Putin’s victory comments hint at the next phase of the war – breaking news between Ukraine and Russia

Russian soldiers loyal to Ukraine have claimed they destroyed an ammunition depot in the Kursk border village of Tetkino.

Legion for Freedom, volunteers fighting for Kiev, posted on Telegram: “We destroyed the ammunition depot of Putin’s army in Tetkino. Be continued!”

The video shows drone footage of smoke rising from the warehouse before it burst into flames.

Developing drones is key to giving Ukraine an advantage over “a numerically superior” Russia, Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said.

“Developing the use of unmanned systems is my priority,” Mr. Syrskyi said on Telegram after meeting his deputy.

“We are looking for asymmetric solutions to gain a qualitative advantage over a numerically superior adversary.” The increasing use of drones by both sides has shifted the conflict from the battlefield to attacks on each other’s military, energy and transportation infrastructure.

With the Ukrainian military outnumbered in both weapons and manpower on the battlefield, Moscow forces have increased pressure along the entire front line and made gradual progress.

NATO is building its largest European military base southeast of Romania to strengthen its capabilities in the Black Sea region.

The new base covers an area of ​​approximately 3,000 hectares and is expected to house up to 10,000 military personnel and their support.

The $2.7bn (£2.12bn) project would expand the Romanian Air Force’s 57th Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base, located near the port city of Constanța.

According to base commander Nicolae Cresu, the facility is expected to be fully operational by 2040. He said there were “maintenance hangars, fuel depots, ammunition, equipment, aeronautical material, simulators, catering facilities, accommodation; Everything is required to support the operations and missions of a base of this size.”

The first phase of expansion work is expected to be completed in five years, followed by the construction of another runway, Pravda reported.

Romania, a NATO member since 2004, borders Ukraine and has played an increasingly important role in the alliance during Russia’s full-scale invasion, including hosting a NATO foreign ministers meeting in November 2022.

The British embassy in Ukraine had to deny rumors that King Charles III. died after Kremlin-approved state media channels, some of which have millions of followers on social media, began spreading the fake news.

The first false claims appeared out of nowhere on messaging service Telegram yesterday, followed by a photoshopped image with the Buckingham Palace logo at the top that read: “The following announcement is made by Royal Communications. The king died unexpectedly yesterday afternoon.”

Yesterday’s date was then published at the end of the fake letter, which appeared to be modeled on the Palace’s announcement of the late Queen’s death, which stated: “The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon.”

The Kremlin claimed Vladimir Putin won more than 87 percent of the vote, by far the largest landslide in Russia’s post-Soviet history. This follows years of repression and crackdowns on dissent that have accelerated since Moscow invaded Ukraine two years ago and controlled the entire electoral process. In claiming victory, Putin again tried to threaten the West not to send troops to Ukraine, saying a possible conflict between Russia and NATO would put the world “one step away from a third world war.”

China, India and North Korea were among countries that congratulated Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday on his landslide victory in deeply flawed elections in Moscow.

Chinese President Xi Jinping congratulated Mr Putin and said Beijing would maintain close communication with Moscow to advance the “borderless” partnership agreed in 2022.

“I believe that under your leadership, Russia will certainly be able to achieve greater achievements in national development and construction,” Mr. Xi said in his message to his Russian counterpart, according to Xinhua News.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he looked forward to strengthening New Delhi’s “time-tested special and privileged strategic partnership” with Moscow.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, both accused by the West of supplying weapons to Russia, also congratulated Putin and emphasized their desire to further expand bilateral relations with Moscow.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman congratulated Mr. Putin on the “decisive” victory and the Kremlin said the two men expressed on the phone their willingness to continue their “effective coordination” in the OPEC+ oil producer group.

Askold Krushelnycky speaks to soldiers on the front line around the city of Kupiansk as they face an increasingly fierce attack from Russia, including glide bombs that can destroy bunkers. Kiev’s armed forces are reinforcing their defenses with barbed wire, trenches and metal “dragon’s teeth” to trap any tanks that try to break through

Vladimir Putin hailed the “return” of illegally annexed Ukrainian territories at a concert in Moscow’s Red Square yesterday, a day after he claimed victory in the country’s sham elections.

Putin addressed thousands of people in Moscow at a concert marking the 10th anniversary of Ukraine’s annexation of Crimea. His three symbolic opposition candidates appeared on stage next to him and publicly supported him.

He said the “return” of Ukraine’s four regions – Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia – had proven to be “much more serious and tragic than Crimea.”

Russia claims to have fully annexed all four provinces, but in reality only controls parts of them. “But in the end we did it,” he said, adding: “It is a great event in the history of our country.”

“So we will continue together and hand in hand. This is what truly makes us stronger – not in words but in actions,” the President added.

Putin announced a new railway link that would run from the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don to Crimea, creating an alternative route to the current bridge, which has been vulnerable to sabotage attempts since the start of the war.

It comes just days after it was revealed that the GPS signal of an RAF jet carrying Mr Shapps from Poland back to England earlier this week was jammed while flying over the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.

Footage released by Mr Shapps showed him in the capital Kiev on March 8.