In his latest video address Tuesday, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said more than 7,000 people had escaped the besieged port city of Mariupol in the last 24 hours, but that nearly 100,000 remained trapped in “inhumane conditions” without food, water or medication as Russia’s bombardment continued. Read FRANCE 24’s coverage of the day’s events as they unfolded.
05:49 am: Vietnam Airlines to suspend regular flights to Russia from March 25
National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines will temporarily suspend regular flights from Hanoi to Moscow starting from March 25 until further notice, the state run Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reported on Wednesday.
The suspension was to review procedures, requirements and regulations related to flight operations in Russia, VNA reported. The two countries have close ties dating back to the Soviet era and Vietnam has not so far condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
02:25 am: Leading Belarus opposition figure calls for tougher sanctions against Lukashenko
Leading exiled Belarusian opposition figure Pavel Latushko on Wednesday urged the West to strengthen sanctions against President Alexander Lukashenko and his regime for supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Lukashenko has backed President Vladimir Putin’s war, allowing him to launch attacks from Belarusian territory and prompting critics to brand him a “partner-in-crime” and “co-aggressor”.
Although he has faced tightening sanctions since violently cracking down on mass protests in Belarus following elections in 2020 widely condemned as rigged, critics argue Western nations could and should go further.
“Lukashenko deserves far more global opprobrium than has come his way,” Latushko wrote in The New European newspaper. “He may be Putin’s pawn. But he is also a major player in this horror show, and it is time the West realised it, and acted accordingly. Both of these monsters need to be held to account.”
01:53 am: Signs of Ukrainian forces going on offensive, reclaiming territory, Pentagon says
Ukrainian forces have reversed the battlefield momentum against invading Russians in some areas to reclaim ground in recent days, the Pentagon said Tuesday.
The Ukrainians are “in places and at times going on an offensive", particularly in the south of the country, US Defense Department spokesman John Kirby told CNN.
“They are going after Russians and pushing them out of places where the Russians have been in the past,” he said, particularly in Mykolaiv. “We have seen this now increase over the last few days.”
Kirby said he could not confirm reports from Ukrainian officials that they had retaken at least one town and expect to take more in coming days. But it would be “consistent with the kind of fighting and the kinds of capabilities we have seen the Ukrainians use”, he said.
As for the Russians, he echoed Western analysts who have said the invading forces have become bogged down.
“They are running out of fuel. They’re running out of food. They are not integrating their operations in a joint manner the way you would think a modern military would,” Kirby said.
01:34 am, March 22: Kyiv residents, businesses coordinate aid and self-defence as fighting consumes suburbs
Entrepreneur Dmytro Tymoshenko has turned his paint company into a force for Kyiv’s self-preservation. His facilities are now producing their own bulletproof vests as well as serving as a hub for distribution of medicine and other humanitarian aid. FRANCE 24’s James Andre, Jonathan Walsh and Oleksiy Gordieiev report from the Ukrainian capital:
11:22 pm: Zelensky says talks with Russia tough but ‘moving forward’; 100,000 still trapped in Mariupol
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said early Wednesday that peace talks with Russia to end the war were tough and sometimes confrontational but added “step by step we are moving forward”.
In his nightly video address, Zelensky also said 100,000 people were living in the besieged city of Mariupol in inhuman conditions, without food, water or medicine.
Zelensky said more than 7,000 people had escaped in the last 24 hours, but one group travelling along an agreed humanitarian route west of the city were “simply captured by the occupiers”.
10:25 pm: Kyiv residents face uncertain future
As Ukraine claimed to have retaken a strategic suburb of Kyiv on Tuesday, FRANCE 24 spoke to Polina Boichuk, a resident of the capital.
“You never know what will happen tomorrow,” she said. “You are just scared to wake up because that means you read the news about another child or woman wounded or killed by Russian missiles.”
But Boichuk says that if the time comes, she would be ready to “take arms and fight the Russians”. Meanwhile, she is doing everything she can to help.
9:17 pm: France's Macron speaks with Putin, Zelensky
French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday talked with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky about the terms of a potential cease-fire, according to the French presidency.
They reached “no agreement,” the statement said, but Macron “remains convinced of the need to continue his efforts” and he “stands alongside Ukraine”.
The Kremlin confirmed that Putin and Macron had a call in which they exchanged views about the situation in Ukraine, including the talks between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators. It didn’t give further details.
9:09 pm: NATO invites Zelensky to address summit via videolink
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been invited to address a special NATO summit Thursday discussing the Russian invasion of his country, an official said.
"President Zelensky is invited to address the NATO summit via video link," a NATO official said Tuesday. "This will be an opportunity for allied leaders to hear directly from President Zelensky about the dire situation facing the people of Ukraine because of Russia's aggression."
8:36 pm: Palpable sense of anger in Ukraine as Zelensky outlines areas for possible negotiations
Russia's war in Ukraine, now in its 26th day, shows no signs of abating. The invasion has wreaked devastation, exacting a heavy toll on civilians.
But despite Russia's offensives, Ukrainians "still feel that they are winning", says FRANCE 24 correspondent Gulliver Cragg, reporting from Khomutyntsi in central Ukraine.
He adds that Ukranians are "frustrated at what they see as a Western narrative in which Putin is the only guilty one and the Russian people had nothing to do with this," and speaks about the compromises that President Zelensky is ready to make.
8:26 pm: Russia would only use nuclear weapons faced with 'existential threat' says Kremlin
Russia would only use nuclear weapons in the context of the Ukraine conflict if it were facing an "existential threat," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told CNN International Tuesday.
"We have a concept of domestic security, and it's public. You can read all the reasons for nuclear arms to be used," Peskov said. "So if it is an existential threat for our country, then it can be used in accordance with our concept."
Peskov's comment came as interviewer Christiane Amanpour pushed him on whether he was "convinced or confident" that Putin would not use the nuclear option in the Ukrainian context.
8:05 pm: French energy giant TotalEnergies to halt all Russian oil purchases by year-end
French energy company TotalEnergies said Tuesday it has decided to halt all its purchases of Russian oil and petroleum products by the end of the year at the latest.
The French company said in a statement that it will “gradually suspend its activities in Russia” amid the worsening situation in Ukraine.
It stressed “the existence of alternative sources for supplying Europe” with oil.
The group committed to ensure “strict compliance with current and future European sanctions, no matter what the consequences on the management of its assets in Russia.”
Russia represented 17 percent of the company’s oil and gas production in 2020.
7:05 pm: Biden, European leaders to add more sanctions against Russia says US official
US President Joe Biden will join allies in applying additional sanctions against Russia and tightening existing ones during his trip to Brussels this week, national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on Tuesday.
Biden leaves for Brussels on Wednesday and holds meetings with fellow leaders on Thursday.
Sullivan said Biden would work with allies on longer-term adjustments to NATO force posture during his visit.
6:58 pm : Ukraine says reclaimed key Kyiv suburb, capital 'still accessible'
The battle for Ukraine's cities is thundering across its suburbs, with the Ukrainian military retaking a key neighborhood near Kyiv on Tuesday and the invading Russian forces increasing air raids that have caused uncounted deaths and sent more than 3.5 million people fleeing.
FRANCE 24 reporter Gwendoline Debono is on the ground in Kyiv, where she said the capital is "still accessible".
"Ukrainian forces are holding their positions and we see Russian soldiers advancing very slowly," she said.
5:55 pm: Fighting rages in Ukraine's Mariupol, says regional governor
A regional governor in Ukraine said on Tuesday Russian and Ukrainian forces were fighting in the city of Mariupol, and accused Russian troops of firing indiscriminately at residential areas and Ukrainian military targets.
Russian denies targeting civilians.
Speaking on national television, Donetsk Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said civilians were coming under Russian fire as well as troops of Ukraine's Azov military unit.
5:51 pm: Rockets destroy rail station, kill one person in Ukraine's Dnipro region, says governor
Rocket strikes destroyed a railway station in Ukraine's central-eastern Dnipro region on Tuesday, killing one person and damaging rails enough to prevent train passage indefinitely, Governor Valentyn Reznichenko said.
The rockets hit a station of the town of Pavlohrad around 60 km east of the regional capital Dnipro.
5:27 pm: Ukraine says 300,000 people are running out of food in occupied Kherson
Ukraine's foreign ministry said on Tuesday about 300,000 people in the occupied city of Kherson were running out of food and medical supplies, and accused Russia of preventing civilians evacuating to Ukraine-controlled territory.
"Kherson’s 300k citizens face a humanitarian catastrophe owing to the Russian army’s blockade. Food and medical supplies have almost run out, yet Russia refuses to open humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians," ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko said on Twitter.
Russia did not immediately comment on Nikolenko's remarks. Moscow denies targeting civilians.
4:25 pm: Deputy Mayor Sergei Orlov of Mariupol describes scences of horror in embattled city
Two "super powerful bombs" rocked the city of Mariupol on Tuesday as Ukrainian authorities made a fresh attempt to rescue civilians from the besieged port city, which has suffered relentless shelling since Russia's invasion began almost a month ago.
FRANCE 24 spoke to Deputy Mayor Sergei Orlov about the horrors civilians are having to face. “Russia doesn’t want to allow Ukrainian citizens to evacuate to the Ukrainian side,” he said. “They do all their best to evacuate them to Russia, to push them, to shell their houses ... It's criminal... It's war crimes."
3:11 pm: Farmers in Ukraine continue work amid Russia's invasion
Farmers in Ukraine are continuing their work amid Russia's invasion, but are having trouble selling their goods.
Ukraine and Russia account for a third of global wheat and barley exports, which countries in Asia, Africa and the Middle East rely on to feed millions of needy people. About half of the grain the World Food Program buys to feed 125 million people worldwide comes from Ukraine.
FRANCE 24 journalist Leo McGuinn brings us more with this report:
2:55 pm: UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres says war in Ukraine 'going nowhere fast'
In a televised address, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres deplored Russia's invasion of Ukraine, saying "the war is going nowhere fast".
Guterres urged an end to the "absurd war", warning that the Ukrainian people are "enduring a living hell".
"This war is unwinnable. Sooner or later, it will have to move from the battlefield to the peace table. That is inevitable," he added.
"The only outcome to all of this is more suffering, more destruction and more horror as far as the eye can see," he said. "Continuing the war in Ukraine is morally unacceptable, politically indefensible and militarily nonsensical."
Calling for an end to the war, he said "there is enough on the table to seize hostilities now, and seriously negotiate."
1:08 pm: Russia adopts bill on prison terms for ‘false information’ about Moscow’s actions abroad
Russian lawmakers have approved legislation to impose prison terms of up to three years for the publication of false information about Russia’s actions abroad.
The bill, adopted after a third reading, sets out jail terms and fines against people who publish “knowingly false information” about actions abroad by Russian government agencies, “in the interests of Russia and its citizens”.
11:40 am: Ten Ukrainian hospitals destroyed since Russia invaded
Ukrainian Health Minister Viktor Lyashko said on Tuesday that 10 hospitals had been completely destroyed since Russia invaded Ukraine, and others could not be restocked with medicines and supplies because of fighting nearby.
11:15 am: Russian newspaper hacked, false story on military deaths posted – Kremlin correspondent
Russia’s mass-market Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper was hacked on Monday and a false story on Russian military deaths in Ukraine was posted on its site, its Kremlin correspondent Alexander Gamov said on Tuesday.
The story – which said nearly 10,000 Russian troops had been killed – was deleted after only a few minutes, but had already been picked up by some Western media.
11:27 am: Half a million Ukrainian refugees in Poland need mental health support
About half a million refugees from Ukraine who have fled to Poland need support for mental health disorders, and 30,000 have severe mental health problems, the representative for the World Health Organization in Poland said on Tuesday.
Refugees arriving in Poland are suffering from a range of health problems, including diarrhea and dehydration, but the main need is for support due to trauma, Paloma Cuchi, WHO representative in Poland, told a briefing in Geneva.
11:25 am: Refugees from Mariupol describe city’s devastation
Victoria and Oleksii Kazantsev had been sheltering in Mariupol before leaving the port city in their car, which had been protected from Russian forces' bombardment in an underground garage. Now in Lviv with their daughter, they tell FRANCE 24 about the devastation they witnessed as they fled.
10:54 am: Russia, North Korea discuss developing relations
Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov has met with North Korea’s ambassador to Moscow and discussed developing bilateral relations “in the context of changes happening on the international arena”, the Russian foreign ministry said on Tuesday.
North Korea last month blamed the Ukraine crisis on the “hegemonic policy” and “high-handedness” of the United States and the West.
11:08 am: Russian Nobel winner says he will donate medal to Ukrainian refugee fund
Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov, a co-winner of last year's Nobel Peace Prize, said on Tuesday he would donate his Nobel medal to be auctioned to raise funds for Ukrainian refugees.
The Novaya Gazeta newspaper, where Muratov is editor-in-chief, in early March said it would remove material on Russia's invasion of Ukraine from its website because of censorship, in response to threats of criminal prosecution of journalists and citizens who veer from Moscow's official line that the war it began is a "special military operation".
10:44 am: Kyiv theatre director says rehearsals keep spirits high amid attacks
Kyiv theatre director Tetiana Shelepko tells FRANCE 24 that holding rehearsals at night after helping to transport humanitarian supplies during the day keeps her company's spirits up amid Russian attacks on Ukraine's capital.
9:58 am: More than 3.5 million people have fled Ukraine
The number of Ukrainians who have fled abroad has now surpassed 3.5 million, the UN Refugee Agency said on Tuesday, with more than 2 million having crossed the border into Poland.
9:48 am: Ukrainian forces retake key Kyiv suburb of Makariv
Ukrainian forces forced Russian troops out of the strategically important Kyiv suburb of Makariv early Tuesday after a fierce battle, Ukraine’s Defence Ministry said. The regained territory has allowed Ukrainian forces to retake control of a key highway and block Russian troops from surrounding Kyiv from the northwest.
9:43 am: Boryspil mayor urges civilians to flee
The mayor of the Ukrainian city of Boryspil, just east of Kyiv and close to the Boryspil International Airport, is urging civilians to leave the city because of fighting nearby.
“There is no need to be in the city now as there is already fighting going on in the area around it. I call on the civilian population to be smart, reach out to our call centre and leave town as soon as an opportunity arises,” Mayor Volodymyr Borysenko said in a video address.
8:44 am: ‘Fewer and fewer civilians getting evacuated from Kyiv’
Kyiv on Monday night entered a new, longer curfew that is scheduled to last until Wednesday morning because authorities expect the Ukrainian capital to come under further shelling by Russian forces.
FRANCE 24's correspondent Gwendoline Debono reports on the current mood in Kyiv in the video below.
6:30 am: Zelensky renews offer of direct peace talks with Putin
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky renewed an offer of direct peace talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin overnight to Tuesday, declaring the status of Russia-occupied Crimea and two self-declared pro-Moscow republics in Donbas could be up for debate and a possible referendum.
Zelensky told local media that he was ready to meet Putin “in any format” to discuss ending the almost one-month-old war that has shattered several Ukrainian cities.
