Russia-Ukraine war updates: Anti-Kremlin Russian groups in border clashes

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We will be closing this live page soon. Here’s a recap of some of the day’s key events:

• A Russian military cargo plane crashes shortly after takeoff with 15 people on board after a fire in the engine.
• Paramilitary groups that refer to themselves as “Russian liberation forces” say they are in full control of the Russian village of Tyotkino on the border with Ukraine in the western region of Kursk.
• The Danish Ministry of Defence announces it will provide Ukraine with a new military aid package worth about 2.3 billion crowns ($336.6m).
• A White House spokesperson rejects accusations that the US is trying to meddle in Russia’s upcoming presidential election.
• The Ukrainian president dismisses the possibility of a truce without concrete steps to end the war.

A senior EU official says frozen Russian assets will likely generate between 15 billion and 20 billion euros ($16bn to $21bn) in after-tax profits until 2027, depending on global interest rates.

“We want to help Ukraine, but we will also have to ensure that there is no breach of financial stability,” said the EU official, who is close to negotiations on using the assets.

“The moment the war ends and all settlements can be made, all the money that was provisionally retained will also be transferred to Ukraine. But we need a significant amount in Euroclear … beause Euroclear will face a lot of claims,” the official said.

The unnamed official added that part of the profits and tax will likely be regularly transferred from the EU to Ukraine.

However, some of the money will have to stay in the West to buffer against the expected Russian retaliation, which could destabilise the global financial system.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) says it has uncovered a pro-Russian “informational sabotage” network coordinated by a cleric.

The SBU agency said it exposed 15 members of the network linked to Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), detaining four of them, including the cleric of a Kyiv-based temple of the minority Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC).

“It is one of the largest FSB networks that has been operating in Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale invasion,” SBU said on its Telegram channel.

According to the agency, the group was involved in spreading pro-Kremlin narratives aimed at destabilising society and inciting religious hatred.

For years, Ukrainian authorities and some members of society saw the UOC as loyal to Moscow, and in 2023, the parliament backed a ban on its activities in the initial vote.

However, the church describes itself as independent.

It’s day 748 of the Russia-Ukraine war, and these are the main developments.

• Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the situation along the front line in the east is “much better” and that Ukraine has “recovered” its strategic position.
• The Kremlin has declined to comment on Russian media reports that it sacked Admiral Nikolay Yevmenov, the commander-in-chief of its navy.
• Pope Francis has called for Ukraine to “show the courage of the white flag” and begin talks to end the war.
• Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who is close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, has said former US President Donald Trump told him that he would “not give a penny” to the war in Ukraine.

Read our full list here.

US intelligence agencies have pressed members of the House of Representatives to approve additional military assistance for Ukraine.

They have said the additional fund would boost Kyiv’s ability to fight Russia and discourage Chinese aggression.

“That has consequences for American interests that go … directly to our interests in the Indo-Pacific,” CIA Director Williams Burns told the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee’s annual hearing on Worldwide Threats to US security.

Ukrainian energy customs have started inspections of imported liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) produced in the European Union, fearing that some of them may have come from Russia.

“In case of receipt of information about goods produced by simple mixing, the components of which originate from the country of aggressor Russia, such goods will be banned for import into Ukraine,” the customs agency said on Facebook.

Ukraine imported significant amounts of LPG from Russia until 2022, but after the invasion, it switched to buying fuel mainly of European origin and banned imports of products made in Russia.

Some analysts say that some European traders supply Ukraine with gas that is partly of Russian origin, and the share of such gas in February was about 50 percent.

Oleg Vasnetsov has been summoned over the decision to open polling stations for Russia’s presidential election in the breakaway region of Transdniestria.

The foreign ministry previously agreed on one polling station in Moldova’s capital of Chisinau for elections from Friday to Sunday, but Moscow was set to open six in breakaway Transdniestria instead.

“This action violates international law, undermining Moldova’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the ministry said.

Vasnetsov told journalists that the ministry’s protest was “unfounded” and that the multiple polling stations were due to ensure that all Russian citizens could participate.

Pope Francis has said talks should begin to end the war in Ukraine. While Moscow welcomed his comments, Kyiv rejected them.

Al Jazeera’s Inside Story speaks to experts to examine whether Ukraine should take part in the talks or fight on.

Watch the discussion below:

German Air Force chief Ingo Gerhartz has ordered troops to tighten communications security after the leak of a phone call between four top commanders last week.

In a letter obtained by the German press agency dpa, Gerhartz issued new instructions for using cross-network voice communication, the online Webex conference-call platform, and secure email use.

“The need to protect information, especially in the context of national and alliance defence, has become even more important as digitalisation continues to advance,” Gerhartz wrote in the letter to his soldiers.

On Monday, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius confirmed that Gerhartz was one of two senior officers on the leaked phone call.

In the intercepted conference call, senior officers discussed the possible deployment of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine.

The shortages are despite a 100 billion euro ($109bn) special fund set up after the war in Ukraine broke out, the parliamentary commissioner for the armed forces said.

Eva Hoegl said in her 2023 annual report that the “Zeitenwende”, or policy shift, was on the right course with a total of 47 billion euros ($51bn) in procurement projects approved by the Bundestag, the lower house of parliament.

“Despite the remarkable efforts, it remains to be said that substantial improvements in personnel, equipment and infrastructure are still a long way off in the second year of the Zeitenwende,” said Hoegl, who acts as an advocate defending the rights of soldiers.

As part of the policy shift, the German government set up a fund to purchase modern weapons and pledged to reach NATO’s target of spending at least 2 percent of the national gross domestic product on defence by 2024.

Russia’s deputy prime minister has announced a new investment scheme under which Russians who own frozen foreign securities can sell them to foreigners with frozen assets in Russia.

The plan, Moscow said, will enable both Russian and foreign investors to unlock assets impacted by Western sanctions and Russian countermeasures.

“I think that it is quite expected that part of this money, maybe most of it, will be returned and invested … in our Russian shares and securities,” Deputy Prime Minister Ivan Chebeskov said at a Moscow conference.

About 3.5 million Russians have assets totalling 1.5 trillion roubles ($16.3bn) frozen abroad due to sanctions.

Russians who want to participate in the scheme must apply to a local broker from March 25 to May 8. Once deemed eligible, their securities will be consolidated into batches, available for bidding by foreign purchasers from June 3 to July 5, according to the  Ministry of Finance.

Polish Defence Ministry official said there were no plans to send troops to Ukraine, not even to train its service members, Russian state news agency TASS reported.

“We don’t plan for our soldiers to take part in the war because the presence of Polish troops in Ukraine, even if it’s for training purposes, would border on participation in the war,” Stanislaw Wziatek was quoted as telling Polskie Radio.

Wziatek’s comments come after Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said earlier that he appreciated French President Emmanuel Macron’s remarks that his country did not rule out deploying troops to Ukraine.

The paramilitary groups, referring to themselves as “Russian liberation forces”, say they are now in full control of the border village of Tyotkino in the western Kursk region.

This contradicts Moscow’s earlier claims that Russian forces repelled the groups’ incursion after a gunfight on the border.

Kursk Mayor Igor Kutsak announced schools in the area would be shut down until the end of the week.