The night of the war at a glance
Ukraine reports plane kills – Japan sights Russian amphibious ships
03/17/2022, 06:30 am
After three weeks of war, flight and expulsion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj made a direct appeal to Germany this Thursday. The 44-year-old is said to speak via video link in the Bundestag in the morning. During the night, Ukraine reported renewed fighting with Russian attackers, including near the capital Kyiv. There is still great concern for the people in the besieged and partially destroyed port city of Mariupol.
Thousands of people flee in private cars
The mayor of Mariupol, Vadim Bojchenko, reported overnight via the Telegram service that people could now leave the city in private cars. Within two days, around 6,500 cars left Mariupol. But there is no ceasefire, people fled under fire. On Wednesday there was a devastating bomb attack on a theater building in Mariupol. Bojchenko said there were more than 1,000 people there and it was “another tragedy”. The civilians are said to have taken shelter in the building. Ukraine and Russia blame each other for the attack.
Ukraine reports plane down
Regarding the actual war, the Ukrainian army reported during the night that two more Russian Sukhoi Su-35 and Su-30 combat aircraft had been destroyed over the Kyiv region. On land, Russian units concentrated primarily on securing their territory gains. There are efforts by Russian troops to advance south of the city of Izyum, probably to continue an offensive towards Sloviansk. However, they are not successful in this. The Russian Navy is also still blocking shipping in the north-western part of the Black Sea. The Russian military, in turn, claimed that the crews of 70 foreign ships were stranded there because of Ukrainian-mined waters. The information provided by both sides cannot be independently verified.
Japan sights Russian amphibious ships
Japan’s military says it has spotted four large Russian amphibious ships heading west. Amphibious ships are carriers for amphibious vehicles. Pictures released by the Japanese Ministry of Defense are said to show military trucks on the deck of one of the ships. According to a Japanese military spokesman, it is unusual for Russian ships to pass through the straits so close to Japanese territory.
Selenskyj wants “end of war” – adviser skeptical
Russia attacked Ukraine on February 24 and has since gained territory in the north, east and south of the country. At the same time, both sides are negotiating options for ending the war. In addition, Ukraine could possibly declare itself neutral and receive security guarantees in return. However, President Selenskyj’s adviser Alexander Rodnyansky dampened the hope of an early peace solution on ARD. Russia is trying to buy time to recruit new troops and then launch an offensive again.
Zelenskyy himself said in a video message published that night that his priorities in the negotiations with Russia were clear: “An end to the war, security guarantees, sovereignty and the restoration of territorial integrity.” Zelenskyy again demanded more pressure from the West: A no-fly zone over Ukraine was necessary, as well as the delivery of air defense systems, aircraft, lethal weapons and ammunition, and a new package of sanctions against Russia.
Mayor of Melitopol released in exchange for nine young soldiers
According to Ukrainian sources, the mayor of the southern Ukrainian city of Melitopol was released in exchange for nine young Russian soldiers. The spokeswoman for the Russian President’s Office said about the released Russians that they were recruits between the ages of 20 and 21 who, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, are not in Ukraine at all. Ivan Fedorov was abducted from a crisis center in the city of Melitopol, between Mariupol and Cherson, on Friday last week. In a videowhich was first published on Telegram, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy told Fedorov on the phone that he was “glad to speak to a living man”.
Biden promises further support for Ukraine
US President Joe Biden announced further arms deliveries and military aid for Ukraine in the millions. A $800 million (€730 million) aid package includes anti-aircraft missiles, drones and thousands of anti-tank weapons, Biden said in Washington. Germany and other NATO countries have also supplied weapons and imposed sanctions. In the evening, however, Federal Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht again opposed NATO’s involvement in the war and escalation scenarios.
Morawiecki asks Scholz to travel to Kyiv
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki called on Chancellor Olaf Scholz and other heads of state and government such as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron to pay a solidarity visit to Kyiv – just as Morawiecki recently did with his colleagues from the Czech Republic and Slovenia would have. “They should look into the eyes of women and children and help them save their lives and their independence,” Morawiecki told the “Bild” newspaper.
Concern for the safety of Ukraine refugees
According to the UN, more than three million people have fled Ukraine. The International Organization for Migration said it was concerned about the risk of human trafficking and sexual exploitation and abuse. There is an increasing threat to the personal safety of the people fleeing, the IOM said in Geneva. CDU leader Friedrich Merz also pointed out the dangers, especially for refugee women, on ARD. “Above all, we have to register the refugees, and we have to register those who take in refugees, because we can already see that abuse may also be committed here with women who come to us,” said Merz. Germany must know who is coming to the country. And the people would have to be distributed in Germany and the European Union.
That will be important on Thursday
- After the one planned for the morning (09.00 a.m.). Zelenskyj’s speech to the Bundestag Parliament deals, among other things, with the accommodation of the Ukraine refugees.
- Chancellor Olaf Scholz consults in the afternoon (2 p.m.) with the Prime Ministers of the countries also about how to deal with the refugees and about the energy prices that have risen since the beginning of the war.
- Before that, Scholz receives in the Chancellery NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg for talks (11:30 a.m.), also with a view to the special summit of the heads of state and government of the alliance countries in the coming week.
- In New York meets again UN Security Council in an emergency sessionto talk about possible war crimes committed by Russia. On Wednesday, US President Biden publicly called Russia’s President Vladimir Putin a “war criminal” for the first time.