By AFP.

 Published March 10 at 7:23 pm

EDITORS NOTE: Graphic content / Bodies of civilians lie in a park in Irpin, north of Kyiv, on March 10, 2022. - Russian forces on March 10, 2022 rolled their armoured vehicles up to the northeastern edge of Kyiv, edging closer in their attempts to encircle the Ukrainian capital. Kyiv's northwest suburbs such as Irpin and Bucha have been enduring shellfire and bombardments for more than a week, prompting a mass evacuation effort. (Photo by Aris Messinis / AFP)

Photo by AFP

– Russia moves on Kyiv –

Fears are mounting Kyiv will soon be encircled, with Russian tanks just a few kilometres (miles) northeast of the city.

Mayor Vitali Klitschko says half the population has fled.

But he warns that the city is now “a fortress. Every street, every building, every checkpoint has been fortified.”

– 71 children killed –

At least 71 children have been killed and more than 100 wounded since the Russian invasion began, Ukraine says.

– Fury at children’s hospital attack –

Ukraine accuses Russia of a “war crime” over an attack on a children’s hospital in the besieged port of Mariupol that killed three including a child.

At least 17 staff, including doctors, are injured with footage showing the wounded streaming from the destroyed building past burning cars and a giant crater.

Russia’s top diplomat Sergei Lavrov claims the hospital was a base for Ukraine’s Azov Battalion and “other radicals” and slams the West for supplying them with “deadly weapons”.

– 1,207 dead in Mariupol siege –

Some 1,207 civilians have been killed in the 10-day Russian siege of the port, its mayor says. The Red Cross calls the situation there “apocalyptic” after more than a week without water, power or heat. Safe routes out have repeatedly come under attack.

– ‘We did not attack Ukraine’: Lavrov –

Lavrov and his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba make “no progress” in their talks in Turkey, their first face-to-face meet since Moscow launched its invasion, with the Russian foreign minister telling reporters that “we did not attack Ukraine”.

– 35,000 evacuated –

Some 35,000 civilians are evacuated from the badly hit cities of Sumy, Enerhodar and areas around Kyiv during a 12-hour ceasefire.

– Women and child killed –

Two women and a 13-year-old boy are killed in the bombing of Velyka Pysarivka village near the badly hit northern city of Sumy close to the Russian border.

– Abramovich assets frozen –

Britain freezes the assets of Roman Abramovich and six other Russian oligarchs, including what London describes as President Vladimir Putin’s “right-hand man”, Rosneft chief Igor Sechin.

Abramovich will now not be able to sell Chelsea Football Club, nor the club sign new players.

– Invasion damage bill hits $100 bn –

The Russian invasion has so far done around $100 billion worth of damage to roads, bridges and businesses in Ukraine, dealing a huge hit to its economy, Kyiv says.

– Putin: Sanctions will hike food prices –

The Russian president says its oil and gas exports will not stop but warns food prices will soar because of sanctions since Moscow is one of the world’s top fertiliser producers.

– Patriot missiles –

Washington deploys two new Patriot surface-to-air missile batteries in Poland to protect its frontline NATO ally.

– Britain urges G7 oil ban –

British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss calls on the G7 to ban Russian oil imports after the US and Britain said they were “cutting the artery” of the Russian economy.

But fellow G7 members France, Germany, Italy and Japan are wary of such a move.

– US warns on biological weapons –

Washington rejects Russian claims it is involved in bioweapons research in Ukraine, and warns Russia could be preparing to use chemical or biological weapons.

– 2.3 million flee –

The UN says more than 2.3 million people have fled Ukraine, with more than half now in Poland.

– Oil surges, stocks slip –

Oil prices surge, while European stocks slip as the market turmoil continues over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

By Interfax-Ukraine.

 Published March 10 at 2:04 pm

A volunteer stacks protective sandbags at the entrance of the subway in the center of Kyiv on March 7, 2022. (Photo by Sergei SUPINSKY / AFP)

Photo by AFP

Igor Zhdanov, the Minister of Youth and sports in Ukraine (2014-2019), a public and political figure, Maidan commandant during the Revolution of Dignity, member of the Maidan Council, candidate of political sciences, ATO volunteer, analyst of the NGO “Open Policy Foundation”

Informational Defence of Ukraine provides a daily review of the military-political situation in Ukraine, morning of March 10th, based on an analysis of open sources.

1. The russian occupiers have no success in any of the operational areas and are suffering losses as a result of counterattacks by the Armed Forces.

According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Armed Forces of Ukraine continue to restrain the russian army’s offensive in a number of directions, defending Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Chernihiv, covering the border with Belarus, restricting enemy movement in the direction of Kryvyi Rih, Mykolaiiv, and Mariupol in a circular defence.

The Defence Forces of Ukraine continue to hold back the offensive attack of the russian Armed Forces in Donetsk, Slobozhanskyi, and partly in the Tavriia operational districts. They defend the Ukrainian Kharkiv and Okhtyrka.

The main efforts are focused on preventing the enemy from advancing in the south-eastern direction. The circular defence of the city of Mariupol still continues. Defenders of Mariupol yesterday destroyed 4 enemy tanks and 1 infantry fighting vehicle, and destroyed and damaged 11 units of armoured vehicles of the occupiers.

In the southern direction, the enemy is held back in the directions of Kryvyi Rih, Mykolaiiv, Voznesensk and the settlement of Novovorontsovka (Kherson region).

In the Siverskyi region, the Ukrainian army is defending the city of Chernihiv.

A senior US Department of Defense officially informed that since the beginning of the invasion, russia has fired 710 missiles at Ukraine.

2. The russian occupiers continue to violate international humanitarian law by killing civilians in Ukraine.

As of 00:00 on March 9th, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights recorded 1,424 civilian casualties in Ukraine: 516 dead and 908 wounded. 516 dead: 98 men, 60 women, 9 boys and 5 girls, as well as 23 children and 321 adults, whose sex is still unknown. 908 injured: 78 men, 57 women, 12 girls and 4 boys, 34 children and 723 adults, whose sex is still unknown.

Captive russian spies have admitted that the russian army is operating in Ukraine like the Nazi. Quoting the russian militarist Maxim Chernik: “In this situation, we are the Nazi. Peaceful people are dying, elderly people just like that, because that’s what the strong guys of this world wanted.”

Because of the actions of the russian occupiers, the threat of radiation contamination and uncontrolled processes at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant increased, as it was left without electricity. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba called on the international community to urgently demand that russia cease fire and allow repair units to restore power to the Chornobyl nuclear power plant.

He noted that the backup diesel generators are designed for 48 hours of operation of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant. After that, the cooling systems of the spent nuclear fuel storage will be stopped, which will inevitably leak radiation.

Rocket bombings and shelling of peaceful Ukrainian cities continue.

Russian occupation forces dropped several bombs on a children’s hospital and a maternity hospital in Mariupol. As a result of the air strike, three people, including one child, died and 17 others were injured. The building of the medical institution where the children were treated recently was completely destroyed.

The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi emotionally declared that “this is an atrocity! How much longer will the world be complicit in ignoring terror? Close the sky immediately! Stop the killings immediately! You have power. But you seem to be losing humanity.”

The UN leadership is horrified by the russian attack on the maternity hospital in Mariupol. UN Secretary General António Guterres emphasized that “today’s attack on a hospital in Mariupol, Ukraine, where the maternity and children’s wards are located, is appalling. Civilians are paying the highest price for the war that has nothing to do with them. This senseless violence must stop.”

According to the adviser to the mayor of Mariupol Petro Andriuschenko, during the blockade of the city, the russian occupiers killed about 1,300 civilians.

Because of the occupiers’ shelling, two-thirds of Chernihiv was left without heat and hot water, with 60 casualties and 400 wounded, but the city is still alive. Near the city, the occupiers fired on people who were walking from the city, there are dead and wounded.

The russian military fired and bombed residential areas of Kharkiv and the region’s villages with renewed vigour that night. A sixteen-year-old boy died in the village of Zhukovskyi in Kharkiv during a shelling of the market by russian troops.

Despite the terror perpetrated by the aggressor, Ukrainian citizens are protesting peacefully in the temporarily occupied territories.

Residents of the city of Hrodna in the Chernihiv region marched with Ukrainian flags despite the occupation by the russian army.

Due to the fierce resistance of the residents of Kherson, the occupiers are trying to introduce an administrative-police regime, for which units of the Rosguard were introduced in the Kherson region, which illegally detained more than 400 citizens of Ukraine.

The residents of Melitopol, despite warnings from the occupying authorities that they would be set on fire if they left the perimeter of the city’s central square, still marched in a protest column through the city centre.

russian invaders use prohibited ammunition in hostilities. The Ministry of Defence of the russian federation has admitted that the TOS-1 “Solntsepek” volley fire system, which can use thermobaric ammunition, is used in hostilities in Ukraine.

According to international conventions on warfare, such thermobaric munitions are prohibited from being used against military targets or enemy manpower as they are likely to strike a civilian population. In addition, thermobaric munitions are prohibited from being used against the military if the benefits do not justify their use.

3. There was a partial evacuation of the Ukrainian population through humanitarian corridors, despite the provocations of the russian invaders.

Ukraine and the russian federation agreed on a ceasefire from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on March 9th to evacuate the population through six humanitarian corridors.

On March 9th, more than 43,000 people were evacuated from Sumy, three convoys arrived at night in Lubny, the Poltava region, and some people had already left for the west by train.

On March 9th, the residents of Enerhodar and surrounding villages were able to evacuate to Zaporizhzhia. The evacuation convoy with Enerhodar residents, consisting mainly of women, children and the elderly, left the city for Zaporizhzhia after a few hours of the stop on their way.

Despite the enemy shelling, about 250 people were evacuated from Izium, in the Kharkiv region. According to Deputy Mayor Volodymyr Matsokin, the local militaries (teroborona) evacuated people under fire, and buses were picked up outside the city. He stressed that contrary to the promises of the russians, there was no “green corridor”. People are being held hostage. They have already been evacuated to Sloviansk.

However, the russian occupiers disrupted the evacuation of civilians from Bucha and Hostomel, and 50 buses remained blocked. It was not possible to agree with the occupiers. At the same time, evacuation from Vorzel was carried out – evacuation buses made several rescues.

The evacuation of civilians from Mariupol was again disrupted due to the shelling of the humanitarian corridor by russian troops and the beginning of their offensive attack.

During the past 24 hours, Ukraine has managed to evacuate more than 40,000 women and children from war zones in various parts of the country, more than 3,000 of them from occupied Irpin and Vorzel.

According to the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi, “today we managed to organize the work of three humanitarian corridors. From the city of Sumy, from cities and towns of the Kyiv region and Enerhodar. We will continue tomorrow. We are preparing six corridors from Volnovakha, etc. to take people to safe cities of our free Ukraine”.

From 9.00 am on March 10th, humanitarian corridors were opened for evacuation from Sumy, Trostianets, Krasnopillia, Izium, Volnovakha, Bucha, Irpin, Hostomel, Borodianka, Stoianka, Bilhorodka, as well as from Mariupol and its road which had been cleared of landmines.

4. International support and assistance to Ukraine.

Financial support for the war in Ukraine continues.

The International Monetary Fund has shifted the focus of its credit program discussions with Ukraine to reforming and focusing on crisis management.

On March 9th, the IMF board of directors provided $ 1.4 billion to deal with the shocking economic results of the war. In addition, the IMF is working with the World Bank to mobilise financial assistance to Ukraine.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has agreed to provide € 2 billion in assistance to Ukraine and host countries.

The US Congress will approve a $ 13.6 billion aid package to Ukraine.

France is allocating 100 million euros to help Ukraine and neighbouring countries that are accepting refugees fleeing the war.

Ukraine has received a new batch of Starlink stations that provide sustainable communication via satellite Internet.

Western countries also provide political support to Ukraine.

On Wednesday, the Polish Senate adopted a resolution calling on the European Union to support Ukraine’s accelerated process of accession to the EU. The resolution was approved unanimously.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has warned that russia’s attack on the supply line of Allies supporting Ukraine with weapons and ammunition would be a dangerous escalation of the war.

Despite all the efforts and requests of Ukraine, and the terrible terror of the russian occupiers, the Western allies refuse to close the skies over Ukraine, as well as to hand over fighters to our country.

According to a poll by the sociological group Rating, 90% of Ukrainians believe that the Ukrainian government should continue to put pressure on the North Atlantic Alliance to establish a “no-fly zone” in the sky over Ukraine.

At the same time, the Prime Minister of Poland Mateusz Morawiecki said that his country was ready to hand over Soviet-made fighter jets to Ukraine, but only if all NATO members approved this decision.

The United States does not support the transfer of fighter jets to Ukraine, including Polish MiG-29 fighters. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said that while russia’s capabilities were significant, their effectiveness was limited by Ukraine’s strategic operational and tactical ground-based air defence systems, surface-to-air missiles and MANPADS (Man-portable air-defense systems). The Air Forces of Ukraine have several squadrons of fully capable aircraft. According to our analysis, additional aircraft is unlikely to significantly change the effectiveness of the Ukrainian Air Forces compared to russia’s capabilities. Therefore, we believe that the benefits of transmitting these MiG-29s are small.

According to Information Defence experts, Ukraine’s Western allies are unlikely to close the sky over our country. Ukraine can count on the supply of contemporary MANPADS and mobile air defence systems.

The United States and the UK warn of new possible provocations by russia.

russia could use chemical weapons in Ukraine or create a “false flag” operation, accusing Ukraine of doing so. The White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki made this statement.

The UK also fears that russia may fabricate a pretext for using chemical weapons in the war with Ukraine, as the plans to occupy the country and seize Kyiv have failed completely.

5. Sanctions against russia are intensifying, and more and more companies are leaving the russian trade market.

New sanctions against russia, which hurt the russian economy, continue.

The EU Council approved new sectorial sanctions against russia and Belarus for armed aggression against Ukraine, e.g.:

• access to SWIFT is restricted to three Belarusian banks – Bilagroprombank, Dabrabit and Development Bank and their Belarusian subsidiaries;
• transactions with the Central Bank of Belarus related to the management of reserves or assets and the provision of state financing for trade or investment in Belarus are prohibited;
• listing and services on shares of Belarusian state-owned enterprises on EU trading platforms from April 12, 2022 are prohibited;
• It is prohibited to place deposits of more than 100,000 euros from citizens or residents of Belarus in the European Union, to maintain accounts of Belarusian clients with central securities depositories and to sell euro-denominated securities to Belarusian clients;
• the import of euro cash into Belarus is banned;
• restrictions are imposed on exports to Russia of goods related to maritime navigation and radio communications.

The EU Council has approved sanctions against another 160 people linked to the putin regime in connection with russia’s war against Ukraine.

The sanctions list includes 14 oligarchs and big business representatives from russia’s key sectors of the economy, which provide significant revenues to russia’s budget, as well as 146 members of the Federation Council who agreed on a government decision on “friendship and mutual assistance” with ORDLO. The EU sanctions list now includes 862 individuals and 53 legal entities.

The UK is imposing new sanctions on russia in aviation. Under the new restrictions, any russian plane can be impounded. In addition, the export of aviation or space products to russia may be banned. According to the new rules, one plane has already been impounded.

A meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss informed that additional sanctions were planned against russia, including the complete disconnection of russian banks from SWIFT.

Members of the Bureau of the Venice Commission, the Council of Europe’s advisory body on constitutional law, initiated the termination of russia’s right to represent the commission.

The russian online publication Medusa, citing sources, reports that many high-ranking officials and employees of russia’s state corporations did not expect such harsh sanctions because of the war in Ukraine and considered dismissal.

The ruble fell more than 8% against the dollar, and the euro broke a historic record at the beginning of trading on March 9th at the Moscow Stock Exchange. This is the first session in five days.

According to the auction, the dollar in the first minutes of the session added 8.88 rubles and reached 113.8 rubles. During the day, the dollar rose even more – to 117,355 rubles at the peak: it is 12,355 rubles (11.77%) more than at the close of trading on March 4th. At the same time, the euro broke the historical record value. The European currency rose to 127,425 rubles.

The process of large Western companies leaving the russian market continues.

The French company Alstom, which manufactures railway warehouses and transport systems, has announced a halt to supplies to russia.

One of the largest American telecommunications companies Lumen ceases operations in russia.

The British retailer of children’s goods Mothercare said that all its operations in russia, including the shipment of all goods, were stopped after the russian invasion of Ukraine.

Brown-Forman Corp., producer of Jack Daniel’s whiskey, decided to suspend business in russia.

Amazon Web Services cloud platform has banned the registration of new customers from russia and Belarus.

The American construction company Caterpillar has announced that it is closing down its activities in russia, as well as donating $1 million to overcome the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine.

WarnerMedia, which includes Warner Bros and HBO, stops broadcasting in russia and suspends new releases.

British company Imperial Tobacco was the first of the major tobacco companies to announce the suspension of all sales and production in russia.

The automaker Iveco has stopped supplying cars to Belarus due to the invasion of Ukraine.

Japanese Hitachi Group has decided to temporarily suspend its activities in russia.

American lingerie brand Victoria’s Secret has temporarily suspended its site and closed all stores in russia.

American media company Discovery, Inc. has stopped broadcasting its cable TV channels in russia since March 9th in response to the russian military invasion of Ukraine. Discovery includes 15 TV channels, including HGTV, Animal Planet, TLC and Eurosport.

The Carlsberg Company group decided to stop the production and sale of Carlsberg beer in russia, while earlier the group decided to limit itself to stopping new investments. The Baltika breweries, which are owned by the company, will continue to operate.

The largest Italian oil and gas company, Eni, has suspended new oil purchases in russia.

Russia’s Ministry of Economy has proposed external management in companies owned by foreigners by at least 25% and left the russian market.

By Kyiv Post.

 Published March 10 at 12:40 pm

Ukrainian soldiers at Lviv railway station prepare to board a train to Kyiv to defend Ukraine (AFP)

Ukraine Army command:  RF attacks fallen off dramatically

Attacks by Russian Federation (RF) forces against Ukraine Armed Forces (UAF) units and positions have fallen off dramatically, according to a Thursday morning statement by the Ukrainian Army.

The Army General Staff (AGS) morning situation report said RF forces have stopped advancing at practically all locations, and in some places are digging in.

An exception is the city of Mariupol, where RF forces are continuing attempts to destroy defenses there with local attacks, and artillery. Strong UAF forces hold the city and will continue to do so, the report said.

RF troops are demoralized and cases of RF soldier looting or desertion to the UAF side are increasing, the statement said.

UAF defenses, according to the report are holding at all locations, including in the south, where three days ago RF forces were still moving freely.

Southern sector RF columns current are per the report being stopped on roads leading to Kryvyi Rih, Mykolayiv, Voznesensk and the settlement of Novovorontsovka (Kherson Region). UAF forces fully control these localities, the situation report said.

Belarus

UAF intelligence has, over the past week, made public reports that forces in neighboring Belarus are mobilized and technically ready to invade Ukraine, but Belarus’ soldiers and officers are so opposed to the idea that Minsk has rejected intervention.

Significant UAF forces continue to cover Ukraine’s state border with Belarus.

Fierce ground battles in Mariupol in wake of RF’s deadly children’s hospital bombing

Fierce ground battles raged on all around the city of Mariupol’s defensive perimeter, as city workers struggled to recover from a deadly Russian Federation (RF) air force bombing of a children’s hospital, sources inside the besieged city told KP in Wednesday evening and Thursday morning interviews by telephone and email.

Three civilians in Mariupol told KP they heard the sounds of fighting all day long on Wednesday, and that they saw Ukraine Armed Forces (UAF) equipment and personnel moving though the city almost continuously.

They described the situation in the city as extremely difficult, with all utilities, power, water and heating,   completely off. Some food stores are still open but they are running out of supplies, they said.

News of a RF air force bombing of a children’s hospital in the center of the city was widely known in the city, and public fears of renewed RF air bombing of civilian homes and business are rising, the sources said.

One or more RF combat jets on Wednesday morning dropped at least two bombs in the very center of the port city of Mariupol, devastating a children’s hospital. Seventeen inside, including children and their mothers, were injured.

There are no UAF military sites or positions within at least one kilometer of where the bombs hit, the sources said. Ukraine’s national leadership has accused the Kremlin of targeting civilians with the goal of triggering a humanitarian crisis, in order to pressure Kyiv into concessions. RF spokespersons have said RF forces strike only military targets – a claim derided by Mariupol ground observers.

The bombing took place during a ceasefire period agreed the day previously between Mariupol city officials and RF units in the vicinity. According to the agreement, neither side would shoot so that civilians trapped in the city might escape. The bombing and subsequent other fires by RF units made civilian evacuation via a pre-agreed “green corridor” impossible on Wednesday, said Pavlo Kyrylenko, Donetsk Region administrative head, said in a statement.

RF forces cut off most major roads leading out of Mariupol by Feb. 27, the fourth day of the war. For more than a week the RF command has used artillery and ground units in attempts to tighten the encirclement of the city against fierce resistance.

Elements of the UAF’s 36th Marine Brigade and the National Guard Azov Regiment make up the backbone of Mariupol’s defenses. In contrast to most other locations where UAF and RF forces face each other, currently, in Mariupol, RF units are still attacking, official and on-the-ground sources said.

According to a UAF statement, on Wednesday, UAF Marines destroyed four RF tanks and one RF armored personnel carrier, while Azov infantry and anti-armor units destroyed another eleven armored personnel carriers. Azov-operated news feeds repeated the claims. KP was unable to confirm them independently.

RF tank crew kills former USAID worker, two others

A single shot fired by an RF tank crew operating in Kyiv’s northern suburbs killed a former USAID worker, her mother, and their driver, according to a USAID statement Thursday and Ukrainian news reports.

Valeriia “Lera” Makstetska died while trying to evacuate by car, said Samantha Power, head of USAID, in a statement.

According to Power an RF tank driving on a road, as part of an RF armored column, turned its weapon on Makstetska’s car as it was waiting for the column to pass.

Ukrainian media reported the incident widely and confirmed the details, citing eyewitnesses.

Makstetska died a few days short of her 32nd birthday. She was a Donetsk native.

A trained medic, at the time of her death Makstetska was reportedly employed by the US company Chemonics, a large and frequent USAID contractor headquartered in the Washington D.C. area.

According to Power, Makstetska declined earlier chances to evacuate as combat approached Kyiv’s northern regions, in order to provide medical help to civilians living near the battle area.

Power cited a recent message from Makstetska: “She was angry at the awful violence, but ‘so proud to be a Ukrainian and live someplace where beliefs matter.’”

Ukrainian official: Emergency generators switched on at Chornobyl – 48 hours of fuel left

Technicians at the Chornobyl containment facility have switched on emergency generators to keep the site’s cooling and monitoring functioning, but the site has only 48 hours of fuel available to operate them, a senior Ukrainian official said in a statement late Wednesday.

Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister, said that if the generators were to run out of fuel, all equipment operated by technicians at the site would lose power.

A reactor at the Chornobyl nuclear power station exploded in 1986 following a failed atomic power generation test, spreading a radioactive cloud as far away as Sweden.

In 2016 an international consortium completed a containment shelter to seal up the reactor’s remains. Civilian engineers monitor the shelter constantly for possible changes in radiation levels and structural integrity.

Russian Federation (RF) forces overran Chornobyl on the second day of the war. According to facility management, RF soldiers are preventing anyone from going in or out of the site, effectively locking down a monitoring shift inside the facility.