A day of Russian “bestial ferocity” yesterday on the regions of Ukraine, as Zelensky describes it. Moscow soldiers attacked the Kiev region with drones, hitting a high school and two dormitories. At least 7 people were killed in the raid, while at least 33 were killed, including one dead and three wounded children, in the city of Zaporizhzhia. Here the Russian bombs have hit residential buildings and the fear is that other bodies have remained under the rubble. Zelensky, to express his closeness to those fighting on the front, paid a visit to the Ukrainian soldiers engaged in the Bakhmut area.
The disputed town of Donetsk “is standing, the defense forces are holding”, says the Ukrainian leader. The version of the pro-Russians on the spot who announced the seizure by the Russian army of all the paved roads of Bakhmut was different. Zelensky lauded his ‘he heroes’ before stopping in Kharkiv where he presented the mayor with the honorary ‘Hero City of Ukraine’ award.
Russian missile hits an apartment building in Zaporizhzhia: the moment of the explosion
Meanwhile, London’s announcement of its intention to send uranium armor-piercing shells to Kiev continues to cause a stir. Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov defined their supply as “a further step towards escalation”. The United Kingdom assured, through Foreign Minister Cleverley, that “there is no nuclear escalation. The only country in the world that talks about nuclear issues is Russia.’ And he added, as if to justify what was announced yesterday by the British MP Annabelle Goldie: “Depleted uranium bullets are not nuclear ammunition but purely conventional ammunition”.
The Ukrainian ambassador to Italy, Melnyk, also wanted to express his opinion on arms in Kiev. «Asking for peace in Ukraine and a stop to sending military aid means playing into the hands of only one side, the more armed one, namely Russia. It means asking for Ukraine’s surrender,” he warned, addressing the critical voices in parliament on the issue. Xi and Putin were also said to have spoken of peace in Ukraine, the one proposed in Beijing’s plan, during their meeting in Moscow. Hypothesis dampened, just a day away, from the Kremlin: the two would not have “discussed” the Chinese plan but would have only “exchanged views”. The Chinese leader’s visit to Russia was also an occasion for a new Kremlin criticism of the West, guilty of having had a “profoundly hostile reaction” to the meeting between the two leaders.
Peace and polls
War in Ukraine, Zelensky’s determination to resist supported by polls: 85% of Ukrainians do not want to give in to Putin
Thomas Carboni
Faced with a destroyed country, the World Bank is starting to calculate the costs of reconstruction, for which it estimates that 411 billion dollars will be needed. The United Nations, the European Union and the Ukrainian government also agree on the figure. And an immediate need of 14 billion dollars is expected this year in favor of “crucial and priority investments” to start the work: yesterday the staff of the International Monetary Fund reached an agreement with Kiev for an aid plan of 15, 6 billion dollars. The agreement must now be approved by the IMF board, which should examine it in the coming weeks.
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The backstory
War in Ukraine, because the retribution affects Putin: he wanted to save the Russian language but Russian speakers choose Ukrainian
Thomas Carboni
The Institute for the Study of War, a US thinktank: Russian operations in Bakhmut slow down
The Institute for the Study of War, a US thinktank, said in its latest update that the pace of Russian operations around Bakhmut “appears to be slowing following Western reports that Russian forces may be attempting to launch offensives in other directions.” The update goes on to say that: “Russian forces are currently increasing the pace of their offensive operations around Avdiivka with the aim of encircling the settlement, and it is possible that Russian forces are doing this at the expense of their operations around to Bakhmut and the stalemate offensive around Vuhledar»
The Russian ambassador to the US. “The West Leads Humanity to Armageddon”
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++ Russian envoy to the USA, ‘the West leads humanity to Armageddon’ ++ Antonov, ‘irresponsible flow of lethal weapons towards Ukraine’
(ANSA) – ROME, MARCH 23 – “Western countries led by the United States have decided to bring humanity to the brink of nuclear Armageddon”: the Russian ambassador to the United States said in Washington, according to Tass Anatoly Antonov, responding to statements by senior US officials that depleted uranium munitions are weapons that have been in use for decades and present no high risk. “Commenting on this kind of nonsense is really difficult. The US authorities have reached a new low with their irresponsible statements,” Antonov said. (HANDLE). CNT extension
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