Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[Regnum] A second earthquake of the day struck near Sochi on March 3, measuring 4.8. The European-Mediterranean Seismological Center reported this.
The tremors occurred 29 km from the resort town and 192 km from Krasnodar at 4:05 PM Moscow time. The earthquake's epicenter was at a depth of 10 km, the center clarified.
Sochi Mayor Andrei Proshunin also reported aftershocks, reporting a magnitude of 4.5.
"We have received no complaints from residents. Infrastructure and essential services are operating normally," he wrote on Telegram.
The previous earthquake near Sochi occurred at 3:09 PM Moscow time, 22 km from the city. It measured 4.4 in magnitude and was centered at a depth of 10 km. There were no reports of casualties or damage to infrastructure.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[Korrespondent] 23.59 Ukraine has found donors for its damaged thermal power plants in Europe: Latvia, Germany, Austria and five other Eastern European countries are ready to transfer units of decommissioned thermal power plants to Ukraine for rapid repair of the power system. This was announced by the Minister of Energy of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal.
19.06 In the battles for Berezove on the border of Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhia regions, several Russian units suffered such significant losses that they actually lost combat capability and requested replacement. This was stated by the spokesman for the Southern Defense Forces Vladislav Voloshyn in a comment to Interfax-Ukraine.
"According to our intelligence, as a result of the battles for the settlement of Berezove, located on the administrative border of the Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhia regions, several Russian units suffered such losses that they actually lost combat capability. And the occupiers asked not even for personnel replenishment, but specifically for them to be withdrawn from there and replaced," Voloshyn noted.
Also, the enemy is currently relocating personnel from assault groups who were trained in training centers in the temporarily occupied Zaporizhia, Kherson regions, and Crimea.
19.05 The defense forces struck important elements of the air defense, military infrastructure, and UAV control points of the Russian occupiers in the temporarily occupied territory (TOT) of Ukraine. This was reported by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
18.43 In the Kyiv region, law enforcement officers exposed an officer of a territorial recruitment center who, for $4,000, promised a conscript to update his registration data and pass the military service without further mobilization. This was reported by the press service of the State Bureau of Investigation.
18.33 In the winter, due to bad weather, Ukrainian drones-interceptors of the "Shahed" type worked worse, so work is currently underway to improve them. President Volodymyr Zelensky said this during a conversation with journalists.
18.09 Ukraine is ready to cooperate with Middle Eastern countries on issues of protecting the sky from Iranian "Shahed" drones. President Volodymyr Zelensky said this during a briefing.
17.22 Since the beginning of the day, 42 clashes between the Ukrainian army and the Russian invaders have taken place at the front. In most directions, enemy activity is minimal, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported in an operational summary.
16.50 The electricity deficit in Ukraine is up to 1 GW. This makes it possible to soften the outage schedules, said First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy Denys Shmyhal at a briefing following the results of the NSDC meeting.
16.36 An FSB agent who was exposed in March 2022 while coordinating Russian air strikes on Odessa received 15 years in prison with confiscation of property.
16.29 Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Maloni expressed her concern over the current situation surrounding Iran, which arose during the crisis caused by Moscow's war against Ukraine, ANSA reports.
"I am concerned about the overall context: the crisis in international law that inevitably resulted from the war in Ukraine," she said.
16.13 The National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) of Ukraine heard plans for energy sustainability of the regions, the implementation of which requires over 200 billion hryvnias. Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko announced this at a briefing.
16.11 Russian troops struck the city of Chuguiv in the Kharkiv region. Five people were injured as a result of the shelling. This was reported by the head of the OVA, Oleg Synegubov.
15.49 During January and February 2026, the Defense Forces of Ukraine launched more than 40 strikes on oil and gas infrastructure facilities, the military-industrial complex, command posts, ammunition depots, equipment, and enemy manpower on the territory of Russia.
In particular, 13 refineries, oil depots, and other facilities of the Russian oil and gas complex were hit. Strikes on them weaken both the aggressor's economic capabilities to wage war and directly reduce fuel supplies to the Russian army.
On June 15, President Volodymyr Zelensky held a meeting of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine. It approved resilience plans for all Ukrainian regions and regional cities, except Kyiv, the head of state reported on Facebook.
14.14 Blogger Taisiya Malaman from Kyiv (known under the nickname Di.Rubens), who became "famous" for a scandalous video in 2021, where she chose the latter in a street poll between Ukraine and Russia, moved to the Russian Federation and has already been to the police station there several times. The pro-Russian "internet star" herself said this in Telegram.
Malaman claims that she was arrested in St. Petersburg when she confessed to a patrol officer that she was born in Kyiv.
13.55 A Russian agent was detained in Kropyvnytskyi, who, at the request of the FSB, registered Starlink satellite terminals under false names. The SBU reported this.
The 44-year-old local fraudster came to the attention of the Russians while looking for "easy money" in Telegram channels. After being recruited, the agent initially registered Starlink in his own name, supposedly for household needs.
13.46 The Cabinet of Ministers approved amendments to the resolution regulating the procedure for implementing a pilot project to strengthen air defense by involving volunteer formations of territorial communities.
The goal is to improve mechanisms for attracting volunteers and increase the overall effectiveness of countering air threats amid increasing enemy air attacks.
13.33 In Poltava, new suspicions have been reported in the case of embezzlement of budget funds during the arrangement of the honorary burial sector at the Zaturyn cemetery. This was reported by the Prosecutor General's Office.
According to the investigation, total losses exceed UAH 8 million.
13.08 In February, over 70% of Russian Shahed attack drones were destroyed by interceptor drones in Kyiv and its environs. This was reported by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrsky.
12.28 The meeting of the Ukrainian delegation with representatives of the United States and Russia, which was planned for early March, has not been postponed due to the war in the Middle East. President Volodymyr Zelensky said this in an interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera.
12.13 Belarus, together with Russia, is actively participating in the illegal export of agricultural products from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, bypassing international sanctions. In 2025, more than 2 million tons of grain crops were exported from there. This was reported by the Center for Countering Disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine on its Telegram channel.
12.02 The Defense Forces, during counterattack actions, liberated 460 sq. km of Ukrainian territory since the beginning of 2026. President Volodymyr Zelensky said this in an interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera.
11.50 In Kyiv, suspicion was reported against three "hereditary clairvoyants" who made fortunes for 1.4 million hryvnias. They "predicted" the return of their husbands home to the wives of missing or dead soldiers.
Fortune tellers gave families of dead or missing soldiers hope of seeing their loved ones again and told stories that their husbands would certainly return. Depressed clients were subjected to psychological influence and asked again and again to "tell fortunes" to find out if their husbands were alive and when they would see them.
Thus, the wife of a deceased soldier, grieving the death of her husband, gave the fortune teller a total of almost one million hryvnias for help. Each time, the woman transferred from 6,000 to 50,000 hryvnias for consultations and assistance in removing curses and "cleansing karma."
11.38 SBI officers detained a serviceman who had abandoned his duty station. He was discovered after publicly mocking the national memorial to the fallen Heroes on Independence Square in central Kyiv. The SBI reported this on its website.
11.17 Russian troops attacked two women with a drone in the Dnipro district of Kherson, the press service of the regional military administration reported.
"Kherson women, 74 and 67 years old, received explosive injuries and shrapnel wounds to their limbs. The ambulance crew took the victims to the hospital in moderate condition," the report says.
In addition, the Russians attacked a car in Dar'ivka with a UAV. As a result of the enemy strike, a 66-year-old woman suffered a concussion, explosive and closed head injuries. She was provided with medical assistance on the spot.
The OVA also reported that a family that came under Russian shelling in the Korabelny district of Kherson yesterday afternoon went to the hospital. A 50-year-old woman, a 53-year-old man, and a 16-year-old girl were diagnosed with explosive injuries and contusions.
A man who was attacked by Russian drones in the Central District of Kherson yesterday afternoon also required medical attention. The 36-year-old man was diagnosed with a blast injury, concussion, and acute stress reaction.
10.55 A Russian FSB agent was detained in the Kharkiv region, who was trying to get a job at one of the district shopping centers. The SBU reported this.
After remote recruitment, the woman first worked on adjusting Russian air attacks on energy facilities in the Cherkasy region, and then worked for the Russians in Kramatorsk.
10.32 On Tuesday morning, new power outages were recorded in four regions of Ukraine due to attacks by Russian aggressors. This was reported by Ukrenergo. Where security conditions allow, emergency restoration work is already underway.
10.22 In the Kyiv region, a platoon commander of one of the military units of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was exposed for misappropriating equipment used for combat duty and protecting the airspace of the region.
Instead of providing the unit with the necessary equipment, the military sold it. Among the stolen items were stationary computers, monitors of various sizes, and tablets with mobile Internet access. This equipment was to be used by mobile groups to repel Russian attacks.
The serviceman was charged with misappropriation of military property and abuse of office during martial law. He faces up to 15 years in prison.
09.34 Four people were injured as a result of the fall of Russian drone debris in the Poltava region on the morning of March 3. This was reported by the head of the OVA, Vitaliy Dyakivnych, on Telegram.
"This morning, debris from enemy UAVs was recorded falling in the Poltava district. Four people received moderate injuries," he wrote.
According to the head of the OVA, nearby buildings were also damaged, and relevant services are working on the ground.
09.17 On the night of March 3, Russian troops attacked Ukraine with 136 Shahed, Gerbera, Italmas attack UAVs and other types of drones, about 80 of them "Shaheeds".
8.46 Over the past 24 hours, 152 combat clashes between the Ukrainian Defense Forces and Russian invaders were recorded at the front. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported this on Telegram.
8.33 Partisans carried out sabotage on the railway in occupied Luhansk, which was the only stable route for enemy logistics from the Russian Federation to the front line. The partisan movement ATESH reported this on its Telegram channel.
7.48 The Ukrainian Defense Forces killed and wounded 790 Russian occupiers over the past 24 hours. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported this in its morning update on Facebook.
Air defenses shot down/suppressed 127 enemy Shahed, Gerbera, Italmas and other types of drones in the north, south and east of the country. Five strike UAVs were hit at three locations, as well as the fall of downed ones (fragments) at three locations.
04.56 In the Shevchenkivskyi district of Kharkiv, the windows of apartment buildings and cars were damaged by debris from a downed drone. There were no injuries.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[NewsFront] 21:52 In the period from 16:00 Moscow time to 20:00 Moscow time, air defense systems on duty destroyed two Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles of the airplane type:
One over the territory of the Belgorod region,
One over the territory of the Oryol region.
21:43 Military police fighters of the Center group discovered a weapons cache in a liberated DPR settlement. The cache was specially equipped for a Ukrainian Armed Forces sabotage group. 20:36 A target missile was launched from the corvette Boykiy, simulating an air attack. The crew of the small missile ship Burya detected the threat in time and began tracking it.
The ship's missile and artillery warhead specialists fired from the Pantsir-M system. The target destroyed with two missiles.
20:27 Assault units of the Guards "Center" took up new positions east of Grishino, MAP.
19:51 Artillerymen of the Vostok group they didn't allow the enemy to deploy a drone control system in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
The reconnaissance aircraft detected enemy attempts to install antennas and ground control stations for the drones. The coordinates were quickly transmitted to the 152mm 2S5 Giatsint crew for precision strikes. The artillerymen performed flawlessly.
18:48 Military personnel of the Vostok group told on the liberation of the village of Rozhdestvenskoye.
17:58 Attack FPV drone crews struck manpower and heavy copters of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Dnipropetrovsk and Dobropillya directions.
Operators of attack UAVs of the Eastern Group of Forces destroyed antennas and control points for Ukrainian Armed Forces drones in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
Servicemen of the Volunteer Corps of the Southern Group of Forces shot down enemy heavy drones in the Kramatorsk-Druzhkivka area.
17:37 In the period from 8:00 Moscow time to 16:00 Moscow time, air defense systems on duty destroyed five Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles of the aircraft type:
Four UAVs over the territory of the Belgorod region,
One UAV over the territory of the Kursk region
. 16:07 Fighters from the 80th Motorized Rifle Brigade established control over the village of Bobylivka in the Sumy region. Before the assault began, active artillery crews and BPS troops of the group were used. They carried out precise strikes on the firing positions and reserves of Ukrainian militants.
12:40 On frames: objective control of the combat work of the UAV operators of the Northern Group.
12:30 Armed Forces of the Russian Federation released the village of Veselyanka in the Zaporizhzhia region, and also established control over the village of Bobylivka in the Sumy region.
12:25 Summary of Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation on the progress of the special military operation (as of March 3, 2026)
The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue to conduct a special military operation.
As a result of active and decisive actions by units of the North group of forces, control was established over the village of Bobylevka in the Sumy region.
Formations of two mechanized, motorized infantry and airmobile brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were defeated in the areas of the settlements of Rogozne, Khrapovshchina, Miropolye and Pokrovka in the Sumy region.
In the Khar'kov region, units of the heavy mechanized and motorized infantry brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the territorial defense brigade were defeated in the areas of the settlements of Verkhnyaya Pisarevka, Golubovka, Malinovka and Krugloe in the Khar'kov region.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces lost over 205 service members, an armored personnel carrier, 23 vehicles, and a 155mm Bogdana self-propelled artillery unit. Five ammunition depots and five supply depots were destroyed.
Units of the "West" force grouping have improved their tactical position. They have defeated the personnel and equipment of three mechanized brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and a border detachment of the Ukrainian Border Service near the settlements of Monachynivka, Novoosinovo, Vovchiy Yar, and Borovaya in the Khar'kov region and Krasny Liman in the Donetsk People's Republic.
Enemy losses amounted to 190 troops, three armored combat vehicles, 23 vehicles, and five artillery pieces. Four ammunition depots were destroyed.
Units of the Southern Group of Forces have improved their position along the forward edge. Three mechanized brigades, an assault brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and a territorial defense brigade were defeated near the settlements of Kondratovka, Konstantinovka, Shabelkovka, Nikiforovka, Rai-Aleksandrovka, and Druzhkovka in the Donetsk People's Republic.
The enemy lost over 120 troops, a tank, two armored combat vehicles, 22 vehicles, and three field artillery pieces. Two ammunition depots and five supply depots were destroyed.
Units of the Center Group of Forces have taken up more advantageous positions and lines. They have inflicted losses on the personnel and equipment of two mechanized brigades, an airmobile brigade, a Jaeger brigade, two assault regiments of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and a National Guard brigade near the settlements of Novooleksandrivka, Belitske, Novopavlivka, and Novonikolaevka in the Donetsk People's Republic and Novohryhorivka in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.
The losses of the Ukrainian armed forces amounted to 360 servicemen, two armored personnel carriers, three armored combat vehicles, 14 cars and two field artillery pieces.
Units of the "East" force group continued to advance deep into the enemy's defenses. Formations of a mechanized and assault brigade, two assault regiments of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, a naval infantry brigade, and a territorial defense brigade were defeated near the settlements of Dobropasovo and Gavrilovka in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, and Zelena Dibrova, Boykovo, Lyubitske, Barvinovka, and Verkhnyaya Tersa in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces lost up to 350 servicemen, four armored combat vehicles, nine cars, and an artillery piece. An ammunition depot was destroyed.
Units of the Dnepr military group, as a result of active and decisive actions, liberated the village of Veselyanka in the Zaporizhzhia region.
The manpower and equipment of the mechanized and mountain assault brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were damaged in the areas of the settlements of Kamyshevakha and Malokaterinovka in the Zaporizhzhia region.
Up to 65 Ukrainian servicemen, an armored combat vehicle, three cars, two electronic warfare stations, and an ammunition depot were destroyed.
12:23 Crew of the T-90M "Proryv" tank of the 90th Guards Tank Division took apart positions and temporary deployment point of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
10:17 In the Sumy region, the Russian Armed Forces crossed the border at another site and released Bobylevka.
09:34 Mortarmen of the 11th Army Corps of the North group destroyed point for the delivery of ammunition and food to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
09:31 The Russian Armed Forces crossed the border in the Glukhovsky district of the Sumy region and occupied Bobylevka, MAP.
08:23 During the past night, air defense systems on duty intercepted and destroyed 16 Ukrainian aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles:
Eight UAVs – over the territory of the Republic of Crimea,
Five UAVs are flying over the Belgorod region.
Three UAVs – over the territory of the Astrakhan region.
07:34 Changes onmapover the past 24 hours:
Krugloe was liberated
Reznikovka was liberated
Advance north of Liman
Advance in the north of Primorsky
Expansion of the control zone in the Nikiforovka area
06:01 122mm BM-21 Grad crews of the West and Dnepr troop groups covered positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
They worked efficiently: they struck drone control points, artillery, and enemy manpower.
[OilPrice] A Russian-flagged liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker under U.S. and UK sanctions caught fire in the Mediterranean early Tuesday following a reported explosion, with the fate of its crew initially unclear, according to Reuters and the Times of Malta.
The vessel, identified as the Arctic Metagaz, was reportedly destroyed around 4 a.m. local time between Malta and Libya. Multiple sources cited by the Times of Malta said a series of explosions occurred before the crew was rescued and transferred to another vessel in the area. Shipping and maritime security sources told Reuters the tanker was ablaze, though no official distress signal had been recorded.
According to ship-tracking data from MarineTraffic, the vessel last reported its position off the coast of Malta on Monday. Security firm EOS Risk Group indicated the ship may have suffered a drone attack
Oh? Any idea whose?
while transiting eastbound toward the Suez Canal after departing Murmansk on February 24 with LNG cargo loaded from a floating storage unit.
The tanker had reportedly deactivated its AIS tracker for approximately 300 kilometers prior to the incident, allegedly following a so-called “gray route” to evade sanctions enforcement.
If confirmed, the destruction of the Arctic Metagaz could mark the first known instance of an LNG carrier being blown up in a conflict-related attack. While oil tankers have been damaged in recent Mediterranean blasts — Reuters reported three such incidents in the past month — LNG carriers have historically avoided direct strikes, given the heightened safety and environmental risks involved.
Malta’s Armed Forces deployed surveillance aircraft after the incident was reported via maritime radio channels. Authorities said environmental damage was unlikely, as the vessel was believed to be carrying LNG rather than crude oil.
Ukraine has been suspected in previous strikes targeting Russia-linked shipping, though no immediate confirmation of responsibility was available.
The incident marks a sharp escalation in maritime risk across the Mediterranean, a region increasingly touched by the widening conflict.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[Regnum] Federal Security Service officers prevented a terrorist attack against the head of a military plant in Yekaterinburg.
The terrorist attack was planned by a Russian citizen born in 1985, working on instructions from Ukrainian intelligence services. He retrieved an improvised explosive device from a hidden location to blow up the personal vehicle of a defense contractor.
During an attempt to detain the perpetrator, the Ukrainian handler remotely detonated an IED, resulting in fatal injuries to the perpetrator, the FSB noted.
While preparing a terrorist attack, the curator provided the Russian citizen with a fake Russian passport, which he used to rent an apartment. He also received the address of the company's director and two improvised explosive devices from Ukrainian intelligence services.
At the scene, FSB officers seized a second explosive device, disguised as a power bank. It contained 300 grams of plastic explosive, a foreign-made electric detonator, and a radio-activated actuator. They also seized the perpetrator's cell phone, which contained correspondence with a Ukrainian intelligence officer, and a fake Russian passport.
Sauce for the gander...
[Regnum] The University of California, Berkeley, has been added to the list of foreign and international non-governmental organizations whose activities are deemed undesirable in the Russian Federation. This was announced on March 3 by the Russian Ministry of Justice.
The Justice Department has designated the University of California, Berkeley, an undesirable organization. Many here would concur
The agency noted that the resolution was adopted on March 2 based on a decision by the Russian Prosecutor General's Office dated February 16.
In addition, on the same day, the agency declared the Russian-American Science Association an undesirable organization, following a decision by the Prosecutor General's Office on February 17.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
