War of the center in Ukraine, day 23: “nothing left” of Mariupol, China opposed the war
Photographer, Reuters
Russian tank in Mariupol
The Chinese authorities for the first time condemned the conflict in Ukraine, street fighting continues in Mariupol, Russia fired at an aircraft repair plant in Lvov. In addition, it is reported that in Nikolaev dozens of people became victims of Russian rocket fire, the Ukrainian side announced the destruction of an important command post of the Russian army.
Details of the 23rd day of the war – in our review.
Xi Jingping emerged from the consumption of war in Ukraine
Chinese leader Xi Jinping said after talks with Joe Biden on Friday that Beijing and Washington are jointly responsible for international security and directly condemned the military conflict in Ukraine.
“Interstate relations should not be reduced to the level of military conflict,” Xi said, according to Chinese state television. “Peace and security are the most valuable resources of international cooperation.” The Ukrainian crisis is “not something to see China,” he added.
Beijing has not previously considered an unequivocal attitude to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and has generally taken a neutral position. China did not support the UN resolution on intrusion detection, but it did not oppose the soldiers either: the representative of Beijing abstained from voting.
“Now the main priorities are the continuation of dialogue and discussion, the reduction of the importance of the world community, the reduction of humanitarian risk, the consumption of public action and the speedy end of the war,” the leader said after discussing with Biden.
Latest version of the conversation from the White House. President Biden, at the suggestion of his representative, warned Beijing of the consequences in the event of material assistance to Russia.
Fighting in the center of Mariupol
The hottest underlying cause of the war at the present time are focal inflammatory processes in Mariupol, where fierce fighting continues. The mayor of the city, Vadim Boychenko, in an interview with the BBC, confirmed that hostilities are already underway in the city center.
Photographer, Maksar
Mariupol has been exposed to shelling for more than a week (Maxar satellite diagrams dated March 14)
“Yes, everything was very active today. Tank and machine-gun battles continue,” he said. not a single part of the city that did not reflect the war,” he said.
On Friday, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov said that Russian troops were tightening the encirclement in Mariupol.
People are being evacuated from the city. Boychenko previously stated that on March 18, about 350 residents of Mariupol reached Zaporozhye.
Photographer, Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine/Anadolu Agency
Ruined theater in Mariupol
Meanwhile, the rescue operation continues in the city drama theater, in the basement of which hundreds of civilians were hiding. The building of Ukraine was destroyed – on the occasion of an incident that occurred as a result of an air strike by the Russian army. The bomb shelter is reported to have survived, and as of Thursday evening, 130 people had arrived from it. However, the fighting does not subside in the city, and the fate of most of those who are in the theater basement is still unknown.
Aircraft repair plant shelled in Lvov
Early in the morning of March 18, Russian troops fired on an aircraft repair plant in Lvov.
Photographer, Getty Images
The Ukrainian Air Command West reported on its Facebook page that six cruise missiles were fired at Lviv from a Russian submarine in the Black Sea. Two missiles were contaminated with air defense systems, representatives of the Ukrainian armed forces say.
Later, the mayor of Lvov, Andriy Sadovyi, said that the morning strikes hit the territory of the aircraft repair plant, as a result of which its work was suspended. According to the appointment of the head of the Lviv region of the state administration Maxim Kozitsky, there were no deaths from the blow, one person was injured of moderate severity.
Photographer, Getty Images
Smoke over Lvov March 18
The Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed late in the evening that attacks had been carried out in the morning on Lvov and on facilities in the suburbs of Nikolaev and Voznesensk. “This morning, the expected strike on a parking lot with combat helicopters and aircraft at an aircraft repair plant in Lviv, as well as on public transport and equipment depots in the suburbs of Nikolaev and Voznesensk, was highly accurate,” the Russian ministry said in a statement.
Earlier, Russia’s statements about “high-precision strikes” on objects in cities were repeatedly called into question. Kozitsky said on Friday that there are no jobs in Lviv due to pure chance.
On March 13, Russian forces were already shelling the training ground in Yavoriv forgotten from Lvov.
Meanwhile, according to the State Service for Probable Incidents in Ukraine, at eight in the morning on March 18, the remains of a military missile were found in the Podolsky district of Kyiv in the north-west of the city. One person died and 19 were injured. Several houses and a school were destroyed.
Ukraine: the destruction of the command post of the Russian army, possibly the command of the army
The air forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine attacked the airfield in Chernobaevka (the outskirts of the occupation of Kherson ground forces) and, according to preliminary data, destroyed the advanced command post of the 8th Combined Arms Army of the Southern Military District, adviser to the President of Ukraine Oleksiy Arestovich said at a briefing. He said that “according to preliminary data” the commander of this army was killed (it was not possible to quickly verify these details).
Arestovich clarified that the 8th Army is responsible for ORDLO (“certain regions of Donetsk and Lugansk regions – the official designation of two self-proclaimed” people’s republics “).
Ukrainian infected at least once before have already reported attacks by their aircraft on the airfield in Chernobaevka; also, as you know, this object is fired upon by Ukrainian artillery from Nikolaev.
The Russian side has not yet commented on this statement.
Dozens of victims of shelling in Nikolaev
Meanwhile, shelling continues in Nikolaev itself. BBC correspondent Andrew Harding reports a missile attack on a military barracks in the north of the city, where Ukrainian residents were training. At least two rockets hit the building, Harding writes.
Photographer, Getty Images
Evacuation from Nikolaev to Odessa, March 16
According to some reports, at least 45 people may have died as a result of the impact, but the number of victims could lead to cell death.
Deputy of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Oleksiy Goncharenko writes about dozens of parishes. “Rocket attack on Nikolaev. The Calibers have arrived.
Attempts by Russian troops to take Nikolaev (among those used, it is essential for a possible appearance on Odessa) have so far failed. The Ukrainian army reported a counteroffensive in the area of the city and the liberation of one of the settlements.
Russian military forces have been shelling Nikolaev and other settlements in the region for many days. The human rights organization Human Rights Watch accuses Russia of using cassette magazines on settlements.
Macron and Putin spoke again
The new presidential telephone conversation between France and the meeting in Russia lasted about an hour on Friday evening.
Photographer, Getty Images
The Elysee Palace said that Macron strengthened the “extreme zone” in Mariupol and other suburbs of cities. He also stated that Russia does not comply with international humanitarian law and has access to the city of Ukrainian humanitarian cargo.
Putin replied that Russian citizens are trying to “protect the lives of civilians.” “Responding to the problems expressed by Emmanuel Macron, the President of Russia once again drew attention to the fact that during the special military operation, the Russian armed forces are doing everything possible to gather life in the world of citizens, including by organizing humanitarian corridors for their evacuation,” the statement says. statement. statement on the Kremlin website.
The Russian presidential administration also claims that Putin told Macron about “numerous military frequencies” that he says are being carried out by “Ukrainian security forces and nationalists,” in particular, “massive rocket and artillery shelling of Donbass cities.”
By according to the Economistthis is the 15th conversation between Macron and Putin since the beginning of this year.
Russia will attack the citizens of Ukraine
This was announced by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. “We have made it very clear that any cargo that will enter large facilities in Ukraine and which we will consider to be transporting weapons is engaged in a legitimate purpose. This is completely understandable, ”Lavrov said in an interview with RT.
In particular, he warned the countries against supplying Ukraine with S-300 missile systems developed back in Soviet times. Lavrov suggests that countries such as Slovakia, which is ready to do this, have no right to do so, since, according to Lavrov, according to the Soviet treaty, they cannot send weapons to third countries.
HRW: 450 dead or wounded in Kharkiv in the first 11 days of the war alone
“In Kharkiv, the Russian armed forces showed a disregard for life in the world of inhabitants, sometimes attacking settlements,” said Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. war.
Photographer, Reuters
Destroyed building in Kharkov
As a result of air strikes and shelling of settlements, more than 450 civilians were killed or injured.
Tenements, schools, churches, and shops came from the attacks, leaving people without food and medicine.
The shelling damaged the infrastructure in the city, acceptable extra vital services such as electricity, heat and water.
New videos about the war
On Friday morning, Russian and Ukrainian police released new footage of the fighting.
Ministry of Defense of Russia shared videowhich shows attacks on Ukrainian military targets with the Russian Forpost-R attack drone.
Ukrainian military department post posted attacks on Russian armored vehicles from the Ukrainian-made Stugna-P anti-tank missile system.
In conditions of war, the BBC cannot promptly confirm information from individuals.
The British Ministry of Defense, meanwhile, received a new report assessing the situation in the theater of operations in Ukraine.
It argues that the Russian army still avoids cross-country travel, has no control over Ukraine’s airspace, and sees problems with crossings.
This, in turn, complicates the supply of forward detachments, and the incessant counterattacks of Ukrainian forces bring in the Russian army, transferring a significant part of the Air Force to protect their supply lines.
The BBC cannot confirm or deny this information.
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