The day of the war at a glance
Ukraine announces partisan war – separatists want referendum
3/27/2022, 9:42 p.m
While the Ukrainian secret service announces a partisan war in the Russian-occupied areas, the Kremlin tries to replace worn-out units with fresh units. Meanwhile, Kyiv and Moscow announce new negotiations in Turkey. The 32nd day of the war at a glance.
Kyiv: Russia wants to split up Ukraine
According to the Ukrainian military intelligence service, Russia wants to split Ukraine in two. So Russia wants to create a region controlled by the government in Moscow after it failed to take the whole country, said intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov. “In fact, this is an attempt to create a North and South Korea in Ukraine,” he explained. Budanov announced that Ukraine would soon start a guerrilla war in the Russian-occupied territories. “Then there will only be one relevant scenario for the Russians, and that is how they can survive.”
Budanov’s comments came after the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic announced it would hold an upcoming referendum on joining Russia. “I think that in the near future a referendum will be held on the territory of the republic,” said the separatist leader there, Leonid Pasechnik. “People will exercise their ultimate constitutional right and express their opinions about joining the Russian Federation.”
Shortly thereafter, the Ukrainian government made it clear that it would not recognize such a referendum. “All fake referendums in the temporarily occupied territories are null and void and will have no legal validity,” said Foreign Ministry Spokesman Oleg Nikolenko.
London: Russians want to encircle Ukrainians in the east
Meanwhile, according to the UK MoD, Russian forces appear focused on encircling Ukrainian troops in the east. They are advancing from Kharkiv to the north and Mariupol to the south, the ministry said based on intelligence information. “The battlefield in northern Ukraine remains largely static,” it said. The reason: Local Ukrainian counterattacks hampered attempts by Russia to reorganize its armed forces.
The Ukrainian General Staff also identified Russian troop movements in Belarus. The aim is to replace decimated units, to provide supplies of food, fuel and ammunition and to transport wounded and sick soldiers away. At the same time, it was said that Russian troops would continue to try to take the city of Chernihiv in the north. Fighting continued in the south-east for the cities of Rubishne, Severodonetsk and Mariupol.
New negotiations in Turkey
After around two weeks of negotiations in online format, the delegations from Ukraine and Russia now want to meet again in person. A meeting is planned for Tuesday and Wednesday, the head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinski, wrote on Telegram. The Ukrainian negotiator David Arachamija also confirmed a planned personal meeting on Facebook – but spoke of the beginning on Monday and named Turkey as the host country.
In the negotiations, Kyiv also wants to “thoroughly” examine the question of the neutrality of the country demanded by Russia. This is what Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview with several independent Russian media. “This point of the negotiations is understandable to me and it is being discussed, it is being thoroughly examined.”
Germany treats injured war victims
Germany is not only supporting Ukraine with arms deliveries. According to Health Minister Karl Lauterbach, Germany has started treating seriously injured war victims from Ukraine. “These are people who need very intensive care and who have to be distributed in intensive care facilities,” said Lauterbach on Bild TV. He did not specify whether they were civilians or soldiers. According to Lauterbach, the patients were initially flown from eastern Ukraine to western Ukraine. From there it goes on to Poland and then to Germany.
The heating season in the Ukrainian capital usually ends in mid-April. But because of the war, that will end tomorrow. This was ordered by the local military administration, the Kiev city administration announced. Apartments and commercial buildings should no longer be heated. For schools, kindergartens, hospitals and cultural institutions, switching off is regulated in consultation with their managers.
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