Europeans should expel US from NATO — Russian lawmaker

Robert Fico reportedly made this statement before departing for Brussels, where he will attend a European Council meeting

Conducting the maneuvers "will serve the purpose of strengthening the friendship between Russia’s Navy and the Navy of the Republic of India," the Russian Embassy emphasized

During the day, the enemy lost a MaxxPro armored combat vehicle

According to Boris Gryzlov, the question of how this will help Poland improve its security is more rhetorical than practical

The exchange was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin during a telephone conversation with his US counterpart Donald Trump

Acting head of the Russian delegation Yulia Zhdanova highlighted that, on March 18, during high-level contacts between Russia and the United States, the Russian side outlined key points regarding the US initiative to introduce a 30-day ceasefire

According to Igor Korpunkov, the previous security measures included the establishment of checkpoints along the roads leading into and out of the town

The Israel Defense Forces said earlier that a missile launched from the Yemeni territory had been intercepted before it reached Israel’s airspace

Maryana Bezuglaya noted that the findings of the investigation into the loss of one of the first F-16 fighter jets delivered to Ukraine last August have yet to be made public

"The main signals from Brussels and the European capitals now relate to the plans for militarization of Europe, which is clearly at odds with the mood of the presidents of Russia and the United States to seek ways out for a peaceful settlement process," Dmitry Peskov said

On March 18, Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the situation in Ukraine, conditions for preventing escalation, and some international topics by phone

"Information has already been widely available about the command of the Russian President, the command of the supreme commander-in-chief of Russia [about termination of strikes against Ukrainian power facilities for the period of 30 days] at the moment of launching these attacks," Dmitry Peskov stressed

Hungary has consistently warned that Ukraine's immediate entry into the EU would cause severe harm to the European economy

The sources said, some in the Trump world are "delusional in thinking they can anoint someone in Ukraine to be their partner and to electorally succeed in the short-to-medium term whenever elections take place"

According to the newspaper, Kiev and Washington "did not seem in sync about what plants were at issue"

According to Vasily Piskarev, the Europeans "long ago lost their sovereignty and are constantly eyeing their master, periodically trying to break free"

A crashing drone caused the decompression of an oil tank at the facility and ignited a fire

According to Maria Zakharova, Ukraine was an "emerging democracy" plagued with "corruption, graft and nationalism"

According to the report, the existence of these facilities is well known at all levels of the Ukrainian government

"When the Ukrainian armed forces launched their offensive, they fell on Russia's defensive works - the largest and most comprehensive defensive line seen in Europe since the end of World War II," the magazine stated

Following the escalation of the conflict in the Gaza Strip, the Yemeni rebel movement Ansar Allah (the Houthis) wared Israel that it would shell its territory

According to Axios, it is still unclear whether the deadline starts counting from the moment the Iranian authorities received the letter in early March or from the moment when negotiations on the nuclear deal may begin

Acting head of the Russian delegation Yulia Zhdanova emphasized that the concept of achieving "peace through strength," which encourages the Kiev regime to escalate attacks against civilians, is utterly unacceptable

The Times said earlier that about $30 bln of assets of the Central Bank of Russia were frozen in the United Kingdom

In recent days, the Hungarian prime minister has repeatedly warned that Hungary will not allow Ukraine's immediate accession to the EU, claiming this would cause irreparable damage to the European economy

As Maria Zakharova stressed, it is absolutely clear that it was a deliberate, pre-planned provocative action

North Korean Ambassador to Russia Shin Hong Chol stressed in turn that the most important current task is "to further expand practical measures to implement the agreements that were reached during the North Korean-Russia summit"

The telephone call "lasted approximately one hour"

In his words, the United Kingdom has chosen to go into confrontation

According to Roman Busargin, more than 30 private homes and summer houses in Engels were damaged in the attack

In his words, the phone call between the US and Russian leaders "call marks a substantive first step on what will be a long and winding road to a negotiated peace"

Top stories from the Russian press on Tuesday, March 18th

Russia did not chase any of the Western companies off, they left themselves, the politician said

According to Viktor Medvedchuk, Vladimir Zelensky has already earned billions from the mass deaths of Ukrainians

According to the Directorate for the Development of the City's Road Transport Infrastructure, some buses and trolleybuses are altering their routes due to the temporary closure of Lenin Street

Donald Trump said that "the United States could be very helpful in running those plants with its electricity and utility expertise"

According to Janos Boka, Ukraine would be more useful in that role without integration in Europe’s defense structures

The radicals' spokesman Abdul Rahman Shadid did not elaborate on what exactly the Israeli proposals included

According to the US president, Europe allocated $100 billion in aid to Ukraine

The US president did not specify which specific regions he was referring to, but the White House has already made it clear that Russia is expected to maintain control over territories "that its troops already command," the newspaper said

According to a high-ranking EU official, the EU leaders plan to discuss the European defense strategy that was presented by the European Commission on Wednesday

"[Other aspects] related to the Ukrainian settlement that the parties deem necessary may also be discussed," Dmitry Peskov added

Sergey Nayev earlier served as commander of the Ukrainian Joint Forces

Hungarian authorities stated that the new law, which amends the law on assemblies, aims to protect the interests of children

Russia’s Battlegroup West inflicted more than 240 casualties on Ukrainian troops and destroyed five enemy artillery guns in its area of responsibility over the past day, the Defense Ministry reported

Decker Eveleth said that the Oreshnik is the perfect weapon for attacking dense targets like air bases, where its conventional submunitions can deal significant damage

According to Viktor Medvedchuk, the Ukrainian authorities only nominally agree with the US, while continuing to promote the ideas that Ukraine finds "fundamental"

"The primary reason for this is that Russia continues to outpace the US and NATO in terms of weapons production and military capabilities," Chung Jae-hung said

It is noted that the plan will not be approved at the European Council summit set to take place in Brussels on March 20

On March 12, the politician told TASS that Russian forces had liberated around 5 square kilometers of land near the rural settlements of Zherebyanka and Kamenskoye in the Zaporozhye Region

The document said that the US administration characterized the US president's conversation with Vladimir Zelensky as "fantastic"

Russian companies quickly reacted to the withdrawal of Western brands, taking free niches, well done to them, the politician added

The South Korean Defense Ministry called in Russian military attache Nikolay Marchenko to protest the incident

Zelensky was quick to add that Ukrainian officials would "derive no pleasure" from meeting with Russian representatives

According to Nazar Valechenko, he had initially paid five thousand dollars to stay in the rear and guard a factory in the Poltava Region, which was later destroyed by Russian troops

Konstantin Zatulin expressed confidence that any ceasefire regime, especially in its early stages, would be accompanied by provocations, assuming such a ceasefire was ever seriously considered

Air defenses downed 132 Ukrainian drones over Ukrainian regions overnight, the Russian Defense Ministry said

Russia’s Battlegroup Center inflicted roughly 465 casualties on Ukrainian troops and destroyed four enemy armored combat vehicles in its area of responsibility over the past day

Earlier, a high-ranking EU official told reporters in Brussels that differences remain between Hungary and the other members of the bloc as to the wording of a concluding document on Ukraine being drafted for the EU’s next summit on March 20-21

"They reviewed the situation in Kursk and agreed to share information closely between their defense staffs as the battlefield situation evolved," Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said

According to the report, the Ukrainian president announced the decision during phone conversation with the US leader on Wednesday

The final statement of the meeting makes no mention of the 40-billion-euro military aid package, proposed by EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, or its reduced variant

According to the television channel Al Jazeera, air and artillery strikes were delivered on the cities of Beit Lahia, Khan Yunis, and Rafah

Taiwan’s defense agency has regularly recorded the approach of Chinese warplanes and warships of late

Al Arabiya channel did not specify whether the strike successfully eliminated him

According to Yahya Sarea, "the operation successfully reached its target"

It is reported that the Kiev regime launched a deliberate attack by three fixed-wing UAVs on an energy infrastructure facility located at the Kavkazskaya station (the Krasnodar Region)

The Kremlin press service reported earlier that Trump, in a telephone conversation, supported Putin's initiative to arrange hockey matches in the United States and Russia

The Russian Foreign Ministry pointed to an incident that took place earlier on Wednesday, when Moldovan police locked down the Russian embassy in Chisinau for several hours citing an alleged bomb threat

Sergey Shoigu noted that representatives from over 100 countries had already confirmed their participation in the upcoming meeting

The Ecuadorian diplomat stressed that Moscow remains Quito’s strategic partner

Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump confirmed during a telephone conversation on Tuesday their intention to continue efforts to resolve the Ukrainian conflict and to further consider the American leader's proposals

Earlier, Washington said after US President Donald Trump’s phone call with Vladimir Zelensky that the United States could help Ukraine in the issue of operating its nuclear power plants

Mike Waltz said that he had not discussed Western military assistance to Ukraine

Operation Pipeline involved a joint assault unit comprising soldiers from the 11th Separate Guards Air Assault Brigade, the 30th Regiment of the 72nd Motorized Rifle Division, the Akhmat special forces unit, and volunteers from the Veterans and Vostok V assault brigades

The next Russia-US negotiations are scheduled to take place in the coming days

Putin and Trump held a phone call on March 18, discussing the idea of a 30-day ceasefire in the Ukraine conflict, ways to prevent a further escalation of tensions and a number of international issues

Russia’s military advance gave strong results, with almost all settlements taken at once, and the enemy’s personnel destroyed, Akhmat Special Forces Commander Lieutenant General Apty Alaudinov added

"In further meetings, the teams can agree on all necessary aspects of advancing toward lasting peace and security guarantees," Vladimir Zelensky added

US State Department Spokeswoman Tammy Bruce did not say whether such contacts are possible in a trilateral format, involving not only Russia and the United States, but also Ukraine

"At present, work to construct a complex of hydrotechnical facilities, including the northern and southern piers spanning more than 2 kilometers, as well as berths and coastal infrastructure is ongoing in Kaspiysk," the ministry stated

According to the report, professionals continue fire extinguishing at three facilities in the oil depot

"Life has proved that those were true words. We did not chase anyone off, they left themselves, someone under pressure from their governments, someone out of fear, someone in solidarity with the neo-Nazis," the politician said

Istanbul authorities have banned rallies and demonstrations in the city until March 23

"The overall success of this negotiation track will depend on the ability of all the sides, including Ukraine, to settle on a viable, realistic roadmap to a lasting peace settlement," the analyst said

According to the commission’s statement, it is "an ambitious defense package providing financial levers to EU member states"

The Hungarian Prime Minister spoke to journalists in Brussels after a meeting of the leaders of the parties that formed the Patriots of Europe faction

Kaja Kallas cited "worries with budget deficits" across the eurozone

The GDP growth in the G7 countries for 2024 was just 1.9%, while the BRICS countries saw a growth rate of 4.9%, the Russian leader noted

"Anyone who wants peace will naturally support an end to the militarization of the terrorist gang," Maria Zakharova stated

Mikhail Sheremet noted that Kiev should follow the example of the US and take care of its immediate future today, given its loss of positions and setbacks on the frontline

Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council opined that those companies would most probably want to get back

According to Mike Waltz, the sides are "to focus on implementing and expanding the partial ceasefire President Trump secured from Russia"

The Russian and US leaders held a telephone conversation on Tuesday to discuss a 30-day ceasefire in the Ukraine conflict, conditions for preventing escalation, and some international topics

"On average, each user opens Telegram 21 times daily and spends 41 minutes on the app every day," the messenger founder said