Russia-Ukraine war. Timeline of events, March 22-23

🔘 Oksana Baulina, journalist of The Insider, was killed in Kyiv during shelling

🔘 In Melitopol, 75-year-old father of the journalist and director of the Ria-Melitopol website, Svetlana Zalizetskaya, was kidnapped. She claims that the Russian military broke into the journalist’s house in Melitopol when her parents were there, conducted a search and took her father away.

🔘 The battles for the city of Izyum continue. The city is divided by the Donets River. The northern part is controlled by the Russian military, and the southern part by the Armed Forces of Ukraine

Photo: Destruction in Izyum after many days of fighting  – Trukha

Situation in Ukraine:

🔘 Operational information of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine at 18:00 Kyiv time

• The Ukrainian military continues a defensive operation against Russian troops, inflicting significant losses.
  Russia, having missed all the deadlines for the offensive operation, continues to consider the possibility of encircling individual groupings of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in order to put forward ultimatums at the negotiations.
  Russian troops, in violation of international law, continue to deliberately launch artillery, rocket and air strikes to destroy the infrastructure of cities.

🔘 Ukrainian Minister of Health Viktor Lyashko claims that Russian troops fired at 58 ambulances and killed six medical workers.

🔘 24 bodies have been recovered from the rubble of the Kharkiv regional administration since the shelling on March 1 to this day, said Evgeny Vasilenko, spokesman for the Main Directorate of the State Emergency Service of Kharkiv Region.

Video: Chernihiv after another shelling – Trukha

In the world:

🔘 NATO: Russia’s total losses can reach 30-40 thousand. A Voice of America correspondent reports that a NATO spokesman said at a briefing today that the Russian army’s losses in Ukraine could range from 7,000 to 15,000 killed, and the total losses, including the wounded, missing and captured, could be up to 40,000.

🔘 CNN reports that the first shipments of new US $800 million in military aid have begun flowing into Ukraine. This assistance includes 800 Stinger man-portable air defense systems and 100 Switchblade kamikaze drones.

🔘 At the same time, Germany is going to provide Ukraine with 2,000 hand grenade launchers from the stocks of the Bundeswehr, and Sweden will transfer 5,000 anti-tank weapons to Ukraine.

🔘 The Russian Foreign Ministry handed a note to the US Embassy in Moscow with a list of diplomats who are being expelled from Russia in response to the expulsion of diplomats from the permanent mission of the Russian Federation to the UN from the United States.

“The American side has been firmly stated that any hostile actions of the United States against Russia will receive a decisive and adequate response,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

🔘 According to The Wall Street Journal, the United States, at the request of Vladimir Zelensky, did not begin to impose sanctions against Roman Abramovich, who can be an important mediator in negotiations with Russia. Zelensky asked US President Joe Biden about this during a telephone conversation. The White House declined to comment on private conversations between the two presidents.

🔘 In Lithuania, it was proposed to fine up to 500 euros for the symbol Z. The deputies of the Seimas of Lithuania submitted amendments to the parliament that equate the St. George ribbon and the symbol of the Russian invasion of Ukraine – the letter Z – with Nazi and communist symbols.

Photo: Greenpeace activists held a protest action under the slogan “oil is a weapon”. They call on the EU to completely abandon Russia’s energy resources

In Russia:

🔘 Evening briefing of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation:

• During the day, Russian troops advanced two kilometers deep into the territory of Ukraine.
  Units of the Russian Armed Forces are fighting against units of the 54th separate mechanized brigade of the armed forces of Ukraine in the southern and southeastern outskirts of the village of Novomikhailovka in the Donetsk region.
  Russian aircraft hit 86 Ukrainian military facilities in a day

🔘 Roskosmos will henceforth conclude international contracts in Russian rubles, said the head of the state corporation Dmitry Rogozin.

🔘 Inflation in Russia in annual terms as of March 18 accelerated to 14.53%. A week earlier it was 12.54%. – RIA News

🔘 According to the agency, sugar, salt and tea rose the most in Russia last week.

🔘 The Federation Council approved the law on punishment for “fakes” about the foreign activities of Russian government agencies. The punishment is similar to that provided for the spread of “fake” about the army. For “public dissemination under the guise of reliable messages knowingly false information” about government agencies operating abroad, will face a fine or imprisonment for up to three years.

🔘 Roskomnadzor blocked Google news service.

Video: In Moscow, a young man came out with a sign “Hug me if you are against the war!”

🔘 In the city of Rubizhnoye, a Russian shell hit a high-rise building. This was announced by Sergei Gaidai. The strike killed three people, including two children.

🔘 Near Mariupol, the commander of the 810th Marine Brigade of the Russian Army, Colonel Alexei Sharov, was killed.

🔘 The Russian Foreign Ministry reports that Moscow and Kyiv have held two prisoner exchanges.

Photo: House destroyed by Russian artillery in the town of Rubizhnoye – UNIAN

Situation in Ukraine:

🔘 Kyiv has shelled again this night and in the morning. The city authorities said that several residential buildings and a shopping center were damaged in Svyatoshinsky and Shevchenkovsky districts, four people were injured.

🔘 Other cities of Ukraine are regularly shelled. In the Ingulsky district of Nikolaev, after the shelling on March 22, there was a strong fire in the warehouses. During the shelling, two civilians were killed.

🔘 Today at 7 am in Oleshky, Kherson region, the Russian military abducted an activist of pro-Ukrainian rallies Alexander Kniga, the director of the Kherson Regional Music and Drama Theater, a deputy of the Kherson Regional Council.

🔘 On March 23, nine humanitarian corridors will operate for the evacuation of civilians. This was announced by the Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Kyrylo Tymoshenko.

🔘 121 children have died in Ukraine, 167 children have obtained injuries of varying severity as of March 23, the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine reports.

Video: Iskander missiles fly from Belarus to Ukraine — UNIAN

In the world:

🔘 The European Union рфы approved an agreement with Ukraine on the transfer of classified information to Kiev, including satellite images, Interfax reports, citing Bloomberg.

🔘The Polish Internal Security Agency has compiled a list of 45 Russian diplomats suspected of espionage and demanded their expulsion, RIA Novosti reports.

🔘 US senators are discussing a bill to freeze Russia’s $132 billion worth of gold reserves.

🔘 Louis Vuitton has released a new collection of LV Volt. The monogram of the intertwined letters L and V is used in the design of the jewelry. To some, it reminded the letter Z, which the Russian authorities are using in a campaign to support the Russian military in Ukraine.

Photo: Bracelets from the new Louis Vuitton collection — UNIAN

In Russia:

🔘 Lavrov: Russia will demand from Ukraine to repeal the legislation directed against the Russian-speaking population. Also, the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry said that “the current Russophobia in Western countries is the verdict of Western civilization”

🔘 The Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation leaves the International Association of Prosecutors.

🔘 Russian journalists noticed that Defense Minister Shoigu has not appeared in public since March 11.

🔘 During the month of the war, more than 15 thousand people were detained at anti-war protests.

🔘 The State Duma in one meeting in three readings at once adopted the bill proposed by United Russia on recognizing the participants in the special operation in Ukraine as combat veterans

🔘 Morning briefing of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation:

• The Russian military are fighting for the settlement of Novomikhailovka.
  The DPR forces took control of Verkhnetoretskoye and Novobakhmutovka.
  During the day, missile strikes were carried out on 97 objects of the military infrastructure of Ukraine.

Photo: Fires in the besieged Mariupol captured by nthe Maxar satellite — Nexta live

🔘 State Duma deputies from United Russia were forbidden to leave Russia without the permission of the head of the faction, Vladimir Vasiliev, – Kholod magazine.

🔘 Safes and cartridges have risen in price in Russia. It is reported by RBC with reference to the results of polls conducted by the publication. Market participants attribute this, among other things, to the jump in the exchange rate, but this is not the only thing. Sales of domestic weapons from individual suppliers increased by about 20-30%, safes – by about two times.

🔘 Russian landing module for landing on Mars “Kazachok” is stuck in Europe. Roskosmos does not know how to take it to Russia. Roscosmos and the European Space Agency were planning a joint mission to a neighboring planet. European scientists were preparing a rover for it, and Russian scientists were preparing a landing module.

🔘 The Yokohama tire production plant in the Lipetsk region has suspended work, said the head of the region, Igor Artamonov. “The company had logistical difficulties with the delivery of materials from abroad, in connection with which it was announced the suspension of production”, he said.

Video: Russian officials say they will not return to the West planes that ended up in Russian airports at the time of the start of the war and the imposition of sanctions – RBC

🔘 The office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine has announced the launching of a criminal case under the article on violation of the laws of war. The suspect is an unnamed Russian serviceman who, allegedly, in March 2022 broke into one of the houses in the Brovarsky district of the Kiyv oblast, killed the owner of the house and, together with a colleague, while drunk, repeatedly raped his wife , threatening her and her baby.

🔘 Kyiv children’s hospital “Okhmatdet” published a video with a woman and a teenage son from Bucha. The teenager said that on March 17, he and his father were riding bicycles for humanitarian aid and met a Russian soldier. According to the boy, he shot his father and tried to kill the boy too – although the father and son managed to raise their hands and warn that they were unarmed.

Photo: Wounded boy whose father was killed by a Russian soldier – UNIAN

Situation in Ukraine:

🔘 The White House announced the preparation another package of sanctions against Russia. It will be presented on March 24th.

🔘 US authorities have not yet witnessed the delivery of military equipment from China to Russia, said Joe Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan. Earlier, US government sources said that Russia requested military support from China after the outbreak of the war, and that China may have agreed to help.

🔘 The European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT), which is based in Germany, has stopped sharing meteorological data with Russia. In Europe, they fear that Russia may use this data when planning an attack with chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine.

🔘 Turkey will not abandon the S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems under pressure from the US or NATO. This was announced by the head of the Defense Industry Department of the Republic Ismail Demir. Earlier, the United States asked Turkey to transfer the S-400 air defense systems bought from Russia earlier to Ukraine, offering its own in return.

🔘 The EU and the US will tighten anti-Russian sanctions following Biden’s visit to Brussels. They will also announce joint actions to reduce Europe’s dependence on Russian gas, the White House said.

Photo: Another house damaged by Russian artillery shelling – Trukha

In Russia: 

🔘 Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov: “Negotiations between the delegations of Russia and Ukraine are slower and less meaningful than we would like them to be. Revealing any further the details could harm the negotiation process.”

🔘 Prices for a number of vital drugs have increased by 40% – Roszdravnadzor

Video: Chechen volunteers from the Sheikh Mansour battalion are fighting with Russian troops – Nexta live

🔘 The Ukrainian TV channel Hromadske announced the release of its journalist Victoria Roshchina. Earlier, according to the channel, she was detained by the FSB in the territories of Ukraine occupied by the Russian army.

Photo: The President of Ukraine has made a post in his Telegram with the following photos and comment:

What else should the occupiers do, how many more people should they kill in order for the leaders of the West, the leaders of NATO, to respond positively to the Ukrainian request for a no-fly zone or to provide our country with the planes that we so badly need?

Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia would consider the creation of a no-fly zone over Ukraine as participation in the conflict.

Situation in Ukraine:

🔘 The official representative of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, Oleg Nikolenko, said that medicines and food were “almost out” in Kherson, and Russian troops were refusing to open humanitarian corridors for civilians. Russia captured Kherson on March 2, and on March 20, the Russian Defense Ministry announced the delivery of “humanitarian aid with a total volume of more than 75 tons” to Kherson.

🔘 In some cities of Ukraine, food is enough for no more than 3-4 days, according to the charity organization “Mercy Corps”. According to the organization, the humanitarian system in Ukraine is “completely destroyed.”

🔘 Photojournalist Maxim Levin disappeared in the Vyshgorod district near Kiev

🔘 Russian troops shelled the city of Brovary in the Kiev region. One of the shells hit the plant, damaging seven buses and outbuildings.

🔘 The Obolon area in Kyiv was also shelled. Authorities say one person died and three were injured.

🔘 Ukraine may introduce criminal liability for the dissemination of information about the movement of equipment and the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. For photos and videos in social networks threatens from 5 to 8 years in prison. And if this is done by a group or for selfish purposes, then from 8 to 12 years. It is also proposed to introduce criminal liability for the resale of humanitarian aid.

Photo: Ukrainian serviceman hiding from shelling in a trench – Maxim Levin

In the world:

🔘 Google began secretly removing employees from its Moscow office, Bloomberg reports. In total, 244 people worked in it. Bloomberg also reports that last week Google-owned video hosting YouTube removed two Russian Defense Ministry videos that called the invasion of Ukraine a liberation mission and banned new videos from the channel for seven days.

🔘 Kyiv became an “honorary citizen of Paris”. The authorities of the capital of France for the first time awarded such a title to an entire city, said the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo. So the city authorities decided to express “support for the Ukrainian capital, which is fighting for its freedom.”

🔘 The Baltic countries are planning to ban Russian ships from entering their ports.

🔘 The Minister of Finance of the Netherlands announced that Russian assets worth almost 400 million euros have been frozen in the country.

🔘 In Italy, the assets of sanctioned Russian oligarchs worth more than 800 million euros have been frozen.

🔘 The Guardian: Renault plant reopens in Moscow as competitors exit the Russian market.

Photo: Ukrainian media report that this note was written by a boy who buried his mother, killed by shelling in Mariupol – UNIAN

In Russia:

🔘 The Moscow Mayor’s Office has allocated seven billion rubles to provide targeted social assistance to city residents. This is part of a package of measures to support citizens “in the face of sanctions pressure.”

🔘 Duty free shops in Russia have found themselves in a critical situation due to a sharp decline in international passenger traffic and the weakening of the ruble. Entrepreneurs intend to appeal to the government with a request for support.

🔘 The rector of the Russian State University for the Humanities, Alexander Bezborodov, told students detained at anti-war actions that they “cross out their future.” He threatened them with expulsion for participating in new protests, according to the Caution News project.

🔘 The State Duma held the second and third readings during one meeting and adopted a law on responsibility for fakes about the activities of government agencies abroad. We are talking about embassies, the prosecutor’s office, the National Guard, the Ministry of Emergency Situations and other departments. Responsibility for “inaccurate information” about the activities of Russian government agencies abroad will be the same as for fakes about the Russian army – up to 15 years in prison.

Photo: Apartment of a former prisoner of four Nazi concentration camps who died during one of the shelling of Kharkov by Russian troops — Nexta live

🔘The US is sending Soviet-made air defense systems to Ukraine, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing a government source. According to WSJ, the United States acquired these weapons as part of a classified program to study technology and train its military. This refers, in particular, to the Osa short-range surface-to-air missile system (SA-8 according to NATO classification). The Ukrainian military is familiar with this technique and will not have to re-learn how to handle such weapons.

🔘3,528,346 people have left Ukraine since February 24 – Office of the UN High Commissioner

Photo: Current situation in Ukraine – Institute for the Study of War (ISW)

Situation in Ukraine:

🔘 On the night of March 22, the Armed Forces of Ukraine announced that they managed to return the city of Makarov, located in the Kiev region, about 50 kilometers from the capital of the country, under their control. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation does not comment on this information.

🔘 On the night of March 22, a suburb of Krivoy Rog and two villages in the Zhytomyr region were shelled, Hromadske reports, citing statements of local authorities. In both cases, it is reported that the buildings were damaged, but there were no victims or injured.

🔘 Odessa is preparing for battles. Fortifications are being built on the beaches and anti-tank hedgehogs are being placed. Citizens asssist the military

🔘 A Russian soldier handed over a tank to Ukrainian defenders for a reward, said Viktor Andrusiv, head of the Ukrainian Institute for the Future and adviser to the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. According to him, the rest of the crew deserted and the defector was left alone, contacted the Ukrainian authorities and transferred the tank to them. He will be kept in good conditions and after the war they promise to pay him 10,000 dollars and give Ukrainian citizenship.

Video: In Nikolaev, rubble is cleared after yesterday’s missile attack on a hotel

In the world:

🔘 Rating agency Fitch Ratings predicts that the Russian economy will suffer more losses due to the war in Ukraine than during the default in 1998

🔘 Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennet instructed the country’s special services to prepare a visit to Kyiv for important ceasefire negotiations. This is reported by The Times of Israel, and Israeli diplomats said that Bennett will not go to Kyiv “for a photo shoot”, but will only arrive if Ukraine and Russia come closer to reaching a peace agreement.

🔘 British intelligence believes that Russia is using hypersonic weapons due to the lack of progress in the ground operation against Ukraine.

🔘 Russian troops on Monday failed to advance significantly in any of the directions, being unable to solve problems with logistics, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW). In addition, the institute said Russia was forced to redeploy “low-quality” combat reserves, including low-alert units from the Far East, to make up for losses in forward units.

🔘 Japanese NEC, which is one of the world’s largest telecommunications companies, has suspended the registration of orders for its products and services in the Russian Federation

🔘 Finnish customs has detained 21 yachts that may belong to Russian businessmen or companies associated with them. If it is confirmed that the yachts are associated with persons from the sanctions lists, then they will be seized

🔘 The world’s largest container shipping company – Maersk announced the cessation of operations in Russia.

Photo: Such inscriptions began to appear on the doors of houses where journalists or activists who oppose the war in Ukraine live – UNIAN

In Russia:

🔘 According to the Russian Arguments and Facts media outlet, only six months worth of components for the smooth operation of elevators are left in Russia. It turned out that although new elevators can be purchased from China and other countries that have not joined the sanctions, they still use American technology.

🔘 The Bank of Russia reported that in February, Russians took 1.2 trillion rubles from banks. This is a record amount for the last 14 years. However, the increase of the key rate to 20% on February 28 and the subsequent increase in deposit rates allowed to restore the inflow of funds to ruble bank deposits and stabilize the population’s demand for cash.

🔘 Russian doctors are faced with a shortage of more than 80 drugs. Vedomosti writes about this with reference to the results of a survey of the professional community Vrachi.rf

Photo: Moscow police are looking for the owner of a fairy lights string in the colours of the Ukrainian flag colors hanging in the window. The garland was noticed by a neighbor who called the police — Baza

🔘 Russia has transferred data on more than 500 Ukrainian prisoners of war to the International Red Cross. They can be exchanged for soldiers of the Russian army who were captured, said Tatyana Moskalkova, Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation.

🔘 Since February 24, 651 residential buildings have been completely destroyed in Ukraine, and about 3,780 houses have been partially destroyed – State Emergency Service of Ukraine

Video: Russian military beat a protester in captured Kherson – Trukha

 Situation in Ukraine:

🔘Shelling of Kharkov continued at night and in the morning

🔘 Information appeared in the Ukrainian media about the use of banned phosphorus munitions by Russia. Data on the victims of this weapon is not yet available.

🔘 There is no electricity in Chernihiv and because of this there is no water in the city. This is reported by the local authorities.

🔘 During the last 24 hours, 149 saboteurs were caught in Kyiv – City administration of Kyiv. Yesterday, a curfew was introduced for the day. Mayor Klitschko explained this by the fight against sabotage groups.

Photo: Mariupol on Maxar satellite images — Nexta live

In the world:

🔘 The Pentagon will help collect evidence of Russian war crimes in Ukraine. The department accuses the Kremlin of carrying out indiscriminate attacks.

🔘 President of the International Committee of the Red Cross Peter Maurer said that Ukraine is the largest operation of the organization with a record budget of about $267 million. This is more than has been allocated to Syria and Afghanistan

🔘 CNN: Biden’s announced that $800 million in military aid to Ukraine has begun but has yet to reach Ukraine.

🔘 The UN General Assembly Special Session on the Situation in Ukraine will resume on March 23. Until the end of the week, its participants will vote for a resolution on the humanitarian situation

In Russia:

🔘 Media reports that the only tank manufacturer in the country, Uralvagonzavod, has stopped in Russia. The main reason is the lack of components amid sanctions.

🔘 The State Duma proposed to ban businesses from using signs in foreign languages.

Video: Ukrainians with children on boats tried to prevent the yacht of the Russian oligarch Abramovich from mooring in Turkish Bodrum. Soon they were detained by the coast police. — UNIAN