Kyiv/Geneva: Ukraine today claimed Russia had begun to parachute shells into Ukraine. According to Ukraine’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, the weapons used “are the most brutal”. The weapon explodes over the target, forming a deadly cloud of striking elements, it stated.
Ukraine further claimed that on March 18, 2022, the Russian occupiers fired heavy artillery at settlements in the Bucha district in Kyiv region, killing seven civilians.
The fierce fighting continues on the 24th day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The United Nations secretariat took note of the devastation and suffering in Mariupol and Kharkiv and the spokesperson for the Secretary-General, Stéphane Dujarric, said international humanitarian law was crystal clear that civilians are entitled to protection against the dangers arising from military operations. “Direct attacks on civilians are prohibited. Yet, the magnitude of civilian casualties and the destruction of civilian infrastructure in Ukraine cannot be denied. This demands a thorough investigation and accountability,” he said.
The United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres warned that there was a threat of mass starvation and a food crisis due to the Russian-Ukrainian war. The World Food Programme warned that Ukraine’s food supply chain was falling apart: trucks and trains are being destroyed, airports were bombed, many bridges had fallen, supermarkets and warehouses have been emptied.
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An NGO, Kyiv Urbanist Council, reported that Russian forces might have caused the flooding of Demydiv town in the Kyiv region by destroying a nearby dam.
The Kharkiv Region Military Administration claimed Russians launched 29 shelling attacks against Kharkiv during the last 24 hours. This included artillery, mortar strikes, and rocket artillery systems.
Secretary of the Zaporizhia City Council, Anatoliy Kurtev, claimed that because of the shelling of the suburbs of Zaporizhia by Russian troops on March 18, 9 people were killed, 22 more were wounded.
Within the last 24 hours, on March 18, 2022, the Russian military executed four missile strikes (14 missiles) and over 40 airstrikes in Ukraine, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine stated.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence claimed that so far Russia had conducted 1,403 air raids and air strikes against Ukraine.
Meanwhile, the Press Emblem Campaign (PEC), the global media safety and rights body, expressed serious concern and condemned the killing of scribes in Ukraine, who have been reporting from ground after the Russian invasion, and urged every concerned to respect freedom of the press.
Since the Russian forces started military actions in Ukraine at least six journalists, most of them from foreign countries, were killed inside the country. All the victims including Shakirov Dilerbek Shukurovych (killed in Kherson locality on 26 February 2022), Yevhenii Sakun (Kyiv on 1 March), Viktor Dudar (Mykolaiv, 4 March), Brent Renaud (Irpin, 13 March), Pierre Zakrzewski (Horenka, 14 March), Oleksandra Kurshynova (Horenka, 14 March) were on the ground to report the war.
Dozens of journalists including Benjamin Hall, Guillaume Briquet, Stuart Ramsay, Richie Mockler, Stefan Weichert, Emil Filtenborg Mikkelsen, etc were wounded in the conflict. PEC is alarmed by the continued attacks against the journalists despite they were carrying clear sign PRESS with them. “Journalists should never be the target of military action as they are not combatants. Moreover, they should get the advantage of protections mentioned in Geneva Conventions,” said PEC president Blaise Lempen.
– global bihari bureau
