Russia's military invasion of Ukraine continues. Russian and Ukrainian forces continue to fight in various parts of Ukraine, and many civilians have fled the country. We will keep you up to date with developments throughout the day (Japan time) regarding the situation in Ukraine, including the status of the battle and the diplomacy of the countries involved.



(There is a 7 hour time difference between Japan and Ukraine, and a 6 hour time difference with Moscow, Russia)

Former State Duma member Nadezhdin, who criticizes Putin, completes candidacy procedures

In preparation for Russia's presidential election to be held in March, former member of the House of Representatives Nadezhdin, who is critical of President Putin, completed the formalities on the 31st, including submitting the necessary voter signatures for candidacy. All eyes are on whether he will become a candidate to challenge Mr. Putin, and the focus will now be on whether his candidacy will be approved by the government.

In the Russian presidential election to be held in March, four people, including President Putin, have already completed the necessary procedures, including submitting voter signatures, and their candidacy has already been approved.



On the 31st, President Putin attended a gathering of campaign executives and supporters and said, ``I would like to thank you for your cooperation over the years.Russia is going through a difficult and important period.''He then announced his participation in the invasion of Ukraine. He praised the soldiers and reiterated his commitment to continue the invasion.



Meanwhile, former member of the State Duma Boris Nadezhdin, who has criticized President Putin, including for the military invasion, visited the Central Election Commission in Moscow on the 31st, the deadline for submitting signatures, and over 100,000 voters. I have completed the necessary procedures such as submitting my signature.



Mr. Nadezhdin has been attracting attention as a candidate to challenge Mr. Putin, and many media visited the election commission venue to interview him.



"I would like to thank the many people who signed the petition on my behalf in various parts of Russia," Nadezhdin told reporters.



In the election, Putin is expected to win his fifth term in office.



There is a possibility that the Election Commission may point out that there were procedural deficiencies on Mr. Nadejdin's side, and the focus will now be on whether his candidacy will be approved by the government.

President Putin says he was shot down by a US Patriot, and exchanges prisoners

Regarding the crash of a Russian military transport plane that occurred on the 24th of last month in Belgorod Oblast in western Russia, near the border with Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a rally with supporters on the 31st, ``It was shot down by an American Patriot surface-to-air missile system.'' "It has become clear that the aircraft was shot down by the Ukrainian military, which received weapons from the United States," he said.



He then said he would "send an international team of investigators to examine any physical evidence that the Patriot was shot down."



Russia has previously claimed that the transport plane was shot down by Ukraine, killing 65 Ukrainian soldiers who were on board for a prisoner exchange, but Ukraine has not explicitly stated that it was involved in the crash. It called for an international investigation to be carried out.



Meanwhile, on the 31st, the first exchange of prisoners since the transport plane crash took place between Ukraine and Russia.



Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a video address that 207 people had been released, nearly half of whom were defending Mariupol, a fiercely fought area in the eastern Donetsk region that had been taken over a year ago.``I am pleased that the liberation is going well. I think so.''



This is the 50th exchange, and so far 3,035 Ukrainians have been released.



President Putin indicated on the 31st that he does not intend to stop the exchange, and it is expected that the exchange of prisoners will continue in the future.