[Update 3.12]Ukrainian President is willing to talk with Putin Israel | Russian-Ukrainian War | Russia | Ukraine

[The Epoch Times, March 12, 2022](The Epoch Times reporter Zhang Ting comprehensive report) Saturday (March 12), the Russian-Ukrainian war entered the 17th day. Russian troops are moving closer to the capital, Kyiv, and continue to intensify their bombardment in areas around the capital and other key cities, with heavy fighting between soldiers on both sides.

Ukrainian authorities said Russian cruise missiles struck an airfield south of Kyiv early Saturday, setting fire to an oil terminal and an ammunition depot. Russian airstrikes also hit suburbs in the east and west, with a drone crashing in the city center after being shot down, setting a bank on fire, officials said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday (March 11) that there had been a “positive turn” in talks between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba countered that there had been “zero progress” in the negotiations. But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday expressed a degree of optimism about the development of the Russia-Ukraine talks.

Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Saturday that if the United States is ready, Russia can of course resume ties with the U.S., state media RIA Novosti reported. security dialogue.

French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday about the war in Ukraine.

Russian troops arrested Ivan Fedorov, the mayor of the southern Ukrainian city of Melitopol, on Friday (March 11), sparking protests by locals.Protest video click here). On Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky demanded that Russia immediately release the people.

The following is a real-time update on the situation in Russia and Ukraine on March 12:

Zelensky open to discussions with Putin in Israel

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday night he was open to peace talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Israel.

The Ukrainian president tweeted that he discussed the possibility with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.

Earlier, Zelensky told foreign reporters that he was ready to meet Putin in Jerusalem, but only if there was a ceasefire.

Putin has repeatedly ignored Zelensky’s proposals for talks, but the Ukrainian leader said he has noticed a softening of Russian officials.

“Now they’ve started talking about something, not just an ultimatum,” he said.

On Saturday, Putin participated in a 90-minute conference call with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Scholz.

Afterwards, a French presidential official told Reuters, “We did not find Putin’s willingness to end the war.”

Continued dialogue with PM @naftalibennett. We talked about Russian aggression and the prospects for peace talks. We must stop repressions against civilians: asked to assist in the release of captive mayor of Melitopol and local public figures #StopRussia

– Volodymyr Zelenskyy (@ZelenskyyUa) March 12, 2022

Zelensky says Ukrainians have the right to self-determination

Speaking to the Ukrainian people online Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reiterated that Ukrainians have the right to live on their own land according to their own norms.

“The Russian invaders can’t conquer us. They don’t have such power. They don’t have such a spirit. The only thing they rely on is violence, terror, weapons, and they have a lot of weapons,” Zelensky said in remarks posted on Instagram.

He said the Russian invaders were incapable of maintaining a normal life. “Whenever Russia comes to a foreign country, there are no sweet dreams, only a very difficult struggle for survival,” he said.

Zelensky said Russia is trying to create regions like North Korea and the Republic of Liberia that will eventually be cut off from the rest of the world and face poverty, crime and population exodus.

The withdrawal of IT professionals, businesses and artists from Russia is also the fate awaiting Donetsk and Luhansk, Zelensky said.

He urged the Ukrainians to keep fighting, saying they would regain what was theirs. “Ukraine will not forget,” he said.

Zelensky said the agreed humanitarian corridor was working and aid would arrive in Mariupol tomorrow.

He also thanked Europe and the United States for their support, adding that ordinary citizens around the world are supporting Ukraine.

He has given titles and awards to a number of Ukrainians who have fought with Russian troops, many of them posthumously.

Ukraine accuses Russian forces of killing 7 civilians near Kyiv

Ukrainian intelligence said seven civilians, including a child, were killed by Russian forces on Friday as they fled the village of Peremoha on the outskirts of Kyiv, who “forced the remainder of the convoy to turn around”.

Ukrainian officials earlier said the convoy was traveling along a humanitarian corridor agreed with Russia, but later corrected that and said the evacuation was not on that designated route.

Ukraine says Russia plans to permanently control Zaporozhye region

Ukrainian officials have accused Russia of planning full and permanent control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said.

“About 400 Russian soldiers are on duty around the clock,” Petro Kotin, president of Ukraine’s nuclear power plant operator Energoatom, said in a letter to the director general, the UN watchdog said in a statement.

Russia has denied the allegation.

The Zaporozhye nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe. It was taken over by Russian troops last week.

Zelensky: All Ukraine is a frontline

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier on Saturday that the whole of Ukraine was a “front line”; he added that some small towns no longer existed.

Zelensky said Ukraine was more united than ever in the face of Russian aggression.

“This war, a hard one, really unites our country. You ask me how it’s going on the front lines … there are front lines everywhere,” Zelensky said at a briefing on Saturday.

“Some small towns don’t exist anymore. It’s a tragedy. They just go. And people go. They (small towns) are gone forever. So we’re all on the front lines. People who died there, they died in us around,” he said.

“Our armed forces are doing everything they can to stop the enemy’s desire to continue the war against Ukraine,” Zelensky said of the continuation of the fighting.

“This is the most powerful battle against Russia in decades,” he added. “Ukrainians, I hope you understand me correctly – we have had extraordinary success. The way all Ukrainians resisted the invaders. History has been written.”

Harris: Russian aggression threatens democracy in Europe

U.S. Vice President Harrison on Saturday emphasized U.S. solidarity with NATO and European allies, and warned that Russia’s unprovoked aggression in Ukraine posed a threat to all democracies.

“The Russian aggression threatens not only democracy in Ukraine, but democracy and security in Europe as a whole,” Harris said Saturday at the Democratic National Committee’s winter meeting in Washington, D.C.

“The ocean that separates us will not make us immune to this aggression,” she said.

Speaking of her recent trip to Poland and Romania, she said she stressed that the alliance’s “greatest strength” is unity.

“The United States stands firmly with the Ukrainian people in defending the NATO alliance,” Harris said.

Village 30 miles west of Kyiv badly damaged

CNN reported that a large area in the village of Makariv, 30 miles west of Kyiv, suffered significant damage from Russian airstrikes.

CNN said it geolocated and verified the authenticity of photos posted on social media on Saturday, which showed extensive damage to apartment buildings, a school and a medical facility.

A series of photos of the Makariv village circulating online showed a large hole in the north wall of an apartment building and damage to the north facades of many buildings.

A few hundred feet east of the apartment building, a kindergarten was also severely damaged. In addition, another photo shows the destruction of the roof of another apartment building west of the school, as well as some high-rise residences.

South of the school, the Adonis-Makarif Medical Diagnostic Center caught fire after being hit. The street in front of it was littered with debris, and the window in the center had been blown out.

Immediately west of the school and medical center, near the center of Makariv, there is a huge crater on the road.

A cultural centre in the town centre – now used for government and police offices – was also hit.

A large sign in front of the building also read: “Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the heroes.”

In the southern part of the Makariv town centre district, a pre-school institution also suffered heavy losses. Windows were blown out and parts of the roof were damaged.

The Russian Defense Ministry said they were not targeting civilians.

Médecins Sans Frontières: Mariupol now in disaster phase

An emergency coordinator for MSF told CNN that the Ukrainian city of Mariupol is in a disaster phase.

Alex Wade of Doctors Without Borders told CNN that their local staff confirmed that there has been no clean drinking water for more than a week. .

“They’re using snow and rain, breaking the heating system to get water, and many people have run out of water and many people have run out of food,” he said. Ukraine now rations food.

He added: “It’s in a disaster phase right now” and there’s a “sense of panic” in the city. Local staff in Mariupol said some people had died because they couldn’t get medicine.

“In the next phase, we will see people potentially dying of dehydration and starvation, or … fleeing the city trying to find food and water, or dying from violence outside the city.”

He said that while the evacuation was scheduled for Saturday, many locals were unaware of it because of the lack of available means of communication in the city – no phone network, no internet.

Ukraine’s foreign minister: Willing to negotiate but not surrender

Ukraine is ready to negotiate an end to the war sparked by the Russian invasion more than two weeks ago, but will not surrender or accept any ultimatum, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Saturday.

Speaking at an online event run by the non-partisan, nonprofit Renewal Democracy Initiative, Kuleba said civilian lives would be saved if Ukraine had fighter jets and more attack aircraft to destroy large Russian military columns.

“We will continue to fight. We are ready to negotiate, but we will not accept any ultimatum and surrender,” Kuleba said. He added that Russia had made “unacceptable” demands.

Commenting on the southern Ukrainian city of Mariupol, the Ukrainian foreign minister said the city was besieged but still under Ukrainian control.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began in late February, resulting in more than 2.5 million refugees, prompted Western countries to move quickly to isolate Russia from world trade and the global financial system.

The Ukrainian foreign minister added that Ukraine needs more military supplies and that, despite recent sanctions, more needs to be done to hit the Russian economy.

Tsai Ing-wen: The Russian-Ukrainian war shows that Taiwan needs to unite to protect itself

Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen said Saturday that Russia’s war on Ukraine showed that if Taiwan were to be attacked, “the unity of all citizens” would be needed to defend itself.

The CCP has been aggressively harassing Taiwan, which has doubled the training time for veterans this year to two weeks.

Tsai Ing-wen said on Saturday, “The recent situation in Ukraine has once again proved that to protect the country, we need not only the assistance of the international community, but also the unity of all citizens.”

She said, “Educational mobilization is the principle of implementing the spirit of comprehensive defense, mobilizing on the spot and fighting on the spot.”

About 2,000 people evacuated from Kyiv on Saturday

About 2,000 people were evacuated from the Kyiv region on Saturday, Ukraine’s National Emergency Service said.

An evacuation convoy of 40 buses arrived at the village of Bilohorodka on Saturday afternoon, according to a statement from the service.

Rescuers have been providing medical and psychological assistance to the evacuees, the statement added.

France: Putin still ‘determined’ to achieve his goals in Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s mentality remains “unwavering”, according to sources at the Elysee, revealed on Saturday afternoon following a phone call between French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Putin .

Since the three leaders spoke on Thursday, Putin appeared to remain “determined to achieve his goals in Ukraine,” the sources said, but the fact that he continued to speak to French and German leaders showed that “he does not rule out a completely diplomatic solution. possibility.”

Earlier on Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asked Macron to pressure Putin for a ceasefire and raised the issue of the detention of the mayor of Melitopol. Macron and Scholz have already done so, the sources said.

British media: FSB foreign intelligence director under house arrest

The Kremlin has placed FSB (Federal Security Service) Foreign Intelligence Director Sergey Beseda and his deputy under house arrest, according to The Times.

The arrests came as Russia’s FSB searched about 20 addresses across Moscow as it investigated officials who may have contacted journalists. Reports over the past two weeks suggest that an FSB agent may have leaked key information to Ukraine and the West.

“The official basis for these searches is the alleged misappropriation of funds earmarked for subversive activities in Ukraine,” said Vladimir Osechkin, an exiled human rights activist. “The real reason is the unreliability of the political situation in Ukraine. , incomplete and partially false information.”

Putin reportedly claimed that the FSB had provided “false information” about the situation in Ukraine, including reports on the eve of the invasion that were “simply incorrect”.

Ukrainian troops fight against Russian troops in Nikolayev

The strategic city of Mykolaiv suffered massive explosions all night and early Saturday as Ukrainian troops continued to block the advance of Russian troops along the Black Sea coast.

Some civilian neighborhoods were also reported to have come under Russian shelling.

“They used cluster bombs and Grad (multiple rocket systems) to attack sites in the northeastern part of the city,” said Anastasia Aleksieieva, who helped organize a group of civilian volunteers in Nikolayev.

She said eight civilians were injured. Clear skies in the port city on Saturday after heavy snow on Friday. Soldiers and volunteers can be seen placing sandbags around suburban checkpoints. Near the governor’s office in the city center, two volunteer soldiers displayed a large black car with a “Z” painted on the side and a machine gun tripod mounted on the roof, which they said was from the retreat to southeastern Russia in Nikolayev captured in the army.

Local officials: Warnovaka ‘no longer exists’

Donetsk Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said the southeastern city of Volnovakha had been completely destroyed since the Russian invasion.

He said that since the invasion began, most of Warnovaka’s population had fled and much of its infrastructure had been destroyed, meaning the city effectively ceased to exist.

“In general, Volnovaka and its infrastructure no longer exist,” he told Ukrainian TV channel Direct.

But he said fighting was still ongoing to prevent Russia from encircling strategically important territory.

Volnovaka was hit by heavy artillery, rocket and air strikes from the Russian army, which destroyed almost all the buildings in the town.

UN: Over 1,500 civilian casualties in Ukraine

Since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine on February 24, the United Nations has recorded 1,581 civilian casualties, with 579 killed and 1,002 wounded.

According to the latest UN report on civilian casualties, 42 children were among the dead and 54 among the wounded. The highest number of victims was recorded in the areas controlled by the Ukrainian government.

“The majority of recorded civilian casualties were caused by the use of explosive weapons of broad impact, including shelling by heavy artillery and multiple rocket systems, as well as missile and air strikes,” the UN report said.

Poland approves legislation to allow Ukrainians to stay and work

Poland has announced that parliament has approved emergency legislation giving Ukrainians fleeing the war the right to live and work in Poland for 18 months.

Refugees will receive a social security number and be entitled to free health care and education, as well as social benefits.

Once registered, they will be approved to extend their legal status for three years.

More than 1.5 million people have fled Ukraine for Poland since the war began, most of them women and children, but not all of them are believed to have stayed in Poland.

Maciek Duszczyk, vice-chancellor for research at the University of Warsaw, estimates that about a million refugees remain in Poland, while the rest have gone to other countries.

The bill also gives Poles hosting Ukrainian refugees in their own homes a daily aid of 40 zlotys ($9.12/€8.36) each to help cover additional costs for up to two months.

The bill will now be submitted to President Andrzej Duda to be signed into law.

White House allocates another $200 million to Ukraine for defense services

In a memo on Saturday, U.S. President Joe Biden authorized Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to be responsible for withdrawing $200 million in defense goods and services for Ukraine, including military education and training.

The Foreign Assistance Act (FAA) of 1961 allows the president to authorize “dispositions of U.S. property or services” to foreign countries without legislative authorization or budget appropriations, usually for foreign or regional emergencies.

In this case, an “ad hoc inter-agency process” including representatives of the National Security Council, the Department of Defense and the State Department “determines which existing statutory powers apply to the situation and determines which goods and services should be provided” — In this case, education and training for the Ukrainian army.

Today’s announcement brings the total amount of security aid to Ukraine over the past year to $1.2 billion, according to White House officials.

Germany seeks to quickly end reliance on Russian oil and coal

Germany’s goal is to wean itself off Russian coal imports by autumn and almost completely wean itself off Russian oil by the end of the year, Economy Minister Robert Habeck said.

Ending Germany’s reliance on Russian gas is more complicated because Germany does not have the necessary infrastructure to handle LNG imports from other sources, Habeck told “Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung”, adding that urgent work is being done to address the problem. About half of Germany’s natural gas and coal and about one-third of its oil come from Russia.

Russian forces intensify bombing of areas around Ukrainian capital

Russian missiles and airstrikes caused damage to areas north and south of the Ukrainian capital early Saturday, according to local officials.

In Chernihiv, about 100 kilometers north of Kyiv, the city’s landmark “Hotel Ukraine” was attacked overnight.

“I’m here now. The hotel is no longer there,” Chernihiv district administrator Vyacheslav Chaus said Saturday.

Chernihiv has been surrounded by Russian forces for more than a week, and video from the city showed extensive damage from missiles and airstrikes.Jos added that the city “No electricity, almost no water, gas and heat”. While power was successfully restored on Friday, “the enemy hit the grid again”.

Social media videos from Vasylkiv, south of Kyiv, showed what appeared to be severe damage to a military airfield after a fuel depot caught fire following an airstrike early Saturday.

The intensification of missile strikes and bombardments comes as Russia redeploys its ground forces in preparation for a new round of siege of the capital, Western officials said. For more than two weeks, Ukrainian forces have successfully thwarted Russian attempts to advance toward Kyiv, while attacking Russian supply lines and destroying tanks and other armored vehicles.

Zelensky expresses some degree of optimism about the situation in Russia-Ukraine talks

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday expressed a degree of optimism about recent talks between Russian and Ukrainian representatives.According to NBC“They’ve started talking about something, not just an ultimatum (to each other),” Zelensky said at a news conference. “I believe it’s a fundamentally different approach, as it should be. “

Zelensky called for a “peace process, an end to the war process”. That needs to start with a ceasefire, he said. He added that some leaders have filled the communication between the Russian and Ukrainian parties.

He also said those with ties to the Russian leader needed to speak up, “I know they’re sending a good signal in terms of what we’re proposing.”

Russia claims Zaporozhye nuclear power plant

Russian officials have arrived at Ukraine’s largest nuclear power plant to demand control of the facility, according to a statement from Ukraine’s state-run nuclear energy company Energoatom.

The Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Station has been occupied by Russian forces for more than a week, with Energoatom previously claiming its employees were forced to work “at gunpoint”.

Energoatom said 11 people from Russia’s state atomic energy company Rosatom arrived at the plant on Friday, and a representative of the regiment said the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant now belongs to Rosatom.

Among the 11 Russians who arrived on Friday were two senior engineers from Russia’s Balakovo and Rostov nuclear power plants, Energoatom’s statement said.

Russian-French-German summit call

French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday about the war in Ukraine.

The Kremlin said Putin briefed Macron and Scholz on the status of the Russia-Ukraine talks on Saturday and responded to their concerns about the humanitarian situation in Ukraine.

The Kremlin statement said Macron and Scholz had raised humanitarian concerns over Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine, to which Putin responded by saying the Ukrainian military had violated human rights. The statement provided no evidence to support the allegations.

The Kremlin said the three leaders agreed to stay in touch.

Germany said Scholz and Macron urged Putin for an immediate ceasefire during a 75-minute call with Putin.

German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said Macron and Scholz also called on Putin to “resolve the conflict diplomatically.”

He said the talk was part of the international community’s efforts to end the war in Ukraine. The parties agreed not to disclose any further details of the talks.

Scholz spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky about his “assessment of the current situation” before the call with Putin, and “they agreed to remain in close contact,” the spokesman said.

Ukraine urges Taiwan’s ASUS to stop doing business with Russia

According to an open letter posted on Twitter by Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov, on Thursday (March 10), he urged major Taiwanese electronics manufacturer ASUS (ASUS) Suspension of operations in and with Russia while the invasion of Ukraine continues.

In an open letter to ASUS Chairman Jonney Shih, Fedorov called on the company and its affiliates to terminate any relationship (with Russia) and stop doing business in Russia, as well as with Russian customers and partners , including “supply of hardware and electronics”, technical support and services until “Russian aggression in Ukraine is completely stopped and fair order is restored”.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister: Russia is ready for security dialogue with the United States

Russia said on Saturday it was ready for another dialogue with the United States on security issues and the Strategic Arms Reduction (START) treaty.

“If the Americans are prepared for this, of course we can resume dialogue and resolve to do so,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said, according to the state-run Russian News Agency. Work on START.”

“It’s all up to Washington,” he added.

Ryabkov said that Russia has not stopped dialogue with the United States.

“We have not withdrawn from the U.S. Strategic Stability Dialogue. It has been suspended by Washington, apparently out of the illusion that we need it more than Washington. Absolutely not,” Ryabkov said.

Ukraine: Russians shell mosques

Ukraine’s foreign ministry on Saturday accused Russian forces of shelling a mosque in Mariupol, where it said more than 80 adults and children were fleeing the attack.

There have been no reports of casualties.

Russia warns U.S. arms shipments may be ‘targeted’

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Moscow would see any arms shipment to Ukraine as a “legitimate target” for Russian attacks.

He said Russia “warned the United States that the delivery of weapons from various countries it planned was not only a dangerous move, but an operation that made these convoys legitimate targets.”

He also condemned attempts by the United States and Europe to deal an “unprecedented blow” to the Russian economy through sanctions, and said Moscow would take action to avoid harming itself.

Responsible editor: Lin Yan#