The Russian Foreign Ministry has called for an investigation into a drone strike in Moldova's breakaway Transnistria region, condemning the attack as "yet another provocation" in the enclave. The "kamikaze" strike targeted a Transnistrian defense ministry installation April 5, resulting in damage to a radar station. The targeted facility lies six kilometers from the border of Ukraine. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova charged the attack was "aimed at aggravating the already tense situation around Transnistria." She stated that Russia expect "a thorough investigation into all the circumstances of what happened," adding: "We trust that those behind this reckless action will fully realize its dangerous consequence."

Tajikistan's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Shokhin Samadi on April 6 denied claims by Secretary of the Russian Security Council Nikolai Patrushev that Ukraine has been recruiting mercenaries for its military in the country's territory. Patrushev charged that Kyiv's embassy in Dushanbe, the Tajik capital, has been recruiting Tajikistan nationals to join the International Legion of the Ukrainian army, in return for a pathway to Ukrainian citizenship. The comments were made during a meting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Kazakhstan.

The European Commission has expressed regret over Slovakia dissolving its Special Prosecutor's Office without safeguards to ensure the continuity of criminal investigations in the country. The office was officially dissolved on March 20 after its dissolution was approved in a fast-track procedure by the Slovak parliament, despite nationwide protests. Thousands of protesters gathered in front of the parliament building in Bratislava on Feb. 7, with mobilizations also held that day in 30 other Slovak cities and towns. 

Amnesty International states in a report issued March 18 that during 10 years of illegal occupation, Russia has attempted to reshape the demography of the Crimean Peninsula. It has also suppressed Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar identities through "restrictions on education, religion, media, representative institutions, [the] judicial system, and cultural celebrations."

The deadly terror attack in a concert hall outside Moscow was immediately claimed by ISIS-K, the Islamic State network's Afghanistan franchise. But just as quickly, the Russian and Ukrainian intelligence services accused each other of being behind it—the latter saying it was organized as a "provocation" to expand Moscow's war in Ukraine. Putin's rise to power, including his recent rise to outright autocratic power, as well as his various military adventures, have indeed been lubricated every step of the way by terror attacks. But who was actually behind the Crocus City Center attack may not really matter overmuch. If 9-11 was a "Reichstag Fire" for the hyper-interventionist aims of Dubya Bush, that analogy may prove to apply even more closely to the concert hall carnage serving the war aims and totalitarian domestic agenda of Vladimir Putin. Bill Weinberg discusses in Episode 219 of the CounterVortex podcast.

A group of armed men opened fire at a concert hall in a Moscow suburb on the night of March 22, killing at least 133 people and injuring scores more. Video footage posted online showed at least two masked men in camo entering the Crocus City Hall in Krasnogorsk, repeatedly firing assault rifles as they advance. Another graphic video appears to show four men firing into the crowd in the seating area before a fire breaks out. The crowd was waiting for the popular Russian rock band Piknik to take the stage. After a few minutes of shooting, a grenade or an incendiary bomb was apparently thrown, and the venue was engulfed in flame. Footage published by the official TASS news agency showed a column of smoke billowing from the roof of the venue. 

Polish farmers clashed with police on March 6 during a mobilization on Warsaw, part of ongoing protests over increasing economic pressures on the agricultural industry. Warsaw police stated on X (formerly Twitter) that they arrested 55 people in connection with the protest, and that 13 officers were injured in the clashes. Police described the protesters' behavior toward officers as "provocative." In contrast, the Rural Solidarity trade union, representing the farmers, described the police behavior as "provocative." Rural Solidarity said the protest was "successful" and "peaceful" until the police arrived to break up the demonstration. 

The International Criminal Court (ICC) on March 5 issued arrest warrants for two high-ranking Russian military commanders, finding there were "reasonable grounds" to believe they committed war crimes in the context of Moscow's ongoing war on Ukraine. According to a Court announcement, Sergei Kobylash, a lieutenant general in the Russian armed forces, and Viktor Sokolov, a navy admiral, are accused of having ordered attacks on "civilian objects" and of having caused excessive "incidental civilian harm," in violation of Article 8 of the Rome Statute.