NEW YORK (1010 WINS/AP) -- Russian forces escalated their bombardment of the Ukrainian capital Tuesday, edging closer to the heart of Kyiv in a relentless and fiery onslaught that is deepening a humanitarian crisis that has led to 3 million refugees fleeing the country. Still, a narrow diplomatic channel remains open, with more talks between the two sides planned Tuesday despite the failures of diplomacy so far. Meanwhile, leaders of three European Union countries planned a bold visit to Kyiv amid the shelling.
Tuesday, March 15, 2022
8:30 p.m.- Official says Russian troops take 500 hostage
Russian troops seized a hospital in Mariupol and took about 500 people hostage during another assault on the southern port city late Tuesday, regional leader Pavlo Kyrylenko said.
Russians troops drove 400 people from neighboring houses into Regional Intensive Care Hospital, Kyrylenko said on the messaging app Telegram. About 100 doctors and patients also are believed to be inside, he said.
The troops are using those inside the hospital as human shields and are not allowing anyone to leave, he said.
“It’s impossible to leave the hospital, they are shooting hard,” Kyrylenko said.
Kyrylenko said the main building of the hospital has been heavily damaged by shelling, but medical staff are continuing to treat patients in makeshift wards set up in the basement.
He called on the world to respond to these “gross violations of the norms and customs of war, these egregious crimes against humanity.”
The Ukrainian army’s General Staff says Russian troops are trying to block off the city from the western and eastern outskirts of the city. “There are significant losses,” it said in a Facebook post.
6:45 p.m.- Biden to announce $1B in military aid for Ukraine
According to European diplomats, Ukrainian officials plan to present the U.S. with a list of needed military equipment, The New York Times reported ahead of President Volodymyr Zelensky addressing Congress on Wednesday.
The diplomats, who asked to remain anonymous, told the Times that the list does not replace Ukraine's request for MIG fighter planes but offers the U.S. other options the Biden administration might be more willing to give.
The request includes some equipment the U.S. has already provided, like antiaircraft Stinger missiles and antitank Javelin missiles. Other items are new additions, like armed drones and communication jamming equipment.
On Tuesday, Biden signed the omnibus budget bill which allocated roughly $13.6 billion for Ukraine assistance. Biden is expected to announce more than $1 billion in new military aid from the omnibus budget bill to the Ukraine government, The Wall Street Journal reported.
5:35 p.m. - US set to provide nearly $200M more humanitarian aid to support Ukrainian refugees
Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on Tuesday that the United States will provide an additional $186 million in humanitarian aid to support internally displaced persons and the more than three million refugees displaced by Russia's "premeditated, unprovoked, and unjustified war" in Ukraine.
Noting the U.S. government is "largest single-country donor of humanitarian assistance to Ukraine," Blinken said their funding since Russia began its invasion in Ukraine amounts to nearly $644 million.
This latest funding will "further support for humanitarian organizations responding to the crisis and complement the generosity of the neighboring countries that are welcoming and supporting refugees."
5:10 p.m. - 4th round of talks between Ukraine and Russia set for Wednesday
The fourth round of talks between Ukrainian and Russian officials will resume on Wednesday, an adviser to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy tweeted.
Mykhailo Podolyak said discussions are "very difficult" with "fundamental contradictions, though "there is certainly room for compromise."
4:35 p.m. - 20K people fled besieged city of Mariupol
A senior Ukrainian official says about 20,000 people have managed to leave the besieged port city of Mariupol.
Kyrylo Tymoshenko, a deputy head of office of Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the evacuees left Mariupol in private vehicles via a humanitarian corridor on Tuesday.
He said that 570 of some 4,000 vehicles that left the city have reached the city of Zaporizhzhia some 260 kilometers (160 miles) northwest while others will spend the night in various towns along the way.
Mariupol, a strategic port city of 430,000 on the Sea of Azov, has been besieged by Russian troops for more than 10 days, facing heavy shelling that has killed more than 2,300 people and left residents struggling for food, water, heat and medicine.
4:00 p.m. - 3 EU prime ministers visit Kyiv as Russian attacks intensify
The prime ministers of Poland, Czech Republic and Slovenia traveled to the embattled Ukrainian capital of Kyiv on Tuesday in a show of support for Ukraine even as bombardment by the Russian military edged closer to the center of the city.
The three leaders went ahead with the hours-long train trip despite worries within the European Union about the security risks of traveling within a war zone.
Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on social media in the evening that he, deputy Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski and the Czech and Slovenian leaders were in Kyiv.
2:00 p.m. - Russian state TV employee fined for protesting war on live news program
An employee of Russian state television who interrupted a live news program by protesting the war in Ukraine was ordered to pay a fine by a Russian court Tuesday.
Marina Ovsyannikova, an employee of the Russian Channel 1, walked into the studio during Monday’s evening news show with a poster saying “no war” and “Russians against the war.”
In a video recorded before her action, Ovsyannikova said that her father is Ukrainian and her mother Russian. She urged Russians to join anti-war protests and said that “Russia is the aggressor country and one person, Vladimir Putin, solely bears responsibility for that aggression.”
Ovsyannikova spent the night in police custody, and Moscow’s Ostankino District Court on Tuesday ordered Ovsyannikova to pay a fine of 30,000 rubles (about $270) on charges of organizing unsanctioned actions for her call to take part in demonstrations against the war.
1:50 p.m. - Russia withdraws from Europe’s leading human rights org
The Russian Foreign Ministry said Moscow is withdrawing from the Council of Europe.
The ministry said it handed a formal notice about Russia’s decision to leave the continent’s leading human rights organization to the Council of Europe’s Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić on Tuesday.
It said the move followed the Council of Europe’s decision to suspend Russia’s membership that was taken on Feb. 25.
The ministry charged that the Council of Europe has become an instrument of exerting pressure on Russia and alleged that it has been heavily influenced by NATO and the European Union. It said in a statement that its withdrawal from the Council of Europe wouldn’t impact human rights and freedoms in the country, which officials said are safeguarded by the Russian constitution.
Russia’s invasion has sparked widespread allegations of war crimes, as hundreds of Ukrainian civilians have been killed and numerous residential areas have been targeted by Russian troops.
1:30 p.m. - Putin speaks with European Council president
The Kremlin said that President Vladimir Putin has discussed the situation in Ukraine with European Council President Charles Michel.
The Kremlin said in a statement that Putin informed Michel about the Russian view of the talks with Ukraine in Tuesday’s call, adding that Ukrainian officials haven’t yet “demonstrated a serious intention to search for mutually acceptable solutions.”
Michel said on Twitter that he told Putin about the “urgent need to stop Russia’s fratricidal war against Ukraine” and emphasized that “indiscriminate shelling by Russian forces of Ukraine civilians must stop.”
Michel added that “Russia must urgently enable humanitarian access and safe passage.
1:15 p.m. - Biden to visit Europe next week for meeting on Ukraine
President Biden will visit NATO’s headquarters in Brussels next week for face-to-face talks with European leaders, White House press secretary Jen Psaki announced.
The president will attend a meeting on Ukraine with NATO and European Union leaders on Thursday, March 24.
“He will join an extraordinary NATO summit on March 24 to discuss ongoing deterrence and defense efforts in response to Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified attack on Ukraine, as well as to reaffirm our ironclad commitment to our NATO allies,” Psaki said at a press briefing.
Biden's trip will follow Vice President Kamala Harris' visit to the eastern flank NATO countries of Poland and Romania last week.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said he had convened the summit for next week of the military organization’s 30 leaders to discuss Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Stoltenberg said the summit will be led by Biden and “will address the consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, our strong support for Ukraine, and further strengthening NATO’s deterrence and defense in response to a new reality for our security.”
Stoltenberg said in a statement that “at this critical time, North America and Europe must continue to stand together in NATO.”
NATO has been bolstering its eastern flank with troops and equipment to deter Russia from invading any of its members. NATO refuses to deploy troops to Ukraine as it is concerned about sparking a wider war in Europe.
The White House's announcement of Biden's visit to Brussels came on the same day that leaders of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia set out for Kyiv by train despite the security risks to show their support for Ukraine. It was a visit EU officials said was not sanctioned by other members of the 27-nation bloc.
12 p.m. - Fox News cameraman killed in Ukraine
Fox News cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski, 55, was killed outside of Kyiv on Monday in an attack that also injured Fox News reporter Benjamin Hall.
Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott confirmed Zakrzewski’s death in a memo to employees, saying, “His passion and talent as a journalist were unmatched.”
“It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that we share the news this morning regarding our beloved cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski,” Scott wrote. “Pierre was killed in Horenka, outside of Kyiv, Ukraine. Pierre was with Benjamin Hall yesterday newsgathering when their vehicle was struck by incoming fire.”
Zakrzewski was a war zone photographer who covered stories for Fox for years, including conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria. He had been working in Ukraine since February.
“Last year, he played a key role in getting our Afghan freelance associates and their families out of the country after the U.S. withdrawal. In December at our annual employee Spotlight Awards, Pierre was given the ‘Unsung Hero’ award in recognition of his invaluable work,” Scott wrote.
She said it’s a “heartbreaking day for Fox News Media and for all journalists risking their lives to deliver the news.”
Hall remains hospitalized in Ukraine following the incident.
Zakrzewski was the second journalist killed in Ukraine in two days. Brent Renaud, a documentary filmmaker and another veteran of covering war zones, died Sunday after Russian forces opened fire on his vehicle.
11:30 a.m. - Russia sanctions Biden, other top US officials
The Russian Foreign Ministry says that U.S. President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and other top Biden administration officials have been put on the Russian sanctions list.
The ministry said in Tuesday’s statement that the measure is a response to the U.S. sanctions against the Russian leadership.
At the same time, it noted that Russia may not renounce official contacts with the U.S. officials targeted by the sanctions if such contacts are in the country’s national interests.
11:15 a.m. - Zelenskyy addresses Canada's Parliament
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivered a speech to Canada's Parliament.
The virtual address came as Zelenskyy has been pleading for more help from the international community, with Russia escalating its bombardments on Ukrainian cities during the third week of the invasion and moving closer to the center of Kyiv.
Zelenskyy asked Canadians to imagine bombs landing in their communities as he told the Canadian Parliament that his people want to live.
Among those attending the speech in Ottawa was Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who invited Zelenskyy to speak to Parliament during a trip to Europe this month.
Zelenskyy urged Trudeau and Canadian lawmakers to help enact a no-fly zone over the Ukraine and called for greater economic pressure on Russia.
“Justin, can you imagine you and your children hearing all these severe explosions, the bombing of the airport, the bombing of the Ottawa airport,” Zelenskyy said. “Cruise missiles are falling down and your children are asking you, ‘What happened?’”
Speaking by video from Ukraine to a packed Canadian House of Commons chamber, Zelenskyy said the Russian war is designed to annihilate Ukraine and subjugate its people.
Meanwhile, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced Monday that Zelenskyy will address the U.S. Congress at 9 a.m. ET Wednesday in an event that will be livestreamed for the public.
The speeches in the U.S. and Canada follow an address Zelenskyy delivered last week to the U.K. Parliament.
10:30 a.m. - Zelenskyy says Ukraine realizes it ‘won’t be able to join’ NATO
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the country realizes that it can’t join NATO.
Speaking Tuesday to representatives of the U.K.-led Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), Zelenskyy said that “we heard for years about the allegedly open doors” of NATO, but “we have already heard that we won’t be able to join.”
He added that “it’s the truth we must recognize, and I’m glad that our people are starting to realize that and count on themselves and our partners who are helping us.”
The JEF may consist of Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Sweden and Norway.
Zelenskyy again urged Western allies to provide Ukraine with warplanes.
10:00 a.m. - Explosions rock Kyiv; ‘Ukraine is on fire,’ UN chief warns
Fighting for Kyiv has intensified, with artillery fire echoing through the city and Russia launching a flurry of strikes that early Tuesday blew out windows and ignited a huge fire in an apartment in western Kyiv. At least one person was killed as rescue efforts continued.
Large explosions thundered across the capital before dawn from what Ukrainian authorities said were artillery strikes, as Russia’s assault on the city appeared to become more systematic. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said barrages hit four multi-story buildings in the city and caused dozens of deaths.
One projectile slammed into a 15-story apartment building, sparking a huge fire and frantic rescue effort. At least one person was killed, officials said.
“Ukraine is on fire,” the U.N. chief, Antonio Guterres, warned on Twitter. “The impact on civilians is reaching terrifying proportions.”
Explosions around the city caused significant structural damage, with shockwaves from a blast tearing through the entrance of a downtown subway station that has been used as a bomb shelter and another igniting a fire in Kyiv's northern Podilsky district.
The day before, Russian rockets destroyed a television tower in the western city of Rivne, where authorities said the death toll had risen to 19. At least four people were killed and more wounded when Russian strikes on Kyiv slammed into Ukraine’s largest aircraft factory and a nine-story apartment building.
Russian forces also unleashed scores of new artillery strikes on downtown Kharkiv in the country's east. Thousands were trying to flee on evacuation trains amid the chaos and destruction.
After days of relentless Russian shelling on encircled Mariupol, 150 cars carrying hundreds of civilians managed to escape the besieged city. But hundreds of thousands of people remain trapped in without heat, food or clean water as Russia renewed its offensive on Mariupol.
9:00 a.m. - Zelenskyy pleads for help as Ukrainian military uses up Western weapons
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told northern European leaders that they could “help yourself by helping us,” as he appealed for more weapons to counter Russia’s invasion of his country.
Zelenskyy, speaking to leaders of the Joint Expeditionary Force via videolink Tuesday, said the Ukrainian military is rapidly using up weapons and other hardware that western nations have shipped to his country.
He also appealed for a full trade embargo on Russia, saying sanctions have not been enough to counter the Russian advance.
“We have to acknowledge Russia as a rogue state and there has to be a trade embargo with Russia,” Zelenskyy said. “This is something that we need and you need as well, just like the rest of the world, to make sure there is peace in Europe and Ukraine.”
Zelenskyy also repeated his frustration with NATO over its refusal to implement a no-fly zone over Ukraine as he addressed JEF leaders meeting Tuesday in London.
8:30 a.m. - Ukraine-Russia talks to continue Tuesday
Ukrainian negotiators were set to meet their Russian counterparts again on Tuesday after a brief pause. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the previous round as “good,” without offering details.
Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman later described negotiations as “difficult.”
Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak tweeted Tuesday: “Negotiations are ongoing. Consultations on the main negotiation platform renewed. General regulation matters, ceasefire, withdrawal of troops from the territory of the country…”
A flurry of diplomatic activity drew in leaders around the world. The leaders of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia were traveling Tuesday to Kyiv on an EU mission of solidarity.
8:00 a.m. - Ukrainian refugees top 3 million
The International Organization for Migration says more than 3 million people have fled Ukraine since Russia invaded last month.
The new milestone also indicated that some 157,000 third-country nationals — people who aren’t Ukrainian — were part of the outflow in what U.N. officials have called the largest refugee crisis in Europe since World War II.
IOM spokesman Paul Dillon said at a U.N. news briefing in Geneva on Tuesday that the totals were compiled from figures provided by national authorities.
The U.N. refugee agency UNHCR, which provides a more detailed count than the IOM though based on similar data, has reported that more than 1.8 million of the refugees were in Poland.
7:00 a.m. - China says it's 'impartial' on Ukraine, denies aiding Russia
China insists that its stance on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is “impartial and constructive.”
The Chinese government is also repeating its accusations that the U.S. is spreading misinformation over reports Beijing has responded positively to a Russian request for military supplies.
Speaking to reporters at a daily briefing Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian accused the U.S. of “immoral and irresponsible” conduct by spreading misinformation.
“What the U.S. should do is to deeply reflect on the role it has played in the development and evolving of the Ukraine crisis and do something practical to ease the tension in Ukraine,” he said, in a nod to China’s contention that Russia was provoked by NATO’s expansion and threats to its security.
China has refused to criticize Russia over its invasion and the ensuing war, or even to refer to the conflict as such. In keeping with Russian preferences, Zhao referred to the war as the “Ukraine issue.” Beijing also opposes sanctions on the Russian economy.
6:00 a.m. - European leaders traveling to besieged Ukrainian capital
The leaders of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia are traveling on Tuesday to Kyiv, Ukraine's capital which is currently under fire, on a European Union mission to show support for Ukraine as Russia’s invasion intensifies.
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said in a tweet: “The aim of the visit is to express the European Union’s unequivocal support for Ukraine and its freedom and independence.”
He will be joined by Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Jaroslaw Kaczynski, who is Polish the deputy prime minister for security but also the conservative ruling party leader.
Russia’s offensive in Ukraine edged closer to central Kyiv on Tuesday, with a series of strikes hitting a residential neighborhood in the capital as the two countries planned a second day of talks.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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