WAR IN UKRAINE: March 23, 2023
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Day 393
On Wednesday morning, at least one person was killed and three dozen injured from a Russian missile fired directly into a high-rise residential building in Zaporizhzhia. Injured include two children aged 7 and 9, the secretary of the city council said. 25 were hospitalized. Video posted by the presidential office show a missile slamming at high speed into the middle of the complex. Earlier, a Russia’s overnight attack on Kyiv killed nine and wounded seven. Several were still believed to be trapped under rubble. The Ukrainian Air Force says a total of 16 Shaheds drones out of 21 were destroyed overnight. Late Tuesday, Russian attacks also damaged property, including a monastery, in Odesa Oblast. Prospects for peace in Ukraine seem no better now that before Chinese President Xi’s visit to Moscow.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday that he visited military positions near the front-line town of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, as a Russian strike battered a residential building leaving dozens injured, Agence France-Presse reported. During the visit Zelenskyy recognized that the troops had a difficult task. "I am honored to be here today to award our heroes. To shake hands and thank them for protecting the sovereignty of our country." Video released by Zelenskyy's office showed him meeting servicemen in a warehouse and handing out state decorations - VOA
The Group of Seven nations are unshakable in their support for Ukraine, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Tuesday. Kishida, who will host G-7 leaders in Hiroshima this May, pledged to provide $30 million in nonlethal aid through NATO for Ukraine. He is the last G-7 leader to visit Ukraine since Russia invaded it in February 2022. Kishida condemned Russia's invasion, rejected unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force, and vowed to defend the international order based on the rule of law. Japan will also provide Ukraine with $470 million in energy-sector aid. The two countries decided to upgrade their relationship to a special global partnership - Nikkei Asia
In the year since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, China has sold more than $12 million in drones and drone parts to the country, according to official Russian customs data from a third-party data provider. It is hard to determine whether the Chinese drones contain American technologies that would violate the U.S. rules or whether they are legal. The shipments, a mix of products from DJI, the world’s best-known drone maker, and an array of smaller companies, often came through small-time middlemen and exporters. Complicated sales channels and vague product descriptions within export data also make it hard to definitively show whether there are U.S. components in the Chinese products, which could constitute a violation of the American export controls. And the official sales are most likely only one part of a larger flow of technologies through unofficial channels and other nations friendly to Russia, like Kazakhstan, Pakistan and Belarus - NYT
Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says Washington has not yet seen evidence that Beijing is providing lethal aid to Russia but added that China’s political and material support for Russia goes against U.S. interests. “As we speak today, we have not seen them cross that line," Blinken said when asked at a Senate committee hearing if China was providing "lethal aid" to Russia. “I think their diplomatic support, their political support, and to some extent material support for Russia certainly goes against our interest in bringing this war to an end," he added - VOA
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is making a significant shift in tone toward the war in Ukraine, calling Russian President Vladimir Putin a “war criminal” who should be held accountable, in another portion of a Piers Morgan interview teased in the New York Post. DeSantis had previously labeled the war a “territorial dispute.” DeSantis’ comments to Morgan come after he fielded criticism from Republicans including Gov. Chris Sununu, Sen. Lindsey Graham and Sen. Marco Rubio for saying US support of Ukraine is not of “vital” national interest via in a statement to Fox News' Tucker Carlson - CNN