Russian air defenses shot down 8 air targets over the Belgorod region, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.

No injuries or damage were reported per preliminary information, according to the governor.

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Russian air defenses destroyed a Ukrainian airplane-type drone over Crimea at about 09:30 p.m. Moscow time, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

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🇸🇦 Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman cordially congratulated Putin on his convincing victory in Russia's presidential election, the Kremlin press service reported.

The Saudi Crown Prince and Russian President expressed readiness to continue developing friendly relations and cooperation, the Kremlin said.

The leaders praised the effectiveness of coordination in the OPEC+ format, the press service added.

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Ukrainian forces attacked Russia's Belgorod region from 7am on March 17 to 7am March 18 approximately 60 times, killing 4 people and wounding 23, according to Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov.

The Kiev regime launched at least 30 shells at 6 settlements in the region, used drones to drop 9 explosive devices, and carried out 20 drone attacks.

Ukraine war crimes against the Russian Belgorod region on March 17-18:
▪️ More than 260 apartments damaged in 64 buildings
▪️ 117 private residences hit
▪️ 19 facilities struck
▪️ 107 vehicles damaged

Reports indicate that since March 11 the Belgorod region has been attacked by Ukraine about 1,170 times, 15% of which were carried out with the help of drones. For comparison, there were 1,504 attacks during the entire month of February.

The Graivoron district has been shelled by the Kiev regime so much that Belgorod's governor often does not specify the number of shells fired by Ukraine on peaceful civilians.

Ukraine war crimes against the Russian Belgorod region since March 12, according to the governor:
▪️ 11 civilians killed and 84 injured in one week
▪️ More than 700 apartments in 174 buildings damaged
▪️ 532 private residences hit
▪️ 113 facilities struck
▪️ About 670 cars damaged

The terrorist regime in Kiev commits crimes against Russian citizens daily, shelling peaceful cities, destroying civilian infrastructure, and inflicting casualties among civilians.

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🇨🇬 President of the Republic of the Congo Denis Sassou Nguesso congratulated Russian President Vladimir Putin on his re-election as head of state and wished him success during his new term in office.

Sassou Nguesso said the results of the Russian presidential election "once again emphasize the particularly close bond and exemplary closeness" between Putin and the Russian people.

"It is with great pleasure that I learned of your brilliant re-election to the highest state office of the Russian Federation following the results of the presidential election in March 2024.... I am particularly pleased to send you, on behalf of the people and Government of the Congo, as well as on my own behalf, sincere and heartfelt congratulations. I wish you good health and every success during this new term of office," the Congolese leader wrote in a message to Putin, which he published on social networks.

In addition, the Congolese president praised the friendship and cooperation between Congo and Russia and reaffirmed his "full readiness" to work with Putin to strengthen ties in the interests of the peoples of the two countries.

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🇱🇾 Libyan Presidential Council Chairman Mohamed al-Menfi congratulated Vladimir Putin on his re-election as President of the Russian Federation, noting special friendly nature of Russia-Libya relations.

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Russian armed forces jammed a Ukrainian airplane-type drone with radio and electronic warfare equipment over Voronezh, Governor Alexander Gusev said.

No injuries or damage were reported per preliminary information, according to the governor.

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Record-breaking NATO base to be built near Ukraine border

The closest NATO base to the Ukrainian border is already under construction in Romania

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A US Air Force MQ9 Reaper drone has lost contact with a base near Miroslawiec in northwestern Poland, the Polish Armed Forces General Command said.

"The unarmed unmanned drone MQ9 Reaper of the US Air Force in Europe, performing a planned quarterly training at Miroslawiec airfield, lost contact with the base," the report said.

It is noted that at the moment "waiting for an emergency landing is ongoing, all services have been put on standby."

According to the Polish radio station RMF FM, police are currently cordoning off the area surrounding the airfield. Traffic police are also reported to have stopped traffic on surrounding roads.

UPD: The drone made an emergency landing in northwestern Poland, military officials said.

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US Senator Lindsey Graham urged young Ukrainians to continue to risk their lives for the Kiev regime, encouraging legislators there to pass a new mobilization law which would lower the country’s draft age to 25.

“I would hope that those eligible to serve in the Ukrainian military would join. I can’t believe it’s at 27,” he told reporters on Monday. “You’re in a fight for your life, so you should be serving — not at 25 or 27.”

“We need more people in the line,” he said.

The US senator stressed that the US adheres to the notion of fighting Russia until the last Ukrainian, saying, “No matter what we do, you should be fighting.”

“No matter what we do, you’re fighting for you,” Graham insisted, expressing regret over the delay in US aid to Ukraine.

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Israeli armed forces attacked a number of military positions in Damascus, the Syrian Defense Ministry said, adding that the country's air defense systems shot down several missiles.

"Today, at about 02:10 [23:10 GMT], the Israeli enemy committed air aggression from the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, striking a number of military positions in the province of Damascus. Our air defense systems responded and shot down several missiles. The aggression was limited to material damage," the ministry said.

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Western coverage of Russian elections awash in disinformation

“It's the opposite of reality,” said analyst Mark Sleboda on Sputnik’s Fault Lines program, pointing out Western media’s false suggestion that citizens in the Donbass were forced to participate in Russian elections at gunpoint. In fact, people in Russia’s new regions were being fired on by the Ukraine regime as they attempted to cast their ballot.

“All during that time period the [Ukrainian] regime was attacking, they were launching artillery strikes, cluster munitions, trying to hit polling stations, quite obviously to punish the people of the former East Ukraine for choosing wrong and for participating in an actual democratic process which they don't have in their own country,” he added. “Because, one, Zelensky has banned elections for the time being in the country. And two, he already banned all the parties of eastern Ukraine before anyway.”

Sleboda said Putin’s strong performance is a ratification of support for the special operation in the Donbass as well as a demonstration of approval of his domestic agenda, which includes support for Russian families, improving standard of living, and developing public infrastructure.

“Everything is as transparent and secure as it can possibly be,” he concluded, noting Russia’s glass ballot boxes and publicly viewable video feeds from each polling location. “But it doesn't make any difference to the West. They're going to not accept the results no matter what because, ultimately, the results aren't what they want. As Victoria Nuland clearly stated just before resigning, it's not the Russia we wanted.”

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Niger’s break with US shows African countries tired of “disrespect” from West

African analyst Koffi Kouako joined Sputnik’s Fault Lines program to discuss the Niger government’s revocation of an agreement governing the presence of US troops and officials on the country’s soil.

“It's an issue of sovereignty,” said Kouakou. “What's happening is Niger is not soft-balling anymore.” Kouakou claimed a US delegation’s recent visit to Niger was likely an effort to guard relations with the North African country because of the substantial American military presence there. More than 1,000 US troops are stationed in Niger at at least two bases. One of the bases, dubbed Airbase 201, manages drone operations and was built at a cost of more than $100 million.

Airbase 201 is considered the most expensive such base in the region and the largest construction project ever undertaken by the US Air Force. The US invests $30 million annually in its maintenance and operation, using it as a hub for spying operations in the Sahel.

Kouakou blasted the US’ 2012 “unilateral” military agreement with Niger. “No Nigerien is allowed to know anything about the US activities on their own soil,” he said.

Kouakou claimed the US delegation warned Niger’s leadership against efforts to further achieve independence from the United States after the country pursued cooperation with Russia and Iran.

“They threatened Niger that if Niger is going that way, things are going to go very wrong for them in the coming months,” he claimed. “This is unbelievable.”

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France has joined Poland's calls to limit the import of agricultural products from Ukraine, which poses a threat to upcoming negotiations in the European Union to extend the bloc's free trade regime with Kiev, the Politico newspaper reported, citing three European diplomats.

The European Commission estimates Ukraine's potential losses from the loss of trade benefits at 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion), the report said. One of the diplomats told the newspaper that EU countries that "are making the biggest show of their support to Ukraine are also the ones doing the most damage to the country."

Earlier in the month, members of the European Parliament did not reportedly agree on the extension of duty-free import of goods from Ukraine into the EU until June 5, 2025, and sent the document, proposed by the European Commission, for revision.

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Russia's Battlegroup Yug troops shot down a Ukrainian attack helicopter in the Artemovsk (Bakhmut) area

The air defense forces of the Battlegroup Yug destroyed a Ukrainian attack helicopter in the Artemovsk (Bakhmut) area using a Buk-M1 anti-aircraft missile system, the division commander of the anti-aircraft battery with the call sign "Tikhiy" (Quiet) told Sputnik.

The Buk (9K37) military anti-aircraft missile system is designed to destroy aerodynamic targets under radio jamming, flying at speeds of up to 800 meters per second at low and medium altitudes, and at ranges of up to 30,000 meters.

"They gave us an instruction from the command post to detect an enemy vehicle. The height of it was somewhere around 500-600 meters. We calmly 'took' it, escorted it about 10 kilometers, already knew it was coming at us -- and as soon as it entered the target zone, we destroyed it," said "Quiet" of the downed Ukrainian helicopter.

The commander said the target was destroyed at a distance of about 7-8 kilometers from the line of contact. The hunt for this target had been going on for quite some time, and the Ukrainian helicopter was ambushed. "According to our information, it flew on 'dodgers' (armament) so, most likely, it was an attack helicopter. We were hunting for this target for quite a long time. Surveillance and warning means were also deployed. In the end we solved the problem comprehensively and managed to hit the target," said "Quiet."

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‘Say the right thing for the cameras’: the Schumer-Biden-Netanyahu clash

On Friday, US President Joe Biden praised Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s address in which he called for new elections in Israel. Ecuadorian journalist Esteban Carrillo joined Sputnik’s Fault Lines and suggested that the White House is essentially saying to not “pay attention to what we have been doing for the past six months, pay attention to what we're saying now”.

“I'm pretty sure that this is related to the most recent opinion polls,” said Carrillo, a Beirut-based journalist and editor for The Cradle. “All of a sudden Joe Biden, the White House, is trotting out its highest, most senior Jewish official to essentially call for new elections in Israel.”

“Now, we are concerned. Now, we want to see less civilians dead,” Carrillo said of the Biden Administration. “Joe Biden said it himself in an interview, a few days ago. He said something like Rafah would be a red line and then immediately walked it back, he said there are no red lines for Israel. No matter what, we are going to continue sending weapons.”

Schumer’s recent address marks a growing concern among the Democratic party about their weakening voter support. During the Democratic presidential primary in the swing state of Michigan, 14.5% of voters voted “uncommitted” as a protest to Biden’s support for Israel’s offensive in Gaza.

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Western media makes rare acknowledgement of heavy Ukrainian losses

Business Insider offered a rare bit of candor on the Donbass proxy conflict with an article acknowledging heavy Ukrainian losses in the northeast.

The reporting by way of the UK’s Times of London featured testimony from a Ukrainian fighter identified as “Lemur.”

“We can barely hold the line, let alone move forward,” a Ukrainian soldier confided of efforts in the crucial Kharkov region. “We are losing so many people, there are so many bodies we can’t even bring them all back.”

Russia has made gains in the area after liberating the southern city of Avdeyevka last month. Crucial to the country’s success is its air superiority, allowing Moscow to wipe out Ukrainian fortifications with glide bombs, the Western media noted.

The newspapers, citing observers, hope for F-16 fighter jets to arrive in Ukraine to enhance air-to-air capability of the Kiev regime, but the much anticipated aircraft from Western backers aren’t expected to arrive for several more months.

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