Sahel foreign ministers arrived in Moscow for their first official talks with Russia following the breaking of relations between Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger and traditional western allies, namely France and other EU countries

Russian tennis player Daria Kasatkina will play under the Australian flag after announcing she has changed nationality; currently number 12 in the WTA ranking, she had repeatedly criticised the war in Ukraine

Officials of the United Russia party allegedly donated meat mincers for 8 March to the mothers of Russian soldiers who died on the Ukrainian front; the gesture has caused great controversy as it recalls the sending of soldiers to slaughter

Russia reportedly struck with a drone the protective shield built over reactor number 4 of the former Chernobyl power plant, exploded in 1986 causing the worst nuclear disaster in history, now still dangerously radioactive

The first prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine in 2025 took place: 25 Ukrainian civilians and military personnel and 25 Russian soldiers were freed