Very difficult question and answer MoscowRome on sanctions against Russia. Director of the European Department of the Foreign Ministry Paramonov threatens “irreversible consequences” if Rome and other EU capitals do not stop economic measures against his country and attacks Defense Minister Lorenzo Guerini: “He asked us for help for Covid and for help now is it among the hawks. “A hateful and unacceptable comparison,” Prime Minister Mario Draghi replies
24 days after Moscow invaded Ukraine, war continues on multiple fronts. Russian forces cut the Ukrainian army out of the Sea of Azov in Donetsk. Moscow confirms it used the Kinzhal hypersonic missile, the latestgeneration secret superweapon, for the first time in the conflict to destroy an underground ammunition depot in western Ukraine. Mariupol is still under attack and there is a curfew in Zaporizhia.
THE THREAT TO ITALY “Sanctions are not our choice. We do not want the logic of French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire, who declared “total financial and economic war” on Russia, to find supporters in Italy and provoke a series of corresponding irreversible consequences”. Alexei Paramonov, director of the European Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, told Ria Novosti agency: also citing Minister Guerini. “We don’t give weight to propaganda replies the Italian defense minister . Instead, we encourage any political and diplomatic step that puts an end to the suffering of the Ukrainian people. Italy stands by Ukraine and will continue to do so.”
Prime Minister Mario Draghi takes a stand: “I express my full solidarity with Defense Minister Lorenzo Guerini, who is the victim of attacks by the Russian government. The comparison between the invasion of Ukraine and the pandemic crisis in Italy is particularly hateful and unacceptable. Minister Guerini and the armed forces are on the front line to defend the security and freedom of Italians. The government and my personal thanks go to them”.
The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also responded which “resolutely rejects Paramonov’s threatening statements” and calls on the Russian Foreign Ministry to “take measures for an immediate end to the illegal and brutal aggression against Ukraine, which Farnesina strongly condemns”. “Italy, with European and international partners underlines a note will continue to exert all pressure for Russia to return to the framework of international legality ‘.
NEW ZELENSKY CALL President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted a video message on Facebook, addressing Vladimir Putin, announcing: “It is time for immediate peace talks. This is the only way for Russia to mitigate the damage caused by its mistakes. Otherwise, Russia’s losses will be such that it will take the country several generations to recover.
Ukraine, Zelensky addresses Moscow: “It’s time to meet and talk”
THE CONDITIONS OF MOSCOW Russia’s chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said a meeting between the Ukrainian president and the Kremlin leader would not have been possible without a treaty text. “Before there is even a mention of a meeting between the two leaders, the negotiating delegations must prepare and agree on the text of a treaty. The text should then be initialed by the foreign ministers and approved by the governments.” Then we can talk about the possibility of a meeting between the two presidents.
THE RUSSIACHINA AXIS Russia and China will increase their cooperation under the current circumstances, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is convinced. “Of course, I believe that the interaction will increase, considering that the West is trampling on all the pillars of the international system and we, the two great powers, obviously have to think about how to proceed,” Lavrov said, as quoted by Interfax .
OVER 800 CIVILIANS KILLED, UN STATEMENTS According to the UN human rights office, the Guardian reported that a total of 816 Ukrainian civilians have been killed and 1,333 injured since the Russian invasion began on February 24. However, because the UN only reports the numbers it can verify, it admits that the numbers grossly underestimate the actual budget.
THE HUMANITARIAN CORRIDORS Today 9 more humanitarian corridors are agreed. Here are the established corridors: Donetsk region: from Mariupol to Zaporozhye with mandatory demining along the entire route. Buses will pick up those selected on foot, and some residents may depart in private cars. Kyiv region: from the village of Bervytsia to the city of Brovary. From the city of Bucha to the village of Belogorodka. From Bogdanovka village to Brovary. From Borodyanka to Bila Tserkva. Luhansk region: it is planned to deliver humanitarian goods with food and medicines in Lysyhansk, Popasna and Severodonetsk. Kherson region with shipment of humanitarian goods to temporarily occupied Kherson.
THE WAR CONTINUES The Russian army announced yesterday that it managed to penetrate into the center of Mariupol together with troops of the separatist “Republic” of Donetsk. The capture of Mariupol would mark an important turning point in the war and would allow Russia to ensure territorial continuity between its forces from annexed Crimea (south) and troops from Donbass (east).
Russia claims to have used hypersonic missiles in Ukraine. And another Russian general fell in battle in Ukraine: this is General Andrei Mordvichev, who died in the city of Chernobayevka after artillery strikes, the Ukrainian army said in a Facebook post cited by the BBC.
Zelenskyy then confirmed that so far 130 people have been rescued from the bombed Mariupol Theater and that rescue operations are continuing. Hundreds of civilians had taken shelter at the facility when it was bombed on Wednesday, but there are currently no clear reports of casualties.
After the bombing of the town of Rubizhne in the Lugansk region, two children and a woman were found dead under the rubble. This is reported by the Ukrainian army on Telegram, as reported by the Ukrainian news agency Ukrinform. Save a little girl instead. “Two children with no signs of life were pulled from the rubble. Medical treatment explained the deaths of children. Rescuers continued to dismantle the rubble and found another woman and child child rescued, her condition is stable and satisfactory.”
Thousands of residents of Mariupol were taken to remote cities in Russia, “deported like the Nazis in World War II.” The complaint comes from the mayor of the wartorn city Vadym Boichenko, who published a statement on Telegram, Ukrinform reports. “Over the past week, several thousand residents of Mariupol have been taken to Russia. The occupiers illegally took people from the Livoberezhny district and from an airraid shelter in the building of a sports club, where more than a thousand people, mostly women and children, were hiding from the bombing,” he said.
Ukrainian media reports of bombing raids on Kharkiv with dead and wounded. According to Ukrainska Prava, citing eyewitnesses, the attack hit some residential buildings and also caused fires. According to the Emergency Medical Center, a child is among the victims.