Politics
Ukraine: US and Russia’s top diplomats discuss ‘next steps’
Indicating a thaw in US-Russia relations, Marco Rubio and Sergey Lavrov spoke about further efforts to ending the war in Ukraine as overnight aerial strikes continue.
US-Russia top diplomats Rubio and Lavrov, discuss ‘next steps’ on Ukraine Trump limits Kellogg’s role as special envoy to Ukraine Military meeting set for next week to support Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire with Russia Both Ukraine and Russia report overnight aerial strikes
Here’s the latest regarding Russia’s war in Ukraine on Sunday, March 16.
Russia reiterates demand that Ukraine not join NATO
Moscow will demand guarantees that NATO countries will exclude Ukraine from membership and that Ukraine will remain neutral in any peace agreement, a Russian official said in an interview with the Russian media outlet Izvestia.
“We will demand that ironclad security guarantees become part of this agreement,” Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said.
“Part of these guarantees should be Ukraine’s neutral status, the refusal of NATO countries to accept it into the alliance,” he added.
Grushko also reiterated Russia’s opposition to the involvement of peacekeeping forces from NATO member states in Ukraine in any quality.
NATO states sending peacekeepers to Ukraine ‘means war,’ says Medvedev
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has issued a scathing rebuke of a plan by European countries to deploy peacekeepers to Ukraine.
Britain and France have both said they could send peacekeepers to Ukraine as a security guarantee for Kyiv in the event of a ceasefire with Russia.
In a post on X, Medvedev accused French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer of “playing dumb.”
“Time and again they are told that peacekeepers must be from non-NATO states,” he wrote.
Deploying peacekeepers from NATO member countries, for Russia, “means war with NATO,” he added.
Russia has repeatedly rejected the idea of soldiers from countries belonging to the NATO alliance being stationed in Ukraine, even if not formally sent as a part of a NATO mission.
Medvedev’s comments came after Macron told French regional newspapers that any peacekeeping force would consist of “a few thousand troops per country.”
He also said the question of whether to station troops in Ukraine was for Kyiv to decide, not Moscow.
Ukraine likely to give up territory under deal with Russia — Trump adviser
Michael Waltz, US President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, suggested that Ukraine would likely have to cede some territory to Russia while also giving up its wish to join the NATO military alliance.
Asked about speculation that a deal might require Ukraine to cede its eastern Donbas region and drop its NATO hopes, Waltz replied: “This is going to be some type of territory-for-future-security guarantees (deal) — the future status of Ukraine.”
“A permanent pathway into NATO, or permanent membership into NATO for Ukraine, is incredibly unlikely,” he said in comments made in an interview with the ABC News broadcaster.
What is Ukraine’s Donbas region?
Ukraine’s eastern Donbas is made up of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, large swathes of which are controlled by Russian forces. Moscow claims to have annexed both regions in their entirety, alongside Zaporizhzhia and Kherson in the south, and has demanded that Kyiv recognize the annexation as part of any peace deal.
Moscow has long described Ukraine joining NATO as a red line, while Kyiv has ruled out making any territorial concessions.
The United States proposed a 30 cease-fire in the war between Russia and Ukraine after talks in Saudi Arabia earlier this week, with Kyiv accepting the proposal.
However, Russian President Vladimir Putin has not given a clear response to the US proposal, instead listing a number of conditions.
US officials have also strongly hinted that Ukraine will likely have to make some major concessions if a deal is to be reached.
As Europe rearms, will it turn away from Asia?
A few years ago, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen declared that the EU wanted to “take a more active role in the Indo-Pacific.”
However, the future of this commitment is in doubt, as the United States under President Donald Trump has loudly mused about withdrawing security guarantees, potentially leaving European states to shoulder the burden of an uncertain ceasefire in Ukraine.
DW took a look at EU’s Indo-Pacific strategy: As Europe rearms, will it turn away from Asia?
Zelenskyy appoints new chief of staff
After a series of military setbacks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has appointed a new Chief of General Staff, General Andriy Hnatov. He was previously Deputy Chief of the General Staff.
The previous chief of staff, Anatoly Barhylevych, will become the new Inspector General of the Ministry of Defense.
No official reason was given for the need for the changes. However, Ukrainian forces have suffered significant setbacks in their fight against the Russian army in recent weeks, including a retreat in the western Russian region of Kursk.
How much will Trump White House back Ukraine?
US President Donald Trump is currently fighting on many (partly home-made) fronts at the same time: looming trade wars with China and Europe, tariff disputes with neighbors Canada and Mexico, the war in Gaza, plummeting stock markets.
Amid these crises, will the US let Ukraine fall? It seems only a matter of time before it is answered with a “yes.”
Read more here: How much will Trump White House back Ukraine?
Erdogan says he supports Trump’s peace initiatives on Ukraine
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told his US counterpart Donald Trump that he stood behind Trump’s initiatives to bring peace to Ukraine, his office said.
According to a statement from the Turkish presidency, Erdogan told Trump in a phone call that he “supported determined and decisive efforts by American President Trump to put an end to the war between Russia and Ukraine.”
Erdogan said he backed “a just and durable peace since the start of the war and will continue to do so,” the statement said.
Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine three years ago, Turkey, a NATO member, has twice hosted direct talks aimed at ending the conflict, while seeking to retain good relations with both Kyiv and Moscow.
While Turkey has condemned Russia’s invasion and has provided Kyiv with military aid, it has not imposed sanctions on Russia.
Continued aerial attacks show Russia does not want to end the war, says Zelenskyy
Ukraine’s PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyy has said the ongoing barrage of Russian airstrikes on Ukrainian cities shows that Moscow is not interested in ending the fighting in his country.
“Those who want the war to end as soon as possible do not act this way,” Zelenskyy wrote on the platform X, an allusion to recent comments by Russian President Vladimir Putin that seemed to suggest he supported the idea of a ceasefire.
Zelenskyy said that Russian forces had ” launched over 1,020 attack drones, nearly 1,360 guided aerial bombs, and more than 10 missiles of various types” over the past week.
He called on Ukraine’s international allies to continue providing air-defense systems and urged Europe and the US to exert unified pressure on Russia to end the war and work toward a just, lasting peace.
“Decisive measures are needed, including sanctions that must be not only maintained but also continuously strengthened,” he added.
Russia launched a full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine in February 2022 against which Kyiv’s forces have been fighting ever since with considerable assistance from the West.
Finnish President Stubb calls chances of Putin’s agreeing to ceasefire ‘abysmal’
Finnish President Alexander Stubb has said there is extremely little chance of Russian President Vladimir Putin agreeing to a ceasefire in Ukraine, calling the likelihood of his doing so “abysmal.”
“Putin doesn’t want peace,” Stubb said during an interview with British broadcaster BBC aired on Sunday.
He said Putin had not changed his long-held view that Ukraine should “cease to exist.”
According to Stubb, imposing more sanctions on Moscow, using frozen Russian assets to purchase military equipment for Kyiv and “militarizing Ukraine to the teeth” were the best ways to end the Russian invasion.
Finland shares a 1,340-kilometer (833-mile) border with Russia and became a NATO member almost two years ago in the face of Moscow’s aggression against Ukraine.
Turkey condemns Russian annexation of Crimea
Turkey again condemned Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, saying it is a violation of international law.
“We reiterate that [Turkey] does not recognize the de facto situation in Crimea, which constitutes a violation of international law, and that we support the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said.
It released the statement to mark the anniversary of an internationally panned referendum held by Russia in Crimea on March 16, 2014.
Despite the lack of international recognition, the peninsula’s majority ethnic Russian population voted in favor of joining Russia, and Moscow took control of Crimea.
“We will continue to closely monitor developments in Crimea, particularly the situation of the Crimean Tatar Turks, the indigenous people of the peninsula, and we will keep them on the agenda of the international community.”
Crimean Tatars, a Muslim ethnic minority indigenous to Crimea, have been resisting Russian occupation, with some of them fighting in the Ukrainian armed forces.
Crimean Tatar belongs to the Turkic language family, making it a close relative of Turkish.
Steve Witkoff says he expects Trump-Putin talks this week
Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff has said he expects the US president to hold “really good and positive” talks this week with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, about ending the war in Ukraine.
“I expect that there will be a call with both presidents this week, and we’re also continuing to engage and have conversation with the Ukrainians,” he told US broadcaster CNN.
Witkoff himself held talks with Putin in Moscow on Thursday, describing them as “positive” and saying he was optimistic that there would be real progress on ending the conflict.
Witkoff said that although the situation was very complicated, “We’re bridging the gap between two sides.”
Russia evacuates hundreds of people from Kursk
Russia announced it has evacuated 371 civilians from areas it regained from Ukrainian forces in the Kursk region.
Kursk is part of western Russia that borders the Sumy region of Ukraine. The Russian military has regained control over several towns in Russia’s Kursk region, which Ukrainian forces had held after a surprise incursion into Russian territory last August.
However, fierce fighting between Russian and Ukrainian troops is ongoing.
Kursk region governor Alexander Khinshtein wrote on the Telegram messaging app, “371 people have been moved, including 14 children,” from the region since Wednesday.
He added 220 of the civilians had been placed in temporary accommodation, while the rest were staying with relatives.
Russia, Ukraine trade strikes; Injuries reported in Belgorod
Both Russia and Ukraine launched aerial strikes on one another from Saturday into Sunday.
Ukraine’s air defense units shot down 47 of 90 drones launched by Russia in an overnight attack, the air force said.
Damage was reported in four regions, but the air force didn’t provide details.
Separately, Russia’s defense ministry said its air defense destroyed 31 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory, including 16 in Voronezh, nine in Belgorod, and the rest in Rostov and Kursk regions.
In Belgorod, three people were injured in the attack, including a 7-year-old, according to regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov.
Trump narrows responsibilities of special envoy Kellogg to Ukraine
After reported complaints from Russia, US President Donald Trump has narrowed the role of Keith Kellogg, who will now serve solely as his special envoy on Ukraine.
Kellogg has previously been described as a special envoy for Ukraine and Russia.
“I am pleased to inform you that General Keith Kellogg has been appointed Special Envoy to Ukraine,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
A former national security adviser during Trump’s first term, Kellogg was excluded from recent talks in Saudi Arabia on ending the war.
He was also not involved in the talks with Russia that followed, with US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff visiting Moscow instead to discuss a possible ceasefire.
US broadcaster NBC, citing a senior Russian official, reported that the Kremlin had put pressure on Trump because President Vladimir Putin considered Kellogg pro-Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed the report, telling reporters on Friday Moscow has no intention of interfering.
Rubio and Lavrov discuss ‘next steps’ on Ukraine
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke on Saturday about ending the war in Ukraine.
The US State Department said the top diplomats “discussed next steps” after the two countries’ meetings in Saudi Arabia and “agreed to continue working towards restoring communication between the United States and Russia.”
Despite recent tensions between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Kyiv has agreed to a US-brokered 30-day ceasefire if Moscow halts its attacks, but Russian President Vladimir Putin has set conditions beyond the US-Ukraine agreement.
The State Department gave no details on when the next round of US-Russia talks would begin.
Rubio also updated Lavrov on military activity in the Middle East, where US forces carried out strikes against Houthi rebels Yemen.
Politics
Ndigbo are no longer spectators in the Nigerian project- Minister Dave Umahi dismisses calls for Biafra under Tinubu’s administration
The Minister of Works, David Umahi, says the all-inclusive style of governance being practiced by President Bola Tinubu has made the agitation for Biafra an unnecessary clamour.
While speaking at the inspection of the Enugu-Anambra road last Saturday, December 13, Umahi said the Tinubu administration had given Ndigbo what they had sought for decades, not through secession, but through what he described as unprecedented inclusion in national governance and development.
He explained that the agitation for Biafra was historically driven by neglect, exclusion and underrepresentation at the federal level, but insisted that the situation had changed under the current administration.
“When a people are fully integrated, respected and empowered within the structure of the nation, the dream they once chased through agitation has already been achieved through cooperation.
The push for Biafran secession over the years was borne out of neglect, exclusion and underrepresentation but today the narrative has changed dramatically under President Bola Tinubu.
The President has deliberately opened the doors of national development to the South-East. Appointments, policy inputs and infrastructure priorities now reflect true federal balance.
Every sector now bears visible Igbo footprints. The emergence of Igbo sons and daughters in strategic positions is a testament to this inclusion.
Biafra was never about breaking Nigeria; it was about being counted in Nigeria. Through inclusion, equity and concrete development, Ndigbo are no longer spectators in the Nigerian project; they are co-authors of its future. When justice finds a people, agitation loses its voice.”he said
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has announced a 90-day nationwide membership mobilisation, revalidation, and registration exercise as part of preparations for its internal party activities ahead of 2026.
The party also approved provisional dates for its congresses and the election of delegates at the polling unit, ward, and local government levels across the country.
In circulars issued by its national secretary, Rauf Aregbesola, the ADC said the congresses are expected to hold between January 20 and January 27, 2026.
The process, the party said, will lead to the emergence of delegates who will participate in its non-elective national convention scheduled for February 2026 in Abuja.
A statement by Bolaji Abdullahi, national publicity secretary of the party, said the decisions were reached at a meeting of the national working committee (NWC) held on November 27, 2025.
Abdullahi said the timetable and activities were approved in line with the resolutions of the NWC and in accordance with relevant provisions of the party’s constitution.
The ADC said further details on the membership exercise, congresses, and convention will be communicated to party members and stakeholders in due course.
Imo State’s inability to sustain political succession from one elected governor to another is not accidental. It is the consequence of recurring structural failures rooted in elite conspiracy, federal power realignments, internal party implosions, zoning sensitivities, and the perennial arrogance of incumbency. From Achike Udenwa to Ikedi Ohakim and Rochas Okorocha, each administration fell victim to a combination of these forces, leaving behind a state where power is never inherited, only contested.
Achike Udenwa’s experience remains the most instructive example of how federal might and elite scheming can dismantle a governor’s succession plan. Governing between 1999 and 2007 under the PDP, Udenwa assumed that the party’s national dominance would guarantee internal cohesion in Imo. Instead, his tenure coincided with one of the most vicious intra-party wars the state has ever witnessed.
The Imo PDP split into two irreconcilable blocs. On one side was Udenwa’s grassroots-driven Onongono Group, powered by loyalists such as Alex Obi and anchored on local structures. On the other was a formidable Abuja faction populated by heavyweight figures including Kema Chikwe, Ifeanyi Araraume, Hope Uzodimma, Tony Ezenna, and others with direct access to federal influence. This was not a clash of personalities alone; it was a struggle over who controlled the levers of power beyond Owerri.
The conflict worsened when Udenwa openly aligned with then Vice President Atiku Abubakar during his bitter feud with President Olusegun Obasanjo. That alignment proved politically fatal. Obasanjo, determined to weaken Atiku’s network nationwide, withdrew federal support from governors perceived as loyal to the vice president. In Imo, the effect was immediate and devastating.
Federal agencies, party organs, and influence channels tilted decisively toward the Kema Chikwe-led Abuja faction. Udenwa lost effective control of the PDP structure, security leverage, and strategic influence. His foot soldiers in the Onongono Group could mobilise locally, but they could not withstand a coordinated assault backed by the centre.
His preferred successor, Charles Ugwu, never gained political altitude. By the time succession became imminent, Udenwa was already a governor without power. Even his later recalculations failed to reverse the tide. The party had slipped beyond his grasp.
The eventual outcome was politically ironic. Ikedi Ohakim emerged governor, backed by forces aligned with the federal establishment, notably Maurice Iwu—his kinsman and then Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Another Udenwa ally, Martin Agbaso, briefly tasted victory, only for his election to be cancelled. The lesson was brutal and unmistakable: without federal alignment, succession in Imo is almost impossible.
Notably, Udenwa’s record in office did not rescue him. Infrastructure development, relative stability, and administrative competence counted for little in the face of elite conspiracy operating simultaneously at state and federal levels. In Imo politics, performance is secondary to power alignment.
Ikedi Ohakim’s tenure presents a different dimension of failure. Unlike Udenwa, he never reached the point of succession planning. His administration was consumed by political survival. From 2007 to 2011, Ohakim governed amid persistent hostility from elites and a rapidly deteriorating public image.
Ohakim has consistently maintained that his downfall was orchestrated. Central to his claim is the allegation that he was blackmailed with a scandal involving the alleged assault of a Catholic priest, Reverend Father Eustace Eke. In a deeply religious state like Imo, the allegation was politically lethal.
Whether the claims were factual or exaggerated mattered less than their impact. The narrative overwhelmed governance, drowned out policy achievements, and turned public opinion sharply against him. Political elites who had midwifed his emergence quickly distanced themselves, sensing vulnerability.
By the 2011 election, Ohakim stood isolated. Party loyalty evaporated, elite cover disappeared, and voter sympathy collapsed. His re-election bid failed decisively. With that loss, any discussion of succession became irrelevant. His experience reinforces a core principle: a governor rejected by the electorate cannot dictate continuity.
*Uzodimma*
Rochas Okorocha’s rise in 2011 appeared to signal a break from Imo’s succession curse. Charismatic, populist, and financially powerful, he commanded party structures and grassroots loyalty. By his second term, he seemed politically unassailable.
Yet Okorocha committed the most consequential succession error in the state’s history. By attempting to impose his son-in-law, Uche Nwosu, as successor, he crossed from political strategy into dynastic ambition. That decision detonated his massive support base in the State overnight.
Imo’s political elites revolted almost unanimously. Party affiliation became secondary to a shared determination to stop what was widely perceived as an attempt to privatise public office. The revolt was elite-driven, strategic, and ruthless.
The zoning factor compounded the crisis. Okorocha hailed from Orlu zone; so did Nwosu. For many Imo voters, the prospect of Orlu retaining power through familial succession was unacceptable. What might have been tolerated as ambition became framed as entitlement.
This time, elite resistance aligned with popular sentiment. The electorate queued behind alternatives not necessarily out of conviction, but out of rejection. Crucially, Emeka Ihedioha emerged governor because Okorocha fatally miscalculated—splitting his base, provoking elite rebellion, and underestimating voter resentment. Okorocha’s formidable structure collapsed under internal rebellion and voter backlash, sealing his failure to produce a successor.
Hope Uzodimma’s current position must be assessed against this turbulent history. At present, the structural indicators are in his favour. He enjoys firm federal backing, controls the APC machinery in the state, and commands the support—or at least the compliance—of most major political elites.
Unlike Udenwa, Uzodimma is aligned with the centre. Unlike Ohakim, he has survived electoral tests. Unlike Okorocha, he has not openly flirted with dynastic politics. On the surface, the succession equation appears favorable.
*Udenwa*
However, Imo’s history cautions against certainty. Elite loyalty in the state is conditional and transactional. It endures only where interests are balanced, ambitions managed, and inclusion sustained. A wrong choice of successor could still provoke elite conspiracy, even if it emerges from within the ruling party.
The opposition remains weak and fragmented, with limited capacity to mobilize mass resistance. Yet voter apathy, now more pronounced than during the Udenwa and Okorocha eras, introduces a new risk. Disengaged electorates are unpredictable and often disruptive.
“Ohakim*
Ultimately, Uzodimma’s challenge is not opposition strength but elite psychology. Suppressed ambitions, if mishandled, can erupt. Succession in Imo has never been about coronation; it is about negotiation.
*Okorocha*
History is unforgiving to governors who confuse incumbency with ownership. Power in Imo is never transferred by decree. As 2027 approaches, the same forces that toppled past succession plans remain alive. Whether Uzodimma avoids their trap will depend not on power alone, but on restraint, balance, and political wisdom.
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