainian-Polish border to discuss the protests by the farmers, who are angry over what they say is unfair competition from cheaper Ukrainian imports.

Zelenskiy made clear he wanted talks before Saturday’s second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“I have agreed with the prime minister of Ukraine for a meeting between the two governments, which will take place in Warsaw on March 28, and I hope that by then technical talks will lead to a fruitful meeting,” Tusk told a press conference.

The Biden administration on Thursday warned Iran of a “swift and severe” response from the international community if Tehran provided ballistic missiles to Russia, after Reuters reported earlier this week that the Islamic Republic shipped the powerful weapons to Moscow.

Speaking at a virtual briefing with reporters, White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby said Washington has yet to see confirmation that missiles have moved from Iran to Russia.

Reuters exclusively reported on Wednesday that Iran has provided Russia with a large number of powerful surface-to-surface ballistic missiles, citing six sources, a move that illustrated the deepening military cooperation between the two U.S.-sanctioned countries.

“In this press reporting, the Iranians are clearly indicating that they will ship ballistic missiles to Russia, and we have no reason to believe they will not follow through,” Kirby said.

“For our part, we will take this matter to the U.N. Security Council,” he added. “We will implement additional sanctions against Iran. And we will coordinate further response options with our allies and partners in Europe and elsewhere.”

A senior U.S. diplomat on Thursday said the United States will impose “hundreds and hundreds and hundreds” of sanctions against Russia in a new package marking the second anniversary of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Undersecretary of State Victoria Nuland said that some of the sanctions will target those responsible for the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, but most will hit “Putin’s war machine” and close gaps in existing sanctions.

US President Joe Biden has met with the wife and daughter of Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader who died last Friday, “to express his heartfelt condolences”, the White House said.

During the meeting in California, Biden expressed his admiration for Navalny’s “extraordinary courage and his legacy of fighting against corruption and for a free and democratic Russia in which the rule of law applies equally to everyone”.

Biden also affirmed that the United States will announce major new sanctions against Russia on Friday in response to Navalny’s death, Russia’s repression and aggression and its war in Ukraine, it added.