Situation on the ground, international reactions, sanctions: update on the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
“A dangerous moment” for Kyiv
Russian strikes are increasing in kyiv, the capital, which is living “a dangerous and difficult moment”, said the mayor of the city, Vitali Klitschko, by decreeing a curfew from Tuesday 8:00 p.m. (6:00 p.m. GMT) to Thursday 07:00 (05:00 GMT). A strike on an apartment building killed at least four people, according to the mayor of kyiv, surrounded by Russian forces and emptied of at least half of its 3.5 million inhabitants. In this region, Dnipro airport suffered “massive destruction” after two Russian bombardments, according to regional authorities.
Resumption of talks
The fourth round of negotiations to try to find a solution to the crisis resumed on Tuesday after a break the day before, announced a senior Ukrainian official, insisting on the request for a ceasefire formulated by kyiv. The Kremlin considered premature any “prognosis” on the negotiations with kyiv, after an adviser to the Ukrainian presidency deemed possible a peace agreement by May. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the Russians had “already begun to understand that they will achieve nothing through war”.
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Zelensky: “Ukraine will not be able to join NATO”
“It must be recognized” that Ukraine will not be able to join NATO, declared President Zelensky, while this file is one of the reasons put forward by Russia to justify its invasion of the country. “We heard for years that the doors were open, but we also heard that we couldn’t join. That’s the truth and we have to recognize it.”
A refugee child every second
The number of people who have fled Ukraine since the beginning of the invasion of the country by the Russian army has reached three million, said a spokesman for the International Organization for Migration in Geneva. Almost every second that passes, a child in Ukraine becomes a refugee, said the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). A total of 97 children have been killed since the start of the war, according to President Zelensky.
Biden in Brussels for EU and NATO summits
US President Joe Biden will take part in the next meeting of EU heads of state and government in Brussels on March 24, as well as an extraordinary NATO summit on the same day devoted to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, it was announced in Brussels and Washington.
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European leaders in Kyiv
The Polish, Czech and Slovenian Prime Ministers are due to travel to kyiv on Tuesday, as representatives of the European Council, to affirm “the unequivocal support” of the European Union for Ukraine, according to the Polish government.
Russia recruits thousands of Syrians
Russia has drawn up lists of 40,000 Syrian army and allied militia fighters ready for deployment in Ukraine, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Humanitarian Corridor
Some 2,000 vehicles were able to exit via a humanitarian corridor from Mariupol (south), besieged by Russian forces and pro-Russian separatists, according to the municipality. But up to 300,000 people remain trapped, holed up in basements and deprived of everything.
A fine for the Russian TV protester
A Moscow court has fined Marina Ovsiannikova, an employee of a Russian television station who broke into a pro-Kremlin newscast to denounce the offensive in Ukraine. Although released, she still faces criminal charges punishable by heavy prison sentences. French President Emmanuel Macron has said he is ready to offer him “consular protection”, either at the embassy or by granting him asylum.
Penalties
The European Union has banned the export to Russia of its luxury sedans, champagne, jewelry and other items prized by elites who support Vladimir Putin. The UK government has imposed punitive vodka tariffs and asset freezes, targeting more than 350 individuals and entities, including some 50 oligarchs.
For its part, Russia has decided to leave the Council of Europe, accusing NATO and the EU of having made it an instrument in the service of “their military-political and economic expansion in the East”. She announced sanctions against President Biden, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and several members of their governments.
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