This Thursday marks the 22nd day of the war in Ukraine started by Russia on February 24th. The Russian offensive is intensifying. The shelling of a theater housing at least a thousand refugees in Mariupol is once again causing international outrage. Here’s what to remember about this new day of conflict.
Vital
- A theater with at least a thousand civilians was shelled in Mariupol
- US President Joe Biden called Vladimir Putin a “war criminal”.
- President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky received applause from the German Parliament.
- Ukraine urges EU to recognize Putin as ‘war criminal’
- At least 21 people were killed in an airstrike near Kharkiv
- Listen: Radio France daily podcast about the situation in Ukraine
The situation at the front
A theater was blown up, in which there were at least a thousand civilians
On Tuesday evening, an explosion occurred in the Mariupol theater, where, according to Ukrainian authorities, there were more than a thousand civilians. According to Franceinfo special correspondents on the spot and according to the evidence collected, there were between 500 and 700 civilians in this theater. No balance the number of casualties so far.
Several media outlets broadcast satellite imagery from US private company Maxar, according to which the word “children” was written in huge white letters and in Russian, on both sides of the building so that the message can be clearly seen from the sky.
The words “children” were written on the sides of the theater in white letters. © AFP – EyePress NewsThe Ukrainian authorities accuse the Russian army of deliberately attacking this theater and condemn a war crime. The Russian Defense Ministry denies that it bombed the theater and puts the blame on the ultra-nationalist Ukrainian Azov Battalion.. The same arguments were used by the Russians during the explosion of the Mariupol maternity hospital last week, which shocked the whole world.
The besieged city of Mariupol © Visaktu
Shelled cities and the advance of Russian troops to Ukraine. © Vizaktu – VizaktuAt least 21 people died near Karchov
21 people were killed and 25 injured in a strike by Russian troops in Merefa, near the besieged city of Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine, the regional prosecutor’s office said. “Russian soldiers shelled the city with artillery,” he said. A school and a cultural center were destroyed. Ten of the injured are in critical condition.
Another strike in Kyiv
Debris from a rocket downed over Kiev killed at least one person and wounded three, Ukrainian emergency services said as the Russian military failed to ease pressure around the Ukrainian capital. Russian troops still trying to surround the city (see map below) and attacks on residential areas have increased since the start of the week, resulting in at least six deaths.
Battle for Kyiv (updated March 17) © VisactuDiplomatic situation, international reaction
Negotiations are ongoing
Despite ongoing bombing, discussions continue between the two camps. According to the Kremlin spokesman, the negotiators now they are discussing a “compromise”, who would do Ukraine is a neutral country, modeled after Sweden and Austria. “There are very specific formulas that, I think, are close to an agreement,” Sergei Lavrov, head of Russian diplomacy, stressed. “My priorities in these negotiations are clear: ending the war, guarantees of security, sovereignty, restoration of our territorial integrity, real guarantees for our country, real protection for our country,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in the evening.
WHO condemns military attacks on health infrastructure
The World Health Organization condemned numerous military attacks on health infrastructure. “The health system has become a target. It is beginning to become part of the strategy and tactics of the war. This is completely unacceptable, this is contrary to international humanitarian law,” said Michael Ryan, head of the WHO emergency response.
UN Security Council meeting this Thursday
United Kingdom, USA, Albania, France, Norway and Ireland requested emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Thursday afternoon.
The Kremlin rejects the decision of the International Court of Justice (ICJ)
The International Court of Justice (ICJ), the United Nations’ highest court, on Wednesday ordered Moscow to immediately halt its military operations in Ukraine, saying it was “deeply concerned” by the scale of the fighting. On Thursday morning, Russia rejected an International Court of Justice decision ordering it to halt its offensive. France, for its part, “welcomed” the decision of the International Court of Justice and stated that it was ready to “intervene” in the examination of the merits of the “serious violations” of international law attributed to Moscow.
Zelensky received a standing ovation in the German parliament
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky received applause from the Bundestag, Germany’s parliament, ahead of a video intervention in which he called on Germany to tear down the new “wall” erected in Europe against freedom following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The day after the video speech to the US Congress, the Ukrainian leader was to call again for additional military assistance to Germany.
Kyiv asks the EU to consider Putin a “war criminal”
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov called on the European Union to consider Vladimir Putin a “war criminal” and urged Europeans to step up arms supplies to help Kiev fight Moscow’s forces. Yesterday US President Joe Biden unleashed the fury of the Kremlin calling the Russian president a “war criminal” for the bombing of Ukrainian cities by his troops. The reservation is fully justified in the eyes of the Ukrainian authorities.
ExoMars mission suspended
The European Space Agency (ESA) has suspended the Russian-European ExoMars mission due to termination of cooperation with the space agency Russian Roscosmos because of the war in Ukraine, she said in a press release after her board meeting. The ExoMars mission has scheduled the September launch of an ESA rover heading for the planet Mars using a Russian launch vehicle and lander.
Solidarity with the Ukrainian people
More than three million Ukrainians have already passed the path of exile, the vast majority to Poland.