At 19e day of the invasion of Russian troops in Ukraine, a new negotiation session opened Monday, March 14 in the morning between emissaries from Kiev and Moscow. This should take place under more favorable auspices as the conflict has spread to the west in recent days to a few kilometers from Poland, a member of NATO. The human toll continues to rise.
► Beginning of optimism before a new round of negotiations
A new session of negotiations began on Monday morning between Russian and Ukrainian officials. Ukraine has confirmed that it will demand an immediate truce and the withdrawal of Russian forces. “Our positions have not changed: peace, an immediate ceasefire, the withdrawal of all Russian troops, and only then can we talk about our neighborly relations and our political differences”said a negotiator and adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in a video on Twitter.
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After several unsuccessful attempts, it could take place under more positive auspices. On Sunday evening, a Russian negotiator reported “significant progress”. Shortly after, the adviser to the Ukrainian president assured that Moscow had stopped launching “ultimatums” in Kiev and began to “listen carefully to our proposals”. Two statements full of optimism that echo those of the two presidents the previous days. Vladimir Putin had thus evoked Friday “positive progress” in the talks.
► The fighting continues and progresses towards the west of the country
A strike on a residential building in Kiev left two dead and 12 injured, Ukrainian relief said, as fighting raged near the capital. “The occupants bombed a residential building and the Antonov factory (…) According to an initial report, two people died and seven were injured”, according to the town hall. The capital is now “under siege”, assures an adviser to the Ukrainian president.
The promoted separatists of Donetsk (eastern Ukraine) claimed for their part that a Ukrainian strike had caused the death of at least 20 people and injured nine in the center of this large industrial city.
The clashes also shifted to western Ukraine this weekend. Russian strikes hit the Yavoriv military base overnight from Saturday to Sunday, only about twenty kilometers from Poland. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky again urged NATO, overnight from Sunday to Monday, to establish a “no-fly zone” above his country, warning that in the absence of “Russian rockets” would eventually fall on the member states of the organization.
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► The human toll is getting heavier
After twenty days of conflict, the death toll remains impossible to verify. Kyiv reporting on Saturday “of about 1,300” Ukrainian soldiers killed, and Moscow of 498 dead in its ranks (single assessment on the Russian side, announced on March 2), while the Pentagon spoke of 2,000 to 4,000 Russian dead in 14 days.
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According to a UN count, at least 596 people died. A balance sheet that the organization considers to be undoubtedly much lower than the reality. According to UNICEF, “31 attacks on health care have been documented”doing “at least 12 dead and 34 injured”. Several UN agencies have demanded an end to attacks against health personnel and infrastructure in Ukraine.
An American journalist died on Sunday while covering the refugee situation. The 50-year-old freelance photographer and filmmaker, Brent Renaud, was killed while driving through the outskirts of Kiev with another journalist and a Ukrainian civilian. Brent Renaud “was shot in the back of the neck and killed instantly”explained a doctor engaged with the Ukrainian forces who took care of the victims.