Ukraine: What happened today, Tuesday, March 22?
Displaced Ukrainians on a Poland-bound train bid farewell in Lviv, western Ukraine. Picture: AP Photo/Bernat Armangue
The battle for Ukraine’s cities thundered across its suburbs Tuesday, with the Ukrainian military forcing Russian troops out of a strategically important Kyiv neighborhood, while Russian forces took partial control of three northwest suburbs where there’s been fighting for weeks.
A senior US defense official said Tuesday that Russian ground forces were still largely stalled outside the capital city, but Russian ships spent the last 24 hours shelling the already devastated southern port city of Mariupol from offshore.
Civilians making the dangerous escape from Mariupol described fleeing through street gun battles and past unburied corpses as Russian forces tried to pound the city into submission.
One woman who made it out said planes flew overhead “and dropped bombs everywhere.”
The Russian assault has turned living in Mariupol into a fight for survival.
Electricity, water and food supplies have been cut off, as well as communication with the outside world. It’s unclear how many remain in the city with a prewar population of 430,000.
About a quarter were believed to have fled early in the war and tens of thousands more have escaped over the past week by way of humanitarian corridors.
Other attempts to leave have been thwarted by Russian efforts to pound Mariupol into submission. On that, Moscow has not succeeded, Britain’s defense ministry said Tuesday.
But Russia now controls the land corridor from Crimea, the peninsula it annexed in 2014, and is blocking Ukraine’s access to the Sea of Azov.
Those who have made it out of Mariupol described a devastated landscape.
“There are no buildings there anymore,” said 77-year-old Maria Fiodorova, who fled to Poland.
“They bombed us for the past 20 days,” said 39-year-old Viktoria Totsen, who also fled to Poland.
“During the last five days the planes were flying over us every five seconds and dropped bombs everywhere — on residential buildings, kindergartens, art schools, everywhere.”
A senior US defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to provide the US military assessment, said Tuesday that Russian ships in the Sea of Azov have been shelling Mariupol from offshore over the last day.
The official said that, in contrast, the U.S. did not see indications that ships in the northern Black Sea were firing on Odesa, as they had during the weekend.
The officials said the US believes Russia has about 21 ships in the Black Sea, including about a dozen surface combatant warships and some landing ships that carry troops. There are about seven ships in the Azov Sea.
According to the official, Russian ground forces are still largely stalled outside Kyiv.
The official said there are indications that Russia has used a significant number of its precision guided munitions, particularly its air-launched cruise missiles, and is exploring ways to resupply those weapons.
More broadly, the defense official said Russia is struggling to get food and fuel to its troops, and there are indications that some troops don’t have proper cold weather gear and are suffering frostbite.
A day after US President Joe Biden said Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “back is against the wall” and reiterated accusations that Putin is considering resorting to using chemical or biological weapons, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the US has seen no evidence to suggest that such an escalation is imminent.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was prepared to discuss a commitment that Ukraine would not seek NATO membership in exchange for a cease-fire, the withdrawal of Russian troops and a guarantee of Ukraine’s security.
Zelensky also said that Ukraine will be ready to discuss the status of Crimea and the eastern Donbas region held by Russian-backed separatists after a cease-fire and steps toward providing security guarantees.
The Kremlin is demanding Ukraine disarm and declare itself neutral. Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday that he could not share details of ongoing talks, saying that making them public would damage negotiations.
Biden travels to Europe this week, where he will attend a summit with NATO leaders looking for ways to strengthen the bloc’s own deterrence and defense to deal with the now openly confrontational Putin.
The Kremlin has bristled at remarks coming from the Americans. The Russian Foreign Ministry has warned that relations with the US are “on the verge of a breach” and summoned the US ambassador.
Biden has added a stop to Poland during his trip, visiting a crucial ally of Ukraine which has taken in more than 2 million refugees.
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been convicted of fraud and contempt of court and sentenced to nine years in a maximum security prison.
A Russian judge also ruled that Navalny would have to pay a fine of 1.2 million roubles (about €10,300).
Navalny is currently serving another prison sentence of two and a half years in a prison colony east of Moscow.
His associates have said the new trial was intended to keep Navalny, President Vladimir Putin’s long-time foe, behind bars for as long as possible.
Navalny has rejected the charges as bogus. He can appeal the ruling.
Navalny was accused of embezzling money that he and his foundation raised over the years, and of insulting a judge during a previous trial.
The politician has rejected the allegations as politically motivated.
The prosecution had asked for 13 years in a maximum security prison for the anti-corruption crusader and a 1.2 million-rouble (about €10,300) fine.
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