Russia’s drone and missile strikes continue to kill civilians. Explosions rock Sevastopol. Zelenskyi visits frontline positions of the Ukrainian troops near Bakhmut.
Drones strike dormitory, school in Kyiv region, killing seven as Russia attacks Ukraine with Iranian-made drones overnight
Russia launched 21 Shahed drones against Ukraine from Bryansk region overnight into Wednesday. An air-raid alert was declared in Ukraine’s northern regions and in Kyiv. Later the sirens also wailed in a number of regions to the west of the Ukrainian capital.
Ukraine’s air defenses shot down 16 out of 21 drones launched by Russia. All drones targeting the city of Kyiv and Khmelnytskyi region were intercepted. In the town of Rzhyshchiv, south of the capital, drones struck a dormitory and an educational facility. At least seven people were killed, including a driver of an ambulance on a call. There were conflicting accounts of the number of injured. Some of the reports said seven people were injured. Other reports said they were 20, including an 11-year-old child.
In Zhytomyr region, the drone attack hit a critical infrastructure facility.
Russia’s missile strike on Zaporizhzhia hits multi-story residential block, kills one, injures more than 30
On late morning Wednesday, Russia launched six missiles at Zaporizhzhia and Khortytsia Island, head of the Zaporizhzhia regional military administration Yuriy Malashko said. CCTV footage captured the moment one of the missiles hit a multi-story residential block, an evidence of yet another Russian war crime.
Two nine-story apartment buildings were damaged in the attack. There were no military facilities nearby, the Office of the Prosecutor General said. Ukraine’s Air Force said the enemy likely conducted the strike from Tornado-S MLRS. At least one person was killed, and 27 other people were taken to hospital, including three children.
Explosions rock Sevastopol Bay: here’s what is known
On the morning of March 22, a series of explosions rocked Sevastopol, in Crimea. Sea transport was halted. Russian occupation authorities said the reason was a drone attack. Air defense systems were at work, they added.
The first explosion rocked the Pivdenna Inlet in the Sevastopol Bay shortly before 5 a.m. It was followed by several more explosions and sounds of gunfire, local residents are quoted as saying. Boats and ferries were halted between the morning and afternoon as the bay area was closed. It later reopened.
The incident in Sevastopol follows a series of blasts in Dzhankoy on the evening of March 20 caused by a drone attack. Dzhankoy is a strategically important railway connection in the northern part of Crimea. The train station is out of service, Ukraine’s Operational Command South (Pivden) said.
Zelenskyi visits frontline positions near Bakhmut
On Wednesday, March 22, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi visited the frontline positions of the Ukrainian troops in the Bakhmut area.
Zelenskyi “heard reports on the operational situation and the course of the battles on the frontline,” a statement released by the Office of the President reads. He also talked to the service members and thanked them for the defense of Ukraine, the statement said.
On March 14, Deputy Defense Minister of Ukraine Hanna Malyar said the Ukrainian troops had “some significant success” in the north of Bakhmut. They inflict heavy losses on the enemy, so that the Russian forces are running out of offensive potential, she added.
Earlier that day, Zelenskyi met with top government officials and military commanders. There was a consensus among them to continue defending the city of Bakhmut.
Will we see putin’s trial in the Hague? Ukraine in Flames #377
On March 17 the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for russian president vladimir putin and the russian commissioner for children’s rights Maria Lvova-Belova, accusing them of responsibility for the war crime of illegal deportation of children from Ukraine. The ICC sees reasonable grounds to believe that putin bears individual responsibility for the crimes either by committing them directly or jointly with others. Watch Ukraine in flames #377 to hear the Ukrainian MP’s comment on this historical ICC’s decision and what are the legal consequences of it.
Guests:
- Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, People’s Deputy of Ukraine, Head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Ukraine’s Integration into the European Union
- Lesia Vasylenko, People’s Deputy of Ukraine, Lawyer
- Oleksandr Merezhko, People’s Deputy of Ukraine
- Kateryna Rashevska, Legal Expert at the Regional Centre for Human Rights