More than 100,000 people rally in Berlin, Germany for Ukraine, March 13, 2022

Sunday’s Coverage: Russia Bombs Close to Polish Border

UPDATE 1830 GMT:

At least nine people were killed and nine wounded in a Russian airstrike on a TV tower in the Rivne region in northern Ukraine, according to regional governor Vitaliy Koval.

“There are still people under the rubble,” Koval wrote.

UPDATE 1702 GMT:

Mariana Vishegirskaya, the pregnant woman whose photograph marked the deadly Russian bombing of a children’s hospital and maternity ward in Mariupol in southern Ukraine, has spoken about her experience.

Vishegirskaya gave birth to a girl the following day. Meanwhile, Russia was claiming that the beauty blogger was a “crisis actor” posing as a patient at the damaged hospital.

Another pregnant woman, injured in the attack, and her newborn child have died (see 0740 GMT).

UPDATE 1655 GMT:

A missile has reportedly killed 20 civilians and wounded 28 in the center of Donetsk, controlled by Russian proxies, in eastern Ukraine.

The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that Ukrainian forces fired the Soviet-made Tochka-U missile an it was intercepted by pro-Russian fighters. Fragments landed, causing the casualties among people waiting in line near an ATM and standing at a bus stop.

Ukraine military spokesman Leonid Matyukhin said the missile was launched by Russian forces: “It is unmistakably a Russian rocket or another munition, there’s not even any point talking about it.”

UPDATE 1645 GMT:

A limited evacuation has finally been established for Mariupol in southern Ukraine.

After Russian attacks blocked several previous attempts, 160 private vehicles left the port city at p.m. local time for the city of Zaporizhzhia to the west.

UPDATE 1150 GMT:

The head of Russia’s National Guard, Viktor Zolotov, has admitted problems with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Speaking at a church service led by Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill on Sunday, Zolotov said, “I would like to say that yes, not everything is going as fast as we would like.”

He quickly added, “But we are going towards our goal step by step and victory will be for us, and this icon will protect the Russian army and accelerate our victory.”

Zolotov covered the struggling ground offensive with the propaganda of far-right Ukrainian forces hiding behind civilians.

On Friday, Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu, insisted in remarks to Putin that “everything is going according to plan”.

UPDATE 0955 GMT:

In Odesa, at the western end of the coastal corridor in southern Ukraine facing a Russian offensive, a hotel receptionist gives some useful advice:

UPDATE 0950 GMT:

Citing the Mariupol city council, Ukraine Presidential advisor Oleksiy Arestovych says more than 2,500 residents have been killed by Russian attacks.

There is still no sign of the Russians allowing aid to reach the besieged city of 430,000 in southern Ukraine.

UPDATE 0945 GMT:

The Ukraine General Prosecutor’s office says 90 children have been killed and more than 100 wounded during the Russian invasion.

“The highest number of victims are in the Kyiv, Kharkiv, Donetsk, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kherson, Mykolayiv and Zhytomyr regions,” the office said in a statement.

UPDATE 0855 GMT:

Photographer Juan Arredondo talks about the Russian attack that killed award-winning documentary maker Brent Renaud on Saturday.

Renaud was shot in the head when Russian forces fired on the car in which he was travelling near Irpin, northwest of Kyiv. Arredondo, an adjunct professor at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, was injured.

Renaud, working for the television and film division of Time magazine, was filming a multi-part series about refugees around the world.

UPDATE 0835 GMT:

The World Health Organization says 18 million of Ukraine’s 43 million people have been “impacted” by the Russian invasion, with 6.7 million internally displaced and almost 3 million refugees.

The WHO said Ukraine’s health care system has suffered severe disruption of supply chains, with distributors knocked out, stockpiles out of reach because of military operations, and stocks of medicine low.

The agency said it is working with partners to ship oxygen generators, electrical generators, defibrillators, monitors, anaesthesia drugs, rehydration salts, gauze and bandages. The supplies are distributed in coordination with Ukraine’s Health Ministry, supported by a hub in neighbouring Poland.

UPDATE 0800 GMT:

A Russian Orthodox church in Amsterdam is the first to break away over the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The the parish church of Saint Nicholas of Myra said in statement:

The clergy unanimously announced that it is no longer possible for them to function within the Moscow patriarchate and provide a spiritually safe environment for our faithful. This decision is extremely painful and difficult for all concerned.

The church will apply to join the the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, based in Istanbul, Turkey.

The head of the Russian Orthodox church, Patriarch Kirill, is a loyal ally of Vladimir Putin. He has not only refused to condemn the Russian invasion, but has called Ukrainians “evil forces” and blamed gay pride parades in western countries for the war.

More than 280 Russian Orthodox priests and church officials have signed an open letter opposing the invasion, saying “eternal torment” awaits those who gave “murderous orders”.

UPDATE 0755 GMT:

Ukraine’s emergency services said two people were killed and three injured by Russian shelling of a nine-story residential building in Kyiv on Monday morning.

Another 15 people were rescued and 63 evacuated.

The Russians have also struck an aircraft manufacturer.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has again appealed for a no-fly zone: “If you don’t close our sky, it is only a matter of time before Russian rockets fall on your territory, on NATO territory.”

Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba echoed:

UPDATE 0740 GMT:

A pregnant woman, injured in Russia’s attack on a hospital in Mariupol in southern Ukraine last Wednesday, and her newborn baby have died.

A photograph soon after the Russia strikes showed the woman being stretchered by rescuers away from the damaged hospital. She was taken to another, but doctors could not save her or the baby during childbirth.

Surgeon Timur Marin said the woman’s hip was crushed and her pelvis detached. The baby was delivered by Caesarean section but showed “no signs of life”.

Trying to deny the killing of women and children, Russia launched an intense disinformation campaign. Amplified by many social media accounts, the lies included the claim that “crisis actors” were pretending to be the injured women.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov compounded the lies, saying there were no patients or staff in the children’s hospital and maternity ward. He declared that far-right Ukrainian fighters were using the facility as a base.

UPDATE 0720 GMT:

Refugees in Belarus say they are being forced into Ukraine by border guards.

The refugees from the Middle East are among thousands who were lured last autumn to Belarus, enabled by Russia, in an attempt to put pressure on the European Union over immigration.

With EU support, Poland kept its border closed, leaving the refugees trapped and at risk.

See also Medics Forced to End Help to Refugees and Migrants Trapped on Belarus-Poland Border

Dozens of asylum seekers have been held for months in a makeshift dormitory in Bruzgi, a village in Belarus less than a mile from the Polish border. On March 5, they were ordered at gunpoint to leave, either trying to cross into Poland or entering Ukraine.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Diplomatic talks between Ukraine and Russia resume on the 19th day of Vladimir Putin’s war.

Despite an escalation of Russian shelling and aerial attacks — including Sunday missile strikes which killed at least 35 and wounded 134 at a military training center near the Polish border — both sides offered a glimpse of advance in discussions.

Ukrainian negotiator Mykhailo Podolyak said, “Russia is already beginning to talk constructively. I think that we will achieve some results literally in a matter of days.”

His Russian counterpart, Leonid Slutsky, said there had been significant progress in the first three sets of discussion and it was possible that draft agreements could soon be reached.

Neither man gave details. Talks so far, including last Monday, focused on humanitarian issues and evacuations.

About 150,000 Ukrainians have been evacuated from areas besieged or under threat of siege. However, the Russian have broken ceasefires and shelled evacuees in other locations, notably the 430,000 residents of Mariupol in southeast Ukraine on the Sea of Azov.

The Mariupol city council said 2,107 civilians have been killed by Russian attacks, with at least 22 bombings and more than 100 bombs in a 24-hours period.

People have been in a difficult situation for 12 days. There is no electricity, water or heating in the city. There is almost no mobile communication. The last reserves of food and water are running out.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said an aid convoy was 80 km (50 miles) away, but there was no sign of Russian forces allowing relief.

The UK Defense Ministry said Russia was adding pressure with a “distant blockade” of the 250-km (155-mile) coastal corridor along the Black Sea and Sea of Azov.

The area has been the single success for the Russian ground offensive in the invasion. Cities such as Melitopol and Kherson, and the Russians are threatening to move towards Odessa on the western end as well as besieging Mariupol on the eastern.

However, the Russians are struggling to establish control in the occupied cities, despite abducting and detaining at least two mayors. Residents again protested in Melitopol over the weekend, challenging the detention of Mayor Ivan Fedorov.

Ukraine Remembers 1,300+ Fallen Troops

Ukrainians honored fallen troops in the conflict as President Zelenskiy announced that more than 1,300 have been killed during the Russian invasion.

Photographs showed rows of flag-draped coffins delivered for their funerals in cities, including Lviv and the historic garrison church of St. Peter and St. Paul.

The Ukrainian military says more than 12,000 Russian troops have been slain, but Moscow has only acknowledged the deaths of several hundred and there have been no public ceremonies.

Some Russian families say they have been told that bodies will not be returned until the war is over.

China Holding Off Putin Over Weapons?

Senior US and Chinese officials will meet on Monday amid signs that Beijing is holding off Russian requests for weapons.

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi will convene in Rome.

American officials said Sullivan will point out that the US briefed China for months on Vladimir Putin’s intentions for invasion, but that Beijing dismissed the warnings in the belief that Putin was bluffing to gain leverage,.

The officials said Sullivan will add that Chinese supply of weapons to Moscow will be a further, historic mistake.

Sullivan said in a Sunday TV interview:

We also are watching closely to see the extent to which China actually does provide any form of support — material support or economic support — to Russia. It is a concern of ours. And we have communicated to Beijing that we will not stand by and allow any country to compensate Russia for its losses from the economic sanctions.

He added that the US made clear that there would “absolutely be consequences” over any “large-scale” Chinese assistance to Moscow.

Supporters of the Russian invasion have argued that Russia can counter sanctions by turning to the Chine. However, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on State TV this weekend that Moscow cannot count on China to ease its situation, noting the pressure on Beijing to stand aside.

Siluanov said $300 billion of Russia’s $640 billion in gold and foreign exchange reserves have been frozen.

Despite widespread reports in US and UK media about Russia’s requests for weapons, the Chinese Embassy in Washington said it had “never heard” of them.

Spokesperson Liu Pengyu said, “The current situation in Ukraine is indeed disconcerting. The high priority now is to prevent the tense situation from escalating or even getting out of control.”

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman later said the reports were “disinformation”.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov maintained, “Russia possesses its own independent potential to continue the operation. As we said, it is going according to plan and will be completed on time and in full.”