The day was particularly marked by Russian drone strikes in the Kiev and Zaporizhia regions.
Reprisals, the end of an official visit and the beginning of a new one. Wednesday, March 22 was particularly marked by Russian drone strikes that claimed several lives in the Kiev and Zaporizhia regions of Ukraine. To which Volodymyr Zelenskyy replied that Kiev would react to “any attacks from Moscow”. Franceinfo takes stock of this new day of conflict.
The ICC is targeted with “threats” after its arrest warrant
The International Criminal Court (ICC) condemned “threats” made by Russia against its members and “announced measures against prosecutors and judges involved in issuing arrest warrants in the situation in Ukraine”. This intimidation follows the arrest warrant she issued against Vladimir Putin for the war crime of “deportation” of Ukrainian children. In a press release, the ICC Legislature therefore deplored “attempts to impede international efforts aimed at ensuring accountability for acts prohibited under general international law”.
Zelensky visits the front
The visit is very symbolic. The Ukrainian president went to the front in the Bakhmout region, the epicenter of the fighting in eastern Ukraine, and then to Kharkiv. The trip comes as pro-Russian separatists fighting alongside the Russian military say the city is “almost surrounded”. This trip is the second on this part of the front, where he was already in December 2022.
Kiev “will respond to all attacks” from Moscow
The Ukrainian president also reiterated that his country “will respond to any Russian attacks.” “We will certainly respond to the occupiers for any attacks on our cities (…) All Russian attacks will receive a military, political and legal response,” he assured in his daily speech. “Russia will lose this war,” he continued.
This statement follows Russian drone strikes. The latter claimed the lives of at least seven civilians in the Kyiv region and struck a residential building head-on in Zaporizhia (centre-east), killing at least one and injuring dozens.
Russia denounces drone attack
The Russian Navy, for its part, “repelled” a drone attack on the port of Sevastopol in Crimea, a peninsula annexed by Moscow, the city’s governor said. “They tried to enter our bay, our sailors shot at them with small arms. Air defense worked too,” Russian-installed governor Mikhail Razvojayev said on Telegram.
End of Xi Jinping’s visit to Moscow
The Chinese President’s official visit to Russia to strengthen ties with Vladimir Putin has come to an end. Xi Jinping’s plane left Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport on Wednesday morning after being greeted by an honor guard who played the national anthems, RIA Novosti news agency said.
That trip is under close scrutiny from Washington, which says the Russian-Chinese rapprochement is more of a “marriage of convenience” than a “conviction,” according to US diplomatic chief Antony Blinken. According to him, in the midst of the war in Ukraine, Beijing has not yet delivered lethal weapons to Moscow. “Russia is clearly the junior partner in this relationship,” he joked.