WAR IN UKRAINE: March 22, 2022
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Day 27
A pro-Kremlin tabloid had published and then deleted what it said was a Defense Ministry assessment that 9,861 Russian troops had been killed and 16,153 wounded, while 96 planes and 118 helicopters had been lost — staggering numbers that have not been officially confirmed.
Russian losses in the battlefield in Ukraine are staggering, writes Eliot A. Cohen for The Atlantic. He writes: “between 7,000 and 14,000 soldiers dead, depending on your source, which implies (using a low-end rule of thumb about the ratios of such things) a minimum of nearly 30,000 taken off the battlefield by wounds, capture, or disappearance. Such a total would represent at least 15 percent of the entire invading force, enough to render most units combat ineffective. And there is no reason to think that the rate of loss is abating—in fact, Western intelligence agencies are briefing unsustainable.”
US President Biden believes Russia's Vladimir Putin's "back is against the wall" in Ukraine, increasing the chance he may use chemical or biological weapons. The White House also warns that Russia may also resort to cyber-attacks against the US in response to increasingly damaging sanctions - BBC
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said any constitutional changes that relate to security guarantees in the country would need to be determined through a referendum. Zelensky said he has not met with Russian negotiators during recent peace talks but told his delegation that any significant compromise would require a people's vote - CNN
Russian forces fire at cars evacuating children. Mariupol city council said that two families evacuating by car from the besieged city were shot at by Russian forces. At least two children have been wounded and are in serious condition. Besides the cars, 20 buses with people left the city on March 21 - Kyiv Independent
Lately, the number of people departing Ukraine has dropped by almost half to 70,000 per day. Previously 120,000 to 150,000 people per day were crossing the border in the West of Ukraine to the European Union during the first days of the war. The current situation at border checkpoints is close to normal. Before the war, 50,000 people per day on average were crossing the border to the European Union at the checkpoints, said Andrii Demchenko of the Border Guard Service of Ukraine.
It was a day of difficult events. Difficult conclusions. But it was another day that brought us closer to our victory. To peace for our state. Glory to Ukraine! - President Zelensky
