🔵 23.03.2022
23:04 Suspilne
An 11-year-old gymnast Kateryna Diachenko died during the shelling by the Russian army in Mariupol.
22:01 Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine
Russia is spreading new disinformation about international support of the Russian war against Ukraine by the people of different countries.
The Kremlin media reports that action in support of Russia took place in New York. According to the propagandist materials, protesters carried posters with inscriptions like “Russia is not an enemy for us! NATO and Ukrainian Nazis are our enemies!”
21:19 European Pravda
The European Union will double the aid to the Armed Forces of Ukraine – this decision was announced on March 23.
“The aid measures will increase the initial budget, announced on February 28, 2020, by an additional 500 million, thus doubling the initial amount to 1 billion euros”, the statement said.
20.00 Dmytro Kuleba, Minister of Foreign Affairs
Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called for a boycott of the French carmaker Renault for refusing to stop working in Russia.
“Renault refuses to pull out of Russia. Not that it should surprise anyone when Renault supports a brutal war of aggression in Europe. But mistakes must come with a price, especially when repeated. I call on customers and businesses around the globe to boycott Group Renault.”
19:55 Texty
A website has been launched in Ukraine that allows the Belarusian military to learn the truth about the war.
The zarmy.rip website allows you to send text messages by mail, SMS or WhatsApp from your phones to randomly selected Belarusian soldiers and their families.
18:35 Kyiv City State Administration
The parking lot of a shopping center in Podilskyi district was damaged by shelling. One person died and two were hospitalized.
Addition:
Oksana Baulina, journalist of The Insider, was killed in the shelling by Russian forces.
Baulina was performing an editorial task in Kyiv – she was filming the destruction after the Russian troops fired on the Podilskyi district and came under new fire, The Insider reported.
18:22 General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
Operational information as of 18.00 23.03.2022 regarding the russian invasion
The twenty-eighth day of the heroic resistance of the Ukrainian people to the russian military invasion continues.
The defense forces continue their defensive operation against the russian invaders, inflicting heavy losses on the enemy.
russia, having disrupted all terms of the offensive operation, continues to consider the possibility of encircling certain groups of troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to issue further ultimatums during the negotiation process. At the same time, the russian occupiers, in violation of international humanitarian law, do not stop artillery fire, missile and air strikes for deliberate destruction of urban infrastructure, and chaotic mining and destruction of agricultural machinery threatens the beginning of the sowing campaign in some regions of Ukraine.
In Volyn, Polissya, Sivershchyna and the Tavriya direction, the enemy’s actions did not change.
In the Slobozhansky direction, in the city of Vovchansk, the occupiers, demonstrating a kind of “humanitarian mission” of the russian federation, organized a demonstration of so-called “humanitarian aid” to local residents under the personal signature and passport of a citizen of Ukraine.
In the temporarily occupied territories of Zaporizhzhia region, the enemy, due to problems with logistics, is trying to replenish fuel reserves by seizing it from the civilian population and farmers.
Ukraine’s defense forces continue to defend Ukraine both on the ground and in the air, gradually liberating it from the russian occupiers.
We believe in the Armed Forces of Ukraine! Keep calm! Glory to Ukraine!
#stoprussia
18:14 Ukraine NOW
20 sports facilities were destroyed or severely damaged after shelling by the occupants. For example, in Volnovakha the stadium was completely destroyed, in Mariupol a new swimming pool was significantly damaged, and in Irpen a children’s sports school was completely destroyed. In Kharkiv, in a professional sports college, mines and two unexploded shells lie on a football field.
Also, the “Ruscists” severely damaged several youth centers and hubs: three were destroyed and 5 were severely damaged. Kyiv and Chernihiv oblasts suffered the most.
17:56 Sociological group “Rating”
Approximately 44% of Ukrainians had to separate from their families because of the war.
17:37 Oleg Synegubov, head of the Kharkiv OVA
Russia has been preparing another batch of provocations.
There are intelligence reports that the Russians will attack their territories, especially civilian targets, and then blame the Armed Forces of Ukraine. These actions of the Russians are aimed solely at discrediting Ukraine and our defenders.
Do not believe the lies of the occupiers, trust only the official information.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine will never strike at civilian infrastructure and civilians, as the “Ruscists” do.
We protect only our own, only on our own land!
17:19 Yevhen Vasylenko, spokesman ofr the State Emergency Service in Kharkiv Region
Since the day of the shelling of the Kharkiv Regional State Administration on Sumska Street, the bodies of 24 victims have been removed from the rubble. Disassembly of the debris continues.
14:28 Mariupol City Council:
Russian invaders destroyed the building of the Arkhyp Kuindzhi Art Museum in Mariupol, where the original paintings of world-famous masters were kept.
According to the head of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine Konstantin Chernyavsky, the original works of Arkhip Kuindzhi were not in the museum at the time of the shelling – only copies by Andriy Yalansky and Oleksandr Olkhov remained. The fate of the works of Ukrainian artists – Ivan Aivazovskyi, Mykola Hlushchenko, Tatiana Yablonska, Mykhailo Derehus, and others is currently unknown.
12:54 Head of the Luhansk Regional State Administration Serhii Haidai:“BM-21 “Grad”, phosphorus bombs, aviation. Russians do not care by what they kill Ukrainians. Russians are using all their weapons to kill civilians. Russians clearly understand who and why they are shooting, no one has believed fables about “military bases” for a long time. Two small children from Rubizhne also died today. Russian aviation works in the Luhansk region for the third day. A few days earlier, orcs dropped a phosphorus bomb on Popasna. Yesterday, the queue of Sievierodonetsk residents to the store was covered with “Grad”.”
12:43 Ukrainska Pravda:
The Russian Foreign Ministry said that two prisoner exchanges allegedly took place between Ukraine and Russia. In Ukraine, this information is denied.
Zakharova’s direct speech: “Two prisoner exchanges took place between Russia and Ukraine.”
Vereshchuk’s direct speech: “No, I do not have such information. Russia lives in a parallel reality, conducting exchanges by itself and writing about it. We did not conduct exchanges.”
12:42 Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine:This morning, Russian terrorists abducted and took away in an unknown direction the director of the Kherson Regional Music and Drama Theater and deputy of the Kherson Regional Council Oleksandr Knyha. He is also the founder of one of the most famous international theater festivals in Ukraine – “Melpomene of Tavria”.
12:39 Minister of Internal Affairs Denys Monastyrskyi:
Since the beginning of the Russian armed aggression against Ukraine, SES pyrotechnics have made 2,485 trips, seized and disposed of 9,434 explosive devices and 224.9 kg of explosives, including 393 aerial bombs, and surveyed an area of 932.8 hectares.
12:36 Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine:
The international charity concert-marathon Save Ukraine – StopWar will take place on March 27. The concert will start at 17:30 Central European Time from Warsaw (18:30 Kyiv) on the basis of the Polish TV channel TVP.
12:28 Ukrinform, the address of Zelenskyy to Japan’s Parliament:
“It will take years after Russian troops leave Ukraine to investigate the damage they have done to Chornobyl. What sites of radioactive materials disposal were damaged. And how radioactive dust spread on the planet,” Zelensky said in his video address to Japan’s Parliament, streamed live on Ukraine’s nationwide telethon, Ukrinform reports.
The President reminded that thousands of tonnes of contaminated materials had been disposed of in the entire 30-kilometer exclusion zone after the Chornobyl disaster. On February 24, Russian armored vehicles passed through this land, lifting radioactive dust into the air.
“We are warned about possible chemical attacks, in particular with the use of sarin. As it was in Syria. And one of the main topics for discussion of world politicians is the question: how to react if Russia also uses nuclear weapons. Any confidence of any person in the world, any country is completely destroyed,” the President of Ukraine said.
12:27 Suspilne:
An online broadcast of Radio Ukraine has started in the Czech capital, Prague. The project is designed for Ukrainians who were forced to move to escape the Russian war against Ukraine.
12:27 Irpin Mayor Oleksandr Markushyn:
Yesterday, March 22, late in the evening, the Russian occupiers used banned phosphate munitions over the northwestern outskirts of Kyiv.
12:21 General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine:
Operational information as of 12.00 23.03.2022 regarding the Russian invasion.
The twenty-eighth day of the heroic resistance of the Ukrainian people to the Russian military invasion continues. The group of defense forces continues to conduct a defense operation in certain areas.
No active actions of the enemy were detected in the Volyn direction. The return of some units of the republic of belarus to permanent locations is partially confirmed. At the same time, the Lukashenko regime continues to maintain a significant group of troops near Ukraine’s state border.
In Polissya, the occupiers are trying to gain a foothold on the achieved frontiers, regrouping after the losses. The invaders tried to advance into the area of the settlement of Teterivske, however, due to limited forces, they were unsuccessful and were forced to withdraw. Air reconnaissance is underway, air defense equipment is being built up and approaches to the positions of their troops are being mined.
In the Sivershchyna, due to an unsuccessful attempt to blockade Chernihiv, the enemy is trying to recover from significant losses and organize logistical support for its units. In the Brovary direction, the occupiers are continuing engineering work, mining the infrastructure and civilian objects. The enemy continues to hold checkpoints on the routes of logistics in the areas of settlements Novy Bykiv, Losynivka, Velyka Doroha, Monastyryshche, Berestovets, Prokhori, Talalaivka, Makeyevka.
In the Slobozhansky direction, units of the Russian occupiers are concentrating their efforts on blocking the cities of Kharkiv and Sumy and restoring the loss of personnel.
As a result of the fighting in the Izyum direction, the Ukrainian defense forces destroyed up to 60 percent of the personnel and military equipment of the occupation units.
In the Donetsk direction, the aim of the armed forces of the Russian Federation remains to establish control over Rubizhne, Severodonetsk, Popasna, Verkhnotoretske, Mariinka and Mariupol. The enemy is unsuccessful, incurs losses, tries to increase the group by transferring additional forces to the Izvarino area and carrying out the forced mobilization of the civilian population of the so-called “republics” in the temporarily occupied territories of Donbas.
No significant changes were detected in the Tavriya direction. In the temporarily occupied territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, in the area of Dzhankoi, the arrival and concentration of personnel and military equipment of the armed forces of the russian federation was recorded.
In the South Buh direction, the enemy is not taking active action, strengthening the engineering equipment of the positions.
The enemy is demoralized, has significant losses and significant problems with their replenishment, as well as logistics.
The Defense Forces of Ukraine in some areas are conducting a stabilization operation, restraining the advance of the enemy, in some areas forcing the enemy to withdraw.
The Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine continues to cover ground forces and important infrastructure facilities, repel concentrated air strikes by the enemy.
11:35 State Border Guard Service of Ukraine:
The situation at the Western border
On 22 March, over 63 thousand people and nearly 12 thousand vehicles crossed the state border of Ukraine with the EU and the Republic of Moldova. The data from the past few days indicate that passenger traffic at the western border has stabilized and fluctuates between 60-65,000 people per day.
In the last 24 hours, over 45 thousand people left Ukraine. Over 30 thousand of them crossed the Ukrainian-Polish border. We would like to remind you that crossing the border to the EU can also be done at crossing points with Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, and the Republic of Moldova. Currently, there are no queues for pedestrians and vehicles.
In the last 24 hours, over 18 thousand people arrived in Ukraine, over 15 thousand of whom are Ukrainians. Most of them are men who are ready to join the ranks of Ukrainian defenders. Overall, since the beginning of the overt armed aggression, nearly 370 thousand of our countrymen have returned to Ukraine.
11:23 Ukrainska Pravda:
Poland will expel about 40 Russian diplomats for their activities, incompatible with diplomatic status – for espionage. This was reported to Onet by government sources.
11:17 Ministry of Defense of Ukraine:
As of March 23, nine humanitarian corridors have been agreed to evacuate people from settlements affected by the Russian invasion, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine Iryna Vereshchuk.
10:55 Ministry of Defense of Ukraine:
The Ministry of Defense confirmed information about preparations for blocking traffic on the Crimean bridge towards the Russian Federation by Rosguard forces. The occupation authorities will also restrict the movement of ferries and air connections of the peninsula with Russia.
The formal reason for such actions is the fight against Ukrainian saboteurs and the prevention of possible “terrorist attacks”.
Thus, the occupiers seek to stop the flow of refugees from the peninsula. After the Russian army’s invasion of Ukraine in February, there was a trend towards the outflow of Russian citizens from the Crimea. At the same time, in the first ranks of the “fugitives” – members of the families of Russian officers, law enforcement officers and representatives of the occupation administration of Sevastopol. They urgently sell real estate, change the registration of residence, remove business and assets from the peninsula.
By restricting the possibility of leaving Crimea, Putin is actually holding hostage 600,000 Russian citizens who are currently illegally on the peninsula and are beginning to understand the uncertainty of their legal status.
10:53 National Police of Ukraine:
Operational information of the Donetsk police on March 23, 2022
14 settlements have been shelled by Russians for the last 24 hours. The strikes damaged at least 24 civilian properties, including homes, a school, and a bus stop. There are dead and wounded civilians, including children.
During the past 24 hours, Mariupol, Marinka, Krasnohorivka, Kramatorsk, Druzhkivka, Ivanopillia, Vovchanka, Ocheretyne, Novobakhmutivka, Pershotravneve, Uspenivka, Andriivka, Berdychi, and Mykolaivka were under fire from the occupiers.
The enemy fired on civilians from aircraft, missiles and heavy artillery.
10:52 Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine:
The operational situation on the diplomatic front as of 10:00, March 23
For 28 days in a row, Ukraine has been fiercely resisting Russia’s armed aggression on all fronts, including diplomatic.
Today is an important day at the UN. A special emergency session of the UN General Assembly on the situation in Ukraine will continue in New York. The General Assembly is going to adopt a resolution “Humanitarian Consequences of Aggression against Ukraine.”
World’s Support
- Readers of Politico magazine called President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskiy the most influential human in Europe.
- The Paris City Hall unanimously voted to grant Kyiv a citizen of honor.
Isolation of the Russian Federation
- The Polish Chamber of Tourism, which includes 500 businesses in the field of hotel, tourism, and logistics services, has announced its intention to suspend cooperation with Russian businesses.
- The French banking group Crédit Agricole has announced a decision to suspend its activities in Russia.
- The French oil and gas company TotalEnergies has decided not to buy Russian oil products.
- New Zealand dairy producer Fonterra will close its Moscow office and leave the Russian business.
Assistance to Ukraine
- France is transferring support of 11 fire engines, 16 rescue vehicles, 49 tons of medical and emergency equipment to Ukrainian rescuers.
- The Estonian Chamber of Commerce has raised 100,000 euros to transfer to the account of the National Bank of Ukraine.
- The National Charitable Foundation of Latvia Ziedot.lv has already received about 6.2 million euros in donations for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people.
10:52 Еuropean Pravda
Russian Transport Minister Vitaly Savelyev acknowledged that Russia’s decision not to give owners their leased aircraft on demand is theft.
He said this during a meeting of the Federation Council Committee on Economic Policy on March 22. “They (planes – ed.) will not be serviced in the West, they will not even be released because we took away someone else’s property,” – said the minister.
10:29 National Union of Journalists of Ukraine:
Another Ukrainian journalist, the main director and senior cameraman of the Mariupol-based Sigma-TV channel Viktor Diedov, has been confirmed dead due to the Russian occupation.
10:12 General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine:
The total combat losses of the enemy from 24.02 to 23.03 were approximately:
- personnel – about 15600,
- tanks ‒ 517,
- APV ‒ 1578,
- artillery systems – 267,
- MLRS ‒ 80,
- anti-aircraft warfare systems ‒ 47,
- aircraft – 101,
- helicopters – 124,
- vehicles ‒ 1008,
- boats / cutters ‒ 4,
- fuel tanks ‒ 70,
- UAV operational-tactical level ‒ 42,
- special equipment ‒ 15.
Data are being updated. The calculation is complicated by the high intensity of hostilities.
9:55 Radio Svoboda:
On March 22, the German parliament honored 96-year-old Borys Romanchenko, who was killed during a shelling by Russian troops in Kharkiv. He was a prisoner of several Nazi concentration camps during World War II.
8:45 Head of the Sumy Regional Military Administration Dmytro Zhyvytskyi:
As a result of hostilities in Trostianets, one of the enterprises caught fire last night. Fire is still raging as a result of shelling. The Russians do not allow the SES to the scene for extinguishing.
8:21 Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine:
As of the 28th day of Russian aggression in Ukraine, 121 children died. 167 children received injuries of varying severity. The most affected children were in Kyiv – 61, Kharkiv – 41, Donetsk – 40, Chernihiv – 32, Mykolaiv – 24, the capital – 16, Zhytomyr – 15, Kherson – 15 and Sumy – 14 regions.
- In the Donetsk region, the Russian military continues to shell cities and civilian housing. Thus, a 9-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy were killed by Russian weapons, and 3 children were injured.
- On March 17, 2022, the father of a large family was ruthlessly killed by the Russian occupiers in front of his 14-year-old son. The boy received bullet wounds. This happened when they went for humanitarian aid and medicine to the center of occupied Bucha, Kyiv region, where the family lives because there was no gas, electricity, or water in the family home for almost two weeks.
- On the evening of March 22, 2022, an enemy projectile hit a high-rise building in Rubizhne, Luhansk region. Three died, two of them children.
As a result of daily bombings and shelling, 548 educational institutions were damaged. 72 of them were completely destroyed. It is more than 220 schools, 155 kindergartens. The worst situation is in the Donetsk, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, Sumy, Kyiv, Kherson, Chernihiv regions and in the city of Kyiv. In addition, more than 40 children’s facilities were affected by enemy fire, including medical facilities, art schools, sports facilities, and libraries.
These data are not conclusive, as it is not possible to inspect the sites of shelling in areas of active hostilities and in the temporarily occupied territories.
7:59 Suspilne:
In Chernihiv, the Russian military bombed a road bridge across the Desna, which connected the city with Kyiv. Air bombs were dropped on the bridge, one of the spans fell. The information was confirmed by the head of the Chernihiv Regional Military Administration Viacheslav Chaus. This bridge served as a route for evacuation transport and humanitarian aid.
6:50 General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine:
Operational information as of 06.00 23.03.2022 regarding the Russian invasion
The 28th day of the Ukrainian people’s heroic resistance against russia’s military invasion has begun.
The defence forces continue to conduct a defence operation in the Eastern, Southern, and Northeastern directions.
In the Eastern direction the operational groups of troops are operating in the Donetsk, Slobozhansk, and Eastern part of the Tavriya operational districts. They are not giving the enemy an opportunity to renew their offence in the directions of Slov’yansk and, part of the forces, on the Lozova locality. They are restraining the advances of the enemy in the direction of Zaporizhya.
The combined forces are holding back the invader in the direction of the cities of Popasna and Kurakhove. They are also carrying out the circular defence of Mariupol.
In the North-Eastern direction, the defence operation continues in a designated operational zone. The main efforts are focused on covering the state border, holding back the enemy’s offence in the area os Malyn.
In the Siversky region, a group of troops holds the defence of Chernihiv and holds back the advancement of the enemy in the direction of Kyiv.
In the South-East direction a defence operation is being carried out, as well as the support of troops’ ground operations and individual units, and the defence of bases and seaports in the Black Sea operational zone. The defence of the city of Mykolayiv and Mykolayiv region continues.
Our defenders are holding back the enemy in the direction of Kryviy Rih and Novovorontsovska, conducting a stabilising operation, and carrying out territorial defence tasks.
There is a note of the enemy’s aviation carrying out active tasks, as well as missile strikes, over the past 24 hours.
The Air Force and Armed Forces of Ukraine are repulsing concentrated missile and air strikes of the enemy, covering important objects in Ukraine from the air, and grouping troops. Over the past 24 hours over 17 of the enemy’s air targets have been hit (6 aircrafts, 5 UAVs, 1 helicopter and 5 cruise missiles). Additionally, the aviation of the Air Forces have made devastating blows to the accumulation of equipment and manpower of the enemy, and have damaged the enemy’s cruise missiles.
On the territory of the russian federation, covert mobilisation continues, with the aim of replenishing the personnel losses in the occupying group of troops operating on the territory of Ukraine. Military commissariats are making efforts to attract former servicemen to serve and sign the relevant contracts of former servicemen, and preference is given to those with combat experience.
On the territory of belarus the representatives of the opposition forces and concerned citizens who condemn the assistance of the current illegitimate government of the russian federation in the war with Ukraine, have partially disrupted the railway connection between republic of belarus and Ukraine.
Information to be confirmed.
At the same time, based on the available information, russian and belarussian military equipment is being actively moved across the territory of the republic of belarus, and further accumulated along the Ukrainian border.
In certain areas, the enemy has been demoralised. Thus, during the storming of the city of Mariupol, in one of the special forces units that were involved in active hostilities, less than 10% of the personnel are prepared to continue to take part in the war, and the remaining personnel are either killed, wounded, ill, or demoralised.
4:05 BBC News:
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has called for an end to imports of Russian hydrocarbons. This means the actual cessation of oil and gas transportation from Russia.
01:03 General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine:
Operational information as of 24.00 22.03.2022 regarding the Russian invasion
The 27th day of the Ukrainian people’s heroic resistance against russia’s military invasion is coming to an end.
Russian occupation forces continue to conduct their strategic offensive operation against Ukraine. Due to a lack of success in their war against the Ukrainian people, the enemy has proceeded to turn to a total destruction of critical objects of infrastructure.
They continue to carry out artillery shelling and rocket attacks of residential neighbourhoods, historic architectural sites, schools, hospitals, and civilian industries.
In towns and villages that peacefully resist the occupants’ armed forces, they resort to looting and violence against civilians.
Ukraine’s Armed Forces, in close cooperation with other defense service units, continue to hold down the occupied frontiers, carry out reconnaissance of the enemy in all directions of its advances, and fire back with all forces and means.
Thus, in the Donetsk and Luhansk directions, the enemy has attempted to move forward and secure their position, but had no success.
The military-political leadership of the republic of belorus continues the provide comprehensive support to the enemy’s military, by giving it the use of its airfield and transport network, certain healthcare facilities, and is acting as an accomplice in crimes against the Ukrainian people.
At the same time, there is the possibility of involving the armed forces of the republic of belorus in the war against Ukraine on the side of the russian federation. However, according to the information available, a large number of personnel as well as some commanders are refusing to participate in the occupation of our state.
Ukraine’s protectors have repulsed 7 of the enemy’s attacks and destroyed 7 tanks, 2 infantry fighting vehicles, 6 artillery systems and several automobiles, and have seized 3 infantry fighting vehicles. Air defense units hit enemy targets, namely 2 UAVs, 4 aircrafts and a “Point-U” missile. The losses of enemy personnel are estimated to be approximately 100 individuals (the losses of occupants are being confirmed).
00:42 State Agency of Ukraine on Exclusion Zone Management:The Russian occupiers illegally seized a modern laboratory worth 6 million euros, which is located in the Chornobyl exclusion zone.
