WAR IN UKRAINE: March 11, 2022
LATEST: Russia's Defence Ministry confirmed the strikes on Lutsk and Ivano-Frankivsk, local media is reporting. Moscow defence officials were quoted as saying their "high-precision, long-range attacks" had struck two military airfields in the cities in Ukraine's west. This marks new territory for the Russian attack which has previously focused on the Kyiv capital and cities in the east and south of Ukraine. Like Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk is an important hub in this birthplace of Ukrainian nationalism. The airport serves a dual purpose as commercial and military, and has on occasion, accepted international flights. The city is considered a crucial gateway to the immensely popular Carpathian tourism region.
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS: Day 16
The International Committee of the Red Cross warns that food and water supplies in besieged Mariupol are running dangerously low. “The humanitarian situation in Ukraine is increasingly dire and desperate,” says the ICRC.
President Zelensky in a late night address has roundly rejected claims by Russia that Ukraine is developing chemical weapons. The US has called such claims "laughable", and says they are a "false flag" to justify Russia's potential use of similar weapons against Ukraine (BBC)
Early morning blasts being reported in Dnipro - with a kindergarten and apartment building reportedly hit. Ukraine's State Emergency Services (SES) report that one person has been killed in Novokodatsky district.
Harsh sanctions, growing isolation and fear of President Vladimir Putin’s increasingly repressive rule are driving thousands of Russians out of their country, reports the Wall Street Journal. While the numbers pale compared with the two million who have fled Ukraine, they could be the front edge of a wave of people leaving due to shrinking political freedom and economic hardship. Many of those leaving are professionals and well-to-do Russians, along with journalists, activists and cultural figures.
US official: Russian military has moved closer to Kyiv. Forces near Hostomel Airport have advanced 3 miles. UK Ministry of Defence: Russia is preparing for renewed offensive in coming days. “This will probably include operations against the capital Kyiv” - @rohithachrooltv
“I’ve worked in many complex humanitarian emergencies before, but this is different for me. These are my people being injured and killed. I watch as large swaths of the land of my ancestors, introduced to me in childhood through Ukrainian folk songs and poems as a bucolic land of freedom fighters and brave dissidents, is being transformed into killing fields. No wonder my dreams keep me in a captive state of despair” - an excerpt from my CNN Opinion OpEd. To read, click here
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported that there has been a power loss at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant. IAEA says the heat load of the spent fuel storage pool and volume of cooling water at the plant is sufficient for effective heat removal without need for electrical supply.
The UN Humanitarian Country Team estimates that around 12 million people (nearly 30% of the population) requires life-saving humanitarian assistance. The return of cold weather is exacerbating already dire conditions.
