Russian Digest-3/21

Top daily stories I'm keeping an eye on

1. Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Russian security council, on Monday, issued a warning to Poland in a lengthy letter, just days before U.S. President Joe Biden is due to visit the country.

   "The interests of the citizens of Poland have been sacrificed due to Russophobia of 'mediocre politicians' and their 'puppeteers from across the ocean' with clear signs of senile insanity," the former Russian president and prime minister wrote in a post on his Telegram channel via Newsweek

2. A pro-Kremlin tabloid, Komsomolskaya Pravda, on Monday reported that almost 10,000 Russian troops had been killed in the war in Ukraine — before quickly deleting the numbers from the site. Komsomolskaya Pravda later released a statement claiming it was hacked via Business Insider

3. Russian court bans Facebook and Instagram for 'extremism' via

   Russian court bans Facebook and Instagram for 'extremism'

   4. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said that due to problems with the supply of components to Russia, the work of enterprises specializing in the repair of tanks has been suspended.

      "According to available information, due to the lack of foreign components, the work of Uralzavod Corporation and Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant has been suspended. These companies specialize in the manufacture and repair of tanks and other armored vehicles for the armed forces of the Russian Federation.”

   5. The Russians were hunting us down. They had a list of names, including ours, and they were closing in.

      We were the only international journalists left in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, and we had been documenting its siege by Russian troops for more than two weeks. We were reporting inside the hospital when gunmen began stalking the corridors. Surgeons gave us white scrubs to wear as camouflage via AP