WAR IN UKRAINE: March 19, 2022
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Day 24
Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky said today: "The time has come to restore territorial integrity and justice for Ukraine. Otherwise, Russia's losses will be such that it will take you several generations to recover." (Reuters). As he makes louder calls for peace talks with Russia, Ukrainians tell me they will be watching carefully what concessions, if any, will be offered by Kyiv. While suspending the NATO membership bid will be a demand from the Kremlin, the most sensitive issue will concern territory - will discussions focus on lines drawn before the commencement of hostilities 24 days ago or way back to 2014 when Russia illegally annexed Crimea and occupied the Donbas with Russian-backed thugs?
Over 1,300 civilians still stuck under Mariupol's destroyed theater. According to Ombudsman Lyudmila Denisova, 130 people were rescued from the Mariupol theater destroyed by a Russian strike on March 16. However, the vast majority of civilians are still stuck under the rubble in the basement of the now destroyed theater - Radio Svoboda via Kyiv Independent
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has sparked significant rises in energy and food prices. An analysis by the Centre for Global Development suggests the scale of price spike will push over 40 million into extreme poverty.
The Pentagon estimates that Russia has fired 1080 rockets and cruise missiles at Ukrainian targets. Ukrainian forces are reportedly starting to bomb Russian forces with leaflets giving instructions on how to surrender. Separately, Russian defenses have confirmed the use of hypersonic missiles.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense believes that Russia will shortly announce a total national mobilization. Hezbollah, which is one of the sources from which Russia planned to recruit soldiers, announced yesterday that it is not taking part in the Russian invasion and that its forces will not be sent to Ukraine. "No one from Hezbollah, neither a fighter nor an expert, went to this arena or any of the arenas of these wars," Beirut-based Al Mayadeen TV quoted Lebanon’s Hezbollah chief as saying.
“Every person that chose to remain in Kyiv is a soldier now” - a Ukrainian Member of Parliament quoted today on US television.
With warmer weather just around the corner, people in Ukraine are saying that the war has to be won within three weeks so that the annual spring planting season is not delayed. One Canadian prairie farmer tweeted: “I’m looking forward to seeing Ukrainian tractors pulling seeders instead of tanks.”
Above: shelling in a Kyiv district closer to the city centre