22/3/2022–|Last update: 3/22/202207:36 AM (Mecca)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky renewed his desire to meet with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. While US President Joe Biden launched a new attack on the Russians, accusing them of looking for a pretext to use prohibited weapons in Ukraine, Moscow said that relations with Washington were on the verge of collapse.
Washington has pledged to provide Ukraine with Soviet-made defense systems that it obtained secretly decades ago, while the Ukrainian president stressed that his fighters are firmly confronting Russian aggression.
On the humanitarian side, the Ukrainian authorities said that 8,057 people were evacuated – Monday – through 7 humanitarian corridors from Ukrainian towns and cities witnessing battles.
Here are the latest developments on the 27th day of this war:
Al-Jazeera correspondent: Sirens sounded in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.
AFP from the French Foreign Ministry: We will send 55 tons of humanitarian aid to Ukraine via Poland.
Reuters from the Russian Foreign Ministry: We will stop negotiations with Japan on the peace treaty because of its attempts to harm our interests.
The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs:
- Le Drian and Blinken agree in a telephone conversation on the need to strengthen the security of Ukraine’s nuclear facilities.
- Le Drian and Blinken agree to continue strengthening sanctions against Russia.
- Le Drian and Blinken stress the need to reach a comprehensive ceasefire agreement in Ukraine.
Ukrainian government: Russian forces kidnapped 3 Israelis in Melitopol, southeastern Ukraine.
The United Nations General Assembly will hold an extraordinary session on Wednesday to discuss a draft resolution on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine.
Ukrainian President:
Russian Foreign Ministry: We summoned US Ambassador John Sullivan to tell him that US President Joe Biden’s statements in which he described his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin as a “war criminal” pushed relations between the two countries to the brink of collapse.
US President Joe Biden:
- The Russians are talking about Ukraine having biological and chemical weapons, and this is a sign of their intent to use those weapons.
- It is not only US companies that are threatened by cyber-attacks, but also the national interest.
- Earlier, I warned Russian President Vladimir Putin of the consequences of any cyber attacks targeting us or our allies.
- I called for NATO unity when Putin began massing his troops on the border with Ukraine.
- NATO has never been more united than it is now about Russia’s war on Ukraine.
