Kyiv/Washington/Beijing/Moscow: The United States of America President Joe Biden will speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping tomorrow, Friday, March 18, 2022, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki stated in Washington today. She informed that the two leaders will discuss managing the competition between the two countries as well as Russia’s war against Ukraine and other issues of mutual concern.
China today stated that on the Ukraine issue, it has been independently making its judgment based on the “merits of the matter itself in an objective and just manner”.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian today told reporters in Beijing that the Chinese side “always maintains” that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries must be respected, and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter must be observed. “We attach importance to the security concerns of all countries and support all efforts that are conducive to the peaceful resolution of the crisis. As a responsible major country, China will continue to play a constructive role in maintaining world peace and stability,” Lijian stated.
In Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin today held a meeting on the “socio-economic development” of Crimea and Sevastopol – the regions that Russia had annexed from Ukraine. Sevastopol is the largest city in Crimea and a major port on the Black Sea. The meeting was held on, as Putin noted, “on the eve of the Day of Crimea’s reunification with Russia”.
The meeting was attended by Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Anton Vaino, Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin, Presidential Aide Maxim Oreshkin, Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, Minister of Construction, Housing and Utilities Irek Fayzullin, Head of the Republic of Crimea Sergei Aksyonov, Governor of the Federal City of Sevastopol Mikhail Razvozhayev and Chair of Promsvyazbank Petr Fradkov.
Putin told the meeting that Western sanctions on the banking sector and on a number of goods, and so forth, “do have an impact on the economic development of the peninsula”. A new package of sanctions followed the start of the military operation in Ukraine.
“I said at the meeting on socioeconomic support for the regions yesterday that the restrictions imposed against Russia certainly create many problems. But, along with creating problems, they also open up new opportunities for us,” Putin said. He though claimed that in particular, major Russian companies now have the “best conditions” in Crimea. “Frankly speaking, they used to be afraid of some kind of sanctions, but now they have nothing to fear. They can safely develop business in the region, including banks by the way, they can start up their activities there, finding and developing new market niches. This applies to the Crimean Peninsula and specifically to the city of Sevastopol. We will certainly support such business activity, including through the deployment of infrastructure for banking and financial services,” he said.
In this regard, Putin said that one of Russia’s leading banking institutions fully owned by the state, Promsvyazbank, which actually has a presence in Crimea already, should become active in Crimea “as quickly” and as widely as possible. “It should introduce promising banking products, lend to agricultural construction, tourism and other key industries for the region, open departments and branches, and develop its retail network there. This will indeed become a serious incentive for increasing business activity in Crimea, and will promote cooperation with partners from other regions of the Russian Federation,” he said.
As the war in Ukraine entered its 22nd day, Russia continued to bomb civilian locations today. Russians bombed the Mariupol Drama Theatre, in Mariupol in the Donetsk region last night. Reportedly almost a thousand women and children were taking shelter there.
The word “CHILDREN” was laid out in giant letters and was visible from the sky in front of the building to protect it. The Russians still dropped the bombs. People are currently buried under rubble. Rescue efforts remain nearly impossible due to shelling, and Mariupol mayor Vadym Boichenko called the attack a ‘horrifying tragedy’.
The Advisor to the Minister of Internal Affairs, Denisenko, stated that 90% of Mariupol city has been destroyed or damaged. Almost no buildings have been left untouched by constant Russian artillery strikes. Most of the 400,000 residents remain there. Evacuation and rescue efforts remain extremely difficult due to constant Russian shelling. “This is beyond a humanitarian disaster,” the Advisor said.
The Mariupol Deputy Mayor further informed that the factory of Azovstal Metallurgical Plant in Mariupol completely destroyed after it was bombed by Russian aggressors from the air.
In Kyiv, an apartment building was damaged and caught fire after being hit with the fragments of a Russian missile. The State Emergency Service of Ukraine said people were being evacuated from the building, and rescue services were dismantling the debris and searching for victims.
The city of Slavytuch in the Kyiv region was completely isolated by Russian aggressors, who cut it off from supplies. “The city is nearing a humanitarian disaster,” the Kyiv Regional Military Administration stated.
The Kyiv region police said preliminarily reports suggested that a two-year-old child died, and four people were injured when Russian military fired heavy artillery at Novi Petrivtsi village.
Russian invaders further opened artillery fire during the night on the town of Merefa in the Kharkiv region, destroying a school, a community hall and damaging several nearby houses. 21 people were killed and 25 injured as a result of the Russian shelling of Merefa town (Kharkiv region). The invaders also shelled the town of Rubizhne in the Luhansk region in the early hours of March 17, 2022. At least 27 houses were destroyed in the shelling.
Moreover, four people were killed when Russian artillery fired on a residential neighbourhood in central Chernihiv, the Head of the Chernihiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office claimed. A U.S. citizen was also reportedly killed in the Russian artillery strikes there. The Head of Chernihiv Region Police said information regarding casualties was being verified. Meanwhile, the number of civilians killed while standing in line for humanitarian aid in Chernihiv on March 16, 2022 today rose to 14, the Chairman of the Chernihiv region prosecutor’s office stated.
Meanwhile, an agency report said one ship was sunk when Russian warships opened fire at three ships flying the Panama flag in the Black Sea. No information on casualties was available yet.
From 4 a.m. on 24 February 2022, when the Russian Federation’s armed attack against Ukraine started, to 24:00 midnight on 16 March 2022 (local time), the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) recorded 2,032 civilian casualties in the country: 780 killed and 1,252 injured. This included:
- a total of 780 killed (146 men, 111 women, 7 girls, and 15 boys, as well as 36 children and 465 adults whose sex is yet unknown)
- a total of 1,252 injured (130 men, 100 women, 17 girls, and 7 boys, as well as 44 children and 954 adults whose sex is yet unknown)
- In Donetsk and Luhansk regions: 854 casualties (208 killed and 646 injured)
- On Government-controlled territory: 634 casualties (162 killed and 472 injured)
- On territory controlled by the self-proclaimed ‘republics’: 220 casualties (46 killed and 174 injured)
- In other regions of Ukraine (the city of Kyiv, and Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Kherson, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Sumy, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk and Zhytomyr regions), which were under Government control when casualties occurred: 1,178 casualties (572 killed and 606 injured)
- In Donetsk and Luhansk regions: 854 casualties (208 killed and 646 injured)
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, as of March 15, 2022, in all 3,063,095 citizens had crossed the borders of Ukraine to escape Russian aggression.
Meanwhile, the International Court of Justice yesterday issued a significant ruling in Ukraine’s case against the Russian Federation under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. The ruling clearly and unequivocally ordered Russia to immediately suspend the military operations Russia commenced last month and further directed Russia to ensure that anyone subject to its direction, including military or irregular armed units, take no steps in furtherance of such military operations.
The Court – which plays a vital role in the peaceful settlement of disputes under the UN Charter – stressed the need for States to act in conformity with their obligations under international law, including the laws of war. And the Court expressed deep concern about the extreme vulnerability of the civilian population of Ukraine, the numerous civilian deaths and injuries that have resulted from the Kremlin’s actions, and the significant material damage, including the destruction of buildings and infrastructure. The Court further noted its profound concern with the Russian government’s use of force and emphasized the Court’s acute awareness of “the extent of the human tragedy that is taking place in Ukraine” as well as the “continuing loss of life and human suffering.” The Court also observed that it did not possess any evidence substantiating Russia’s claims that genocide had been committed by Ukraine in the Donbas region.
“We welcome the Court’s order and call on the Russian Federation to comply with the order, immediately cease its military operations in Ukraine, and to establish unhindered humanitarian access in Ukraine,” Ned Price, US State Department spokesperson said.
– global bihari bureau
