Ukraine’s Zelenskyy urges Japan lawmakers to impose further sanctions on Russia
Members of Japan’s lower house of parliament applaud as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appears on screen via video link at the House of Representatives office building in Tokyo on March 23, 2022.
Behrouz Mehri | Afp | Getty Images
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on Japan to impose further economic sanctions on Russia over its invasion, appealing to lawmakers in a direct address to ratchet up the pressure on Moscow.
Addressing Japan’s Parliament via video link, Zelenskyy thanked the country for leading the way among Asian nations in condemning Russia’s unprovoked assault and imposing punitive measures.
He called for a concerted effort by Japan’s Asia partner states to stabilize the situation in a bid to restore peace.
Zelenskyy has previously addressed the parliaments of Canada, Britain, the EU, Germany, Israel, Italy and the U.S.
— Sam Meredith
‘Extremely dangerous’: Russia warns against sending international peacekeepers to Ukraine
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has warned against a proposal from Poland to send international peacekeepers to Ukraine, warning it could lead to a direct conflict between Russian and NATO forces.
“It would be a very reckless and extremely dangerous decision,” Peskov told reporters on a conference call, Reuters reported.
Poland said last week it would formally submit a proposal for a peacekeeping mission in Ukraine at the next NATO summit. U.S. President Joe Biden is scheduled to depart for Europe to take part in an emergency NATO summit in Brussels, Belgium on Thursday.
— Sam Meredith
Red Cross head to raise ‘pressing humanitarian issues’ in meeting with Russian authorities
International Committee of the Red CrossPresident Peter Maurer looks on during an interview with AFP at the humanitarian organization’s headquarters in Geneva, on March 21, 2022.
Fabrice Coffrini | AFP | Getty Images
The head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) will discuss the “pressing humanitarian issues” arising from the devastating conflict in Ukraine in a bid to alleviate the suffering, the agency said in a statement.
“The devastation caused by the conflict in recent weeks, as well as eight years of conflict in Donbas, has been vast,” ICRC President Peter Maurer said. “There are practical steps guided by international humanitarian law that the parties must take to limit the suffering. I was in Kyiv last week and I’m in Moscow this week to continue the discussion with the authorities on these steps.”
An Ukrainian child looks out of a tent while waiting for relocation after crossing the Ukrainian-Romanian border in Siret, northern Romania, on March 19, 2022.
Armend Nimani | AFP | Getty Images
The ICRC said Maurer would meet with representatives of Russia’s Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defense as well as the chairman of the Russian Red Cross.
In addition to Ukraine, humanitarian issues in Syria and in relation to the consequences of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict will be on the agenda.
— Sam Meredith
China reportedly backs Russia’s G-20 membership amid threat of expulsion
China has reportedly backed Russia amid speculation that the U.S. and international allies could seek to expel the Kremlin from the G-20 group of the world’s largest economies over its invasion of Ukraine.
“The G-20 is the main forum for international economic cooperation. Russia is an important member, and no member has the right to expel another country,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said Wednesday, according to Agence France-Presse.
The Kremlin has accused the U.S. and others of putting pressure on countries regarding Moscow’s position within the group of major economies. It is seen as likely that any potential bid to exclude Russia from the G-20 would be vetoed by others in the group.
U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said in a press briefing on Tuesday: “On the question of the G20, I will just say this: We believe that it cannot be business as usual for Russia in international institutions and in the international community.”
— Sam Meredith
German leader says Putin is destroying Russia’s future
Members of the German government, among them German Chancellor Olaf Scholz applaud as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appears on a screen to address via videolink the German lower house of parliament Bundestag, on March 17, 2022 in Berlin.
Tobias Schwarz | AFP | Getty Images
Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said President Vladimir Putin is “destroying” Russia’s future by continuing its destructive invasion of Ukraine.
Speaking on Wednesday, Scholz called for an immediate cease-fire and said Ukraine could rely on Germany’s help.
Germany has been criticized for a lackluster response to the war in Ukraine, and had reportedly tried to block the sending of weapons to Ukraine ahead of the invasion which began on Feb. 24.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy berated German lawmakers last week when he addressed the German Parliament, the Bundestag, saying Germany had prioritized economic relations with Russia.
“We saw how many ties your companies still have with Russia. With a state that just uses you and some other countries to finance the war,” Zelenskyy said.
“You probably do not all notice yet … You are behind the wall again. Not the Berlin Wall. But in the middle of Europe. Between freedom and slavery,” he said.
— Holly Ellyatt
Russian forces reorganizing in northern Ukraine, UK intelligence suggests
The U.K.’s Ministry of Defense has released its latest intelligence assessment of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and believes its forces could be regrouping in the north.
“The battlefield across northern Ukraine remains largely static with Russian forces likely conducting a period of reorganisation before resuming large-scale offensive operations,” the ministry said in a tweet Wednesday.
Russian forces are attempting to envelop Ukrainian troops in the east of the country as they advance from the direction of Kharkiv in the north and Mariupol in the south, the ministry added.
Russian forces are still attempting to circumvent Mykolaiv, a city near the Black Sea in southern Ukraine, as they look to drive west toward Odesa, the ministry’s assessment stated.
— Holly Ellyatt
Nine humanitarian corridors open on Wednesday, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister says
15 buses arrive from Mariupol, evacuating over 1,000 people due to ongoing Russian attacks in Zaporizzja, Ukraine on March 22, 2022.
Andrea Carrubba | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk on Wednesday said that nine humanitarian corridors are open for evacuations on Wednesday, including one from the besieged port city of Mariupol.
The governor of Luhansk, Serhiy Gaiday, also said on Telegram that residents from parts of the region will be able to leave during a “silence regime” where Russian shelling will subside, according to an NBC translation.
Besides evacuations, Gaiday said food will also be delivered to remote settlements of Luhansk.
Such humanitarian corridors have been set up before, but were not always successful. Ukraine’s parliament previously said it had to suspend the evacuation of civilians because Russia did not keep to the ceasefire agreement.
— Abigail Ng
Pentagon says Russia’s rhetoric around nuclear weapons is ‘dangerous’
U.S. Department of Defense Press Secretary John Kirby participates in a news briefing at the Pentagon August 13, 2021 in Arlington, Virginia.
Alex Wong | Getty Images
The U.S. has reacted to comments from the Kremlin’s spokesman Dmity Peskov, who told CNN in an interview Tuesday that Russia could consider using nuclear weapons if Russia faced an “existential threat.”
When asked about the comments, the Pentagon’s spokesman John Kirby said the rhetoric was “dangerous” and that “it’s not the way a responsible nuclear power should act.”
Kirby’s comments come after Peskov refused to rule out the use of nuclear weapons, and when asked by CNN’s Christiane Amanpour on Tuesday under what conditions Putin would use Russia’s nuclear capability, Peskov replied, “if it is an existential threat for our country, then it can be.”
U.S. President Joe Biden and his European counterparts are expected to announce new sanctions against Russia, as well as a tightening of existing sanctions, during his trip to Brussels this week.
Biden will also discuss longer-term adjustments to NATO force posture and contingencies in the case of nuclear weapons use, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Tuesday.
— Holly Ellyatt
Russia’s G-20 membership is in question, report suggests
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends the G20 summit hosted by Saudi Arabia via video conference at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence, outside Moscow, Russia, on November 21, 2020.
Alexey Nikolsky | AFP | Getty Images
Russia’s G-20 membership is under scrutiny, with the U.S. and its Western allies reportedly assessing whether the country should remain in the Group of Twenty grouping of major economies following its invasion of Ukraine, sources involved in the discussions told Reuters on Tuesday.
The likelihood that any bid to exclude Russia outright would be vetoed by others in the club — which includes China, India, Saudi Arabia and others — raised the prospect of some countries skipping G-20 meetings this year, the sources said.
The G-20, and its smaller G-7 counterpart, see leaders of the world’s largest economies come together to try to coordinate responses to international events, such as economic crises or climate change.
Reuters reported one unnamed, senior G-7 official as questioning whether it’s appropriate that Russia remains a member of G-20. Russia was suspended from what was previously the G-8 after it annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.
— Holly Ellyatt
Satellite images show destruction in Mariupol caused by airstrikes
Maxar satellite image of additional burning residential apartment buildings in Mariupol, Ukraine.
Satellite image ©2022 Maxar Technologies | Getty Images
Residential buildings and factories in the southeastern city of Mariupol have been destroyed, according to satellite images taken on Tuesday by U.S. firm Maxar Technologies.
Maxar, which works with U.S. government agencies to provide commercial satellite imagery, released photos that showed damage to apartment buildings and a factory.
The latest batch of images, all dated March 22, also showed smoke billowing from buildings in Mariupol.
Maxar satellite imagery shows closer view of damaged Azovstal Metallurgical factory buildings in Mariupol, Ukraine.
Satellite image ©2022 Maxar Technologies | Getty Images
Maxar satellite imagery of the overview of fires burning in residential area, Livoberezhnyi District, Mariupol, Ukraine.
Satellite image ©2022 Maxar Technologies | Getty Images
Around 100,000 still in Mariupol under ‘inhumane conditions,’ Zelenskyy says
Sywasz Elizabeth, Samarska Ludmyla and Pylypenko Arsenij wait on a bus after arriving safely on a train from the besieged city of Mariupol that is under Russian military attack on March 22, 2022 in Lviv, Ukraine.
Joe Raedle | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Around 100,000 people remain in the besieged Ukrainian port city of Mariupol under “inhumane conditions,” Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
“No food, no water, no medicine. Under constant shelling, under constant bombing,” he said in a video address, according to an English transcript by NBC News.
Ukraine has been trying to evacuate people from the city and bring in humanitarian aid for more than a week, Zelenskyy said. “Almost all our attempts, unfortunately, are disrupted by the Russian occupiers. By shelling or deliberate terror.”
The president also said that Ukrainian representatives are continuing “very difficult” negotiations virtually. “Step by step we are moving forward,” he said.
He said he was grateful for the support of international mediators and leaders. “Today was one of those days that allows us to say with confidence that the whole world is with us,” he said.
— Abigail Ng