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Russo-Ukraine War - 13 March 2022

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On 24 February 2022, Ukraine was suddenly and deliberately attacked by land, naval and air forces of Russia, igniting the largest European war since the Great Patriotic War. The military buildup in preceeding months makes it obvious that the unprovoked and dastardly Russian attack was deliberately planned long in advance. During the intervening time, the Russian government had deliberately sought to deceive the world by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.

"To initiate a war of aggression... is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole." [Judgment of the International Military Tribunal]

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a "special military operation" in Ukraine in response to the appeal of the leaders of the "Donbass republics" for help. That attack is a blatant violation of the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine. Putin stressed that Moscow's goal is the demilitarization and denazification of the country.

Politico reported the United States refused to send military instructors to Ukraine, fearing the reaction of the Russian Federation. Assistant to the President of the United States for National Security Jake Sullivan said that the US military will not be on the territory of Ukraine. At the same time, the United States believes that it will be able to provide military assistance to the country, despite Moscow's statements about convoys.

Kiev considers the transfer of fighter jets from abroad to it the most urgent issue, said Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba. "When you ask me if NATO will protect us. Well, I don't expect that," the minister said. "We are asking for a very simple thing: arm Ukraine, and we will do the rest. Provide us with all the necessary weapons, and we will fight for our land and our people ourselves," he added.

NATO will respond to any shelling of the territory of the country of the alliance by the Russian Federation, said Jake Sullivan, Assistant to the President of the United States for National Security. "Listen, all I'm going to say is if Russia attacks, strikes, fires a shot at NATO territory, the NATO alliance will respond to it," he said.

Russian forces continue to shell all regional capitals, but the army didn’t make any progress. Ukrianian forces conduced a counter-attack north of Kyiv and captured a settlement of Moshchun. Russian forces haven’t yet launched an attack on Kyiv, nor made any progress to the south. A complicated situation is in the east near Brovary, but Ukrainian forces are continuing to hold on. Mariupol is witnessing heavy street fighting, house to house. Ukrainian forces didn’t allow Russians to gain the momentum and still controls the key points in the city.

Russian air strikes have hit a Ukrainian military training base outside the western city of Lviv near the Polish border, leaving many people dead and wounded – although there was significant discrepancy in the figures provided by Ukraine and Russia. Lviv’s governor said at least 35 people were killed and 134 others wounded as more than 30 cruise missiles from Russia hit the Yavoriv military training facility, also known as the International Peacekeeping and Security Center. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation stated that the destruction of foreign mercenaries who arrived on the territory of Ukraine would continue. The RF Armed Forces claimed to have destroyed up to 180 foreign mercenaries and a batch of foreign weapons with strikes on training centers at the Yavorovsky military training ground.

During the special operation, the armed forces of the Russian Federation disabled 3,736 objects of the military infrastructure of Ukraine. Aviation and air defense of the Russian Aerospace Forces shot down one Ukrainian Su-24 and 11 drones. The armed forces of the Russian Federation also struck with precision weapons at the training centers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Lviv region. Operational-tactical, army and unmanned aircraft of the Russian Federation hit 46 objects of the Ukrainian armed forces per day.

Director of the Federal Service of the National Guard Troops of the Russian Federation Viktor Zolotov said that the National Guard and the Russian Armed Forces continue to implement the goals of the special operation in Ukraine. The director of the National Guard said that the conduct of the special operation is slowing down only because representatives of nationalist groups are hiding behind the backs of civilians.

Ukraine’s human rights ombudswoman shared photos purporting to show that Russia used banned phosphorus munitions in an overnight attack on the town of Popasna in Ukraine’s eastern Luhansk region. The claims could not be independently verified. “The bombing of a civilian city by the Russian attackers with these weapons is a war crime and a crime against humanity according to the Rome convention,” Lyudmila Denisova said.

The International Monetary Fund expects Western sanctions to push Russia into a deep recession. "Sanctions have a rather harsh effect on the Russian economy," IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said, adding that the fund "does not consider it impossible for Russia to default anymore."

More than 2,500 Russian soldiers' corpses had already been shipped from the Homel region back to Russia by trains or by plane as of March 13, according to one employee of the Homel regional clinical hospital.

The city council of the besieged southern port Mariupol said 2,187 residents have been killed since the start of Russia’s invasion.

The UK had issued visas giving the right to reunite with relatives in the kingdom to 3,000 Ukrainian refugees. More than 5,500 Ukrainian refugees have now entered neighboring Ireland.



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