Ssituation on the ground, international reactions, sanctions: update on the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
Mariupol Theatre: probably 300 dead
Around 300 dead are feared in the theater of Mariupol (southern Ukraine) bombed by Russian aircraft on March 16 while hundreds of people were sheltered there, the town hall of the city announced on Friday, citing witnesses.
In this city on the Sea of Azov, heavily bombarded, the Ukrainians also denounce the “mass” deportation of inhabitants to Russia.
In Kharkiv (east), a Russian bombardment Friday on a medical center left four dead and at least three injured, according to the regional police.
Russian military admits 1,351 dead
Russia acknowledged on Friday the death of 1,351 of its soldiers since the start of its military offensive in Ukraine, warning Western countries that they are making a “mistake” by delivering weapons to kyiv.
In addition, Russia has received 419,736 refugees from Ukraine since the start of the operation, according to Mikhail Mizintsev, director of the Russian National Center for Defense Management.
The United States excludes chemical weapons
The United States “does not intend to use chemical weapons under any circumstances”, that is to say even if Russia uses them in Ukraine, assured Friday the national security adviser American Jake Sullivan.
The Kremlin on Friday accused Joe Biden of wanting to “divert attention” from the American chemical and biological weapons program in Ukraine with his statements on a possible use by Russia of chemical weapons in Ukraine.
On Thursday, the American president pledged for the first time that NATO would respond to the use of chemical weapons by Russia.
Biden and Poland
The US president arrived Friday in the Polish town of Rzeszow, 100 kilometers from the border with Ukraine.
During the first hours of his two-day visit, he must meet American soldiers stationed in this city, before going to Warsaw for talks with Polish leaders and a visit to a reception center for Ukrainian refugees who fled the Russian invasion of their country.
Targeted fuel reserve
Russia said on Friday that it had destroyed the Ukrainian army’s largest fuel reserve near kyiv the day before with cruise missiles.
Moscow further said that Russian forces had destroyed several Ukrainian military equipment since the day before, including three air defense systems and four drones.
Medvedev: “dénazifier” l’Ukraine
“The operation (in the whole country) must continue until it achieves its goal of demilitarizing and denazifying Ukraine,” Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said on Friday. , in an interview with the RIA-Novosti news agency, using the rhetoric dear to the Russian president.
Vladimir Putin on Friday compared the deprogramming in Western countries of Russian personalities and cultural events to the burnings orchestrated by the Nazis.
Reduction of energy dependence
The United States and the European Union announced on Friday the creation of a working group aimed at reducing Europe’s dependence on Russian fossil fuels.
The United States will work to supply Europe with an additional 15 billion cubic meters of liquefied natural gas (LNG) this year under this initiative.
Germany, for its part, has announced that it could do without Russia’s coal by the fall and its oil by the end of the year. For Russian gas, on which the country depended more than 55% before the crisis, Berlin is aiming for a later date, namely “mid-2024”.
kyiv asks the EU to close its borders
The Ukrainian Ministry of Infrastructure has asked the European Union to “completely block land and sea connections with Russia and Belarus” to prevent the supply of goods that can be used for military purposes.
burs-paj-ang / cds / lpt
25/03/2022 14:51:00 – Paris (AFP) – © 2022 AFP