War in Ukraine: what to remember from the thirteenth day of the Russian invasion

The Russian army announced on Tuesday a new truce for the evacuation of civilians in Ukraine from 7 a.m. GMT (8 a.m. French time) on Wednesday, after the implementation in the morning of humanitarian corridors. The first civilians evacuated from the city of Sumy in northern Ukraine have arrived “safely” in the center of the country. During the day, the explosion of an antipersonnel mine north of Kiev killed three people.

Russia announces new humanitarian truce for Wednesday morning

The Russian army announced on Tuesday a new truce for the evacuation of civilians in Ukraine from 7 a.m. GMT (8 a.m. French time) on Wednesday, after the implementation in the morning of humanitarian corridors. “Russia announces a ceasefire regime from March 9, 10 a.m. Moscow time, and is ready to set up humanitarian corridors,” the unit in charge of these issues within the Russian government announced. quoted by the TASS agency.

According to Moscow, this proposal will be transmitted to the Ukrainian authorities, who must, like the day before, confirm by 00:00 GMT the location of the humanitarian corridors and from what time they will be functional.

The first civilians evacuated by humanitarian corridor have arrived “safely”

The first civilians evacuated via humanitarian corridors from the city of Sumy in northern Ukraine have arrived “safely” in the center of the country, the deputy head of the presidential administration announced on Tuesday. “The first convoy of 22 buses has already arrived in Poltava,” Kyrylo Tymoshenko announced on Telegram, adding that a second column of 39 buses of civilians was on the way.

Three dead and three children injured in the explosion of an anti-personnel mine north of Kiev

Three adults were killed and three children injured in the explosion of an antipersonnel mine in the Chernihiv region, north of Kiev, said Tuesday Liudmyla Denisova, in charge of human rights at the Ukrainian Parliament. These civilians were all in the car: the adults died on the spot and the children, injured to varying degrees, were hospitalized, she said, stressing that the use of anti-personnel mines is prohibited by international law. This is the first time since the start of the conflict that a Ukrainian official has officially mentioned people killed by this type of weapon.

Beginning of evacuation in Sumy

The city of Sumy (north-east, 260,000 inhabitants) the scene of heavy fighting, began Tuesday morning to evacuate its inhabitants towards Lokhvytsia, 150 km to the south-west, via a humanitarian corridor. Moscow announced the establishment of a ceasefire on Tuesday to allow the evacuation of civilians from Sumy, as well as the cities of Kiev, Kharkiv, Cherniguiv and Mariupol, threatened by the advance of Russian troops.

In addition to Sumy, where Russian airstrikes killed Monday evening at least 21 people including two children, heavy fighting also took place in the city of Izium (east).

“Attack” on a humanitarian corridor in Mariupol

The Ukrainian government on Tuesday accused the Russian army of not respecting the humanitarian corridor established in Mariupol, supposed to allow the evacuation of some 300,000 civilians stranded in this strategic port in southeastern Ukraine. “The enemy launched an attack exactly in the direction of the humanitarian corridor,” denounced the Ministry of Defense on its Facebook page.

In addition, Moscow promises evacuations in Kiev, in Kharkiv. According to information from Europe 1, the ceasefires are relatively respected in the capital. There were only a few firefights. Refugees were therefore able to leave the city. However, these escape routes are unverifiable on the ground and pass through Russia and Belarus. An unacceptable option for the Ukrainians, who denounce the deployment of Russian troops on the ground and the intensification of the bombardments.

The Pentagon estimates that “2,000 to 4,000” Russian soldiers died in Ukraine

A senior Pentagon official estimated Tuesday that between “2,000 to 4,000” Russian soldiers had died in Ukraine since the start of the invasion. Speaking before a congressional committee, Lieutenant General Scott Berrier, head of the US Defense Intelligence Agency, said that this rough estimate should be taken with caution.

Over two million refugees

The number of refugees who have fled Ukraine since the invasion by the Russian army on February 24 exceeded two million on Tuesday, according to the website of the High Commissioner for Refugees which makes the count. Since the start of the war, at least 406 civilians have been killed and 801 injured, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said on Monday. The UN agency stresses, however, that its balance sheets are probably much lower than the reality.

Xi calls for ‘maximum restraint’

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday called for “maximum restraint” in the Ukraine conflict during a call with French leaders Emmanuel Macron and German Olaf Scholz, Chinese television reported. “We must together support the peace talks between Russia and Ukraine,” he told his interlocutors.

Zelensky denounces the “promises” not kept by Westerners

The Ukrainian president on Tuesday denounced the broken “promises” of the West to protect Ukraine from Russian attacks. “We have been hearing promises for thirteen days. Thirteen days we have been told that they will help us in the sky, that there will be planes, that they will be delivered to us,” Volodymyr Zelensky said in a statement. video posted on Telegram.

Investigations opened by the German and Spanish courts

The German public prosecutor’s office on Tuesday launched an investigation into possible war crimes committed by Russian forces in Ukraine. Shortly after, the Spanish courts announced in turn the opening of an investigation into “serious violations of international humanitarian law” resulting from Russia’s “unjustified act of war” in Ukraine, the prosecution announced in a communicated.

A second nuclear center pounded, according to the IAEA

The International Atomic Energy Agency said it received reports that artillery shells damaged a Ukrainian nuclear research center in Kharkiv on Sunday, without “radiological consequences”. The Russian army has occupied the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine since Friday, where artillery strikes, according to the Ukrainians, caused a fire – which Moscow denies being the cause.