Russian Invasion of Ukraine
This major incident page is created to record in summarized format the Russian attack on Ukraine, which began on 24th February following the announcement of a Military Operation earlier in the day. The page highlights those issues and actions relevant to, and undertaken by Portugal in response. The information comes from multiple sources both in Portugal, overseas including directly from in Ukraine itself.
This page is for situation reports wef 9th March at 1800 hrs.
Reports to 28th February can be read here.
Reports from 28th February to 5th March can be read here
Reports from 6th to 8th March can be read here
SITUATION REPORT MONDAY 14TH MARCH 2022
TALKS TODAY
A renewed round of peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv will take place via video-conference later on Monday. The news was confirmed by Russia’s Dmitry Peskov and Ukraine’s Mykhailo Podolyak late last night. The Reuters news agency reports these will begin at 10.30am local time (8.30am GMT). Previous rounds of talks have taken place near the Belarusian border, and have ended with very little progress towards an end to warfare. However, Mr Podolyak said it appears Russia has changed its tack.
MILITARY ATTACKS
An attack in a residential area of Kiev left two dead and three seriously injured. The international press also advances that an aircraft factory was attacked 11 kilometres from the centre of Kiev.
For the third day in a row there were no advances by Russian troops north and west of Kiev. The situation remains more worrying in the south of the country, with Russia trying to block Ukraine’s maritime access to the Black Sea.
Ukraine says up to 30 Russian missiles were fired at a military training base just 15 miles from the border of NATO member yesterday, killing 35 people and injuring over 100 more. Russia later confirmed it had carried out the strikes, saying it was targeting foreign mercenaries and weapons. Poland’s deputy foreign minister Marcin Przydacz has just spoken to Sky News.
Mr Przydacz said: “This step taken by Russia we consider as highly provocative as it is so close to our borders. It is also very close to a border crossing point, where thousands of refugees are fleeing Ukraine in order to find shelter in Poland”. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the US condemnation of the Russian bombing of the Yavoriv military base, where several Western volunteers were stationed.
The UK’s Ministry of Defence says Russian naval forces have established a distant blockade of Ukraine’s Black Sea coast, effectively isolating Ukraine from international maritime trade.
EVACUATIONS
Dmytro Zhyvytskyi, the head of Sumy’s regional government, has confirmed civilian evacuations from the northeastern city will pause today. This is because “none of the routes have been agreed upon today”, Mr Zhyvytskyi said, referring to the humanitarian corridors set up by Moscow to allow civilians to flee. However, he said “negotiations are ongoing” for these to resume. At least 5,000 civilians, including 1,700 foreign students, were able to escape Sumy last week through an evacuation route towards Poltava.
Americans urged to leave Ukraine immediately The US embassy in Kyiv has urged American citizens to leave Ukraine immediately – as the war with Russia continues into a third week. Americans were told to depart via ground transport if it is safe to do so, while adding: “Sheltering in place may be the best option for some”.
REFUGEE BUS ACCIDENT ITALY
A bus carrying about 50 Ukrainian refugees overturned yesterday morning on a main road in northern Italy, killing one person, Italian firefighters said. According to Italian state radio, there are several injured as a result of the accident on the A14 motorway near Forli, a town in the Emilia-Romagna region of north eastern Italy, who were reportedly transported to hospital and the rest were safely evacuated. Firefighters had to use two cranes to get the bus back to the vertical and remove it from the road. (SIC)
REPORTS RUSSIA ASKING CHINA FOR ASSISTANCE
Russia is asking China for both military and economic assistance, according to reports in the Financial Times and New York Times newspapers. Moscow wants Beijing to provide military supplies to use in Ukraine, the FT says. Citing unnamed US officials, the FT reported that Russia had been requesting Chinese equipment since the start of the invasion. The officials declined to specify what kind of equipment Russia is seeking.
In response a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington says Beijing is focused on keeping the war in Ukraine from “getting out of control”. Reuters quoted embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu as saying that “the situation in Ukraine is indeed disconcerting”. “The high priority now is to prevent the tense situation escalating or even getting out of control,” he said. (BBC)
UKRAINE HEALTH SYSTEM
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Sunday of the risk of Ukrainian health services collapsing, after being the target of at least 31 attacks that killed 12 people and injured 34. “Ukraine’s healthcare system is clearly under strain and its collapse would be a catastrophe” say the executive directors of UNICEF, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the World Health Organization (WHO) in a joint statement this year. Sunday issued and quoted by the Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The United Nations Secretary-General called on humanitarian corridors to remain safe and open. Through a post on Twitter, António Guterres also warned of the lack of medical equipment in Ukraine’s hospitals, something he sees as “an urgent priority”.
“There are hundreds of thousands of people in Ukraine in need of medical assistance. Providing hospitals with medical equipment is an urgent priority. I urge the passages to remain open and kept safe so that people can get help and escape.”
SITUATION REPORT SUNDAY 13TH MARCH 2022
MILITARY OPERATIONS
Ukraine says up to 30 Russian missiles were fired at a military training base, near the border of NATO member Poland. Officials say at least 35 people were killed and 134 injured in the attack on the Yavoriv base. The facility is used for training with NATO instructors. Russia claims to have killed 180 mercenaries – Russian government added that it plans to continue killing foreign nationals in Ukraine, whom it considers mercenaries.
Ukrainian army has liberated two more populated localities in Chernihiv region from the enemy and seized 10 units of Russian equipment. “The defenders managed to liberate two more populated localities, prevent the enemy from establishing a pontoon crossing, and restrain the enemy’s intentions to advance towards Kyiv. As a result, we have more than 10 enemy equipment trophies,” the Operational Command “North” posted on Facebook, Ukrinform reports.
Throughout the day, Chernihiv bomb squads with the State Emergency Service retrieved three unexploded air bombs from the city’s residential areas. This was reported by the press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs via Telegram, according to Ukrinform. “Three OFAB-500 air bombs were removed by Chernihiv bomb squads from residential areas throughout the day. Our guys are working with high precision and diligence. One can only imagine how much longer we will have to clean our native land of such Russian ‘gifts’ after we win,” the statement reads.
CHEMICAL WEAPON (UNCONFIRMED)
A senior Ukrainian police officer has accused Russian forces of launching phosphorus bomb attacks in the eastern region of Lugansk. International law prohibits the use of white phosphorus shells in heavily populated civilian areas, but allows them in open spaces to be used as cover for troops. Oleksi Biloshytsky, head of police in Popasna, around 100 kilometres (60 miles) west of Lugansk city, said late Saturday that Russian forces had used the chemical weapon in his area. It was not immediately possible to verify the comments.
The World Health Organization, the UN’s children’s fund UNICEF and its population fund UNFPA have issued a joint statement calling for an immediate stop to attacks on healthcare in Ukraine. Today, we call for an immediate cessation of all attacks on health care in Ukraine,” they said. ”These horrific attacks are killing and causing serious injuries to patients and health workers, destroying vital health infrastructure and forcing thousands to forgo accessing health services despite catastrophic needs.” (Alazeera)
CASUALTIES
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stepped outside his residence for the first time since war erupted to visit wounded soldiers in hospital and award medals. “Get well. I wish you strength. You are great guys!” Zelenskyy is heard saying to the patients in a morale-boosting video posted on social media. So far, pictures and footage of the president had shown him only in his office or official residence.
Over in the surrounded south-eastern city of Mariupol – which has been under bombardment without essential services and supplies for nearly two weeks, the city council says 2,187 residents are now known to have been killed. Local officials said there had been at least 22 Russian strikes on the city in the past day.
Today, Brent Renaud, 51, an American citizen and New York Times journalist, was shot dead by the Russian military in the city of Irpin. The relevant statement was made by Andrii Niebytov, the Head of National Police in Kyiv Region, on his Facebook page, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. Following the death the town’s Mayor Oleksandr Markushyn, said journalists will no longer be allowed to enter the town. “Starting today, we are banning journalists from entering Irpin. We want to save the lives of both them and our defenders,” Markushyn said. He also urged reporters and Ukrainian civilians not to post information online about military personnel, their equipment or anything that could indicate their location.
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan says the US will impose “appropriate consequences” on Russia. News of the death was “shocking and horrifying”, he said, and US officials would be consulting with Ukrainian officials to determine “how this happened”.
EVACUATIONS
Ukraine’s president says nearly 125,000 civilians have been evacuated through safe-passage corridors in one day, while a convoy with humanitarian aid is on its way to the besieged city of Mariupol. “The main task today is Mariupol. Our convoy with humanitarian aid is two hours away from Mariupol. Only 80km [left],” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video address. (Alazeera)
CALL FOR FIGHTER JETS TO UKRAINE
US Sen. Rob Portman, co-chair of the Ukraine caucus, said Sunday that getting fighter planes to Ukraine, including MiG-29s, is essential as Russia intensifies its attacks on the country. “What we have heard directly from the Ukrainians is they want them badly. They want the ability to have better control over the skies in order to give them a fighting chance,” Portman, a Republican from Ohio, told CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union.”
The Pentagon said last week the US was opposed to a Polish plan to transfer fighter jets to Ukraine through the US and a German air base “at this time.” NATO members have expressed concerns that providing fighter jets to Ukraine — even if done bilaterally — could be perceived by Russia as the alliance becoming directly involved in the war. National security adviser Jake Sullivan told Bash on Sunday the US is focused on providing other anti-air systems that could help Ukrainians make progress.
DEMONSTRATIONS IN KHERSON
Crowds have taken to the streets of the southern Ukrainian port city of Kherson to protest its occupation by Russian forces. It comes amid reports that Russia is planning to stage a sham referendum in the city so as to create another breakaway region, like those in Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine, and install a puppet administration.
Pictures showed people gathered in Freedom Square in the centre of Kherson waving Ukrainian flags and holding signs saying: “Kherson is Ukraine.”
JOURNALISTS DETAINED IN RUSSIA
At least 13 journalists and 12 others are reported to have been detained during anti-war protests in St Petersburg. “They didn’t explain the reason for the detention,” journalist Andrey Okun wrote on his Telegram channel.
He said the detained reporters were all wearing press vests and carrying their press cards: “But this is of no interest to anyone, the goal is to make sure that no-one covers anything.” Moscow, Mar 13, 2022 (Lusa) – More than 250 people were arrested across Russia today for protesting that country’s military operation in Ukraine, according to a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO).
DEMONSTRATIONS
More than 20,000 people demonstrated in Berlin against Russia’s war in Ukraine and for peace. The demonstrators walked in a large procession from Alexanderplatz to the Brandenburg Gate and Strasse des 17. Juni on Sunday afternoon. The demonstrators included both young and old people, families with children also took part, the atmosphere was peaceful, most of the participants wore corona masks. The motto of the demonstration was: “Stop the war. Peace and solidarity for the people of Ukraine.
SECOND MAYOR KIDNAPPED
Kyiv: A Ukraine mayor was abducted by invading Russian forces on Sunday, the second such kidnapping in days, bringing strong condemnation from the European Union. “The army of the Russian Federation captured the mayor of the city of Dniprorudne,” in the Zaporizhzhia Oblast region of southeast Ukraine, the regional administration head Oleksandr Starukh said on Facebook. On Friday the mayor of southern Ukraine’s Melitopol was kidnapped by Russian soldiers occupying the city, because “he refused to cooperate with the enemy”, according to the Ukraine parliament.
European Council President Charles Michel condemned “in the strongest terms Russia’s indiscriminate bombing of civilians in Ukraine as well as Russia’s kidnapping of the mayors of Melitopol and Dniprorudne and other Ukrainians. These kidnappings and other pressure on Ukrainian local authorities constitute another flagrant violation of international law,” he added. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called Saturday on the leaders of France and Germany to help secure the release of the mayor of Melitopol. (NDTV)
CHERNOBYL
Power has been restored to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which means cooling systems can operate normally and not have to use a backup system, according to Ukraine’s atomic energy ministry. The ministry made the announcement in an online post. Ukraine had earlier warned of an increased risk of a radiation leak if a high-voltage power line to the plant were not repaired. (Aljazeera)
ARRESTS IN RUSSIA
“At least 268 people have already been arrested today in 23 cities,” OVD-Info, an NGO specializing in monitoring protests, reported on its official website. Agence France-Presse (AFP) journalists saw several protesters arrested in Moscow and in St. Petersburg, the country’s second-largest city. In Moscow, a few dozen people today defied the ban on demonstrations, gathering in Arsenal Square, near the Kremlin. According to AFP, at least 30 protesters and a journalist were taken away by police. “Peace in the world!” sang a woman as she was forcibly dragged away by two agents.
SITUATION REPORT 0800 HRS SUNDAY 13TH MARCH 2022
ATTACKS
Military authorities in Lviv say Russian military launched an air strike targeting a Ukrainian military base in Yavoriv near the Polish border.
People in Kyiv are scrambling to escape with the bulk of Russian ground forces about 25km (16 miles) from the centre of the Ukrainian capital. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned Russian forces they face a fight to the death if they try to occupy the capital Kyiv, as air raid sirens again woke residents on Sunday morning. “If they decide to carpet bomb and simply erase the history of this region … and destroy all of us, then they will enter Kyiv. If that’s their goal, let them come in, but they will have to live on this land by themselves,” Zelenskyy said late on Saturday. (Aljazeera)
Russian forces are attempting to surround Ukrainian forces in the east of the country as they advance from the direction of Kharkiv in the north and Mariupol in the south, according to Britain’s defence ministry. “Russian forces advancing from Crimea are attempting to circumvent Mykolaiv as they look to drive west towards Odesa,” the ministry said in an intelligence update posted on Twitter. (MOD)
CASUALTIES
Overnight on March 12, a Lyman-bound passenger evacuation train train was hit by shrapnel near Brusyn station, north of Slovyansk. As a result of the attack, one train conductor was killed and another wounded. (KI)Mayor of Mariupol says 12 days of Russian bombardment have killed 1,500 people in the besieged port city as shelling continues.
Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine are being brought by truck to the morgues and then sent back to Russia by train or plane, according to residents who talked to RFE/RL. The morgues in Belarusian cities of Mozyr, Homel and Naroulia are reportedly full. (KI)
CHEMICAL WEAPONS
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said Russia might use chemical weapons following its invasion of Ukraine and that such a move would be a war crime, according to an interview in German newspaper Welt am Sonntag. “In recent days, we have heard absurd claims about chemical and biological weapons laboratories,” Stoltenberg was quoted by Welt am Sonntag as saying, adding that the Kremlin was inventing false pretexts to justify what could not be justified.
MARIUPOL
In eastern Ukraine has been cut off from the rest of the world for almost two weeks and no one is allowed in or out amid intense fighting, with vehicles full of aid waiting in the outskirts of the city. (Aljezeera) Jason Straziuso of International Committee of the Red Cross told Al Jazeera that there are thousands of families are in dire conditions without water in Mariupol.
HUMMANITARIAN CORRIDORS
Fresh attempts to evacuate civilians from cities under siege in Ukraine are being complicated by constant Russian shelling, Ukrainian officials say. Humanitarian corridors are being set up from Mariupol, Sumy and towns and villages outside the capital Kyiv. But Ukraine officials accused Russian forces of firing on a convoy of women and children from Peremoha village, near Kyiv, killing seven. And the evacuations come as fighting continues around Kyiv and other cities.
SITUATION REPORT 1800 HRS SATURDAY 12TH MARCH 2022
UKRAINE HAS DEALT THE BIGGEST BLOW TO RUSSIAN ARMY IN DECADES
This statement was made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in his video address today – Ukrinform correspondent reports.
“Our Armed Forces are doing everything to deprive the enemy of any desire to continue the war against Ukraine. The losses of Russian troops are enormous. The dynamics of the invaders’ losses on the 17th day is such that it is safe to say that this is the biggest blow to the Russian army in decades. They’ve never lost more than that in such a time period,” Zelensky said.
Since the beginning of the invasion, 31 battalion tactical groups of the enemy have lost their combat capability. The Russian militaries are being taken prisoners not just alone, but in groups. Groups are trying to leave Ukraine and return to Russia as well.
The enemy’s losses in terms of technical capabilities are astounding: more than 360 tanks, 1,205 armoured vehicles. And that’s without counting the losses in the battles last night and in the morning. According to Zelensky, the enemy also lost about 60 aircrafts, more than 80 helicopters and hundreds of other advanced military equipment units, which Russia is proud of.
“Most of the world’s armies do not have as much as Russian troops have lost during the invasion,” Zelensky noted.
UKRAINE MINISTRY OF DEFENCE OPERATIONAL REPORT 12TH MARCH 1200 HRS (Direct source)
Ukrainian army has liberated two more populated localities in Chernihiv region from the enemy and seized 10 units of Russian equipment.
“The defenders managed to liberate two more populated localities, prevent the enemy from establishing a pontoon crossing, and restrain the enemy’s intentions to advance towards Kyiv. As a result, we have more than 10 enemy equipment trophies,” the Operational Command “North” posted on Facebook, Ukrinform reports.
The military leadership of the Republic of Belarus is taking measures to strengthen the protection of the border with Ukraine. The possibility of direct participation of the armed forces of the Republic of Belarus in hostilities against Ukraine on the side of Russia remains.
No active actions by the enemy have been recorded in the Polissya direction. After significant losses, the Russian occupiers are taking measures to restore combat readiness and regroup troops. In the Slobozhansky direction, the occupiers did not succeed in trying to resume offensive operations.
The enemy has established itself in the northern part of the city of Izyum, does not abandon attempts to capture it. In the Donetsk and Tavriya directions, the main efforts of the occupiers were focused on capturing the cities of Mariupol and Severodonetsk. The enemy captured the eastern outskirts of Mariupol.
After an unsuccessful assault on the village of Rubizhne, the occupiers retreated to settlement Capytolivka. In the Volnovakha direction, the enemy is trying to develop an offensive in the direction of settlement Krasna Polyana. Made an attempt to move in the direction of settlement Olhynka.
According to available data, the occupying forces that attacked in the Donetsk operational area met with strong resistance from the Armed Forces of Ukraine and lost offensive capabilities.
The mayor of Kyiv announced this Saturday that the authorities are storing medicines, products and essential goods, anticipating a possible invasion by Russian troops, which are already bombing the surroundings. (KI)
RUSSIAN MILITARY EQUIPMENT DESTROYED
Since the beginning of the war, the Ukrainian army has destroyed 2,593 units of enemy equipment, according to the General Staff of Ukraine. Among this equipment are 58 aircraft, 83 helicopters, 363 tanks and 1205 armoured combat vehicles (AFVs). Forbes estimates the cost of all equipment lost by the Russian Federation in the war with Ukraine at more than $5.1 billion. This is almost 700 billion rubles. 47% of the total losses in terms of money fell on airplanes and helicopters, 29% on tanks, 14% on armoured combat vehicles. In particular, destroyed tanks cost Russia $1.5 billion, and AFVs – $0.7 billion, aircraft and helicopters together – $2.4 billion.
FRENCH AND GERMAN LEADERSSPEAK WITH PUTIN
– France and Germany urged Russia’s Vladimir Putin Saturday to end the deadly days-long siege of the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, the French presidency said after three-way talks. “The situation is very difficult and humanly intolerable” in Mariupol, a source in the Elysee presidential palace said, after what it termed a “very frank and difficult discussion” with the Russian leader. “The only decision President Putin must take is to lift the siege.” French President Emmanuel Macron’s office also accused Putin of “lies” for alleging that Ukrainian forces had committed human rights abuses by using civilians as human shields
ELECTRICITY
As of March 12, more than 960,000 Ukrainians have been left without electricity and 260,000 have been left without gas. This was reported by the Ministry of Energy. Despite the significant damage, the ministry said, Ukrainian energy companies are making every effort to maintain the stable operation of the energy system, and emergency response crews are working around the clock despite the risk to life.
MONEYGRAM
MoneyGram suspends services in Russia In a statement the company said”. We have been closely monitoring the situation in Ukraine with great concern for all those impacted. As the humanitarian crisis in the region continues to escalate, we are providing notice to our customers and agents of our decision to suspend services in Russia. We join many voices in expressing our hope for a swift and peaceful resolution to protect civilians across all impacted regions and will continue to assess the situation”. “MoneyGram services remain available in Ukraine – both for individuals to receive funds in-person or digitally directly to their bank account”.
MEDICAL AID FOR UKRAINE
The UK has sent six more plane-loads of medical aid and equipment to Ukraine, as Health Secretary Sajid Javid accused Russia of war crimes in attacking medical facilities. Mr Javid said there had been more than 25 attacks on health centres and hospitals since the invasion began. “This is a war crime and Russia will pay for the crimes it’s carrying out,” he said. (BBC)
US MILITARY AID FOR UKRAINE
Biden allocates US $200 million military aid for Ukraine – By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 621 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (FAA), I hereby delegate to the Secretary of State the authority under section 506(a)(1) of the FAA to direct the drawdown of up to an aggregate value of $200 million in defencse articles and services of the Department of Defence, and military education and training, to provide assistance to Ukraine and to make the determinations required under such section to direct such a drawdown. (White House)
SITUATION REPORT 0800HRS SATURDAY 12TH MARCH
RUSSIAN ATTACKS
Sirens were heard in the capital city, Kyiv, and in Lviv, Odesa, Kharkiv, Cherkasy, as well as in the Sumy region in the northeast of the country this motrning, Ukrainian media outlets reported.
Overnight an oil depot is on fire in Vasylkiv, 36 km south of Kyiv and another was hit in the village of Kryachky. In the village of Kvitneve, a warehouse for frozen food products is on fire after Russian shelling. No casualties have been reported yet.
Dnipro – The city’s mayor Borys Filatov says Ukraine’s air defence systems repelled the early morning attack. No casualties were reported. (KI)
Satellite images show Russian forces drawing closer to Kiev, Ukraine’s capital. In the early hours of Saturday, air raid sirens sounded in Kiev and several other cities across the country, including Lviv
EVACUATIONS
Ukraine’s deputy prime minister has accused Russian forces of violating a ceasefire and of targeting people being evacuated from cities under bombardment. In a video address posted on Friday, Iryna Vereshchuk said shelling had prevented evacuations from Mariupol, where a maternity hospital was bombed this week, and the capital Kyiv. (KI)
A total of 7,144 people were evacuated from four Ukrainian cities on Friday, President Zelenskyy has said in a televised address, a sharply lower number than those who managed to leave in each of the two previous days.
RUSSIAN SECURITY SERVICE
The fallout from the failure of Russia’s plans may be hitting its spy agencies. Reports – still unconfirmed – say two senior officials from the FSB – Russia’s Security Service – have been placed under house arrest. One of them, it is said, is Sergey Beseda – the head of the 5th Service of the FSB. This department is responsible for intelligence gathering and operations in Ukraine. His team is thought to have been behind plans to install a pro-Moscow government in some kind of coup and may be blamed for the failure to understand the level of opposition in the country. (BBC)
SANCTIONS
In the US, President Joe Biden announced fresh sanctions on Russia, including a ban on imports of Russian alcohol, seafood and diamonds. He also said the US would expand the list of Russian oligarchs subject to economic sanctions. These latest steps will be “another crushing blow to the Russian economy”, Biden said. (BBC)
Overnight, the G7 countries pledged to increase sanctions on Russia, including blocking Moscow’s funding from international organizations such as the IMF and World Bank. Western leaders are also targeting Russian oligarchs. In Italy, Andrey Melnichenko’s megayacht, valued at over 500 million euros, was seized. (CNN)
INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION
Western sanctions against Russia could cause the International Space Station to crash, the head of Russian space agency Roscosmos warned, calling for the punitive measures to be lifted. According to Dmitry Rogozin, the sanctions could disrupt the operation of Russian vessels servicing the ISS. As a result, the Russian segment of the station – which helps correct its orbit – could be affected, causing the 500-tonne structure to “fall down into the sea or into land”. (Aljezeera)
UKRAINE BID TO JOIN EU and NATO
“We cannot allow Russia to conquer a free and independent Ukraine,” Polish President Andrzej Duda said during a speech to parliament. He added that Poland will support Ukraine’s bid to join the EU and NATO. (KI)
CHORNOBYL
– The International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said Ukrainian technicians have started repairing damaged power lines to the power plant site to restore electricity supply that was entirely cut off earlier in the week.
SITUATION REPORT 1800 HRS FRIDAY 11TH MARCH 2022
RUSSIAN ATTACKS
Russian forces appeared to be stepping up their campaign across Ukraine on Friday, edging closer to the capital, Kyiv, and expanding their offensive west.
Satellite images appeared to show that a huge military convoy close to Kyiv had dispersed, prompting fears of an imminent ground offensive. Multiple airstrikes also hit the cities of Lutsk and Ivano-Frankivsk early Friday, Ukraine’s Parliament said, striking farther west than before.
Ukraine continued to try to evacuate civilians from besieged cities, with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy saying that as many as 100,000 people had been brought to safety over the past two days.
Russia attacks hospital where more than 300 people were – Authorities in the city of Kharkiv, in northeastern Ukraine, have denounced a new attack on a health facility, this time a psychiatric hospital, where patients and staff were staying, a spokesman for the World Health Organization said today. “This is another attack on health in Ukraine,” said Tarik Jasarevic, in a videoconference communication from Lviv, in western Ukraine. The spokesperson for the World Health Organization indicated that there were more than 300 people at the site, of whom 50 could not move.
According to a first assessment by the emergency services of Kharkiv – near Oskil, where the hospital was located – the number of people in the hospital reached 330, including 10 in wheelchairs and 50 without or with very limited mobility. , with a part of the attacked facilities being dedicated to people with disabilities.
CASUALTIES
Western officials have confirmed that a third Russian major general has been killed in Ukraine, adding that he was from Russia’s eastern military district. Officials didn’t name the general, but earlier Ukraine’s military said Maj Gen Andrei Kolesnikov, commander of the 29th army of Russia’s eastern district, had been killed. Analysts have previously said that the presence of high-ranking military figures on or near the battlefield could be a sign that Russia’s operations are not going to plan.
According to the National Police, residents in Sumy Oblast reported seeing a group of suspects in a military uniform to the police and the authority immediately responded. The 29 Russian soldiers are now in the hands of law enforcement agencies. (KI)
PRISIONERS
Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has accused Russian soldiers of kidnapping the mayor of Melitopol, in the south-east of the country. Ivan Fedorov was detained on the pretext of terrorism, according to Reuters. “The kidnapping of the mayor of Melitopol is considered a war crime under the Geneva Convention and the Additional Protocol, which prohibit the taking of civilian hostages during war,” the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Melitopol was taken by Russian troops almost two weeks ago. Russia has not yet commented on this allegation.
US PRESIDENT RULES OUT DIRECTION INTERVENTION
President Joe Biden again ruled out any direct intervention by the United States to halt Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Friday, warning that such conflict pitting the NATO alliance against the Kremlin “is World War III.” “We will not fight a war against Russia in Ukraine,” Biden said in a speech at the White House, refuting increasingly desperate calls from Kyiv for NATO to intervene against the Russian assault.
RUSSIAN MILITARY EQUIPMENT DESTROYED
The defence ministry of Ukraine reported on 11th March that since the invasion Ukraine has destroyed: 57 Russian aircraft; 83 helicopters; 353 tanks; 1165 ADVs; 31 Anti-aircraft warfare system; 558 other vehicles and 60 fuel tankers.
RUSSIA CALLS ON VOLUNTEERS
Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for foreign volunteers to be able to fight against Ukrainian forces. Speaking at a Russian security council meeting, he said those who wanted to volunteer to fight with Russia-backed forces should be allowed to. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said there were 16,000 volunteers in the Middle East ready to fight alongside Russia-backed forces. US officials said these could include Syrians skilled in urban combat. (BBC)
MILITARY REINFORCEMENT OF RUSSIAN WESTERN BORDERS
Russian President Vladimir Putin today asked his Defence Minister to present a proposal for military reinforcement on Russia’s western border in response to NATO’s actions in Eastern Europe. The strengthening of our western borders due to the actions of NATO countries (…) needs to be studied and I ask you to prepare a report for me,” Putin told Minister Sergei Shoigu, quoted by the French agency AFP.
BELARUS VILLAGE HIT
At 2:30 p.m. on March 11, Russian aircraft attacked Belarus village Kopani from the Ukrainian air space. Ukraine considers the alleged attack to be a provocation to drag Belarus into Russia’s war against Ukraine. Several Belarus media reported they found no confirmation of the strike.
WAR REPARATIONS
Deputy Minister of Economy Denys Kudin said that the $415 billion of Russia’s foreign exchange reserves already seized by Western countries could cover the war reparations. Ukraine is currently looking for ways to receive this sum.
SANCTIONS
US President Joe Biden says the US will revoke Russia’s “permanent normal trade relations” status to punish Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine. The change, which he says is being taken together with moves by US allies, will pave the way for the US to impose tariffs on a wide range of Russian goods, heightening pressure on an economy on the brink of deep recession. He says the totality of sanctions and export controls are “crushing” the Russian economy. “We’ll continue to squeeze Putin,” he says, adding: “He is the aggressor, he must pay the price.”
PORTUGAL
Portugal has so far granted 6,178 requests for temporary protection to people coming from Ukraine as a result of the war situation, the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF) revealed to Lusa.
Applicants for temporary protection are automatically granted a residence permit for one year, which can be extended twice for a period of six months. These requests can be submitted to the national support centers for the integration of migrants and to the regional offices of the SEF.
The Portuguese Government grants temporary protection to people coming from Ukraine as a result of the war situation. Applicants for temporary protection are automatically granted a residence permit for one year, which can be extended twice for a period of six months.
SOCIAL MEDIA
YouTube announced this Friday that it is blocking access to channels associated with Russian state media.
In a statement on Twitter, the company referred to the policy of blocking content that denies or trivializes violent events. He also said that the Russian invasion of Ukraine is covered by that policy and that it will therefore block access to channels, including RT and Sputnik. The measure takes immediate effect.
“In line with this, with immediate effect, we are also globally blocking YouTube channels associated with Russian state-funded media.”
RT’s main YouTube channel had over 4.5 million subscribers before the ban, while Sputnik had around 320,000.
NATO STATEMENT ON UKRAINE NO FLY ZONE
NATO must not allow Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to spill over into an open conflict between the alliance and Moscow, its chief Jens Stoltenberg said Friday, warning a no-fly zone would likely lead to full-scale war. “We have a responsibility to prevent this conflict from escalating beyond Ukraine’s borders to becoming a full-fledged war between Russia and NATO,” the NATO secretary general told AFP in an interview on the side lines of a forum in Turkey.
He warned that a no-fly zone over Ukraine would “most likely lead to a full war between NATO and Russia”, causing “so much more suffering, so much more death and destruction”. Stoltenberg said a no-fly zone over Ukraine would mean that NATO would have to take out Russian air defence systems not only in Ukraine, but also around Belarus and Russia. (AFP)
REFUGEES
The UNHCR reported today that 2,5 refugees had fled Ukraine since 24th February. Moldova, one of the poorest countries in Europe, has taken in more refugees per-capita then any other country.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Russia’s Federal Service for Supervision in the Sphere of Telecom, Information Technologies and Mass Communications has blocked Instagram after its parent company, Meta, said it would relax its hate speech policy, allowing calls for violence against Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian troops fighting in Ukraine. (KI)
NUCLEAR POWER STATIONS UKRAINE
The Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers did not offer the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) any assurances about the protection of Ukrainian nuclear facilities during the talks in Turkey. IAEA chief Rafael Grossi met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Ukrainian diplomacy chief Dimitro Kuleba in Antalya for talks on nuclear power plant safety.
However, Grossi said he saw positive indicators from the meeting. “Ukraine and the Russian Federation want to work with us, they have agreed to work with us,” he said, stressing that he hopes that further talks with both sides will take place soon.
The intelligence reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin has given an order to stage a disaster at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant and pin it on Ukraine. The plant, controlled by Russians since Feb. 24, is cut from power and disconnected from the International Atomic Energy Agency’s monitoring systems. (KI)
RUSSIAN AIR SPACE
Russia has extended the closure of airspace in the south of the country, next to Ukraine, for another week, until March 20. This is the second extension of the closure of airspace in Russian cities near Ukraine, initially enacted on February 24, the day Russia invaded the neighbouring country.
The restrictions include the cities of Krasnodar, considered one of Russia’s most important economic centers and located about 380 kilometres east of Crimea, and Rostov-on-Don, about 160 kilometre east of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, which has been under intense bombardment by Russian forces.
SANCTIONS
The United Kingdom on Friday applied a new wave of sanctions against Moscow, targeting 386 members of the Russian parliament who supported the invasion of Ukraine. The lawmakers were sanctioned after they voted in February in favour of recognizing the breakaway republics of Lugansk and Donetsk, providing a pretext for war, the British Foreign Office has revealed.
SITUATION REPORT 0800 HRS FRIDAY 11TH MARCH 2022
MILITARY OPERATIONS – Three airstrikes by Russian forces hit residential areas in Dnipro, killing one person, according to Ukraine’s State Emergency Service. Explosions were reported in western Ivano-Frankivsk near its airport, according to the city’s mayor Ruslan Martsinkiv. Four explosions were also reported near an airfield in the north western city of Lutsk, according to the head of the Volyn Regional State Administration, Yuriy Pohulyayko. (KI)
Satellite images taken on March 10 show the Russian military convoy northwest of Kyiv has “largely dispersed and redeployed,” Maxar Technologies says. Some parts of the convoy have “repositioned” in forests, while others have been seen sitting on roadways in residential areas. The convoy was last seen near Antonov Airport, north-west of Kyiv, and its movement could signal a renewed push towards the city. The firm that took the photos, Maxar Technologies, said parts of the convoy were in positions in surrounding towns. (BBC)
Two columns of advancing Russian forces and 10 enemy aircraft destroyed on 10yj March According to Ukraine’s armed forces, the columns were Russian airborne troops and tanks, IFVs, and Grads. The aircraft consisted mainly of Su-25s and Su-34s. (Ukraine Airforce Twitter)
DISEASE PREVENTION (WHO) The World Health Organization, concerned with Russia’s military advance in Ukraine, advised destroying “high-threat” pathogens stored in public health laboratories, the agency told Reuters on March 10. Ukraine has public health laboratories researching how to mitigate the threats of dangerous diseases affecting both animals and humans including, Covid-19. (Reuters)
EVACUATIONS – Ukraine hopes a “humanitarian corridor” will be opened successfully for civilians to leave the besieged southern port city of Mariupol on Friday, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk has said. Efforts to provide safe passage for trapped Mariupol residents to leave have failed repeatedly this week. (Aljezeera)
PEOPLE DISPLACED – Since 24 February, an estimated 4.2 million people have been forcibly displaced during the Ukraine crisis. This includes 2.3 million refugees who have fled to other countries, as reported by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and an estimated 1.85 million people internally displaced, according to the Ukraine Protection Cluster. The Protection Cluster further reports that the largest locations of internally displaced people (IDP) are in Zakarpatska (500,600), Lvivska (386,900) and Volynska (169,500) oblasts in the west and north-west of the country. (OCHA)
UKRAINE PEACEKEEPING FORCES – Withdrawal of Ukraine has requested to withdraw its remaining uniformed personnel serving with five U.N. peacekeeping operations in Mali, Cyprus, Abyei, South Sudan and Kosovo. This includes 250 troops, 36 staff officers and experts on mission, and 22 police officers. They will return to Ukraine to help defend the country.
UKRAINE AID – Senate passes government funding bill with $13.6 billion in Ukraine aid. The bill includes roughly $6.5 billion for the Department of Defence, nearly $4 billion for the State Department and around $2.8 billion for the U.S. Agency for International Development for humanitarian assistance.
EC MEETING CONDEMES RUSSIA – Statement following meeting on March 10. , EU leaders condemned the “unspeakable suffering” Russia has brought on the Ukrainian people and said in a statement that they “will not leave Ukraine alone.” While EU leaders acknowledged Ukraine’s EU aspirations, Reuters reported that the leaders were cautious about fast tracking the country’s ascension to the union. (EC)
US MILITARY SUPPORT – A senior U.S. defence official told reporters on March 10 that there is no talk at the Pentagon of sending Patriot surface-to-air missile batteries to Ukraine, as they would require U.S. troops on the ground to operate them. “We have made (it) very clear, there will be no U.S. troops fighting in Ukraine,” the official said. US announced earlier that they will be sent to Poland to support NATO.
SITUATION REPORT 1800 HRS THURSDAY 10TH MARCH 2022
MILITARY OPERATIONS
There has been intense shelling around Kyiv in recent days, but the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) says that although Russian operations to attack the capital have likely begun, they have been on a smaller scale and more ad hoc than expected. The small scale of the advances make a large-scale attack on Kyiv less likely, they add.
Retired British General, Sir Richard Barrons, says Russia isn’t making the progress it hoped for – but is still in a strong position. The Russians are struggling to mobilise reserve forces, after suffering substantial losses.
In Irpin, to the north-west of the city, Russian forces are using “siege and starve” tactics, the ISW says, with Russian forces shelling civilian areas, cutting off electricity, food and water supplies. Thousands of civilians have fled.
REACTION TO HOSPITAL BOMBING
United Nations spokesman Stephane Dujarric said no health facility “should ever be a target” and called for an “immediate halt to attacks on healthcare, hospitals, healthcare workers, ambulances”.
United States Vice President Kamala Harris has called for an investigation into Russia’s conduct in Ukraine and condemned what she said were “atrocities of unimaginable proportions” carried out by Moscow’s forces.
REFUGEES
More than 2.3 million refugees have now fled Ukraine since Russia’s invasion on February 24, according to United Nations figures issued Thursday. UNHCR, the UN’s refugee agency, recorded 2,316,002 refugees on its dedicated website — 160,731 more than the previous count on Wednesday. The UN’s International Organization for Migration said as of Wednesday, 109,000 third-country nationals were among those fleeing Ukraine, including people from Ecuador, Ghana, Lebanon and Tunisia.
Authorities and the UN expect the flow to intensify as the Russian army advances deeper into Ukraine, particularly as it approaches the capital, Kyiv. Before Russia invaded, more than 37 million people lived in Ukrainian territory under the control of the central government.
HUMANITARIUM
About half Kyiv residents have left since 24th February The Kyiv mayor said the capital is “like a fortress” thanks to the Ukrainian military fighting on the outskirts of Kyiv to thwart Kremlin efforts to capture Kyiv and overthrow the government. According to the latest estimates, there are just under 2 million people still in Kyiv. He added that the capital is “like a fortress” thanks to the Ukrainian military fighting on the outskirts of Kyiv to thwart Kremlin efforts to capture Kyiv and overthrow the government.
According to Iryna Vereshchuk, the minister for the reintegration of temporarily occupied territories, more than 60,000 people were evacuated from Sumy and its neighboring Trostianets and Krasnopillia to Poltava, while 20,000 civilians were evacuated from Bucha, Hostomel, Irpin, and Vorzel in Kyiv Oblast. The evacuation is ongoing in Kyiv Oblast, she says. Around 3,000 people were evacuated from Izium to Lozova in Kharkiv Oblast. (KI)
Russian forces violated the temporary ceasefire for a humanitarian corridor out of the city, shelling the area where citizens attempted to flee, according to Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Synehubov. Despite the attack, 44 buses left the city and evacuated 1,600 people.
MILITARY SUPPORT TO POLAND
The United States has deployed two new Patriot surface-to-air missile batteries in Poland to protect its front-line NATO ally. However, the Pentagon has definitively rejected a Polish offer to give its Russian-made MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine amid fears of a wider conflict.
CASUALTIES
The International Committee of the Red Cross warns that food and water supplies in besieged Mariupol are running dangerously low. Ukrainian officials say 1,207 bodies have been collected from the streets there in recent days, and that attacks are continuing on the port city (BBC)
The World Health Organization said Thursday it had recorded 24 verified incidents of attacks on health care in Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion on Feb. 24. “These attacks have led to at least 12 deaths and 17 injuries. At least 8 of the injured and 2 of the killed were verified to be health workers. The attacks took place between 24 February and 8 March,” the WHO said in an email to CNN. A deadly bombing of a maternity and children’s hospital in Mariupol, which Ukrainian officials said killed three people, has been widely condemned.
EU MEMBERSHIP
French European Affairs Minister Clement Beaune said that Ukraine, among other Eastern European countries, will “probably” join the European Union “in a few years.” He added that the admission of Ukraine to the EU “is not for tomorrow.”
RUSSIA WITHDRAWS FROM COUNCIL OF EUROPE
The Russian Government announced this Thursday that it will stop participating in the Council of Europe and accused the European Union (EU) and NATO countries of “undermining” the body. The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stressed that the EU and NATO maintain a “hostile” posture and stressed that they maintain “a line of destruction of the common space of the Council of Europe at a humanitarian and legal level”. On the other hand, he said that Moscow “will not participate” in efforts to “turn” the Council of Europe “into another platform to extol Western superiority and narcissism”.
“Let them enjoy communicating with each other, without Russia,” he said in a statement, quoted by Russian news agency TASS, at a time of mounting tensions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
CHELSEA FOOTBALL CLUB
Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich has been sanctioned by the UK government as part of its response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Chelsea FC cannot sell any more tickets for games, its merchandise shop will be closed, and it will be unable to buy or sell players on the transfer market. The government said it would issue a special licence that allows fixtures to be fulfilled, staff to be paid and existing ticket holders to attend matches. Ministers have come under pressure to sanction Mr Abramovich, who said he had made the “difficult decision” to sell Chelsea FC earlier this month. The football club is among the assets frozen as part of the sanctions against Mr Abramovich and its sale has now been stalled. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-60690362
UKRAINE’S FUTURE STATUS
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said the government in Kyiv was open to creative thinking about the future security status of the country. Speaking after talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Turkey on Thursday, Kuleba said: “It’s written in our constitution to eventually join NATO as a full member and enjoy security guarantees. But we understand this is not going to happen in the blink of an eye or the foreseeable future.” He added that Ukraine is aware NATO is not ready to act collectively to stop the war and to protect civilians in Ukraine from Russian attacks.
Kuleba added: “If we could reach an agreement where a similar system of guarantees as envisaged by the North Atlantic Charter could be granted to Ukraine by the permanent members of UN Security Council, including Russia,” as well as by Ukraine’s neighbours, “this is something we are ready to discuss. Ukraine exists in a security vacuum and we have to think creatively on how to address this issue.”
COMMERCE
The Navigator Company has decided to suspend the marketing of products on the Russian and Belarusian market. The position taken last week is justified by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and will continue indefinitely.
Three decades after becoming the first Western bank to go into business with the Russian government following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Goldman Sachs announced on March 10 that it was taking steps to wind down its operations in Russia. (KI)
TRAVEL
Estonia will not be issuing tourist visas for Russian citizens looking to enter the country for the duration of the Ukrainian invasion, the Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs Eva-Maria Liimets said Thursday in Tallinn. “Estonia is no longer issuing new C and D category (tourist) visas to Russian citizens. The ban will last for as long as Russian continues waging war against Ukraine,” she said. “We are actively working to ensure that our deterrence measures in this region are stronger than they have been so far, because the situation in Europe and in security has changed dramatically and will probably never return to Feb. 23.” (CNN)
UK VISAS
The UK has moved its visa application system for Ukrainian refugees online after receiving criticism for reported delays at application centers. British Home Secretary Priti Patel told lawmakers in the House of Commons Thursday that Ukrainians with passports no longer need to go to a visa processing centre before traveling to the UK, from next week. The UK system drew criticism after some refugees managed to reach the French port city of Calais before being told to travel to appointments in Paris or Brussels as part of the administrative procedures.
SITUATION REPORT THURSDAY 10TH MARCH 2022
MATERNITY AND CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL STRIKE
A maternity and children’s hospital in the besieged city of Mariupol has been hit by a Russian air strike, Ukraine says. President Volodymyr Zelensky said people were trapped under the wreckage, and called on Western leaders to impose a no-fly zone.
So far three people, including a child, died in the Russian bombing that hit a children’s hospital in Mariupol, eastern Ukraine, announced yesterday and at least 17 women were injured in the widely-condemned attack included several in labour. Ukrainian officials say the attack occurred during an agreed ceasefire with Russian forces. “We don’t understand how it’s possible in modern life to bomb a children’s hospital,” Mariupol Deputy Mayor Serhiy Orlov told the BBC. “People cannot believe that it’s true.” The UN called the attack “shocking” while the UK said it was “abhorrent” and the Vatican condemned the bombing as ‘unacceptable.
Russia has refuted a Ukrainian claim that it bombed the children’s hospital in Mariupol as “fake news”, saying the building was a former maternity hospital that had long been taken over by troops.
Latest 0700 hrs 10th March – Two more hospitals have been damaged i
In Russian airstrikes on the Ukrainian city of Zhytomyr, its mayor has said. Mayor Serhii Sukhomlyn said one of them was a children’s hospital and no one was wounded. There was bombing of Zhytomyr overnight. (Video of explosions on Sky News).The World Health Organisation (WHO) confirmed there have been 18 attacks on medical facilities since the Russian invasion began.
RUSSIAN MILITARY POSITIONS
Russia is “not abandoning its plans to encircle” Ukraine’s capital Kyiv, Ukraine’s military has said in its latest update on the key battleground developments. In its bulletin at 24:00 local time (22:00 GMT) on Wednesday, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said its “defence forces are repelling and holding back” the Russian offensive “in all directions”.
In some sectors “the occupying forces lost their combat capability” and were now bringing in their reserves, the statement said.
RUSSIAN AIRCRAFT SHOT DOWN
During the last two days of March 8-9, at least eight Russian aircraft in the area of the Joint Forces operation and in the Kyiv region were destroyed by the air defence of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to operational estimates, since the full-scale invasion by Russia, the losses amount – 56 aircraft and 82 and helicopters 82 units. Source: Yuri Ignat, spokesman for the Air Force Command. (KI)
EVACUATIONS
The number of Ukrainian civilians who managed to escape besieged cities through humanitarian corridors on Wednesday, is almost 48,000. The majority of these people left the north-eastern city of Sumy, but others were able to flee the southern city of Enerhodar and the Kyiv region. Of the total number evacuated on Wednesday: 43,000 civilians left Sumy; 3,500 were evacuated from the Kyiv region and 1,000 people fled Enerhodar, This data was reported by Ukraine’s Interfax news agency, citing a senior aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
SANCTIONS
Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, who has lived in the UK for two decades, has been added to the UK sanctions list in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Abramovich is banned from doing business with UK citizens and companies and from travelling. The United Kingdom also included in the “black list” Alexei Miller, Andrei Kostin and Nikolai Tokarev.
NUCLEAR POWER STATION
A monitoring system that sends information to the UN’s nuclear watchdog from the Zaporizhzhia plant in southern Ukraine has stopped transmitting data, the IAEA has said. It reported the same interruption at Chernobyl in northern Ukraine yesterday. Russian forces attacked Zaporizhzhia – Europe’s largest nuclear power plant – last week, leading to concerns about a potential leak of radiation. The IAEA said the reason for the data disruption is unclear, and it is continuing to receive information from other facilities in Ukraine, including three that generate power. Zaporizhzhia’s operator has told the watchdog that two of the site’s four high-voltage power lines have been damaged. (Sky News)
CYBERSECURITY
The Ukrainian government is preparing for the potential need to move its data and servers abroad if Russia’s invading forces push deeper into the country, a senior cybersecurity official told Reuters on Wednesday.
Victor Zhora, the deputy chief of Ukraine’s State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection, emphasised his department was planning for a contingency, but that it is being considered at all suggests Ukrainians want to be ready for any Russian threat to seize sensitive government documents. “We are preparing the ground,” Zhora said. Plan A was to protect IT infrastructure within Ukraine. Removing it to a another country would only be a “Plan B or C”.
CHEMICAL WEAPONS
Russia could possibly use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine or create a “false flag” operation that uses them, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki has said. Writing on Twitter, Psaki criticised Russia for spreading “false claims” that the US is developing chemical weapons in Ukraine. She said Russia could possibly be laying the groundwork for the use of chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine, though she did not provide any evidence.
“Now that Russia has made these false claims, and China has seemingly endorsed this propaganda, we should all be on the lookout for Russia to possibly use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine, or to create a false flag operation using them,” she says. Earlier on Wednesday, the Russian defence ministry said Ukrainian forces had transported about 80 tons of ammonia to Zolochiv, Kharkiv. (BBC)
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has arrived in the southern Turkish resort of Antalya, the Reuters news agency said, citing a witness. Talks are planned on Thursday with his Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba. If the meeting goes ahead, it will be their first talks since Russia invaded its neighbour. “Frankly, my expectations of the talks are low,” Mr Kuleba said earlier. (Reuters)
WAR CRIMES
Russian military commanders as well as people at the very top of the Russian government will be held to account for any war crimes in Ukraine, Britain’s armed forces minister said on Thursday. “Russian commanders need to remember that war crimes are not just committed by those at the very top of the Russian government,” James Heappey told Sky News.
IMF
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved $1.4bn (£1.1bn) in emergency funding for Ukraine to meet “urgent balance of payment needs”.
SITUATION REPORT WEDNESDAY 9TH MARCH 2022
MILITARY OPERATIONS
Russia has destroyed a children’s hospital in the besieged port city of Mariupol in the south-east of Ukraine, the city council says. In a statement issued on Facebook yesterday afternoon, officials say that “Russian occupying forces have dropped several bombs on the children’s hospital. The destruction is colossal”. Council officials added that they do not yet know exact casualty numbers.
“The maternity ward in the city centre, the children’s ward and the therapy ward at the hospital – all destroyed in a Russian air raid on Mariupol,” the head of the regional military administration, Pavlo Kyrylenko, said in a Facebook video.
At least 1,200 people killed in Mariupol, says Ukraine. The deputy mayor says at least 1,200 Ukrainians have been killed in Russian shelling of the hard-hit city since the bombardment began 14 days ago. However, Serhiy Orlov told CNN the true death toll is likely to be “three or four times more” than this recent estimate. “The numbers of really awful. Yesterday, we had confirmed 1,207 victims… killed by shelling,” he said.
“We really cannot calculate how many deaths we have. I mean, it’s three to four times more. We are not able even to count how many people on the streets are killed by bombing.” Mr Orlov said Mariupol is planning to dig mass graves to clear the dead bodies from the streets. (CNN)
Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba says 400,000 residents are being held hostage in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol as a result of “indiscriminate” Russian shelling. Kuleba said via Twitter that nearly 3,000 new born babies lack medicine and food despite efforts to establish a safe evacuation corridor for civilians. He urged Moscow to end its “barbaric” war.
Russian troops, advancing west of Crimea, have already taken the port city of Kherson and arrived at Mykolaiv, just 120km (75 miles) east of Odesa. Russian navy ships have been spotted close to Ukrainian territorial waters, raising fears of a possible attack from the sea.
Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported that in an attempt to crush the Ukrainian resistance to occupation, the Russian National Guard units have illegally detained over 400 Ukrainian citizens in Kherson, a regional capital in southern Ukraine. (KI)
A U.S. Defence official said Russia has launched more than 710 missiles at Ukraine since the start of the invasion. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the missiles are a mixture of short-range and medium-range as well as cruise missiles. The missiles are being fired from both inside Russia and inside Ukraine. A handful of missiles are being launched from Belarus as well as naval platforms in the Black Sea. (CNBC)
CASUALTIES
The war in Ukraine, which entered its 14th day today, has resulted in an as-yet-undetermined number of dead and wounded, which could be in the thousands, according to various sources. While admitting that “the actual numbers are considerably higher”, the UN today confirmed the deaths of at least 516 civilians as of Tuesday, including 41 children.
The war in Ukraine has killed 10 people and injured 16 in 18 attacks on ambulances and facilities and health workers, the World Health Organization (WHO) said today.
The figures were advanced by the director-general of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, in a video press conference, from the organization’s headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. “These attacks deprive entire communities of health care,” warned Ghebreyesus.
CONSCRIPTS BEING USED BY RUSSIA IN UKRAINE
Russia’s defence ministry has acknowledged that some conscripts – soldiers who were compulsorily drafted into the army – are taking part in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In Russia, all men aged 18-27 must do a year’s military service, although there are some exceptions. It comes just a few days after Vladimir Putin denied conscripts were involved in Ukraine, saying only professional soldiers were being sent.
RUSSIAN VEHICLE CONVOY
With temperatures set to plunge in Ukraine in the coming days, Russian soldiers in the 40-mile convoy of tanks could freeze to death. Glen Grant, a senior defence expert at the Baltic Security Foundation, told Newsweek that the tanks will turn into huge refrigerators for the Russian army if they are not running the engine. “The boys won’t wait, they will get out, start walking to the forest, and give themselves up to avoid freezing to death,” Grant added.
The concerns have been raised as the convoy, heading towards Ukraine capital Kyiv, has slowed down amid the war. It is currently 19 miles from the city centre, reported. Eastern Europe will soon be under the grip of a cold snap around the middle of the week, during which the temperature is expected to drop to minus 20 degrees Celsius. Kyiv and other areas are already experiencing minus 10 degrees Celsius. (The Independent)
INTERNET TO CONNECT BOMB SHELTERS
A platform for connecting bomb shelters to the Internet has been launched in Kyiv. The city authorities urged local providers to join the project. This was announced in the Telegram-channel by the Deputy Head of the Kyiv City State Administration Petro Olenych. “We have launched a platform for connecting the Internet in Kyiv’s shelters. If your shelter does not have access to the Internet, leave a request. We will contact you and inform you about the next steps,” Olenych said.
EVACUATIONS
The situation regarding evacuations is reported by BBC as:
In Izyum, eastern Kharkiv, a regional official is claiming that the evacuation of civilians has “been held up by Russian shelling”. Oleh Synehubov said explosions in the suburbs mean that evacuation convoys are unable to leave.
In Mariupol, in the south-east, the situation is less clear. Ukraine’s foreign minister writes on Twitter that Russia is continuing to block evacuation attempts and the delivery of humanitarian aid. The BBC is unable to verify the situation on the ground.
In Sumy, north eastern Ukraine, the picture is quite different. People have been able to leave the city in private cars and on buses since this morning, the city’s mayor says.
And in Enerhodar, southern Ukraine, convoys of mainly women and children have been able to leave, its mayor says.
At 1420 hrs Kyiv Independent reported Russia disrupting evacuation from Bucha. According to local authorities, Russian forces have blocked the passage of 50 buses near Kyiv. Prior, Mayor of nearby Irpin said that the evacuation from his city is ongoing.
NEGOTIATIONS
Moscow, March 9, 2022 (Lusa) – Russia today admitted “some progress” in negotiations with Ukraine and reiterated that it does not intend to occupy the neighbouring country or overthrow the Kiev government, in a statement by its diplomatic spokeswoman on the 14th day. of fighting. “In parallel with the special military operation, negotiations are also underway with the Ukrainian side to end the senseless bloodshed and resistance of the Ukrainian armed forces as soon as possible,” said Maria Zakharova, quoted by the French news agency AFP. “Some progress has been made,” Zakharova told a press conference, without specifying.
PORTUGAL
Portugal has so far granted more than 4,000 requests for temporary protection to people coming from Ukraine as a result of the war situation, the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF) revealed to Lusa. According to the latest update, the SEF has accepted 4,039 requests for temporary protection since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, on February 24, until 1:00 pm today. On Tuesday, 3,609 requests had been registered.The Portuguese Government grants temporary protection to people coming from Ukraine as a result of the war situation.
SANCTIONS
French Presidency of the EU Council reported on March 9 that the sanctions will target Russian leaders, oligarchs, and their family members involved in Russia’s war on Ukraine, and the maritime sector. The new measures will also disconnect three Belarus banks from the SWIFT financial messaging system. (KI)
WEAPONS SUPPLY
On Wednesday Stoltenberg warns Russia against attacks on arms supply to Ukraine. “If there is any attack against any NATO country, NATO territory, that will trigger Article 5,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said.
UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has announced the UK is increasing its supply of weapons to Ukraine to defend itself. Britain has already delivered 2,000 NLAW anti-tank missiles (Next Generation Light Anti-tank Weapons). Wallace told MPs that number was being increased to 3,615. In addition Wallace said the UK was also supplying Ukraine with a small consignment of Javelin anti-tank weapons and examining the possibility of sending Starstreak surface to air missiles to Ukraine.
GERMANY REFUSES WARPLANES FOR UKRAINE
Germany says it won’t be sending warplanes to Ukraine, after the US rejected an offer by Poland to transfer its Russian-made MiG-29 jets to Ukraine via a US base in Germany. Chancellor Olaf Scholz says Germany has “provided all kinds of defence materials” including weapons, but he says “definitely warplanes are not part of that”. Meanwhile in the UK, No 10 Downing Street says it is “not tenable” for NATO pilots and jets to be shooting down Russian planes.
CHERNOBYL
Ukraine’s foreign minister has called on Russia to agree to a ceasefire to allow for urgent repairs to be made. Dmytro Kuleba said reserve diesel generators have a 48-hour capacity to power the plant. “After that, cooling systems of the storage facility for spent nuclear fuel will stop, making radiation leaks imminent”, he wrote on Twitter. His comments follow an intervention from the state-run nuclear company, Energoatom, who said a leak could see a “radioactive cloud carried by wind” to other regions of Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, and further afield in Europe.
But in a statement issued on Wednesday, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) sought to calm fears. “Due to time elapsed since the 1986 Chernobyl accident, the heat load of the spent fuel storage pool and the volume of cooling water contained in the pool is sufficient to maintain effective heat removal without the need for electrical supply.”
BRITISH TROOPS
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace was asked to clarify the government’s position on former armed forces members going out to fight in Ukraine following reports some have done so. There have also been reports some serving soldiers have gone to the Polish border with the aim of joining the Ukrainians as they battle against Russia. Speaking in the Commons on Wednesday afternoon, Mr Wallace said: “The government’s position is, if you are a serving member of the armed forces you will be breaking the law. (Sky News)