Ukraine updates: Kyiv claims Russian bridge explosion

More than 40 states have called for an an "independent and transparent international investigation" into the death of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny in a Russian prison camp.

"We are outraged by the death of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny, for which President (Vladimir) Putin and the Russian authorities are ultimately responsible," said EU Ambassador to the UN, Lotte Knudsen, on behalf of the 43 states. The bloc includes EU member states, the US, the UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway.

The states are deeply concerned about Russia's "systematic crackdown" on civil society and the repression of political opposition. The Kremlin must "abolish its repressive laws and end the political abuse of the judiciary."

Meanwhile, Navalny's widow has thanked thousands of Russians for their support in the wake of her husband's death.

"Many people wonder why Alexei fought so hard and never gave up," Yulia Navalnaya said on Monday. "He did it for you. For the beautiful, brave and honest people who are saying goodbye to him in endless lines to say goodbye to him. This is the true love of the people."

On Friday, thousands of people in Moscow paid their respects to Alexei Navalny. Despite a large contingent of security forces, thousands chanted his name, as well as slogans critical of the Kremlin.

Yulia Navalnaya accuses President Putin of killing her husband.

Russia's newest main battle tank, the Armata, is not used by the Russian Armed Forces  against Ukraine because it is too expensive, according to the country's armaments chief.

"In terms of its functionality, it is far superior to existing tanks, but it is too expensive and therefore the army is unlikely to deploy it now," Sergey Chemezov, head of the state armaments corporation Rostec, told the state news agency Ria Novosti.

The Armata T-14 was first unveiled to the public in 2015 at the annual military parade in Moscow. According to media reports, the tank has not yet been put into series production due to a number of technical problems. However, the Russian Armed Forces have since put the Armata into service, Chemezov said.

"Today we need money to produce new tanks, new weapons, possibly cheaper ones," Chemezov said. It was therefore appropriate to buy cheaper T-90 tanks for the current conflict, he added. The Armata was originally intended to replace the T-90.

Three Ukrainian children are visiting Washington to draw attention to the plight of children who have been abducted from their war-torn country and taken to Russia.

DW correspondent Ihes Pohl reports that the children have traveled to the US capital to tell their stories and seek support from American lawmakers to continue funding for Ukraine.

All three were abducted in Mariupol when Russian forces seized the city in 2022 and sent to Russia, but later returned to Ukraine.

It is estimated that around 20,000 Ukrainian children are still being held hostage in Russia, and only 300 have been rescued.

Russia's Supreme Court has confirmed the ruling that banned liberal politician Boris Nadezhdin from running against Vladimir Putin in the upcoming election. 

Nadezhdin, a city council member in the town of Dolgoprudny near Moscow, opposes the Ukraine war. Electoral officials have barred him from running. 

In a statement on social media, Nadezhdin said he would continue to appeal his case to the presidium of the Supreme Court and then to the country's Constitutional Court. "I'm not going to stop, I'll fight until the end," he said.

So far, four candidates have been approved to run in the March 15-17 election, including Putin. The other three, considered by many to be token candidates, have been nominated by Kremlin-friendly parties represented in parliament.

DW spoke with Vsevolod Prokofiev from Save the Children Ukraine about the impact of the war on children who were abducted by Russian forces. Prokofiev said that these children need weeks of psycho-social care before they can interact with other people again.

The German Foreign Ministry has denied reports that its ambassador to Russia was summoned by Moscow following the wiretap leak of a discussion between Bundeswehr officers.

Russian media reported that the ambassador was seen entering and leaving the Russian Foreign Ministry, but Berlin said that this was for a pre-planned meeting.

"Our ambassador went to a long-planned meeting in the Russian foreign ministry [on Monday] morning," a ministry spokesperson said.

The ambassador, Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, also told the German news agency DPA that he had not been summoned by Moscow, and the discussion in the Russian Foreign Ministry was over "various bilateral topics."

The Russian Foreign Ministry had earlier said that Lambsdorff was summoned to provide explanations on comments made by Bundeswehr officers on potential Ukrainian strikes on the Kerch Bridge.

The Kremlin has said that a leaked recording of German Bundeswehr officers shows the "direct involvement" of the West in the war in Ukraine.

Officers were heard discussing potential Ukrainian strikes on the Kerch Bridge that links the Crimean Peninsula to the Russian mainland, which prompted Moscow to summon Germany's ambassador for an explanation.

The discussions "once again highlight the direct involvement of the collective West in the conflict in Ukraine," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.

"The recording itself suggests that the Bundeswehr is discussing substantively and specifically plans to strike Russian territory," he said.

"This does not require any legal interpretation. Everything here is more than obvious."

Peskov said it was not clear whether the German military was acting on its own initiative or if the talks reflected state policy.

"Here we have to find out whether the Bundeswehr is doing this on its own initiative. Then the question is: how controllable is the Bundeswehr and how much does [German Chancellor Olaf] Scholz control the situation? Or is it part of German government policy?" Peskov said.

"Both [scenarios] are very bad. Both once again emphasise the direct involvement of the countries of the collective West in the conflict around Ukraine," he stressed.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has summoned Germany's ambassador following the leaking of confidential talks between Bundeswehr officers.

On Sunday, Berlin accused Moscow of trying to "destabilize" Germany by publishing the recording.

In the recording, German army officers discuss possible deliveries of long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine, as well as a potential Ukrainian strike on the Kerch Bridge that links the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula to the Russian mainland.

Russia illegally annexed Crimea in 2014.

"The German ambassador arrived at the Russian foreign ministry, where he was summoned in connection with the publicized conversation of German officers about Crimea," Russian state-run agency RIA Novosti said.

A railway bridge in the southwestern Samara region in Russia has been damaged due to an explosive device, Ukrainian military intelligence and the Russian state-owned TASS news agency said on Monday.

Russian railway authorities said that traffic over the rail bridge had been suspended.

Ukraine claimed responsibility for the attack, saying the bridge was being used to transport "military cargo."

"A railway bridge over the Chapaevka River in Russia's Samara region was blown up. On 4 March 2024, at around 6:00 am (0200 GMT), the bridge was damaged by blowing up its support structures," Ukraine's military intelligence said.

"Given the nature of the damage to the railway bridge, its use will not be possible for a long time," it added.

Russia was using the railway line to bring ammunition to the town of Chapayevsk, according to Kyiv.

sdi/ab (AFP, Reuters, dpa, AP)