Putin's arrest warrant and Shkarlet's likely resignation: today's highlights

Arrest warrant for Putin

The International Criminal Court in The Hague has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Commissioner for Children's Affairs Maria Lvova-Belova. They are suspected of deporting the Ukrainian population, including children.

The Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine explained that Putin now has the official status of a suspect in an international crime. And the arrest warrant means that outside Russia, Putin has the right to be detained and brought to court. However, this can only happen on the territory of countries that have ratified the Rome Statute.

Shkarlet's resignation is likely

According to media reports, Education and Science Minister Serhii Shkarlet is to resign. He is likely to submit his resignation on 17 March.

According to Ukraiinska Pravda, the director of the Small Academy of Sciences, Oksen Lisovyi, and the dean of the Faculty of Primary Education and Philology of the Khmelnytskyi Humanitarian and Pedagogical Academy, Inna Yashchuk, are being considered as candidates for Shkarlet's position.

Situation at the frontline

Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrskyi, Commander of the Ground Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, said that Russian troops are conducting offensive actions along the entire eastern frontline, trying to break through the defenses of our troops and advance deep into their combat formations.

The fiercest fighting is taking place in the areas of Kreminna, Torske, Bilohorivka, and Spirne. However, Bakhmut remains the epicenter of the fighting.

MiG-29 aircraft from Slovakia

The Slovak government has approved the delivery of 13 multi-purpose Soviet MiG-29 fighters to Ukraine. The government also agreed to transfer a Kub air defense missile system to Ukraine.

Before that, the media reported that not all of the 13 fighters were capable of flying. Slovakia's defense minister said that in exchange for the fighter jets, the country could receive financial and material compensation from its allies in the amount of up to €900 million.

Searches in regional gas companies

The Regional Gas Company, which is linked to Dmytro Firtash, announced massive searches in 14 of its gas distribution companies.

Later, the Security Service and the Bureau of Economic Security confirmed the searches in the offices of 16 regional gas companies across the country. According to investigators, the top management of these companies is involved in a large-scale scheme to misappropriate industrial gas volumes.

Food for the military

The journalists of the Schemes program received and published seven more contracts for catering for the military, which the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine signed in December 2022 for the whole of the upcoming year 2023.

It states that the ministry signed these seven contracts with private contractors for a total of almost UAH 29 billion. As the journalists found out, the cost of food for the army often increases by 2-3 times on the way to military units, compared to purchase and market prices.

Other important news

• Turkey and Hungary have decided to ratify Finland's NATO membership. The decision on Sweden has not yet been made;
• Lieutenant General and Member of Parliament from the European Solidarity party Mykhailo Zabrodskyi submitted his resignation from the parliament. European Solidarity stated that Zabrodskyi had been appointed “to a high position in the leadership of the Armed Forces”;
• President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signs a law that changes state budget spending by UAH 5.5 billion. The money will be used to improve hospitals, provide grants for businesses, rebuild bridges, and other needs. These are the first changes to the state budget in 2023;
• Kyiv plans to reduce the duration of the curfew. It is likely that from March 26 it will last from 00:00 to 5:00;
• On the night of March 17, a fire broke out in the village of Kapitanivka, Kirovohrad Oblast, killing two adults and three children;
• The Kyiv City District Administrative Court was registered in Kyiv to replace the liquidated Kyiv District Administrative Court.