At least 5,000 people have died, including 210 children, since the crackdown began. russian invasion in Mariupola city besieged by bombings and where around 160,000 people are still trapped without basic services, such as running water, electricity or heating.
Local authorities in Mariupol have also reported structural damage to nearly 5,000 houses, representing 90 percent of the total housing stock from the city. In addition, more than 60,000 private sector homes have been damaged, according to the Ukrainian news portal Babel.
More than 1,100 deaths
On the other hand, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has already counted 1,151 dead -including 15 girls, 34 boys and at least 54 children-, of which 229 are men and 171 are women.
In addition, 1,824 people have been injured, including 34 girls, 26 boys, as well as 73 children. Of the total balance of wounded, there are 1,336 adults whose sex is still unknown, as stated in a statement from the institution.
By regions, Donetsk and Lugansk have registered 377 dead and 928 woundedboth in the territory controlled by the self-proclaimed republics -60 dead and 228 wounded, and in the territory controlled by the Ukrainian government, where 317 dead and 700 wounded have been recorded.
In other regions of Ukraine, such as in the capital of Ukraine, kyiv, as well as in the cities of Cherkasy, Chernigov, Kharkov, Kherson, Mikolaiv, Odessa, Sumy, Zaporizhia, Dnipropetrovsk and in Yitomir, there are at least 774 dead and 896 injured. .
OHCHR, however, considers that “the real figures are considerably higher”since the reception of information from some places where intense hostilities have been developing has been delayed and many reports are still pending corroboration.
Specifically, this affects, for example, Mariuupol and Volnovakha, as well as the city of Izium (Kharkov region), Popasna and Rubizhne (Lugansk region) and Trostianets (Sumy region), where there are reports of numerous civilian casualties.
“OHCHR takes note of the report of the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, according to which as of 8 a.m. on March 28 (local time), 143 children had died and 216 were injured,” the institution has settled in your statement.
Negotiations resume
On the other hand, the president of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoganwill meet with both the Ukrainian and Russian delegations, before they begin a new round of negotiations on Tuesday in istanbul.
“The delegations of Russia and Ukraine will meet this Tuesday in Istanbul to negotiate a ceasefire and peace. Before the negotiations start, we will briefly meet with the delegations,” Erdogan said during an appearance broadcast live on NTV. .
The president added that he is still in contact with the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, and that of Ukraine, Volodímir Zelenski, to encourage mediationunderlining that Turkey has been making efforts in this regard since 2014.
Ankara has never recognized Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014insists that the territorial integrity of Ukraine must be respected and sells weapons to kyiv, but at the same time, Erdogan maintains good relations with Putin and has bought an anti-missile system from Moscow.
In mid-March, Turkish diplomacy managed to bring together the foreign ministers of Russia, Sergei Lavrov, and Ukraine, Dmitri Kuleba, in Antalya, although no progress was made from this brief meeting.
This Tuesday’s round is the continuation of the negotiations initiated at the end of February in Belarus and continued in recent days by videoconference.
It will start at 7:30 GMT in the presidential work offices attached to the Dolmabahçe Palace in Istanbul and will also continue on Wednesday, but closed to the press, according to the Turkish Presidency.
The Russian delegation arrived in mid-afternoon by private plane at the old Atatürk airport, while the Ukrainian negotiators are expected to land tonight.
On the other hand, Erdogan announced in his appearance that Turkey is taking in about 200 children from orphanages in Ukrainetogether with their teachers.
Ankara does not participate in the European sanctions against Russia, and both Russian and Ukrainian citizens can enter without a visa, so the country has become a destination not only for thousands of Ukrainian refugees but also for many Russians fleeing the environment of political repression. in Moscow.
“No one is thinking about nuclear weapons”
In addition, the Kremlin spokesman, DImitri Peskov, stated that the words of the Russian president about the intervention of third countries in the “special military operation” did not refer to nuclear weapons and that no one is thinking of using such weapons in Ukraine.
“Any result of the operation, of course, is not a reason for the use of a nuclear weapon. We have a security concept that states very clearly that only when there is a threat to the existence of the state in our country, we can and will actually use nuclear weapons to eliminate the threat,” he explained.
In this way, faced with the possibility of using nuclear weapons in the event that a third party becomes involved, Peskov has made it clear in an interview on the PBS television network that he “does not believe” that the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, referred, with his words, to using nuclear weapons.
Specifically, Peskov was referring to the speech delivered by the Russian president announcing the “special military operation” in the Donbas regionin which he warned “different states not to interfere in Ukraine-Russia affairs during the operation.”
“No one is thinking of using (or) even the idea of using nuclear weapons,” he said, adding that Putin was “pretty bold” in telling (third parties) “don’t interfere” because, in the case of do it, “we have all the possibilities to prevent it and punish” all those who are going to do it.
The Kremlin spokesman has also described how “alarming” recent statements by the US president, Joe Bidenabout his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, hours after the White House tenant clarified that he does not advocate a regime change in the Eurasian country.
“Your statement about whether Putin should not or should not be in power in Russia is, of course, unacceptable. It is not for the president of the United States to decide who is going to be and who is the president of Russia, it is the people of Russia who decides it during the elections,” Peskov stressed.
Peskov has emphasized that Western countries have declared an all-out economic war against Russia. “We have to adapt to the new conditions. And unfortunately those conditions are quite unfriendly,” he said of the sanctions imposed on Russia.
“The countries of Western Europe, the United States, Canada, Australia, are actually leading the war against us in trade, in the economy, in the seizure of our properties, in the seizure of our funds, in the blockade of our relations And we have to adapt to the new reality,” the Kremlin spokesman stressed.
In this context, the Kremlin spokesman, Dimitri Peskov, warned on Monday that Russia will not provide gas “for charity” to “hostile” countries that do not want to pay for it in rubles.
Peskov has acknowledged that the gas supply process is “very complicated” and has indicated that Moscow is still evaluating the details of this supply after revealing its plans to demand payment for the raw material in rubles for the countries that have imposed sanctions in retaliation for the invasion of Ukraine.
Although he has not advanced possible measures against countries that do not want to pay in the Russian currency, he has assured that Russia “definitely” will not provide gas to Europe “for free”. “That’s for sure,” she stressed, noting that “it is hardly possible to commit to charity” in the current situation in the Eurasian country, according to the Russian news agency TASS.
For its part, The G7 countries have expressed this Monday their rejection of Russia’s intention and have considered that the imposition is “unacceptable”.
Putin expressed the intention to change the gas payment currency last week, although he guaranteed that Russia will continue to supply gas according to the established volumes and prices.