Day 386 since the beginning of the war: The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Putin. Luftwaffe intercepts Russian planes over the Baltic Sea. All information in the news blog.
The most important things at a glance
Putin ratifies controversial fake news law on ‘volunteers’
1:08 p.m.: Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin has signed the tightening of the controversial law punishing “slander” or “discrediting” of war volunteers. This not only severely punishes criticism of the regular army, but also of “volunteers” fighting in the neighboring country. The law “On the Registration of Amendments to the Criminal Code” was published on the official law portal of the Russian government on Saturday. A conviction under the new law carries a sentence of up to 15 years in prison.
The tightening of the law is mainly due to a demand from the head of the notorious Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin. He had recruited rows of serious criminals for the war against Ukraine. The 61-year-old asked politicians to protect the mercenaries – who are officially considered volunteers – from defamation.
Russia is apparently expanding conscription
11:56 am: According to British intelligence services, Russia’s authorities are probably preparing for an expansion of military service in order to strengthen the armed forces. On March 13, a bill was introduced in the Russian House of Commons, according to which in future men between the ages of 21 and 30 should be called up instead of men between the ages of 18 and 27, the British Ministry of Defense announced. “The law is expected to be passed and would then come into force in January 2024,” it said in London.
According to the intelligence services, many 18- to 27-year-olds are currently applying for exemption from military service by citing that they are in college education. Authorities are now likely changing the age range to increase troop levels, sources said.
“Even if Russia continues to refrain from using conscripts in war, additional conscripts will make a larger number of professional soldiers available for combat operations.”
Luftwaffe intercepts four Russian planes
8:10 a.m.: British and German fighter jets intercepted four Russian planes over the Baltic Sea near Estonia on Friday. The Bundeswehr writes this on Twitter on its official account “Team Luftwaffe”. It says: “There’s a lot going on over the Baltic Sea. Today, the alarm squad intercepted four Russian planes.”
First, the Eurofighters identified a Tu-134 aircraft. After that, two Su-27s and one AN-12 were sighted. The German and British jets then flew back to Ämari Air Base in Estonia.
Zelenskyj reacts to arrest warrant against Putin
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has hailed the arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin as a “historic decision” by the International Criminal Court. “The leader of a terrorist state and another Russian official are officially suspects in a war crime,” said Zelenskyy in a video message distributed in Kiev on Friday evening. The court in The Hague, Netherlands, issued an arrest warrant for kidnapping children from occupied territories in Ukraine to Russia. The US government also welcomed the step – although it does not recognize the criminal court itself. Read the full rundown of what happened that night here.
IMF facilitates loan program for Ukraine
00:59: The International Monetary Fund has changed its rules to allow the IMF to approve lending programs for countries facing “exceptionally high levels of uncertainty”. The changes to the IMF’s lending policy rules would apply to countries “exposed to exogenous shocks that are beyond the control of the country’s authorities and the reach of its economic policies,” the IMF said in a statement. The move paves the way for a new lending program for Ukraine.
