[Update 3.22]Zelensky: Ukraine is struggling on the line of survival | Russian-Ukrainian war | Russia | Biden

[The Epoch Times, March 22, 2022](Comprehensive report by The Epoch Times reporters Zhang Ting, Li Yan, and Li Xin) On Tuesday (March 22), the Russian-Ukrainian war entered its 27th day. The explosion could still be heard in Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital. Ukrainian and U.S. officials say the Ukrainian military is launching an aggressive counteroffensive to reclaim Russian-occupied territory in southern Ukraine. US President Joe Biden confirmed the day before that the Russian army used hypersonic missiles in the Russian-Ukrainian war.

With the Russian military’s attack in Ukraine blocked, there are fears that Moscow may turn to deadly unconventional weapons.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s office said Tuesday morning that Bennett was ready to visit Kyiv to mediate between Ukraine and Russia.

Ukrainian forces have regained control of the town of Makariv, 30 miles west of Kyiv, after days of fighting, Ukraine’s armed forces said in a Facebook post on Tuesday. As the Russians retreated, “the Ukrainian flag was raised over the city of Makarif,” the post said.

Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the Ukrainian interior ministry, said Ukrainian air defenses had shot down and destroyed a Russian Tochka missile. The wreckage of the missile has fallen into the Dniper River.

The following is a real-time update of the situation in Russia and Ukraine on March 22:

Ukraine: Russia is moving forward with talks as the West proposes more sanctions

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday that talks between Ukraine and Russia are making progress as the West plans to announce more sanctions on the Kremlin amid a worsening humanitarian crisis.

But in remarks early Wednesday morning, Zelensky was hopeful about talks that have yielded little since Ukraine was invaded on February 24.

“Negotiations are very difficult and sometimes adversarial,” he said, “but we are moving forward step by step.”

Western countries plan to put more pressure on the Kremlin.

U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to join European leaders when he visits Brussels this week to announce new sanctions on Russia and new measures to tighten existing ones.

The United States is preparing to impose sanctions on more than 300 members of Russia’s lower house of parliament as soon as Thursday, according to The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed officials and internal documents. The White House had no immediate comment.

Biden’s European trip will also include announcing joint action to strengthen energy security on the continent, which is highly dependent on Russian gas, and a visit to Poland to show support for the neighbor Ukraine.

Ukraine: Russia detains Mariupol convoy rescuers

Ukrainian leaders have accused Russia of detaining 15 aid workers and drivers from a humanitarian convoy trying to bring much-needed food and other supplies into the port city of Mariupol, which has been hit by weeks of land and air attacks .

In a video address to the nation on Tuesday night, Zelensky accused Russian troops of blocking the aid convoy, even though they agreed to the route in advance.

“We are trying to organize stable humanitarian corridors for the inhabitants of Mariupol, but unfortunately almost all our attempts have been thwarted by the Russian occupiers with shelling or deliberate terror,” Zelensky said.

The Red Cross confirmed that a humanitarian aid convoy trying to enter the city was unable to enter.

The convoy’s attempt to provide aid comes as Russian navy ships join weeks of Russian air and land strikes on Mariupol, U.S. officials said.

Ukrainian official: Russian army destroyed a laboratory in Chernobyl

The Ukrainian state agency in charge of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone said on Tuesday that Russian troops destroyed a new laboratory at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant that included work to improve the management of radioactive waste.

Russian troops seized the decommissioned factory at the start of the war. The nuclear pollution exclusion zone around the factory was the site of the world‘s worst nuclear accident in 1986.

The national agency said the lab, which was built at a cost of 6 million euros with the support of the European Commission, opened in 2015.

The agency said in its statement that the laboratory contains “highly active samples and samples of radionuclides that are now in the hands of adversaries who, we hope, will harm themselves and not the civilized world.”

Radionuclides are the release of particles or radiation from unstable atomic nuclei.

In another worrying development, Ukraine’s nuclear regulator said on Monday that radiation monitors around the plant had stopped working.

Putin spokesman refuses to rule out use of nuclear weapons

Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin’s chief press secretary, acknowledged that Russia had yet to achieve any of its military goals in Ukraine and refused to deny that Russia might resort to the use of nuclear weapons.

In an interview with CNN on Tuesday, Peskov repeatedly refused to rule out the possibility that Russia would consider using nuclear weapons against what Moscow sees as an “existential threat.” When asked under what conditions Putin would use Russia’s nuclear capabilities, Peskov replied, “If it’s an existential threat to our country, then yes.”

Asked what progress Putin thought he had made in Ukraine so far, Peskov replied: “Well, first of all, not yet. He hasn’t achieved it yet.”

French energy giant Total: Stop buying Russian oil by the end of the year

World energy giant Total Energies said on Tuesday it would stop buying Russian oil and petroleum products by the end of 2022 at the latest.

Total Energy has “unilaterally decided” not to sign contracts with Russia to buy oil and petroleum products, but will continue to buy gas from Russia, the company said in a statement.

“Unlike oil supply, it seems difficult for Europe’s gas logistics capacity to be without Russian gas in the next two to three years without affecting the energy supply of the continent,” the statement said.

In 2021, Total’s Russian oil contracts covered 12 percent of Russia’s diesel imports to the EU, the statement said.

Pentagon: Ukrainian airspace still ‘contested’

U.S. Defense Department spokesman John Kirby told a Pentagon briefing on Monday that although Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is in its fourth week, Ukraine’s airspace is still not fully controlled and the two sides are still “in contention.” .

Part of the reason for that is “the Ukrainians are doing it,” Kirby said.

Ukraine still has fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft, he said.

He added that Russian forces dominate some airspace.

Pentagon: U.S. ‘sees signs’ that Ukrainians are ‘making more offensives’

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told a Pentagon briefing on Tuesday that the U.S. “sees signs that the Ukrainians are now conducting more offensives.”

Kirby added that in the southern area near Kherson, the Ukrainians were trying to counterattack.

“They’ve been very smart, very nimble, very creative defending where they think they should be defending. We’re seeing them now, especially in the southern areas around Kherson, trying to retake territory.” Kirby Say.

Macron, Putin call to discuss ceasefire conditions, no agreement

The Elysee Palace said French President Emmanuel Macron had carefully discussed “security conditions for substantive issues” during an hour-long phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The two leaders discussed the possibility of a ceasefire, but no agreement was reached.

Macron still “believes in the need to keep working.”

The Elysee Palace also said Macron had also spoken to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday.

Russia opens criminal probe of journalist over Mariupol report

The Investigative Committee of Russia said it had questioned journalist Alexander‧Alexander Nevzorov opened a criminal case.

The committee accused Nevzorov of disseminating what it called “deliberately false information about the deliberate shelling of a maternity hospital in Mariupol by the Russian armed forces”.

Russian officials declined to use words such as “war” or “invasion” when referring to the attack on Ukraine. Journalists risk criminal penalties if they do not follow what is officially called a “special military operation.”

Nevzorov is a well-known Russian TV journalist, film director and former member of the Russian Federation Parliament.

Nevzorov’s social media Telegram channel showed that he was in Tel Aviv, Israel, when the news was reported on March 18.

Zelensky: Mariupol has ‘nothing’

Zelensky told the Italian parliament that after weeks of bombing by Russian troops, the port city of Mariupol had “been left with nothing”.

He called on Russia to allow the 100,000 people who remained in the city to leave.

As Zelensky spoke, Ukrainian authorities said that Russian forces had dropped two more large bombs on Mariupol.

Moscow continues to block foreign media reports that characterize Meta as an ‘extremist group’

Russia’s media watchdog, Roskomnadzor, announced on Monday that it would block all content from France-based European broadcaster Euronews, continuing to block coverage of the war in Ukraine.

On the same day, a Russian court agreed with the country’s intelligence service, the Federal Security Service (FSB), by classifying the US company Meta (owner of Facebook) as an “extremist group” and banning the company from working in Russia. Instagram and Facebook have both been blocked since Russia invaded Ukraine, but WhatsApp is still available.

Zelensky again calls for meeting with Putin

Zelensky again said he was ready to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin “in any form”.

“I don’t think that without this meeting, it would have been impossible to fully understand what they were doing to stop the war,” Zelensky said.

France ready to welcome 100,000 Ukrainian refugees

France has launched a national plan to prepare housing for at least 100,000 Ukrainian refugees, French Prime Minister Jean Castex told reporters on Tuesday.

“More and more (Ukrainian) people are finding refuge in France or transiting through our territory,” Castel said after an interministerial crisis meeting on the issue.

According to Castel, more than 26,000 Ukrainian refugees have arrived in France since the war began. Of these, 10,500 were granted temporary residency under the EU’s Temporary Protection Policy, which was launched on March 3.

The French prime minister has also vowed to help Ukrainian refugees better integrate into the French job market, including by offering French courses at employment agencies in the country.

Russians fire on Mariupol from the Sea of ​​Azov

Russia has begun firing on the city of Mariupol from the Sea of ​​Azov, using about seven ships in an attack on the key Ukrainian coastal city, according to a senior U.S. defense official.

Several of them may be minesweepers and amphibious landing ships, but surface combatants have also joined the attack on the besieged city in the past 24 hours, the official said.

“We continue to observe some Russian troops in the city (of Mariupol),” the official said. “We think at least some of them are separatist forces from the Donbass. Likewise, the Ukrainians are working very, very hard. Fight to keep Mariupol from falling.”

The city has been under constant bombardment by Russian long-range missiles and artillery fired outside the city.

Separately, the official said, the Russians have about 21 ships in total in the Black Sea. Twelve of them are surface combatants and the rest are amphibious ships.

Lack of proper equipment, some Russian troops suffered frostbite

There are indications that some Russian soldiers were frostbitten in Ukraine because they lacked proper cold protection, a senior Pentagon official said.

The official said the situation was compounded by a lack of proper equipment for Russia’s military for nearly a month as logistical and supply issues continued to plague the Russian military’s invasion of Ukraine.

“Even some units are having difficulties with their personal equipment,” the official said in a call with reporters on Tuesday morning. “We found indications that some units suffered losses due to frostbite and (have) withdrawn from combat.”

Ukraine experienced a cold snap earlier this month.

The Russians also faced command and control challenges, which made communications difficult, further exacerbating logistical and supply problems, the official said.

Zelensky: Ukrainian struggling to survive

Ukraine is struggling to survive, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky told Italian lawmakers as the Russian-Ukrainian war continues.

Zelensky addressed the Italian parliament via video link on Tuesday. Previously, he has delivered similar speeches to the US and European parliaments.

According to Reuters, he told Italian lawmakers that Ukraine was struggling on the Russian-Ukrainian front and warned that Moscow wanted to break through to the rest of Europe.

“For the Russian army, Ukraine is the door to Europe, they want to break in, but they must not let it go for barbarism,” he said.

He repeated calls he made in previous speeches for more sanctions on Russia. He called on Italy to freeze all assets of the Russian elite and declared a comprehensive trade embargo, including oil.

He also demanded that Italy ban Russian ships from Italian ports and sanction all Russian banks.

Ukraine said at least ten hospitals were completely destroyed and heavy fighting continued near Kharkiv and Mariupol.

Russian naval forces have begun shelling the outskirts of Odessa in an effort to cut off Ukrainians from the Black Sea.

U.S. President Joe Biden has warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin fears a “last battle” and fears he could use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said on Tuesday that Italy wants to see Ukraine join the European Union and that it needs military aid to stop the carnage.

Ukraine retakes strategic position Makarif

Ukraine’s counterattack north and west of the capital Kyiv appears to be making some headway, jeopardizing Russia’s efforts to encircle the city and threatening the ability of the Russian military to supply its forward troops north of the city, CNN reported.

Geo-located video on Monday showed Ukrainian soldiers draping the flag over a building in the town of Makariv, about 65 kilometers (40 miles) west of Kyiv.

Then, early Tuesday, Ukrainian armed forces posted on social media that they had regained control of Makarif.

The armed forces said on Facebook that after 24 hours of fighting, “the Ukrainian flag was raised over the city of Makarif” as Russia retreated.

The town is strategically located due west of Kyiv.

Andriy Nebytov, chief of the Kyiv Regional Police, went to Makarif on Monday for an inspection. Video of his visit showed extensive damage to the town.

“There are hardly any people in the city,” Nebitov said in the video, as Makarif was still under shelling.

During the inspection, another officer told him that the artillery fire was coming from 5 kilometers (3 miles) to the north, an area still under Russian control.

Some Ukrainian towns can only survive for 3-4 days

Mercy Corps, the aid agency, said on Tuesday that some Ukrainian towns had only three or four days’ worth of food stockpiles and warned the country’s humanitarian system was “totally broken.”

“One of our biggest concerns right now is the fragility of the supply chain. We know that in the areas where the fighting is most intense, most cities will not have more than three or four days of necessities (stocks) such as food.” Ukrainian Humane of the International Charity Mission said Steve Gordon, an ideological response consultant.

He was in Kharkiv, where the fighting has been heaviest since the Russian invasion.

He estimates that at least 70% of the population of Kharkiv and Sumy are now completely dependent on aid to survive.

“In an area like Samui, 800,000 people are now almost entirely dependent on aid that comes in daily,” Gordon said. “The city needs at least a month’s worth of food, stored in different warehouses in case of artillery fire. “

“The reality is that now the humanitarian system is completely broken,” he said. “While the United Nations is delivering aid to some areas, we have seen through the failure of the humanitarian corridor that many people can only get through small Ukrainian civic groups like church groups. The support of social organizations to survive.

“These organizations are coordinating the delivery of essential supplies like food and medical supplies. These amazing networks of volunteers are doing their best, but their workload is reaching its limit.”

Biden confirms Russian military used hypersonic missiles

U.S. President Joe Biden confirmed on Monday that Russia used hypersonic missiles in its invasion of Ukraine.

“Russia just launched a hypersonic missile,” Biden said. “It’s an important weapon … it’s almost impossible to stop it. That’s one reason they’re using it.”

But both British intelligence and the U.S. defense secretary have downplayed Russia’s use of the Kinzhal hypersonic missile.

“I don’t think it’s going to be a game changer,” Defense Secretary Austin said in an interview with CBS.

The MoD says the Dagger is actually just an air-launched version of the Iskander Short-Range Ballistic Missile (SRBM) that Russia used several times during its invasion of Ukraine.

Up to 100,000 programmers may leave Russia in April

The Interfax news agency reported that between 70,000 and 100,000 Russian IT specialists could emigrate in April, citing estimates from the Russian Electronic Communications Association. The group said these people were in addition to the first wave of 50,000 to 70,000 programmers who had already left.

Russia is creating various incentives — including tax breaks, subsidized mortgages and deferrals — to discourage IT specialists from leaving. The move comes as Russia faces the prospect of a sharp economic downturn following its invasion of Ukraine.

Ukraine mayor urges people to evacuate

The mayor of the city of Boryspil, east of Kyiv, is calling on residents to leave, even as the Ukrainian army celebrates retaking control of a town west of Kiev.

Mayor Volodymyr Borysenko said in a video statement posted on Facebook: “Fighting is already raging in the area. I appeal to the people to be smart and leave the city if you can. “

Authorities will help evacuate those who do not have their own vehicles, Borisenko said, adding that people are being moved almost daily to western Ukraine, where Russian attacks are far fewer in number.

“Practice has shown that in cities where fighting takes place, the fewer civilians there are in the city, the easier it is for the (Ukrainian) armed forces to operate,” Borisenko said.

Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister: Successful negotiations require Russian concessions

Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said the Kremlin must make concessions to successfully negotiate an end to the war. Vereshuk called Russia’s demands for peace “meaningless”.

Vereshuk told French television channel LCI that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was ready to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Vereshuk said Ukraine has shown from the beginning of the Russian invasion that it is ready for productive diplomacy.

The Kremlin said on Tuesday that talks between Russia and Ukraine had progressed “much slower than we had hoped” and lacked substantial progress. Making the details of the talks public “will only harm the negotiating process”.

Ukraine: About 15,300 Russian soldiers killed

About 15,300 Russian soldiers have been killed since Russia launched its offensive on February 24, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said.

In an update posted on Telegram, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said that as of March 22, Russia’s military losses included 509 tanks, 1,556 armoured fighting vehicles and 252 artillery systems.

The Epoch Times was unable to independently verify the numbers.

Russia had reported on March 2 that 498 of its armed forces had been killed in the fighting. Since then, Moscow has provided no official updates.

The pro-Kremlin Russian newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda on Monday quoted the Russian Defense Ministry as saying 9,861 Russian soldiers had been killed since the war began. It has since removed the article.

The newspaper’s Kremlin correspondent explained on Tuesday that the paper had been hacked and published false stories on its website, Reuters reported.

Ukrainian woman recounts horrific sight of Mariupol

Natalia Hayetska said it was “very difficult” for her and her elderly parents to escape the besieged Mariupol, CNN reported.

She said her family and their four cats were able to escape to Lviv thanks to “good people” who helped them.

Mariupol’s situation is desperate, she said.

“There is no infrastructure, no drinking water – no water at all – no electricity. And the bombing is constant. Not only artillery, but they (the Russian army) also use drones and some aircraft. They drop bombs all over the city.” Haye Zka told CNN.

“People carried the victims closer to the road and covered them with cloth. They were waiting for someone to collect the bodies. Some people buried the bodies in the yards because they knew no one was going to come for them. It’s all about Really,” she said.

Her mother Halyna Zhelezniak said: “I’m 84 years old and for the first time in my life I’m scared. I can’t believe it happened. It’s just a shock. I Can’t believe it. But that’s what my family and I have to face,” she said.

Her father, Ihor Zhelezniak, said he did not think he would see the city rebuilt again in his lifetime because there are only ruins.

Responsible editor: Lin Yan#