Putin ‘ready’ for nuclear war as he pledges troops at Finland border – Russia-Ukraine

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said the number of Ukrainians arriving in Ireland has “eased off” as new limited supports are to be offered for those arriving in the country.

The government said that the offer to arriving Ukrainians in Ireland is to be limited from Thursday, as it confirmed the locations of five new accommodation centres where they would be housed temporarily.

Under the revised plan, Ukrainian refugees will go to Designated Accommodation Centres for up to 90 days and be provided with food, laundry and integration support during this time. They will be paid a €38.80 subsistence allowance per week and an additional €29.80 per child.

Arrivals had been entitled to a jobseeker’s allowance of €220 per week and unlimited time in state accommodation. Ukrainians who have arrived in Ireland before Thursday will still be entitled to this.

Ministers have said that the change of policy was being made in order to bring Ireland’s provision for Ukrainians in line with other EU countries.

Ukrainian justice minister Denys Maliuska has said he received “quite optimistic” messages from politicians in the US Senate and House of Representatives about the passage of a bill that would provide aid for Ukraine.

“What we call for is to put aside any divisions or political disputes aimed at internal needs, since we see that in both camps – Republicans and Democrats – they all agree that support shall be provided,” Mr Maliuska told reporters during a news conference at the Ukrainian embassy in Washington.

Russia has warned that the war in Ukraine could spin out of control and expand geographically due to the ill-considered actions of one or two Nato members.

In a response to Reuters, Russian foreign ministry spokeperson Maria Zakharova caimed that Moscow believed the West was walking “on the edge of the abyss” and pushing the world to the edge with its actions over Ukraine.

Ms Zakharova also advised the West to give up on the idea of strategically defeating Russia.

Romania’s president says he will enter the race to become the next leader of the 32-nation NATO military alliance, emphasizing his country’s proximity to Ukraine and the threat from Russia

Denmark’s government wants to increase the number of Danes doing military service by making conscription mandatory for women and by increasing the time of service to 11 months for both genders

Vladimir Putin is poised to sweep to another six-year term in this week’s presidential election, even though Russians are dying in Ukraine in a war grinding through its third year and his country is more isolated than ever from the rest of the world.

The all-but-certain outcome comes through his rigid control of Russia established during his 24 years in power — the longest Kremlin tenure since Soviet leader Josef Stalin.

The Russian leader issued a defiant response when asked how he would respond if America sent ground troops to Ukraine.

Speaking in an interview on Wednesday (13 Marc), Mr Putin said Moscow was prepared for a nuclear confrontation if there was a threat to Russia’s sovereignty or security.

The Russian leader said: “I don’t think that everything is rushing so head on here [with nuclear confrontation], but we are ready for this.”

At least three people were killed in overnight Russian drone and bomb attacks in Ukraine‘s eastern Sumy and Donetsk regions, local officials said on Wednesday.

Russians dropped a bomb on Myrnohrad town in Donetsk region, killing two and injuring five people, local governor Vadym Filashkin said on the Telegram messaging app.

The Sumy regional military administration said a Russian drone hit an apartment block overnight.

One body was pulled out from under the rubble in Sumy as rescuers continued working at the site, emergency services said on Telegram. Eight people were injured, and more may stay under the collapsed building constructions.

The administration said 30 apartments of a five-storey residential building were damaged, 15 of them largely destroyed.

Late on Tuesday, two apartment buildings caught fire as a result of a Russian missile attack in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih. The death toll there rose to five people on Wednesday, local authorities said, with at least 50 more injured.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who was born and raised in the city, praised rescue teams on Telegram and vowed Russia would be brought to account.

Russian officials in regions bordering Ukraine on Wednesday reported Kyiv had launched a sweeping drone attack for the second night in a row, again targeting energy facilities.

Officials said the Il-76 aircraft had 15 people – eight crew and seven passengers – on board when it crashed on Tuesday, 12 March, while taking off from an air base in western Russia.

An engine fire during takeoff was the likely cause of the crash, the ministry said in a statement.

Footage from Ivanovo shows the burning plane flying in the sky.