Slovakia’s government has approved a plan to give Ukraine its fleet of Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jets. Slovakia is the second NATO member country after Poland to agree to fulfill Kyiv's persistent pleas for warplanes to help defend against Russia. https://t.co/MqfoVKecsg

— The Associated Press (@AP) March 17, 2023

Notable: UK says Russia is carrying out fewer offensive actions in Ukraine than at any time since January, adding “Russian forces have temporarily depleted the deployed formations’ combat power to such an extent that even local offensive actions are not currently sustainable.”

— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) March 17, 2023

Breaking: The ICC has issued arrest warrants for Russian president Vladimir Putin and Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova. Lvova-Belova is the Russian official at center of alleged scheme to forcibly deport thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia. https://t.co/LSeXJxL9pm

— Natasha Bertrand (@NatashaBertrand) March 17, 2023

On China - still no sign of Beijing supplying lethal aid to Moscow - but the senior Nato official warns it has not been taken off the table either. Intense western focus on this, not surprisingly

— Dan Sabbagh (@dansabbagh) March 17, 2023

He also says, “Yankees, hands off Putin!” The fact that the U.S. (like Russia, like China, like India, even like Ukraine) hasn’t recognized the ICC’s jurisdiction is irrelevant to this rhetoric.

— Kevin Rothrock (@KevinRothrock) March 17, 2023

I’m already bored of the predictable responses to the ICC arrest warrant for Putin. (Applause where you’d expect it, indignation where you’d expect it, etc.) P.S. Here is Margo Simonyan threatening to attack any country that would dare arrest Putin. pic.twitter.com/MnmzLbuAkl

— Kevin Rothrock (@KevinRothrock) March 17, 2023

I think that the second ICC arrest warrant, for Maria Lvova-Belova, is far more important than the one for Putin. It says that a middle-rank (cabinet-rank, basically) official will be considered responsible for the crimes she committed on behalf https://t.co/9hXZmVzKEl… https://t.co/TMwluymmeY

— Konstantin Sonin (@k_sonin) March 17, 2023

Russians are in full butthurt mode today. Girkin believes the West is so confident in its victory, it wouldn't have issued an arrest warrant for Putin otherwise 🤣 pic.twitter.com/6XS21k4y4j

— Dmitri (@wartranslated) March 17, 2023

From now until the day he leaves office, every iota of the Russian state will be oriented towards one singular goal: the survival of Vladimir Putin.

Putin long ago subsumed Russia's interests into his own. He will now expropriate Russia's future to safeguard his present. https://t.co/au5l9892je

— Sam Greene (@samagreene) March 17, 2023

A convoy of American Oshkosh M-ATVs somewhere in Ukraine.

Their transfer has not been officially announced.
📹https://t.co/e7AVKDv39s pic.twitter.com/ImNcz4CPZ0

— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) March 18, 2023

Murz (Girkin's old "comrade-in-arms") on the ICC ruling: "we're being forcibly kicked into February of 1917". pic.twitter.com/rjJBHO33Qn

— Dmitri (@wartranslated) March 17, 2023

Former State Duma deputy Semyon Bagdasarov stated that #Russia should take advantage of the earthquake crisis in #Turkey and capture #Constantinople. pic.twitter.com/ZVtuGXnpnH

— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) March 18, 2023

Heads of States that the International Criminal Court has indicted: Omar al-Bashir (Sudan), Muammar Gaddafi (Libya), Laurent Gbagbo (Ivory Coast), Vladimir Putin (Russia).

— Oleksiy Sorokin (@mrsorokaa) March 17, 2023

The Russian government's current domestic and fiscal policies are a risky bet on Putin's unshakeable belief that the war is a circumstance & sooner rather than later, Russia will outlast the resolve of its adversaries, after which things will settle into a new normal.

— András Tóth-Czifra 🇺🇦 (@NoYardstick) March 18, 2023

On the other hand, and this needs to be underlined, it's a crucial test of the ICC's (already somewhat battered) authority as well. Will the warrant lead to a near-complete isolation of Putin, or will it encourage more countries to challenge and defy the authority of the court?

— András Tóth-Czifra 🇺🇦 (@NoYardstick) March 18, 2023

Special forces of the SBU called "White Wolves" reportedly destroyed 10 Russian tanks in one night. Also one APC was reportedly destroyed.

This all happened during a night attack in the Donetsk region. pic.twitter.com/RscjcznMrv

— NOËL 🇪🇺 🇺🇦 (@NOELreports) March 18, 2023

A curious situation is developing in the balneological resort town of Goryachy Klyuch in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, between the town's administration and PMC Wagner.

The town's administration denied the previously approved request for the group to bury mercenaries killed in… https://t.co/WWGfdcyy5e pic.twitter.com/jBqZZf9udx

— Dmitri (@wartranslated) March 18, 2023