NATO troops deployed near Russia's borders and agreement between Kosovo and Serbia: last night's highlights
NATO will accelerate the deployment of its troops on the borders with Russia and Belarus; Kosovo and Serbia fully committed to complying with the agreement on the normalization of relations; and the UOC—MP said that “OCU raiders stormed and seized” a church in Bukovina. Here is what you may have missed from the previous night.
Deployment of NATO troops on Russia's borders
In the coming months, NATO plans to accelerate efforts to amass troops and equipment along its eastern borders. The Alliance could deploy hundreds of thousands of troops there, Politico reports.
Officials have suggested that up to 300,000 troops could guard NATO's eastern borders. However, for this deployment to take place, NATO must convince the bloc's countries to provide soldiers and expensive equipment amid concerns about weapons shortages.
Agreement between Kosovo and Serbia
The European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, said that Serbia and partially recognized Kosovo have fully committed to complying with all articles of the Agreement on the path to normalization.
The text of the agreement has not yet been made public. However, the EU stated that the document includes mutual recognition of official documents, increased financial assistance, and other measures to improve the lives of people in both Serbia and Kosovo.
Intelligence on Russia's missile strike potential
The Chief Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine has stated that Russia's missile terror tactics have been defeated, and the occupiers will no longer be able to influence the Ukrainian economy and logistics in this way.
The intelligence community has noticed an increase in the intervals between enemy missile attacks: while previously these were weekly massive missile strikes, now the interval can be 3-4 weeks. According to the Chief Intelligence Directorate, the Russians have “really few precision missile weapons”.
UOC-MP reports “raid” by OCU
The UOC-MP said that on March 18, “raiders” from the Orthodox Church of Ukraine “stormed and seized” St. Dmitry's Church in the village of Yurkivtsi, Chernivtsi Oblast. They claim that a representative of their religious community was injured during the attack. In addition, the UOC accuses the police of inaction.
Law enforcement and the Orthodox Church of Ukraine have not yet commented on the situation.
Canada sends Ukraine a vehicle to service Leopards
Canada has sent the Ukrainian Armed Forces a Bergepanzer 3 armored repair and recovery vehicle designed to service Leopard 2 tanks.
The vehicle is designed to provide mobility for armored troops, restore vehicles damaged in combat, assist in installing and dismantling engines and turrets, and provide support in the repair shop.
Other news:
- As a result of the Russian shelling of Kramatorsk in Donetsk Oblast, the number of wounded increased to 10. At least 2 more people were killed;
- Russians shelled four communities in Sumy Oblast with mortars and grenade launchers;
- In Kharkiv Oblast, two men tried to dismantle an explosive device. They are now in hospital. Another man hit a mine in his yard;
- Kuban authorities banned the burial of Wagner mercenaries in one of the villages. The founder of the PMC, Yevgeny Prigozhin, responded with threats;
- Kherson Oblast received two Croatian-made demining complexes.