Destruction of a ship in Crimea and a warrant for the arrest of Russian commanders: highlights for March 5

Sinking of “Sergey Kotov”

The Ukrainian military sank the patrol ship “Sergey Kotov” of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in occupied Crimea.

The video of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine, taken from the front cameras of marine drones, shows the drones approaching the patrol ship one by one, followed by explosions and a cloud of smoke.

According to the GUR, 13 Russian sailors were injured or killed as a result of the ship's destruction. The cost of the sunken ship is about $65 million.

Interestingly, the video of the ship's destruction was accompanied by the medieval Norwegian song Villeman Og Magnhild performed by the band Spiritual Seasons, which could once be considered a Kharkiv band, but, judging by their social media pages, the musicians now perform in Russia.

Arrest warrant for Russian commanders

The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Russian Long-Range Aviation Commander Sergei Kobylash and Russian Black Sea Fleet Commander Viktor Sokolov.

There are reasonable grounds to believe that the two suspects are responsible for missile strikes carried out by forces under their command against Ukraine's electrical infrastructure from at least October 10, 2022, to at least March 9, 2023. During this time, Russia launched a campaign of attacks on power plants and substations in Ukraine.

Attack on a Russian oil depot

In the Belgorod region of Russia, an explosion and fire were recorded at a local oil depot. Russian resources report a drone attack on the facility.

A source in the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine confirmed that the explosion at the Russian oil depot was an operation of Ukrainian intelligence. As noted, this oil depot was used for military purposes.

Cancellation of parliamentary sessions

The Verkhovna Rada canceled the plenary session for March 6-8, despite plans to consider several bills. The Servant of the People faction says that MPs have received an “urgent task” and will return to work in the session hall when it is completed.

New requirements for “transport visa-free regime”

The European Commission proposes to amend the transport agreement with Ukraine. Although the scope of the agreement itself has remained unchanged, the requirements for Ukrainian carriers have been tightened.

For example, they want to introduce a new precautionary clause: if there are serious violations in the national road transportation market in a certain geographical area, the agreement may be suspended in that geographical area.

The European Commission explained that they propose to make changes, taking into account the “lessons” learned during the implementation of the current agreement.

Military duty for individual entrepreneurs

The Ministry of Finance is seeking to increase state budget revenues by UAH 44 billion. To this end, the Ministry is considering the introduction of a military tax for individual entrepreneurs and legal entities paying the single tax.

2 million drones in 2024

Ukraine is increasing the production of drones and will be able to produce 2 million units of such equipment by 2024.

Currently, according to Deputy Minister for Strategic Industries Hanna Hvozdiar, Ukraine can produce about 150,000 drones per month.

Other important news of the day:

• Hungary ratified Sweden's accession to NATO. It was the last country to hold up accession.
• The EU presented its first-ever defense industrial strategy. It includes cooperation with Ukraine.
• A Verkhovna Rada committee unanimously supported a bill to ban the UOC-MP in Ukraine.
• Polish farmers continued their protest on the border with Ukraine until the end of April.