The day of the war at a glance
Zelenskyi adviser: Attack on Kyiv failed – Odessa under fire
03/21/2022, 9:28 p.m
As Kremlin troops fire on the port city of Odessa, says the Ukrainian presidential adviser Zhovka considered the Russian attack on Kyiv failed. President Zelenskyy wants to continue to take a hard line in negotiations with Moscow. The 26th day of the war at a glance.
Zelenskyj rejects “Russian ultimatums”.
The Ukrainian head of state Volodymyr Zelenskyy does not want to get involved in “Russian ultimatums” to end the war. “Ukraine cannot accept a Russian ultimatum,” Zelenskyy told news website Suspilne. Russia’s aim is to “destroy” Ukraine.
According to Zelenskyy, Moscow is trying to dictate its demands to the Ukrainian side. The Russian delegation is pursuing the following approach: “We’ll issue an ultimatum, here are the points, you fulfill them all and then we’ll end the war,” Zelenskyj said. However, Moscow will not achieve results this way. In addition, Zelenskyj declared that any possible “compromise” with the Russian side should be put to the vote of the Ukrainian population in a referendum.
First attacks on Odessa
Meanwhile, Moscow’s troops are heading towards Odessa after capturing most of Ukraine’s southern coast. The city administration of the port city on the Black Sea reported the first Russian attack. A residential building in a suburb was damaged by Russian shelling in the morning. There are no fatalities. Authorities said a fire broke out. The Kyiv Independent newspaper reported that Russian warships shelled Odessa from a long distance. Several buildings are said to have been damaged. Odessa has so far been largely spared from the war. Should the metropolis fall into Russian hands, Ukraine would be completely sealed off from the sea.
Pentagon: Russia steps up operations at sea and in the air
Overall, Russia appears to be increasing its activities in the air and at sea. At least that’s what the Pentagon reports. The reason is the strong Ukrainian resistance. The Kremlin is “desperately trying” to increase its combat momentum, a senior US defense official in Washington said. Accordingly, Moscow primarily fires air-to-surface missiles from Russian or Belarusian airspace at Ukrainian targets.
In the northern Black Sea, Russia is showing “increased naval activity” with the deployment of several warships, the official said. However, this is not a clear sign of an impending attack on the port city of Odessa. “What we are seeing here is an almost desperate attempt by the Russians to turn the situation in their favor,” the official said.
Separatist boss anticipates long battle over Mariupol
Meanwhile, the leader of the pro-Russian separatists in Donetsk in eastern Ukraine expects fighting in besieged Mariupol to continue for some time. “I’m not so optimistic that two or three days or even a week will be enough to close the case,” the Russian news agency Interfax quoted Denis Puschilin, head of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic. He justified his view with the size of the metropolis. The Ukrainian government had previously rejected an ultimatum to surrender the port city. Moscow had given the defenders until early morning to surrender.
Presidential adviser: Attack on Kyiv “failed”
The Russian army has been trying to encircle the Ukrainian capital for weeks. Zelenskyy’s security adviser Ihor Zhovka has now described the attack on Kyiv as “failed”. “On the whole, Russia is failing in Kyiv. They’re trying to encircle the capital further, but they’re not succeeding,” Schowka said on ZDF. Among other things, he called for more support from Germany in the form of air defense capabilities. He also called on the EU to impose further sanctions on Russia.
EU doubles military aid to Ukraine
The EU has already given the green light on the issue of weapons: the EU states want to provide Ukraine with additional funds to procure weapons. Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said in Brussels that the EU would increase the volume for arms deliveries to Ukraine from 500 million to one billion euros. The federal government will ensure that orders from German companies are implemented quickly, said Baerbock. But you can’t “talk about it in public because it’s a matter of life and death”.
Report: Russian soldiers shoot at demonstrators
Cherson is the only major Ukrainian city to date that the Russian military has completely conquered. Again and again there are protests against the occupiers. During another demonstration, Russian soldiers are said to have shot at peaceful demonstrators. As the Ukrainian news agency UNIAN reported on Telegram, the Russians used stun grenades and opened fire. Accordingly, there were several injuries. Videos are circulating on social networks that are said to show shots at demonstrators. However, the recordings have not yet been independently confirmed.
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