While fighting is now taking place inside Mariupol, on the twenty-eighth day of the war, the specter of chemical weapons and the threat of nuclear power returns to the exchange of accusations. And Ukraine is asking NATO to send “medium range missiles”, because “we cannot win a war without offensive weapons”.
PUTIN’S MOVE – in the meantime Russia says it will no longer accept payments in dollars and euros for its gas delivered to Europe, but will only accept rubles. This was stated by Russian President Vladimir Putin. An announcement that causes the drop in European stock exchanges: Frankfurt -1.3%, Madrid -1.4%, Paris and Milan -1%, London -0.1%. After Putin’s words, the ruble it immediately improved and has now dropped below 100 against the dollar (98.8). However, the Russian currency remains weak compared to the pre-war period in Ukraine when it traded at 75 on the greenback. The price of gas in Europe recorded a 34% jump and then retraced to 125 euros (+ 27%) per MWh, after Putin’s decision. In London, the price rises to 298p per Mmbtu. Against “high and volatile gas prices”, we “propose joint procurement and stricter rules for storage, because instead of competing with each other by bringing the prices up, we need to use our weight and start buying gas together. As Europeans, not as 27 different member countries. Also we should use our storage facilities in some member countries to secure supplies everywhere in the Union. ” This was stated by the president of the Commission Ursula von der Leyen to the Pe.
THE WAR CONTINUES – A bridge in Chernihiv was bombed, 130 kilometers from Kiev, considered crucial for bringing humanitarian aid and evacuating civilians. The Kyiv Independent reports it.
The voices of those fleeing the horror of the war in Ukraine
–
Russian forces seized a humanitarian convoy of 11 empty buses bound for Mariupol to rescue the Ukrainians fleeing the now ghostly city, making the drivers of the vehicles and various emergency services “prisoners”: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky denounces the Moscow maneuver a few hours after his speech to the Italian Parliament and assures that Kiev is “doing everything to free our people”. President Zelensky demands the release of the convoy.
Ukraine, video shows missiles launched from Crimea
–
Nine humanitarian corridors have been agreed for today in Ukraine, but not to exit Mariupol. Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine, Iryna Vereshchuk says there is no agreement with Russia to establish a safe corridor from the heart of Mariupol. “One hundred thousand people – denounces the Ukrainian president – were trapped in the ruined city of Mariupol, facing hunger under “constant” Russian bombing. “Zelensky renewed his calls for Russia to allow safe humanitarian corridors, and said civilians are facing” inhuman conditions “in a total siege: no food, no water, no medicines “. More than 7,000 people have fled the city in the past 24 hours, he said.
EXCHANGE OF CHARGES AND THE NUCLEAR THREAT – “Russia used white phosphorus bombs in Hostomel and Irpin”, Irpin Mayor Oleksandr Markushin said, quoted by The Kyiv Independent. “Russian forces targeted the satellite cities of Kiev with phosphorus bombs on the night of March 22 – said Markushin – The use of such weapons against civilians is prohibited by the Geneva Conventions”. The deputy police chief of Kiev released a video accusing Russia of using phosphorus ammunition against the eastern city of Kramatorsk, reports The Independent.
For his part, the Kremlin spokesman, Peskov, speaks of “strong evidence” that the US has “developed bio-laboratory programs” in Ukraine – an accusation already rejected by Washington – and specifies that Moscow will use its nuclear weapons if it sees ” its very existence threatened “. “This is not the way a responsible nuclear power should act,” comments the Pentagon. The Ukrainian ambassador to Italy said that “using nuclear weapons would be tragic not only for Ukraine but for the whole world”, adding however that “we cannot exclude anything in this situation”.
Russia’s use of chemical weapons is a real threatUS President Joe Biden said before leaving for his trip to Europe.
DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS, TENSION RISES – Poland is expelling “45 Russian spies posing as diplomats”, announced the Polish Minister of the Interior Mariusz Kaminski. “In an absolutely coherent and determined way, we are dismantling the Russian special services network in our country,” he said on Twitter. Russia’s ambassador to Poland, Sergei Andreev, said the espionage allegations were “unfounded”, and announced that Russia reserves the right to take retaliatory measures. Diplomatic relations between Warsaw and Moscow have not been interrupted, added the diplomat: “The embassies remain, the ambassadors remain”.
THE PRESSURE OF UKRAINE ON THE WEST – Kiev asks the West to send “offensive weapons” to Ukraine as a “means of deterrence” against Moscow. This is the appeal launched by Andriy Yermak, head of cabinet of Ukrainian President Zelensky, on the eve of the extraordinary summit of NATO leaders in Brussels in which Zelensky will speak by videoconference. “Our armed forces and our citizens resist with superhuman courage, but we cannot win a war without offensive weapons, without medium-range missiles, which can be a means of deterrence,” Yermak said in a video on Telegram, also citing air defense and hunting systems.
THE MASSACRE OF CHILDREN – To date they have been 121 children killed and 167 others were injured. This was reported by the Ukrainian Attorney General’s office quoted by the UNIAN Agency. The bombings hit 548 educational facilities, 72 of which were completely destroyed, he said. “The bombed schools are more than 220 schools, 155 kindergartens. The worst situation is in the regions of Donetsk, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, Sumy, Kyiv, Kherson, Chernihiv and Kiev. Also hit by the Russian bombs are medical schools, arts, plants sports, libraries, “the prosecutor said.
THE POPE’S APPEAL, UKRAINE HOPES FOR HIS VISIT – Pope Francis has returned to talk about the war in Ukraine. The Ukrainian ambassador to the Holy See assures us that “we will do everything possible to organize the visit of Pope Francis to Kiev”.
Ukrainian ambassador: ‘We will do everything possible to organize the Pope’s trip to Kiev’
–
–
