WAR IN UKRAINE: March 15, 2022
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Day 20
Ukrainians fleeing the violence in central and eastern Ukraine on one of the many crowded trains which carry women and children to Poland. Credit: Alan Chin
Russian shelling of Kyiv continues this morning, with a residential building set ablaze after explosions were heard in the capital. One of the buildings in the Obolon district used to house diplomats. A suburban Kyiv subway station was put out action due to damage caused by shelling. The BBC’s Jeremy Bowen says there’s been “more sustained artillery in Kyiv today (Tuesday) than I’ve heard in two weeks.”
Kyiv authorities have announced new curfew measures. A hard curfew will be imposed starting at 8 pm tonight and lasting until 7 am on March 17. Authorities will forbid people to move around the city without special passes except to go to bomb shelters - Chris Miller
Evacuation corridors are planned to be for between 09:00 and 21:00 local time in the north-eastern Sumy region, says the regional state administration
In the besieged city of Mariupol, more than 2,500 civilians have died, Ukrainian officials estimate, and those who remain are without electricity, water and heat, reports CNN.
In Rubezhnoye, Russian forces destroyed a boarding school for the visually impaired, a city hospital and three schools, killing four people as a result of shelling - Serhiy Haidai, head of the Luhansk Regional Military Administration, on Telegram.
After a break, negotiations between Russia and Ukraine are set to continue today, according to Ukraine's President.
According to UA MOD’s intelligence, Russia is deliberately targeting agricultural equipment and machinery. Ukraine is one of the largest exporters of wheat, animal feed and vegetable oils in the world. Russia is undermining the food security of many countries in the Middle East and Africa which depend on Ukraine.
At least 42% of small businesses in Ukraine have ceased operations. According to a survey by the European Business Association, 42% of small businesses have closed, 31% have temporarily suspended work, and only 13% have managed to continue full, unrestricted operations as of March 14. The survey also notes that an estimated 51% of respondents intend to use the state-provided finance assistance amounting to $220 dollars (Kyiv Independent).
In a new address overnight, Zelensky spoke directly to Russian soldiers, in Russian: “You will not take anything from Ukraine. You will take lives... But your lives will also be taken. But why should you die? What for? I know that you want to survive.
”“We hear your conversations in the intercepts, and we hear what you really think about this senseless war, and about [Putin’s] disgrace and about your state. Your conversations with each other. Your calls home to your family… We know who you are.“Therefore I offer you a choice. On behalf of the Ukrainian people, I give you a chance. A chance to survive. If you surrender to our forces we’ll treat you the way people are supposed to be treated. As people, decently. In a way that you were not treated in your army.” (Thanks to Chris Miller for reproducing this).
I really want the people of the United States of America to understand that Ukraine is having a difficult time, to understand that Ukraine is strong ... I know Ukraine is changing every day. And frankly, if we did not spend so much time and money on the war in the East, Ukraine would make big leaps forward - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
Above: Germans at Berlin’s central train station, offering arriving Ukrainian migrants a place to stay
My daily update (Video version)