With Russia-Ukraine conflict in its 16th day, Russian forces appear to make progress from the northeast in their slow fight toward Ukraine’s capital.
Saturday, March 12, 2022
Ukraine at ‘turning point’, Zelenskiy says as Russians regroup near Kiev
Ukraine was at a turning point in the conflict with Russian forces appearing to regroup for a possible assault on Kiev, President Volodymyr Zelenskiyy has said.
With the Russian assault in its third week, Zelenskiyy, who has rallied his people with a series of addresses from the capital Kiev, said Ukraine had “already reached a strategic turning point”.
“It is impossible to say how many days we still have (ahead of us) to free Ukrainian land. But we can say we will do it,” he said. “We are already moving towards our goal, our victory.”
US will not “fight World War 3” in Ukraine – Biden
US President Joe Biden emphasised that the US will not send ground troops into Ukraine.
“We will not fight the third world war in Ukraine,” Biden said after reiterating the United States’ full support to its NATO allies and promising that the US will defend “every inch” of NATO territory.
He added: “I want to be clear though, we are going to make sure that Ukraine has the weapons to defend themselves of an invading Russian force. And we will send money and food aid to save Ukrainians lives. We’re going to welcome Ukrainian refugees with open arms if in fact they come all the way here.”
Russian warplanes, artillery widen attack, hit industry hub
Russia’s airplanes and artillery widened their assault on Ukraine, striking airfields in the west and a major industrial hub in the east.
Russian airstrikes targeted for the first time Dnipro, a major industrial hub in the east and Ukraine’s fourth-largest city, with about 1 million people. One person was killed, Ukrainian officials said.
Russia’s forces appeared to be trying to regroup and regain momentum after encountering heavier losses and stiffer resistance than anticipated over the past two weeks. Britain’s Ministry of Defense said Russia is trying to “re-set and re-posture” its troops, gearing up for operations against Kiev.
Kidnap of city mayor ‘crime against democracy’ – Zelenskyy
Ukraine’s president demanded the release of the mayor of Melitopol, calling his kidnapping a “crime against democracy.”
Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised Ivan Federov as “a mayor who bravely defends Ukraine and the members of his community” in a Telegram video.
“This is obviously a sign of weakness of the invaders,” he said. “They have moved to a new stage of terror in which they are trying to physically eliminate representatives of legitimate local Ukrainian authorities.”
US sanctions Russian board members at Novikombank and ABR Management
The United States has sanctioned several board members at Novikombank and ABR Management, including Vice Governor of St. Petersburg Vladimir Nikolaevich Knyaginin, over the Ukraine crisis, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
US stresses that Russia sanctions extend to cryptocurrency
The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued new guidance clarifying that US citizens and digital asset firms are required to comply with sanctions against Russia, even when facilitating transactions in cryptocurrency.
OFAC said in the guidance that people in the United States as well as businesses that deal in cryptocurrency, “must be vigilant against attempts to circumvent OFAC regulations” and should “take risk-based steps to ensure they do not engage in prohibited transactions.”
The warning comes as many in the crypto industry are responding to concerns from some lawmakers that digital assets could be used to circumvent Western sanctions imposed on Russia following its attack on Ukraine.
US welcomes Türkiye’s diplomatic efforts in Ukraine conflict
The US welcomes Türkiye’s role in finding a diplomatic solution to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, a State Department spokesman said.
“We welcome it, precisely because our Turkish allies have done so in full coordination and consultation with United States,” Ned Price told reporters at a briefing when asked about Ankara’s role to resolve the fighting.
He said US President Joe Biden “had an opportunity to speak to” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after a tripartite meeting on Thursday between Ankara, Moscow and Kiev on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in southern Türkiye.
Ukraine accuses Russia of targeting hospital
Ukrainian officials have accused Russia of damaging a cancer hospital and several residential buildings in the southern city of Mykolaiv with shelling from heavy artillery.
The hospital’s head doctor, Maksim Beznosenko, said several hundred patients were in the hospital during the attack but that no one was killed. The assault damaged the building and blew out windows.
Russian forces have stepped up their attacks on Mykolaiv, located 470 kilometers (292 miles) south of Kyiv, in an attempt to encircle the city.
Local healthcare worker in Mykolaiv says the Oncology Hospital was hit in tonight’s shelling. He shared a video showing damage to the windows/wall of the building as well as a photo of a crater.https://t.co/xYtBcQf2Vc pic.twitter.com/kGKUtWeBIp
— Jake Godin (@JakeGodin) March 12, 2022
Over 7,000 civilians evacuated from Ukraine Friday – Zelenskyy
A total of 7,144 people were evacuated from four Ukrainian cities on Friday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a televised address, a sharply lower number than managed to leave in each of the two previous days.
Zelenskyy accused Russia of refusing to allow people out of the besieged city of Mariupol and said Ukraine would try again to deliver food and medicines there on Saturday.
US imposes fresh Ukraine-related sanction on Russia
The United States has sanctioned several board members at Novikombank and ABR Management, including Vice Governor of St. Petersburg Vladimir Nikolaevich Knyaginin, over the Ukraine crisis, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
US State Department announces new Ukraine-related sanctions on Russian entities, individuals:
— 4 board members of Novikombank, including its chairwoman
— ABR Management, its four board members
— Chairman of Bank Rossiya
— Vice Governor of St. Petersburg pic.twitter.com/lcKbGmzwjj— TRT World Now (@TRTWorldNow) March 12, 2022
Sattelite images show Russia inching towards Kiev
Satellite images taken showed that Russian military units were continuing to deploy closer to Ukraine’s capital Kiev and actively firing artillery toward residential areas, a US private company said.
Maxar Technologies said on Friday multiple homes and buildings were on fire and widespread damage and impact craters were seen throughout the town of Moschun, northwest of Kiev.
Russia targets Ukraine’s western cities of Lutsk, Ivano-Frankivsk
Britain said on Friday Russian air and missile forces had conducted strikes in the past 24 hours against western Ukrainian cities of Lutsk and Ivano-Frankivsk.
Russian tactical aircraft supporting the advance of Russian ground forces were primarily relying on unguided ‘dumb’ munitions, British Ministry of Defence intelligence said.
US accuses Russia over nuclear safety in Ukraine
The United States has accused Russia of violating nuclear safety principles, saying it was concerned by “continued Russian firing on nuclear facilities” in Ukraine but added that there were no signs detected yet of any radiological release.
“We are monitoring reports of damage to a research facility in Kharkiv. Near-term safety risk is low, but the continued Russian firing on nuclear facilities must cease,” US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said.
Restoring outside electrical power at #Chernobyl is an important safety step and Russia must act quickly to allow restoration of power. 5/
— Secretary Jennifer Granholm (@SecGranholm) March 11, 2022
UK freezes several Chelsea accounts – reports
Chelsea have had several accounts and credit cards suspended temporarily following sanctions imposed on club owner Roman Abramovich by the UK government, British media reported.
Russian-born billionaire Abramovich had all his British assets frozen on Thursday barring Chelsea, with the Premier League club allowed to continue with “football-related activities.”
But the European champions cannot operate as a business and have been banned from selling match tickets or merchandise.
Blinken speaks Kuleba after trilateral talks in Türkiye
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and discussed his trilateral meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, the State Department said.
“They shared their concerns that Russia is escalating its disinformation campaigns to deceive the world, including at the United Nations,” the State Department said in a statement.
Türkiye’s FM Cavusoglu on future Russia-Ukraine meetings:
– Discussed holding Russia-Ukraine meeting at leaders’ level
– What matters the most is urgent initiation of meetings, not the location pic.twitter.com/AZWoBz7bNF— TRT World Now (@TRTWorldNow) March 10, 2022
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Source: TRTWorld and agencies
Live blog: Ukraine at ‘turning point’ as Russians regroup near Kiev
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