Things to remember from Wednesday 16th March

Twenty-one days after the start of the Russian invasion, Russian attacks on Ukraine continued on Wednesday, March 16. Under the curfew order until Thursday morning, several strong explosions were heard at dawn in the west of Q, followed by thick columns of black smoke in the capital’s sky.

Targeted “hundreds of public” accommodation theater in Mariupol

With a theater “Hundreds of civilians” The town hall of the city in southeastern Ukraine was badly damaged by a Russian airstrike on the besieged port of Mariupol. “The plane bombed the building where hundreds of civilians were staying.Town Hall wrote in the Telegram, publishing a photo of the theater where the central area was destroyed. “The entrance to the shelter is clogged with rubbish. Information about the victims is being checked.”, She added. The Russian Defense Ministry has denied any involvement of Ukrainian nationalist battalion Azov in the strike.

In Kharkiv, three more people were killed in a bomb blast at a market, the emergency services said. Russia’s strikes have also hit a train station in the southern city of Zaporozhye, which serves as a refuge for Mariupol residents fleeing humanitarian footpaths. According to the Ukrainian military, Russian forces fired several rocket-propelled grenades at civilians fleeing the besieged port, killing an unspecified number of people.

The Ukrainian state prosecutor’s office says 10 people have been killed in a Russian shooting while queuing to buy bread in Chernikiv, northern Ukraine. Rescuers say at least five people, including three children, were killed in a strike on an apartment building in the same city.

Biden called Putin a “war criminal.”

He uses these words for the first time. US President Joe Biden has invited his Prime Minister Russian Vladimir Putin “War criminal” Wednesday. The chairman made his remarks in the presence of a journalist who questioned him as he left an event at the White House. “The president spoke from his heart and from what you saw on television, this is the barbaric act of a brutal dictator.“, Reacted Shortly afterwards his spokesman Jen Zaki. She mentioned a “Legal practice (Was) Still in the Foreign Office “ On a legal merit “War Crimes” Made by Russia in Ukraine.

No U.S. official has used these terms in public before. “War criminal” Where “War Crimes”, Unlike other states or international organizations. The Kremlin responded quickly, citing comments “Unacceptable and unforgivable”.

$ 1 billion additional military aid

Joe Biden confirmed on Wednesday that it had sent $ 800 million in additional military aid to Ukraine. “Unprecedented” One billion dollars a week in response to the Russian invasion. “On demand” President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zhelensky, “We are assisting Ukraine to equip itself with anti-aircraft security systems.” Joe Biden clarified during a short speech. Surprisingly, he did not accept the request of the President of Ukraine to establish a no-fly zone over Ukraine.

The Ukrainian leader spoke via video conference before the US Congress on Wednesday, which gave him applause. “In your best history, you have pages that allow you to understand the Ukrainians”He started for US elected officials. “Remember Pearl Harbor, the terrible morning of December 7, 1941. Your sky was darkened by planes”, “Remember that terrible day of September 11, 2001”In this speech he added. “Europe has not experienced this terrorism for 80 years.” “Is it too much to save people to create a no-fly zone over Ukraine?” Volodymyr Zelensky asked later.

Says the Kremlin “victory.”

Vladimir Putin promised on Wednesday that one of his military operations in Ukraine “Success”Saying that Moscow will not render this country “Head of the Bridge” For some “Aggressive Actions” Against Russia.

During a televised government meeting, the Russian president compared Western sanctions and the avalanche of condemnation of Russia. “Anti-Semitic Massacres”. He vowed to help Russia defeat the Western economic “Blitzkrieg” and to help individuals and businesses.

Moscow demands Ukraine’s neutrality, Kiev denies

Russian-Ukrainian talks continued on Wednesday, with Russia proposing a neutral position for Ukraine, on the Swedish or Austrian model.

Ukraine’s chief negotiator immediately refused “A Swedish or Austrian model”. “Ukraine is now in direct war with Russia. Therefore, the model can only be ‘Ukrainian’.”, One of the Ukrainian negotiators during the talks with Moscow, Mikhail Podoliyak, said in a statement issued by the President. Said to be “Complete Security Guarantees” Against Russia, its signatories will intervene on the side of Ukraine in case of aggression.

Russia was expelled from the Council of Europe

The European Council, which guarantees respect for the rule of law on the continent, officially excluded Russia on Wednesday due to the Ukraine invasion. In 1996, Moscow took the lead in officially announcing the opening of the Council, an organization based in Strasbourg.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ), the UN’s highest court, on Wednesday ordered Russia to immediately suspend its military operations in Ukraine. The judgments of the ICJ are bound and cannot be appealed, but there is no way for the court to enforce them.