Major highlights from the Russia Ukraine war: Day 26

The Russia-Ukraine war is going to complete a month soon. Let’s take a look on the major developments from Day 26.

The major developments that took place yesterday, till March 21 are listed below.

Mariupol won’t Surrender:

Russia has given an ultimatum to the Ukrainian government to surrender the besieged city of Mariupol. In exchange for Mariupol, Russia offers safe passage to all the civilians. However, President Zelensky has refused to surrender Mariupol.

The Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine has said that “there can be no talks over surrendering or laying down arms. And we have already informed the Russians about this.”

President Zelensky also stated that Russia is now attacking civilians too. Yesterday, Russian aircraft bombed an art school where around 400 civilians were taking shelter. They are under debris now, and the authorities are unaware of the casualties.

President Zelensky stated, “We know that we will certainly shoot down the pilot who dropped that bomb, like about 100 other such mass murderers whom we have already downed.”

Experts suggest that if Mariupol falls, Russian forces from the South and Eastern Ukraine might link up. However, if the Ukrainian troops take too long to protect Mariupol, it will be difficult to restrain a Russian breakthrough on other fronts.

Russian War crimes:

Yesterday, Russia bombarded local houses and targeted shopping area in Kyiv’s Podil district. The authorities suggest that the attack killed at least 4 civilians, leaving several injured. Another civilian from Odessa reported that apparently Russia is using unmanned aerial vehicles in urban areas. The west states that since last week, Russia has limited its offense from its ground forces.

In fact, Russian forces have not much advanced on ground, in the past week. However, it is constantly attacking the civilian areas by artillery and missile attacks. Further, the governor of Sumy said that the Russian troops have contaminated the villages of Novoselytsya and Verkhenya Syrovatka by an ammonia leak at a chemical plant.

Another update on death toll states that the Russian attack on March 11 in the Luhansk district on an old age home has claimed 56 dead bodies from the rubble after 10 days. Moreover, Russia also launched 3 more hypersonic missiles on Ukraine.

Peace negotiations:

Peace talks between Ukraine and Russia see no end. Both the nations accuse each other of delaying negotiations by asking for unacceptable proposals. Kremlin accuses Ukraine of halting negotiation process by making unacceptable proposals for Russia. Whereas, Ukraine says that Kyiv wants to negotiate but will not surrender or accept Russian ultimatums.

Further, other world leaders will hold meetings to limit Russia’s excessive autocracy. Foreign Ministers from the European Union will meet to discuss about imposing stricter sanctions on Moscow along with an oil embargo. US President Joe Biden will meet the 30 NATO members, the European Union and the G7 members including Japan. 

Widened Humanitarian crisis: 

The number of refugees that left Ukraine since the invasion has crossed the mark of 3.3 million. On the other hand, internally displaced people number nearly 6.5 million. Ukraine’s first lady, Olena Zelenska, has urged the World Council of Churches to organise “real” humanitarian corridors. 

Additionally, Ukraine’s human rights spokesperson, Lyudmyla Denisova, has accused Russia of kidnapping residents and taking them to their country after processing at “filtration camps.” She said that, “Some of them are deported to the Russian city of Taganrog, about 60 miles (100km) from Mariupol. From there, they will be sent to the economically depressed cities of Russia. 

World reacting to the Russian offenses: 

The United States accused China of sending ammunition to Russia. But China has dismissed all these allegations.

However, China’s ambassador to the US said that, “China was sending food and sleeping bags to Russia, but did not send any weapons or ammunition.” But Beijing has not ruled out the possibility that it might not send ammunition to Russia. 

Furthermore, Germany has signed a deal with Qatar for the supply of liquefied natural gas. This will limit the European Union’s dependency on Russian fuel. 

Published By: Apoorva Wakodikar

Edited By: Subbuthai Padma