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Ukraine resists Russia’s invasion. Day 22: Pattern of war crimes as Russia’s strategy

Russia’s atrocities in Mariupol. A bomb shelter under the drama theatre withstood a bomb blast, and people were coming out alive from the rubble, morning reports said. The Russian troops fired toward Ukraine’s Security Service personnel pulling people alive out of rubble.  

Russians dropped two large bombs on a bomb shelter in Mariupol. They blocked attempts to pull people from rubble.

Survivors are trapped in the rubble. There are nearly 800 Mariupol citizens in the bomb shelter, a woman saved from the rubble said.  

Sievierodonetsk: women and children under fire. In Sievierodonetsk, in Luhansk region, the Russian troops fired on a shelter for women with children, head of the Luhansk regional military administration Serhiy Hayday said. The program director of the NGO SOS Children’s Villages of Ukraine Daria Kasyanova confirmed the reports. 

The organization’s staff and people hiding in the shelter are alive. Many of them are mothers with children, Hayday said. There are no safe places left in Luhansk region, the head of the administration added. 

Chernihiv: dozens of civilians killed in one day. In Chernihiv, 53 people were killed in Russia’s attacks in one day. On Thursday, a U.S. citizen was killed, and a dead family with three children was found under the rubble. The Russian troops shot and killed people queuing for bread.   

Cluster bomb attacks in Kharkiv and region. Twenty-one got killed, and twenty-five injured as Russia attacked Merefa in Kharkiv region. On March 17, the Russian troops fired cluster munitions on Kozacha Lopan in Kharkiv region. At least six people were killed. Full casualty record will be available later.  

Ukraine in Flames #7. Red Lines and Compromises. Ukraine’s ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ positions in peace negotiations

Four rounds of negotiations resulted in frustratingly little progress in securing ceasefire and safe humanitarian corridors. Both Ukrainian and Russian leadership gave vague comments about the results of each round. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyi mentioned on Monday, March 14, that the last round of negotiations had been “pretty good”. In Zelenskyi’s words, Ukraine expects “fair peace and real security guarantees that will work” and “safe sky over Ukraine”. Meanwhile, Russia commented that discussions over the weekend were a “substantial progress”. It is unlikely that Putin has changed his overall aim to restore the Russian sphere of influence, keep the annexed Donbas and Crimea, and ban Ukraine from Western military alliances. The Ukrainian side has firmly stated that it would not comply with Russia’s demands just to stop the war ‘in a moment’. This leaves the Ukrainian people and friends of Ukraine in the dark about the future of Ukraine’s multiple stress points – Mariupol, humanitarian corridors and security of civilians   – that the Ukrainian leadership may not be able to resolve without unpopular compromises.  

Speakers:

Valeriy Chaly, Chairman of the Board of Ukraine Crisis Media Center

Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, MP and Head of the committee for integration of Ukraine to European Union

Archil Tsyntsadze, military expert

Valeriy Pekar, lecturer at Kyiv-Mohyla Business School

Iurii Mytrofanenko, PhD from Kropyvnytskyi

Yaroslava Dekhtiarenko, writer from Zaporizhzhia

If you want to support Ukraine against Russian aggression, check the link with recommendations by Ukraine Crisis Media Center – https://uacrisis.org/en/help-ukraine

NGO Euroatlantic Course collects donations to support Ukrainian Army and civilians  –  https://eac.org.ua/en/main-page/