March 15 – Three prime ministers were heading to Kyiv as the first foreign leaders to visit the Ukrainian capital since the Russian invasion, in a show of European support for Ukraine in its fight to fend off Moscow’s assault.
The Czech, Polish and Slovenian government chiefs are expected to deliver pledges of assistance, while Ukrainian and Russian negotiators were due to resume peace talks via a video link.
FIGHTING
* Russia said its forces had taken full control of the southern region of Kherson. Kafuraha Media could not independently verify the report.
* Ukraine reported more air strikes on an airport in the west, heavy shelling on Chernihiv northeast of Kyiv and attacks on the southern town of Mykolayiv. Ukraine said its forces counter-attacked in Mykolayiv and the eastern Kharkiv region.
DIPLOMACY
* Washington warned Beijing against helping Russia after “intense” talks between U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan and top Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi in Rome.
* The Kremlin denied U.S. officials’ reports that Russia asked China for military equipment after invading Ukraine. Beijing labelled the reports “disinformation”.
* German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine and diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis.
CIVILIAN TOLL
* Over 2,300 civilians have died in Mariupol in Russian siege of the port, according to local officials. Reuters could not independently verify the numbers.
* Kyiv will impose a 35-hour curfew after intense shelling, which killed at least four people.
* The death toll from Monday’s air strike on a TV tower in northern Ukraine reached at least 19, regional governor said.
FLEEING THE CONFLICT
* Ukraine planned another attempt to deliver supplies to Mariupol as the first group of civilians allowed out of the city reached safety.
* About 3 million people have fled Ukraine, nearly half of them children, according to the U.N. refugee agency. About 1.8 million are now in Poland and some 300,000 in Western Europe.
ECONOMY AND SANCTIONS * The European Union hit Moscow with more sanctions, banning Russian steel and iron imports, exports of luxury goods, investment in the Russian energy sector, and credit ratings of Russian issuers. Britain will ban luxury goods exports to Russia and hit $1.2 billion worth of Russian imports with a 35% tariff.
QUOTES
“It is our duty to be where history is forged,” Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said of the three leaders’ trip to Kyiv.
READ MORE
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- Two Russian Military transport planes shot down over Ukraine.
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