Russia: Border region hit again by missiles, raids from Ukraine
Ukraine fired at least eight missiles at Russia’s Belgorod border region, killing two people and wounding 12, officials said Thursday, as Kyiv’s forces apparently kept up efforts to rattle the Kremlin on the eve of Russia’s presidential election.
Also, Ukrainian forces attempted cross-border raids that were repelled in Belgorod and the Kursk region, local authorities said.
The Russian Defense Ministry said its troops killed 195 Ukrainian soldiers and destroyed five tanks and four armored infantry vehicles, two days after saying it killed 234 Ukrainian troops in another border assault.
It is not possible to independently verify the Russian claims. Cross-border attacks in the area have occurred sporadically since the war began and have been the subject of claims and counterclaims.
The Ukrainian assaults on Russian territory in recent days, including long-range drone attacks and alleged incursions by Ukrainebased Russian proxies, have come as Russian President Vladimir Putin heads for near-certain reelection.
Putin has sought to persuade Russians to keep him in power against a backdrop of what he says are foreign threats to the country. In a video released Thursday, he called on Russians to go to the polls, calling participation in the election a “manifestation of patriotic feeling.”
Since coming to power almost 25 years ago, Putin has eliminated nearly all independent media and opposition voices in Russia, particularly after the 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine that initially went badly wrong.
Analysts say the Kremlin is worried about low turnout during the three days of voting.
Orbán warning: Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is jeopardizing Hungary’s position as a trusted NATO ally, the U.S. ambassador to Budapest warned Thursday, with “its close and expanding relationship with Russia,” and with “dangerously unhinged anti-American messaging” in state-controlled media.
The ambassador, David Pressman, has for months criticized Orbán for effectively siding with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the war in Ukraine, but his latest remarks sharply ratcheted up tensions and indicated that trust in Hungary among NATO allies had collapsed.
Hungary is “an ally that behaves unlike any other” and is “alone on the defining issue of European security of the last quarter-century, Russia’s war in Ukraine,” Pressman said in a speech in Budapest marking the 25th anniversary of Hungary’s admission to the Western military alliance.
Orbán, a darling of MAGA Republicans in the United States, visited Donald Trump last week at the former president’s home and members-only club in Florida. After their meeting, Orbán claimed in an interview with Hungarian state television that Trump had outlined to him a “pretty detailed plan” for ending the war in Ukraine that would involve an abrupt halt to United States aid to Russia’s embattled neighbor.
Such a plan closely parallels what Orbán has been advocating for the European Union — a suspension of all financial and military support for Ukraine and a policy of pushing the government in Kyiv into immediate peace negotiations with Moscow.
Transition in Haiti: A plan to create a transitional presidential council is moving forward after a majority of Haitian parties and coalitions submitted the names of those charged with finding new leaders for the country, Caribbean officials said Thursday.
The names were provided to a regional trade bloc known as Caricom that is helping lead the transition.
“It is all up now to the Haitians, as they are the ones who want a Haitianled solution,” Surinamese Foreign Minister Albert Ramdin said. “It is for them to pick up the ball and run with it, being responsible for their own destiny.”
Caribbean leaders had announced plans to create the council after meeting behind closed doors Monday in Jamaica with officials including U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Shortly after the meeting, Prime Minister Ariel Henry pledged to resign once the council is created.
The council will be responsible for choosing an interim prime minister and a council of ministers, as well as help organize general elections, which haven’t been held in nearly a decade.
Indonesia election: The camps of the two Indonesian presidential candidates who appear to have lost an election last month announced plans Thursday to challenge the official results in the Constitutional Court with allegations of widespread fraud.
Indonesians voted Feb. 14 for a successor to popular President Joko Widodo, who is serving his second and final term. The election is a three-way race among Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto and two former provincial governors, Anies Baswedan and Ganjar Pranowo.
The General Election Commission had officially tallied over 78% of the votes as of Thursday, with Subianto taking 58.82%, Baswedan 24.50% and Pranowo 16.68%. Baswedan and Pranowo have refused to concede and alleged fraud in the election.
The official vote-counting process may take up to 35 days; the commission is expected to announce the official winner by March 20.
Colorado snowstorm: A major storm dumped heavy snow Thursday in Colorado, canceling flights and shutting down Interstate 70, which connects Denver to Colorado ski resorts.
The storm, which began Wednesday night, delivered the slushy, wet snow typical for March, one of the snowiest months in Denver, and wasn’t expected to wind down until Friday morning.
The heaviest accumulations were expected in the Front Range region, where the eastern plains meet the Rocky Mountains and the vast majority of the state’s population lives. Most of the snow was falling in the foothills west of Denver.
Those higher elevations had up to 3 feet of snow by Thursday afternoon; at least a foot more was forecast by Friday morning. Denver got up to 8 inches by Thursday.
Michigan school shooter:
The father of a Michigan school shooter was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter Thursday, a second conviction against the teen’s parents who were accused of failing to secure a gun at home and doing nothing to address acute signs of his mental turmoil.
The jury verdict means James Crumbley has joined Jennifer Crumbley as a cause of the killing of four students at Oxford High School in 2021, even without pulling the trigger.
They had separate trials as the first U.S. parents to be charged in a mass school shooting committed by their child.
Jennifer Crumbley was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in February.
Ethan Crumbley, now 17, is serving a life sentence in prison for murder and terrorism in the killings.