Russia-Ukraine war: what we know on day 30 of the invasion

 

Russia-Ukraine war: what we know on day 30 of the invasion

 

Ukraine strategic attacks are forcing Russian forces to defend their supply lines, says UK, amid reports Moscow has forcibly removed more than 400,000 civilians to Russia

 

Samantha Lock

@Samantha__Lock

Fri 25 Mar 2022 01.13 GMT

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/25/russia-ukraine-war-what-we-know-on-day-30-of-the-invasion

 

• The UK’s ministry of defence said Ukraine is striking “high value targets” that is forcing Russian forces to divert resources to defend their supply lines. It cited the attacks on landing ship and ammunition storage depots at Berdyansk as examples of valuable targets. “It is likely that the Ukrainians will continue to target logistical assets in Russian-held areas. This will force the Russian military to prioritise the defence of their supply chain” and reduce ability to carry out offensive operations.
• Ukrainian forces have been bolstered by the destruction of the major Russian landing ship as it brought in supplies to its troops. Dramatic pictures showed billowing fire and black smoke as the Orsk, docked in Berdyansk on the Azov Sea, was hit by Ukrainian ballistic missiles.
• Joe Biden heads to Warsaw on Friday where he is expected to meet with experts on the humanitarian response; and US troops stationed in Poland. On Saturday, he is to meet Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda to discuss “the humanitarian and human rights crisis” resulting from the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
• The Ukrainian defence ministry said its troops had pushed back Russian forces from some areas around the capital, Kyiv. Russian troops did not have enough resources to push ahead with their offensive in Ukraine, Oleksander Motuzyanyk, Ukraine’s defence ministry spokesperson said, but added that Russian troops had not given up hope of surrounding and seizing Kyiv.
• Ukraine’s deputy prime minister said there were 40 buses waiting to take civilians out of Mariupol, but that Russian forces were not letting them through. There were meant to be seven humanitarian corridors open on Thursday – although Mariupol was not included among them.
• Ukraine has accused Moscow of forcibly taking 402,000 civilians, including 84,000 children, from Ukrainian cities to Russia - and raised concerns that they would be used as hostages. Russia corroborated the numbers but said the civilians has been evacuated willingly.
• The chief prosecutor of the international criminal court (ICC), Karim Khan, asked a coalition of countries to back his war crimes investigation in Ukraine. “Things can get worse” if the international community fails to act now, Khan warned.
• The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, appealed to Nato allies to increase military support for his country against Russian forces. Speaking to leaders via video link, Zelenskiy thanked countries for the defensive equipment provided to Ukraine but appealed for offensive weapons. The Ukrainian leader also accused Russia of deploying phosphorus weapons.
• Nato leaders have agreed to strengthen their defences in the east in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. About 40,000 troops have been placed on its eastern flank along with significant air and naval assets, and four new battlegroups will be sent to Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania.
• The US and its allies announced new sanctions on more than 400 Russian elites and institutions. Among those sanctioned were Russia’s lower house of parliament, the Duma, and 328 of its members. The US treasury department also issued guidance, warning that US authorities may impose sanctions on gold-related transactions involving Russia.
• Biden said China understands the economic consequences that would ensue if it provides help to Russia in its war with Ukraine. Speaking to reporters in Brussels, the US president said the Nato alliance has never been more united than it is today.
• G7 leaders said they are resolved to impose severe consequences on Russia and stand ready to apply additional measures “as required”. In a joint statement, they condemned Vladimir Putin’s “war of choice” and his “unjustifiable, unprovoked and illegal” aggression in Ukraine.
• The Biden administration and the European Union are expected to announce a major initiative to direct shipments of liquefied natural gas to Europe during the US president’s visit to Brussels this week, the Washington Post reported, citing three US officials familiar with the plan.
• Russia has been hit with 65 new sanctions by the UK, in a move the Foreign Office said was designed to target “key strategic industries and individuals”. Among those hit were six banks and a defence company that produces drones, as well as the Wagner Group, which Britain said had reportedly been tasked with assassinating the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
• The UK and allies will “ramp up” lethal aid to Ukraine, Boris Johnson said following a meeting of G7 leaders. The UK will send an additional 6,000 missiles and provide £25m in funding for Ukraine’s armed forces, he said, with kit provided “in the quantity and with the quality” needed by Ukraine to defend itself against “its bullying neighbour”.
• Asked about the Kremlin’s claim that he was the “most active participant in the race to be anti-Russian”, Boris Johnson said he was not “remotely anti-Russian”. “I think I’m probably the only prime minister in UK history to be called Boris,” he told reporters in Brussels.
• The United Nations general assembly voted overwhelmingly to call on Russia to stop its war on Ukraine immediately and to provide more aid access and civilian protection in Ukraine. The resolution received 140 votes in favour and five votes against - Russia, Syria, North Korea, Eritrea and Belarus - while 38 countries abstained.
• Pope Francis levelled strong criticism against countries for increasing defence spending following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, describing it as “madness”. He said the conflict in Ukraine was a product of “the old logic of power that still dominates so-called geopolitics” and the real answer was not more weapons and more sanctions.
• Alexander Lukashenko, the authoritarian leader of Belarus, has warned that a Polish proposal to deploy a western peacekeeping force in Ukraine could trigger “world war three”. Lukashenko, who has allowed Russia to use Belarus’ territory to send troops into Ukraine, said on Thursday that should Poland’s suggestion be taken up “it will mean world war three”. The peacekeeping idea or any other direct Nato intervention has previously attracted no support from the US or many other allies.