Russian troops strengthened the siege of the city of Mariupol, in southeastern Ukraine, and overran many other targets as the military operation entered its 26th day.
Russia on March 20 asked the authorities and the defense forces of the city of Mariupol to surrender before 5 am today (9 am Hanoi time), but Kiev refused this request. The ultimatum was issued by Russia after Ukrainian authorities said an art school with 400 people sheltering in Mariupol was hit by an air strike. Russia has not yet commented on this information.
Russian troops have also stepped up shelling in other Ukrainian cities, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has continued to offer talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, insisting this is the “only way” to end the current conflict.
What happened in Mariupol?
Mariupol, a strategic port city on the Sea of Azov, has been the target of a siege by Russian forces since early March, after the country launched a special military operation in Ukraine on February 24. About 400,000 residents are believed to remain trapped in the city amid the shooting without electricity, water or heating.
Both Russia and Ukraine say the city is suffering a dire humanitarian catastrophe. Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense announced on March 18 that it had lost access to the Sea of Azov, as Russian troops tightened the siege around the major Mariupol port along this sea.
An adviser to President Zelensky said Mariupol would not have military reinforcements for a short time, when the nearest Ukrainian military unit was also more than 100 km away and all under immense pressure from Russian forces. The tug of war continues around Azovstal, one of the largest steel mills in Europe in Mariupol.
A special unit of the Ukrainian National Guard said that four Russian naval vessels opened fire on the Mariupol port on March 20. There is currently no information on casualties in the shooting, while the Russian side has yet to comment.
Mariupol City Council said nearly 40,000 civilians had used their own vehicles to leave Mariupol via humanitarian corridors in the past week, representing nearly 10% of the city’s 430,000 residents.
Pro-Russian separatist tanks move on the outskirts of Mariupol, southeastern Ukraine on March 20. Photo: Reuters.
Ukrainian authorities on March 20 accused Russian troops of bombing the 12th Art School in Mariupol, where about 400 people had taken refuge. Local authorities said the art school building was destroyed, some victims may be trapped under the rubble, but there were no reports of casualties.
This information has not been verified and the Russian side has not commented, but Moscow has repeatedly stated in the past that it is not targeting civilian targets or civilian shelters. Russia has also repeatedly accused nationalist extremists in Mariupol of carrying out bloody attacks or of using civilians as human shields.
Earlier, Russia and Ukraine on March 16 accused each other of shooting at the theater in the city. Officials say 130 people have been rescued, but many more may still be under the rubble.
Battles in other cities in Ukraine
In the Black Sea port city of Mykolaiv, a Russian missile attack on a naval barracks on March 18 is believed to have killed at least 40 Ukrainian soldiers, Mayor Oleksandr Senkevich said in a televised address. According to him, the missile was launched from the neighboring city of Kherson, which is now controlled by Russian forces.
Officials in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkov said at least five civilians were killed in Russia’s latest attack. Kharkov has been under siege since Russia began its military campaign and is under constant attack.
About 70 orphans were evacuated from Sumy, a besieged city in northeastern Ukraine. The governor of the Sumy region said most of the children needed ongoing medical care and would be sent to other countries, but did not specify which countries.
Rescue workers at the site of a shopping center that was shot down in Kiev, Ukraine on the evening of March 20. Photo: Reuters.
In the capital Kiev, at least 20 babies carried by surrogate mothers were trapped in makeshift bomb shelters, waiting for their parents to enter the war zone to pick them up. Nurses are taking care of these babies.
Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said that more than 6,000 people could be evacuated along eight of the 10 humanitarian corridors by March 19, including 4,128 people from Mariupol who were brought to the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia.
Russia uses hypersonic missiles for the first time
The Russian military said on March 20 that it had carried out a new series of attacks on Ukrainian military facilities with Kinzhal cruise missiles and long-range hypersonic missiles, a day after announcing the first use of this type of advanced missile in a military campaign in Russia. neighboring countries.
As Russia’s Kinzhal hypersonic missile hits a base in the Ivano-Frankivsk region, Ukraine on March 19. Videos: Russian Ministry of Defense.
Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov said the Kinzhal hypersonic missile hit the Ukrainian fuel depot in Kostiantynivka, near Mykolaiv. The attack marked the second day in a row that Russia has used the Kinzhal, a weapon capable of hitting targets 2,000 kilometers away at 10 times the speed of sound.
How are the Ukrainian refugees doing?
At church services across Europe on March 20, Ukrainians prayed for peace. From Germany to Romania and Moldova, the newly arrived refugees mingled with the 1.5 million longtime members of the European Ukrainian diaspora who celebrated in churches.
Ukrainians who fled the city of Mariupol with other passengers from Zaporizhzhia gather on the platform after arriving in Lviv, western Ukraine, on March 20. Photo: AP.
Thousands of refugees from Ukraine wait in long lines in the Polish capital, Warsaw, on March 19 to receive identity documents issued by local authorities, allowing them to continue living in the neighboring country. Refugees began queuing at the Warsaw National Stadium overnight to receive their PESEL citizenship cards, which will allow them to work, go to school and receive medical care or social assistance over the next 18 months.
Poland has accepted more than two million refugees from Ukraine, the majority of the more than 3.3 million who the United Nations says have fled Ukraine. Hundreds of thousands more have traveled to Hungary, Slovakia, Moldova and Romania.
How many civilians were killed in Ukraine?
According to the AP, it is difficult to ascertain the true number of casualties in the context of the fighting that is still taking place in many areas. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) currently records 2,246 civilian casualties in Ukraine, of which 847 were killed and 1,399 injured.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials say thousands of civilians have been killed. The Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office reported on March 19 that 112 children had been killed and more than 140 injured since the Russian military operation began.
War zone in Ukraine. Click to see details.
Huyen Le (Based on AP)
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