Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Timeline of events, March 20-21

🔘 Volodymyr Zelensky, in his video address, said that the compromises reached in the negotiations with the Russian Federation would be put to a referendum. These issues include security guarantees, as well as the issue of the status of Crimea and the territories of Donbass.

“I explained to all negotiation teams; when you talk about all these changes, and they can be historical, we will not go anywhere, we will come to a referendum. The people will have to say and give an answer to certain formats of compromises. But what they will be is already a matter of our conversation and understanding between Ukraine and Russia. Therefore, in any case, I am ready to do anything if my path is with our people”, said the head of Ukraine

🔘 The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation confirmed a strike on a shopping center in Kyiv. The department emphasizes that the building did not function, and an ammunition depot was organized inside by the Armed Forces of Ukraine

Photo: Clearing rubble at the site of a rocket hit in Kyiv – UNIAN

Situation in Ukraine:

🔘 In Avdiivka, five people were killed and ten wounded today due to Russian shelling, local authorities report

🔘 New kidnapping of a government official by the Russian military. This time in the Kherson region, the mayor of Berislav Alexander Shapovalov and another local activist were kidnapped. The abduction took place on March 19, according to the regional administration.

Photo: 96-year-old Boris Romanchenko, who survived four Nazi concentration camps, died during the shelling of Kharkov – UNIAN

In the world:

🔘 UN: Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, 925 civilians have died. Another 1496 were injured. Among the dead were 75 children.

In the territories of Donetsk and Lugansk regions, which were under the control of Ukraine, 201 people died, 571 were injured.
In the territories of the self-proclaimed DPR and LPR, 55 people were killed, 190 were injured.
In other regions, a total of 669 people died, 735 were injured.

🔘 Germany has found a replacement for Russian gas – Berlin has entered into a long-term agreement with Qatar on the supply of liquefied natural gas.

🔘 The assets of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation frozen in France are not planned to be transferred to the bank of Ukraine – the head of the French Foreign Ministry.

Photo: On the website of the Russian media “Komsomolskaya Pravda” information was published that Russia in Ukraine lost 9861 soldiers killed and 14153 wounded. Later, the publication deleted the post and reported a hack and the publication of false information. — Medusa

In the world:

🔘 UN: Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, 925 civilians have died. Another 1496 were injured. Among the dead were 75 children.

In the territories of Donetsk and Lugansk regions, which were under the control of Ukraine, 201 people died, 571 were injured.
In the territories of the self-proclaimed DPR and LPR, 55 people were killed, 190 were injured.
In other regions, a total of 669 people died, 735 were injured.

🔘 Germany has found a replacement for Russian gas – Berlin has entered into a long-term agreement with Qatar on the supply of liquefied natural gas.

🔘 The assets of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation frozen in France are not planned to be transferred to the bank of Ukraine – the head of the French Foreign Ministry.

Photo: On the website of the Russian media “Komsomolskaya Pravda” information was published that Russia in Ukraine lost 9861 soldiers killed and 14153 wounded. Later, the publication deleted the post and reported a hack and the publication of false information. — Medusa

In Russia:

🔘 Roskomnadzor blocked the website of the Euronews TV channel in Russia.

🔘 Also, Roskomnadzor banned the Russian media from displaying the Meta, Facebook and Instagram logo. After today’s court decision, they are banned in the Russian Federation

🔘 Fitch agency gave a forecast for the Russian economy. According to the study, the country’s GDP may fall by 8%, inflation will reach 18%, and the dollar will cost 135 rubles by the end of the year.

Photo: The head of the delegation from Russia at the talks with Ukraine, Vladimir Medinsky, cut his Visa card in protest against the payment system from Russia, laying out the symbols of the invasion of Ukraine – Medinsky’s Telegram

🔘 In Kherson, the Russian military opened fire at protesting civilians, woundeding several.

🔘 The Ministry of Defense of Belarus has announced that it would be withdrawing paratroopers from the Ukrainian border. Earlier, the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that they were observing the preparations of the Belarusian troops for the invasion of Ukraine.

🔘 The talks between the official delegations of Ukraine and Russia on March 21 lasted an hour and a half. The working groups will now be working all day. This was reported to journalists by a member of the Ukrainian delegation, David Arakhamia. He did not disclose information about the results of the negotiations.

Photo: Rescuer sorting through the rubble after another shelling of Kharkov – UNIAN

Situation in Ukraine:

🔘 In Kyiv, more than 70 houses were damaged by Russian shelling. 65 citizens were killed, almost 300 were injured. This was stated by the mayor of Kyiv Vitali Klitschko.

🔘 In Ukraine, they announced the abduction by Russian troops of another representative of the local authorities – the head of the village of Tsirkuny in the Kharkiv region, Nikolai Sikalenko.

🔘 The Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine reports that Russian troops seized 5 ships loaded with grain in the port of occupied Berdyansk.

🔘 The State Border Service of Ukraine reports that almost 400,000 Ukrainian citizens have returned to the country since the beginning of the war. According to the agency, about 75-80% of them are men.

Video: View of Mariupol today — UNIAN

🔘 Brussels begins to consider Ukraine’s application for the EU membership.

🔘 The EU will increase funding for arms supplies to Ukraine to 1 billion euros

🔘 Belarusian banks have started to get disconnected from SWIFT. Today, the following have been disconnected from the payment system: the Development Bank of Belarus, Belagroprombank and Dabrabyt.

🔘 Ukrainians living in Poland are holding a protest at one of the border crossings, demanding to stop cargo transportation between the European Union and Belarus. Activists block the road, which is why the line of trucks at the border stretched for 50 kilometers. The protesters believe that the EU did not impose serious restrictions on supplies to Belarus and transportation across the Belarusian-Polish border allows Russia to bypass sanctions through Belarus.

Video: A man collects his belongings in a dilapidated house – UNIAN

In Russia:

🔘 A court in Russia has banned Facebook and Instagram, recognizing Meta Platforms as an extremist organization. Its activities are now banned on the territory of the Russian Federation. The Meta ban does not apply to WhatsApp.

🔘 Russia imposed counter sanctions against Japan. According to them, negotiations on a peace treaty, which was formally never signed after the Second World War, are terminated. Also, Japanese citizens are deprived of the opportunity to travel without visas to the South Kuril Islands, which belonged to Japan before 1945. Russia withdraws from the dialogue on establishing joint economic activities in the South Kuriles.

“The entire responsibility for the damage to bilateral cooperation and the interests of Japan itself lies with official Tokyo, which deliberately chose an anti-Russian course instead of developing mutually beneficial cooperation and good neighborliness,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

🔘 The Russian government is studying the issue of a ban on uranium supplies to the United States in response to the embargo of Russian energy resources, said Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak

🔘 The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned US Ambassador John Sullivan to present a note of protest “in connection with the recent unacceptable statements of the head of the White House, John Biden, addressed to the President of Russia.”

🔘 Since the beginning of the war, at least 557 Russian soldiers have been in Ukraine, the BBC Russian Service reported, citing media reports, statements by the authorities of the regions of the Russian Federation and their own information. In addition to the 557 confirmed military dead, the BBC found reports of 38 more Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine, but there is no independent confirmation of these deaths.

Photo: A destroyed house and a local resident of a Ukrainian village – UNIAN

🔘 Russian military has kidnapped four journalists of the Mestnye Vesti media in Melitopol.

“Armed people came, captured them and took them to an unknown direction. The Russians are trying to achieve cooperation”, the publication reports.

🔘 972 buildings have been destroyed in Kharkiv, 778 of them are residential buildings. This was stated by the mayor of the city Igor Terekhov.

Video: Russian projectile hit near a shop in Kharkiv with civilians in it – Nexta live

 Situation in Ukraine:

🔘 Morning summary of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine – the position and nature of the actions of the defense forces have not undergone significant changes in recent days.

🔘 Putin no longer sets the goal of taking Kyiv, but wants to force Ukraine to surrender the southern and eastern territories – The Wall Street Journal, citing American officials.

🔘 Russian troops fired on the Zhytomyr region for the first time from “Gradov”. Three soldiers and one civilian were killed. This is reported by the local authorities.

🔘 The accident at the Sumykhimprom plant has been eliminated, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine reported. Ammonia leak no longer poses a danger to Sumy residents. No casualties have been reported.

🔘 “Taking Mariupol under control is not a matter of two or three days or even a week,” said Denis Pushilin, head of the self-proclaimed “DPR”, commenting on the possibility of taking the city in the near future

🔘 More than 3 million Ukrainians fled from Ukraine to Europe. 11-12 million people have become internally displaced people,” said Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine.

🔘 One of the employees of Leroy Merlin died after the shelling of a shopping center in Kyiv by Russian troops. The store, located in the shopping center, was destroyed by shelling and fire.

Photo: A shopping center in Kyiv destroyed by a Russian missile attack – UNIAN

In the world:

🔘 Boris Johnson is planning a trip to Kyiv. By this he wants to “demonstrate support for the struggle of Ukraine against the invasion of the Russian Federation” – Daily Mail

🔘 The European Union is considering imposing an embargo on oil supplies from Russia. An embargo on energy resources could be introduced in the event of a “massive bombardment of Kyiv” or the use of chemical weapons. Baltic states push for oil embargo as Germany warns against rushing into already high energy prices in Europe – Reuters

🔘 Latvia plans to close its ports to ships sailing under the Russian flag. Minister of Transport Talis Linkaits stated this in an interview with the local TV3 channel.

🔘 Countries that have imposed sanctions against the Russian Federation accounted for more than 54% of Russian trade in 2021, FinExpertiza. According to the study, Russia’s turnover with countries that did not support the sanctions in 2021 amounted to $ 359.8 billion, or about 45.8% of all foreign trade: 44.2% of exports and 48.6% of imports. Russia’s main trading partner in recent years has been the European Union. In 2021, it accounted for 35.9% of Russian trade ($282 billion). The share of China is two times less – 17.9% ($140.7 billion).

🔘 China will provide Ukraine with a new batch of humanitarian aid worth $1.6 million, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.

Video: Russian Navy ships shelled Odessa today. According to the mayor of the city, several buildings were destroyed, but no one was injured. — Nexta live

In Russia:

🔘 Russia has agreed with Kazakhstan to create a working group to increase oil transit to China, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said.

“Oil prices may jump to $300-$500 per barrel if Europe refuses Russian raw materials. Russian oilmen have begun to redirect oil flows from the West to the East,” said the Deputy Prime Minister

🔘 The prosecutor’s office in court asks to ban Meta’s activities in Russia and the sale of Facebook and Instagram products due to extremist activities, RIA Novosti reports. The FSB asks to immediately ban the activities of Meta (Facebook, Instagram) in Russia.

But the use of these social networks by citizens and legal entities will not be recognized as extremism and Russians will not be held accountable for using Facebook and Instagram, the prosecutor said.

🔘 The court fined a resident of Tula 48,000 rubles (about $460) because of a poster on the balcony “I am against the war,” the press service of the regional courts reports. The woman was found guilty of discrediting the Russian armed forces.

🔘 Press Secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov, commenting on the possibility of expanding the “fake law”, said that the emerging unprecedented conditions require unprecedented decisions – RBC.

🔘 Avtovaz announced downtime at several enterprises due to a lack of supplies of electronic components.

Photo: Destruction in Mariupol – Reuters

🔘 Numerous rocket attacks have hit Kharkiv at night. One rocket has hit a building of a shopping center in Kiyv, causing large fire, which firefighters have tried to extinguished all night. According to the State Emergency Service, 4 people have died.

🔘 Negotiations with Russia will continue today, March 21 – adviser to the office of the President of Ukraine Mikhail Podolyak.

🔘 Belarusian troops are gathering near the border with Ukraine. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine stated that it had recorded signs of the preparation of the armed forces of Belarus for an invasion of the territory of Ukraine. An identification mark is applied to the equipment – a red square. Belarusian President Lukashenko denies the possibility of an invasion, saying he was not asked for a military assistance.

🔘 The use of hypersonic missiles by Russia is nothing but “a response to the loss of personnel on the battlefield.” — Bloomberg

Video and photo: Rocket attack on a shopping center in Kyiv – UNIAN

In Ukraine:

🔘 Ukrainian media, citing local authorities, report the death of 56 people after the shooting by Russian troops of a nursing home in Kremennaya.

🔘 In Kherson this morning, the car of Pavel Slobodchikov, an ally of the former mayor of the city Vladimir Saldo, has been shot at. Slobodchikov died, and his wife was injured. Prior, the former mayor agreed to cooperate with the new administration of the captured Kherson and joined the “Committee of Salvation for Peace and Order”, created by the Russian military.

🔘 Media reports about the leakage of ammonia – a toxic gas – at one of the shelled factories in Sumy. Damage radius reaches 5 km

🔘 Russian troops kidnapped the first deputy mayor of Energodar, Zaporozhye region. Earlier, the mayor of Melitopol was kidnapped. For six days they tried to persuade him to cooperate and, after refusing, they exchanged him for nine captured Russian soldiers.

🔘 “We will fight to the last soldier” – Advisor to the Mayor of Mariupol. He also refused to surrender the city at the request of Russia.

🔘 902 civilians killed in Ukraine – UN

Photo: Situation in Ukraine on March 20 – Institute for the Study of War

In the world:

🔘The European Union is preparing a fifth round of sanctions against Russia amid the events in Ukraine, Reuters reported.

🔘 Russia gave Belarus a deferment on state loans for 5-6 years

🔘 The US authorities have stated that they will not send troops to Ukraine as part of the UN peacekeeping contingent, but will support another NATO country if it does so. President Biden is set to discuss bringing peacekeepers to Ukraine during a meeting with Polish President Andrzej Duda

🔘 New Zealand will allocate $3.5 million to buy weapons for Ukraine and send protective equipment from its own stocks, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said.

🔘 Australia will provide Ukraine with 70,000 tons of coal for free.

🔘 The United States will allocate 30 million dollars to Moldova as support due to the large number of incoming refugees from Ukraine.

🔘 France freezes the assets of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation in the amount of 22 billion euros

In Russia:

🔘 Almost 30% of the elevators installed in Russia last year were produced by companies from Europe, the USA and other Western countries. Of these, about 13% are imported, and another 16% are elevators from the American company Otis, which has a factory in Russia. Over the past three weeks, Otis, as well as European firms, have announced that they will no longer supply their products to Russia. In the Russian Federation, high-speed elevators which can be installed in a building above 110 meters, re not yet produced. After the cessation of supplies in the country, Russia  began to look for a replacement among Chinese, Korean and Turkish manufacturers. — RBC

Photo: Civilians at their home, which was hit by a missile attack – UNIAN

Zelensky addresses Israel

The President of Ukraine Zelensky has addressed the Israeli Parliament in the format of a Zoom videoconference. He began by echoing the words of former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir, who was born in Kyiv: “We intend to live, but our neighbors want to see us dead”. Addressing parliament, Zelensky, who is Jewish, compared Russia’s actions and words to Nazi Germany during World War II, and asked why Israel does not send ammunition and impose sanctions on Moscow, following the example of many Western countries. Israel, which has ties to both countries, has been somewhat neutral since the start of the war. “Israel has the best air defense in the world, you can definitely help our people, save the lives of Ukrainians. The choice is up to you, brothers and sisters, and with this choice you, the people of Israel, must then live”.

Turkey on the most difficult issues in the negotiations

The independence of Ukraine is among the conditions discussed at the talks between Ukraine and Russia, and Turkey is ready to become the guarantor of this independence along with the UN Security Council and Germany, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said. He also said: “We strongly objected to the annexation of Crimea in 2014. If the world had given a proper response to the annexation of Crimea, we would not be in this situation today.”

Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin wrote on his Twitter page that “a peace deal is not impossible.” The most difficult issues to agree on, he said, are Russia’s demand to recognize the annexation of Crimea, as well as to recognize the independence of the so-called Lugansk and Donetsk republics in eastern Ukraine. “These are the main issues, and I think they are the most difficult to agree on. The remaining four topics of discussion are the neutrality of Ukraine, disarmament, security guarantees for Ukraine, as well as work on the so-called denazification,” Kalin said. Last week, a meeting of the foreign ministers of Ukraine and Russia took place in Turkey.

Skepticism from the US and NATO about the peace talks between Russia and Ukraine

Ukrainian and Russian negotiators have met four times since the start of the Russian invasion, but the state of the negotiation process remains unclear. Referring to a representative of one of the European ministries of defense, CNN writes that “negotiations are like something like a dark unlit road.”

From the Ukrainian side. Ukrainian President Zelenskiy recently said he was open to talks with Putin and willing to consider some concessions to end the violence. This may be, in particular, the adoption by Ukraine of a policy of neutrality, but subject to reliable security guarantees. But in an interview with CNN today, Zelenskiy said: “If the attempts at negotiations fail, it could mean that the battle between the two countries will lead to the Third World War.”

Statements from Russia:

Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said yesterday that Russia’s operation in Ukraine “will end with the signing of a comprehensive agreement on the issues that I mentioned – security issues, the neutral status of Ukraine with guarantees of its security.” US and NATO officials believe that Russian President Vladimir Putin has not abandoned his initial demands. It is unlikely that Putin is willing or ready for a de-escalation of the conflict, which leaves little room for optimism, a U.S. official told CNN.

Support for Ukraine

“Putin must not win this war,” Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said.

Unprecedented increase in the number of refugees

“The rise in the number of refugees from Ukraine is unprecedented in recent history” – United Nations Refugee Agency. “My colleagues I spoke to, who have worked in crises for decades, say they have never seen so many people move so quickly,” agency spokesman Matt Saltmarsh told the BBC. The numbers have not yet reached the level of conflicts like Syria, but Syria has been at war for many years, he said. UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said earlier that 10 million people had fled their homes in Ukraine.

PHOTO: Rocket attack on a residential area in Kyiv

PHOTO: Tatyana Chornovol, a former member of the Ukrainian parliament who now runs an anti-tank missile system. REUTERS / Gleb Garanich

  The Ukrainian authorities have confirmed reports of the destruction of the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, one of the largest in Europe, as a result of the bombing.

 

#Mariupol #Azovstal One of the biggest metallurgic plants in #Europe destroyed. The economic losses for #Ukraine are huge. The environment is devastated #StopRussiaNOW pic.twitter.com/4GMbkYb0es

— Lesia Vasylenko (@lesiavasylenko) March 19, 2022

 Mariupol has been bombed almost continuously for a week now. Residents ration food and water. There are bodies lying on the streets that cannot be immediately picked up due to shelling. Ukrainian President Zelensky called what Russian troops did to Mariupol “an act of terror that will be remembered for centuries.”

Why Mariupol is strategically important

This is one of the largest ports in Ukraine. If it falls, it will help Russia create a land corridor between Crimea and the Russian-backed separatist Luhansk and Donetsk regions. This would make it much easier for Russia to move goods and people in and out of Crimea. Russia has wanted to achieve this since 2014, when the conflict began in eastern Ukraine. Currently, the peninsula is connected to Russia by a single bridge built at great cost after annexation.

 In the battles near Mariupol, another Russian commander was killed – General Oleg Mityaev from the 150th motorized rifle division of Russia. Members of his unit have also been killed. This was reported by the Ukrainian authorities, and, according to them, this is the fifth Russian general killed after the February 24 invasion.

  Ukraine claims that more than 14,000 Russian servicemen have been killed since the start of the war. Western officials put the figure at 7,000.

  Ukrainian military planes move freely over Ukraine, Russia does not control Ukrainian airspace – Western intelligence reports and journalists’ say.

  “Russian troops are shelling Ukrainian cities en masse and chaotically as their offensive in the eastern regions has stalled. The result was massive destruction and a huge number of civilian casualties. Russian forces are also reported to be “continuing to lay siege to a number of cities in eastern Ukraine,” but noted that they have made only “little progress” in capturing these key targets over the past week. The Ministry of Defense assumes that Russia will use “heavy firepower to support the assaults on urban areas. They hope to reduce their already significant losses at the cost of further Ukrainian civilian casualties.”

  US President Joe Biden and his fellow world leaders will hold a series of summits this coming week that will result in a package of new measures to punish Russia, help Ukraine, and demonstrate Western unity.

  At least one and a half million children became refugees because of the war that Russia started in Ukraine. At least 150 children were killed and 160 injured – UNICEF.

The war in Ukraine is a “senseless massacre,” Pope Francis said:

VIDEO: The Ukrainian military and the Georgian legion are fighting with a column of Russian troops:

 At least 50 people were killed in yesterday’s rocket attack on a barracks in the Ukrainian city of Nikolaev, and another 57 in hospitals. But the demolition is still ongoing. There were at least 200 people there.

  In Russia, the death in battles in Ukraine of captain 1st rank Andrei Paliy was confirmed. Among the dead commanders are six Russian generals, Kyiv says. This is many generals as those who died during 10 years of the war in Afghanistan.

  The United States offered Turkey to transfer S-400 air defense systems to Ukraine, which in turn were bought from Russia – Reuters. The report says that this idea has already been expressed in conversations between American and Turkish officials, but so far – unofficially.

  Bulgaria decided to abandon Russian gas. Finance Minister Assen Vasilyev said that the country will not renew the contract with Gazprom, it expires at the end of the year. Negotiations are underway with Turkey and Greece.

  Lloyd’s Register has disabled navigation chart updates for Russian ships, and they will soon be unable to go to sea. “What will happen without map updates? The Port Inspectorate will not let the ship go on a voyage, and not only outside the Russian Federation, but also on the territory of the country, as the ship may not be able to return home”, said NavMarin General Director Alexei Migalin.

Expert commentary

Allan Little, BBC News

Several factors must now be alarming Vladimir Putin, beyond the state of his own armed forces. One of these will be the resilience of the Ukrainian defence. Did Putin really expect the Russian-speaking people of Ukraine to welcome his troops as liberators?

But his biggest miscalculation has been to underestimate the resolve of the West.

Almost overnight, Germany has transformed its attitude to its role in the world. The country, along with the rest of the democratic world, will now move to end its dependence on Russian gas. We are seeing a root-and-branch redrawing of the map of global energy distribution, aimed at cutting Russia out of it.

No-one expected the West to sanction the Russian Central Bank. Already, the rouble has collapsed and interest rates have doubled.

No other major economy has ever been subjected to a package of sanctions this punitive. It amounts to the expulsion of Russia from the global economy.

PHOTO: Rare eastern rhinoceros calf born in Czech zoo. The calf was named Kyiv, in honor of the Ukrainian capital

Reports from the fronts

For The second day Russian aircraft has been bombing Nikolaev. According to journalists, dozens of Ukrainian soldiers died as a result of a missile attack on the barracks. This blow is called one of the deadliest in this war.

US officials have confirmed to CNN that Russia has fired hypersonic missiles into Ukraine, the first known use of such missiles in combat. The Kremlin said it used powerful hypersonic missiles to destroy an ammunition depot in western Ukraine.

“Russia has failed to establish air control and relies heavily on remote weapons launched from Russian airspace” – UK MOD.

Disaster in Mariupol

Mariupol has been subjected to intense bombardment throughout the week. Local residents are left without electricity, gas and running water – at sub-zero temperatures. Russian troops have advanced into the central part of the city, where street battles are ongoing. Because of this, rescuers cannot reach hundreds of people who remain under the rubble of the theater that was bombed two days ago. The mayor said that Russian troops forcibly removed several thousand local residents to Russia.

In Ukraine

Ukrainian President Zelensky has banned 11 political parties that are accused of ties to Russia.

Around 1,500 media outlets distributing Russian propaganda have been blocked in Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion. Their audience was approximately 15 million people. Eliminated 3,178 publications justifying war crimes and the death of civilians in Ukraine.

More than 3.3 million refugees have fled Ukraine across its western border.

Assistance to Ukraine

Australia announced additional military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine, and also imposed an immediate ban on the export of alumina and aluminum ore to Russia.

1. Another $15.3 million (equivalent) has been allocated for military needs, and Australia’s total military assistance is $66.3 million (equivalent). The deliveries will include ammunition and body armor.
2. Humanitarian assistance worth $21.8 million.
3. Aluminum is a critical export for Russia, and its production will now be under serious pressure. Russia received almost 20% of the alumina and aluminum ores needed for the production of aluminum from Australia.

In the world

Ukraine called on China to oppose Russian aggression. The Prime Minister of Great Britain made the same appeal. But a senior Chinese government official said sanctions imposed by Western countries on Russia “are becoming more and more outrageous”. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said “time will prove China is on the right side of history regarding the war in Ukraine”.

Ukrainian President Zelensky called on Switzerland to “crack down on Russian elites” and ordered Ukrainian banks to freeze all relevant accounts.

Negotiations:

Ukrainian President Zelensky has urged Russia to enter into peace talks “without delay,” telling Moscow bluntly that “it’s time to meet.”

Russian President Putin, in a telephone conversation with the German chancellor, accused Ukraine of dragging out peace talks because of “unrealistic proposals.”

Video

The Ukrainian punk band Beton rewrote the lyrics of The Clash’s 1979 hit London Calling to raise money for arms purchases for Ukraine: “Kyiv is calling to the whole world … get out of neutrality, boys and girls.” There are three members in the group – an architect, an orthopedist and a businessman. They said that they recorded the track in Lviv and The Clash members supported the cover of the song.

LIVE for March 18-19 is here