Latest news about Russia and the war in Ukraine

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said on Tuesday that one of the participants in the military call about Ukraine that was intercepted by Russia called on an unsecured line and disciplinary measures were being considered.

Pistorius said Russia likely intercepted the military call through widespread surveillance, rather than spying or targeted surveillance. WebEx is allowed to be used to make the call.

He added that Germany will take technical and organizational measures to ensure that such an incident does not occur again.

– Reuters

Ukrainian military intelligence said on Tuesday that it used naval drones to attack a Russian ship off the coast of Crimea.

The Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense said that the Special Unit Group 13 damaged a patrol ship belonging to the Russian Black Sea Fleet, “Sergei Kotov”, near the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula.

The agency said on Telegram in comments translated by NBC, “The ship Kotov was damaged by a fire in the territorial waters of Ukraine near the Kerch Strait.” She said the cost of the sunken ship “is approximately $65 million.”

She added, “As a result of the strike by Magura V5 naval drones, the Russian ship of Project 22160 “Sergei Kotov” suffered damage to the stern, right and left sides.”

In an apparent reference to the attack, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said in a cable on Tuesday that “the Russian Black Sea Fleet is a symbol of the occupation. It cannot be in Ukrainian Crimea.”

CNBC could not immediately verify the reports.

Ukrainian operations to attack Russia's Black Sea Fleet were among its major successes in 2023, as drone and missile attacks on the port of Sevastopol in Crimea forced Russia to withdraw a number of its ships from its main base there.

– Holly Eliatt

The Russian Foreign Ministry accused Western ambassadors of interfering in Russia's internal affairs, and warned that it would not hesitate to expel German journalists from the country if Berlin moved to ban Russian journalists.

Russian news agencies reported several comments by Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Tuesday that highlighted tensions between Russia and Germany following the Russian leak of an alleged audio recording in which German military officials discuss weapons for Ukraine and potential Russian targets.

Russia said it had proven that Western countries had plans to strike Russia and said it had “summoned” Germany’s ambassador in Moscow to explain the content of the recording. Berlin denied summoning the diplomat, saying the meeting had been planned in advance. It has launched an investigation into the leak.

Zakharova said on Tuesday that Western ambassadors in Moscow were interfering in Russian affairs and questioned their actions in Russia.

“They devote all their time – I mean the Western part of the ambassadors, the ambassadors of Western countries, NATO – to one thing only… They are engaged, firstly, in interfering in the internal affairs of our country,” Zakharova said. As reported by RIA Novosti.

Her statements came after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday that European Union ambassadors refused to meet him before the Russian presidential elections scheduled for March 15-17.

Zakharova also said that Russia would expel German journalists working in the country if Berlin decided to “contact” Russian reporters.

“I want to say right away that they already know it through diplomatic channels in Berlin – if they touch Russian reporters and continue to terminate their plans, German journalists will leave Russia,” she said.

Zakharova claimed that Germany intends to expel Russian journalists and not renew their visas or approve them to work in the country. CNBC has not been able to verify this claim and Germany has not expressed this publicly as a possible retaliation following the leak.

– Holly Eliatt

Soldiers from various NATO countries on Monday participated in part of NATO's Steadfast Defender 2024 military exercise.

NATO said in a statement in January that the months-long exercises are the largest since the Cold War and will take place in various countries across Europe and cover areas including sea, air, cyber, land and space.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday that the West is seeking to control the leadership in Moldova as it did with Ukraine.

“Since the beginning of the post-Soviet era, the West has begun to involve itself in relations between Russia and its neighbors. They are still following the same policy,” Lavrov was quoted as saying by RIA Novosti news agency. .

Lavrov's comments will raise eyebrows among Western observers who fear Moscow will use a request by pro-Russian separatists in Moldova's breakaway Transnistria region for “protection” as a prelude to an attempt to annex the region.

Like Ukraine, Moldova has a pro-Western government and wants to join the European Union, meaning relations with Russia remain tense.

“This is also evident in Central Asia, in the Caucasus region. This is also evident in the European part of the former Soviet Union: Ukraine, Moldova, for which they are simply openly preparing to become Ukraine's successor from the point of view of seizing power. This is also evident in the European part of the former Soviet Union: Ukraine, Moldova, which they are simply openly preparing to become Ukraine's successor from the point of view of seizing power,” Lavrov said during a speech at the Youth Festival. Global in Sochi: “The entire leadership.”

The Russian Foreign Ministry responded to the request last week by saying that the interests of Transnistrian residents – calling them “citizens” – were one of Russia's priorities and that it would carefully study the request, the ministry told RIA Novosti.

– Holly Eliatt

Russia's state railway company said Monday it had to cancel and reroute some trains in the Samara region after an explosion on a railway bridge that Ukrainian military intelligence claimed was used by trains loaded with ammunition.

Russian news agencies, citing emergency services, reported that an explosion rocked the bridge spanning the Chapaevka River near the Russian city of Samara, about 850 kilometers southeast of Moscow, early Monday morning.

The Samara region is located on the Volga River and is one of the centers of heavy industry in Russia.

Ukrainian military intelligence issued a statement in which it “confirmed” its responsibility for the explosion, but did not claim responsibility for it. She added that Russia uses the railway to transport military goods, including ammunition made at a nearby factory.

She expected that the bridge would be out of use for some time.

Reuters was unable to confirm the Ukrainian assertion. Russia considers the location of its military factories a state secret. Russia and Ukraine have targeted each other's infrastructure during the two-year-old war, which Moscow describes as a “special military operation.”

Traffic over the bridge was halted due to what local railway authorities described as “unlawful interference”. A photo posted on social media and verified by Reuters showed some damage to the bridge's metal structure on one side, but the concrete support appeared intact.

Local media in Samara said that explosives experts and the Russian National Guard were at the scene. Unverified photos posted on social media showed what looked like at least one homemade bomb at the scene that did not explode. There were no reports of anyone being injured in the accident.

– Reuters

A German Foreign Ministry spokesman said that a meeting between the German ambassador in Moscow and the Russian Foreign Ministry on Monday was planned in advance, denying that the official had been suddenly “summoned.”

Speaking to reporters, Wolfgang Buchner clearly answered “no” when asked if the ambassador had been summoned, NBC reported. He also described Russian claims that Germany was preparing to strike Russia as “ridiculous and malicious propaganda.”

Earlier Monday, the Russian TASS news agency said that the Foreign Ministry summoned German Ambassador Alexander Lambsdorf after an audio recording of German military officials discussing Ukraine and the possible targeting of Russian infrastructure in occupied Ukraine was leaked.

Lambdorf was photographed leaving the Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow on Monday.

– Holly Eliatt

The Kremlin said a call between German military officers leaked to Russian media last Friday showed that the German military administration was “objectively and specifically discussing plans for strikes on Russian territory,” Russian Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday.

“(The army conversation) in itself indicates that the German army's plans to launch strikes on the territory of the Russian Federation are being discussed objectively and specifically… Everything here is more than clear,” TASS news agency quoted Peskov as saying.

Last Friday, Russian media leaked a 38-minute recording in which senior German officers discussed the possibility of sending long-range missiles to Ukraine, as well as the possibility of attacking the Crimean Bridge that connects the Russian mainland to the Crimean Peninsula, which it annexed.

The Kremlin spokesman said the audio recording raised questions about whether the plans discussed by German military officials were part of German state policy. In any case, Peskov claimed that the recording proved “the direct involvement of Western countries in the conflict around Ukraine.”

Peskov said that Russia will evaluate the results of the German investigation into the leak announced by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

– Holly Eliatt