Russo-Ukraine War - 16 March 2022
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"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.
On 16 March 2022, Putin said "all diplomatic possibilities were completely exhausted. We were simply left with no options to peacefully solve problems that arise through no fault of ours. And in this regard, we were simply forced to launch a special military operation.... I note that Ukraine, encouraged by the United States and a number of Western countries, purposefully prepared for a scenario of force, bloody massacre and ethnic cleansing in the Donbass. A massive attack on the Donbass and then on the Crimea was only a matter of time. And our Armed Forces thwarted these plans.... They beat indiscriminately, in the squares, with fanaticism and frenzy of the doomed - like the Nazis, who in the last days of the Third Reich tried to drag as many innocent victims as possible with them to the grave....
"And the truth is that the current problems faced by millions of people in the West are the result of many years of actions by the ruling elites of their states, their mistakes, myopia and ambitions. These elites are not thinking about how to improve the lives of their citizens in Western countries. They are obsessed with their own vested interests and super profits. Evidence of this is the data of international organizations, which directly say that social problems, even in leading Western countries, have only worsened in recent years, that inequality is growing, the gap between rich and poor, racial and national conflicts are making themselves felt. The myth of the Western welfare society, of the so-called golden billion, is collapsing....
"I am not at all judging those who have a villa in Miami or the French Riviera, who cannot do without foie gras, oysters or so-called gender freedoms. The problem is absolutely not in this, but, I repeat, in the fact that many of these people, by their very nature, are mentally located precisely there, and not here, not with our people, not with Russia....
"But any people, and even more so the Russian people, will always be able to distinguish true patriots from scum and traitors and simply spit them out like a midge that accidentally flew into their mouths, spit them out on the panel. I am convinced that such a natural and necessary self-purification of society will only strengthen our country, our solidarity, cohesion and readiness to respond to any challenges."
Russia must immediately stop the military operation in Ukraine, launched on February 24. The corresponding decision was made by the International Court of Justice. The Russian Federation should suspend the conduct of the military operation, "the purpose and objective of which is the prevention and punishment of the alleged genocide in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions of Ukraine," said President of the Court Joan Donoghue, reading out the decision on interim measures. She also called on the parties to the conflict to refrain from actions that could aggravate the conflict, and recalled that court decisions on interim measures are binding.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) will investigate the actions of all parties to the conflict in Ukraine, ICC prosecutor Karim Khan said at a briefing in the city of Medyka in eastern Poland. “I opened an investigation because I clearly see that there is every reason to believe that the actions for which liability is provided within our jurisdiction have been committed. They must be investigated,” the prosecutor said. "This applies to all parties to this conflict," he stressed. Zbigniew Ziobro, Minister of Justice and Prosecutor General of Poland, who took part in the briefing, said that prosecutors in the republic had already collected more than 300 testimonies from witnesses of the situation in Ukraine.
The USA will supply Ukraine with versions 300 and 600 of Switchblades kamikaze UAV developed by AeroVironment. President Biden announced an additional $800 million in security assistance to Ukraine, bringing the total U.S. security assistance committed to Ukraine to $1 billion in just the past week, and a total of $2 billion since the start of the Biden Administration. The new $800 million assistance package includes 800 Stinger anti-aircraft systems; 2,000 Javelin, 1,000 light anti-armor weapons, and 6,000 AT-4 anti-armor systems. In addition to the U.S.-produced short-range air defense systems the Ukrainians have been using to great effect, the United States has also identified and is helping the Ukrainians acquire additional, longer-range systems on which Ukraine’s forces are already trained. Reportedly Slovakia had preliminarily agreed to provide Ukraine with the S-300 air defense system. Jim Sciutto reported "US & NATO allies are sending several surface-to-air missiles systems to Ukraine. A senior US official tells me these systems include Soviet-era SA-8, SA-10, SA-12 and SA-14 mobile air defense systems, w/range higher than Stingers, giving capability to hit cruise missiles".
According to the US Defense Department, Chernihiv remains isolated, but Ukrainians are working to keep a line of communication open. Mariupol is likewise isolated and still suffering heavy bombardment. Russian forces are still on the outskirts of Kharkiv, where, as before, they face stiff Ukrainian resistance. US Intelligence observed no apparent movement toward or past Mykolaiv. While there are some LSTs operating in the northern Black Sea, the US was not seeing any imminent amphibious movement toward Odesa.
"There are no changes to the air picture to report. The Russians have now fired more than 950 missiles. There are no new strikes into western Ukraine to report. We assess that the Russians have approximately 90% of their combat power available to them; same for the Ukrainians. We have seen no movement of Russian forces stationed elsewhere in Russia being deployed to the west to reinforce the BTGs the Russians already have in Ukraine. And we’ve seen no evidence of Russian efforts to flow in additional supplies from inside Russia or from elsewhere. But we have reason to believe the Russians are considering their resupply and manning options. We still have no indications of Belarus inserting troops or preparing to do so.
"We have no updates on the convoy. It is still stuck. We have nothing to report with respect to Russian chemical or biological weapons. We cannot confirm Ukrainian reports of the deaths of senior Russian officers. "Security assistance from the United States and other nations continues, to include over the last 24 hours. We will not detail the specifics, but these shipments did include weapons."
MilitaryLand.net reported that on the left bank of Dnieper, Russian forces reached the Ukrainian defense line Kropyvnya, Zakharivka, Olyva, Kukharska and also the town of Poliske in the north. Ukrainian staff also reports heavy battles in the vicinity of Irpin and Bucha. The Russians attempted to capture Makariv, but Ukrainian forces repelled the attack. The towns near Makariv, namely Ozershchyna, Lypivka, Sloboda remains contested, and neither side has full control over them.
Ukrainian Territorial Defense units are conducting defensive operations in Talaivka, Nedryhailiv and Oleshnya. Russian forces tried to enter the Sumy outskirts during the night, but the Ukrainian defense repelled the attack.
Ukrainian forces pushed Russians out of immediate outskirts of Kharkiv. Pyatykhatky and Ruski Tyshky is under Ukrainian control and there are clashes in Bezruky and Oleksandrivka. Russian forces maintain position around Chuhuiv, namely in Kochetok and Mylinivka. Ukrainian troops continue to defend the southern part of Izium, Russia controls the northern part. All bridges in the town are destroyed, which limits Russian movement across the river.
The Russians assaulted Rubizhne, Sievierodonetsk, Lysychansk and Popasna. Russian troops didn’t reach the assigned goal and retreated to original positions in the evening. Ukrainian troops launched a counter-attack towards Svatove and captured several minor settlements.
Russian forces entered Mariupol and captured a hospital. The Russians reportedly has taken the doctors and patients as hostages and was firing towards Ukrainian positions from the hospital. In the east, Russian troops pushed alongside the sea and forwarded element reached the river of Kalmius.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has given strict orders from the outset to avoid civilian casualties and extensive property damage, retired US Army Colonel Douglas Macgregor told the Grayzone. This has slowed the Russians’ advance “to the point where it has given false hope both to the Ukrainians … but seized on by people in the West, to try and convince the world that a defeat is in progress, when in fact the opposite is the case,” Macgregor said. “The war, for all intents and purposes, has been decided,” the retired colonel said. “The entire operation from day one was focused on the destruction of Ukrainian forces. That’s largely complete.”
The Max Seddon in Riga, Roman Olearchyk in Kyiv and Arash Massoudi in London for the Financial Times reported that Ukraine and Russia had drawn up a neutrality plan to end war. Mykhailo Podoliak, Adviser to the Head of the Office of President of Ukraine said "FT published a draft, which represents the requesting position of the Russian side. Nothing more. Ukraine has its own positions." The fifteen-point draft deal would involve Kyiv renouncing Nato ambitions in return for security guarantees. The deal would involve Kyiv renouncing its ambitions to join Nato and promising not to host foreign military bases or weaponry in exchange for protection from allies such as the US, UK and Turkey. – Kyiv would keep its army but can't host foreign bases, and the Russian language would get legal status in Ukraine. Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior adviser to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, told the Financial Times that any deal would involve “the troops of the Russian Federation in any case leaving the territory of Ukraine” captured since the invasion began.
The goal of Russia in the negotiations with Ukraine has not changed, Moscow needs a peaceful, free, neutral and independent Ukraine, said the head of the Russian delegation, presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky. "The goal of Russia in these negotiations is exactly the same as the goal of Russia, which was set at the very beginning of the special military operation. We need a peaceful, free, independent Ukraine, neutral - not a member of military blocs, not a member of NATO, a country that is our friend , a neighbor with whom we are developing relations together, building our future, and which is not a springboard for military and economic attacks against our country. Therefore, our goal does not change," Medinsky said.
Statements from Kyiv on the exclusion of the item on the denazification of Ukraine from the agenda of the negotiations are not entirely true, said the head of the Russian delegation, presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky. "No, this is not entirely true. The topic of denazification and tougher punishment, law enforcement, in the first place, punishments for glorifying Nazism, neo-Nazism, extremism based on them, is still an important item on the agenda of the talks," Medinsky said.
The Ukrainian authorities expect to receive "absolute security guarantees" of the country, obliging the participants in the corresponding possible agreement to protect Ukraine, said Mikhail Podolyak, adviser to the head of the presidential office of Ukraine. The Austrian or Swedish version of a demilitarized state in Ukraine is now being discussed, it can be considered as a compromise, said the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov. "This option, which is indeed being discussed now, and which can be seen as a certain compromise," Peskov replied.
Anders Åslund suggested that Ukraine should demand from Russia if it succeeds in defeating the Russian troops and drives them out of Ukraine:
- Russian guarantees that it will stay out of Ukraine in the future, reinforced by some credible international guarantee. No new Budapest 1994 memorandum!
- Return of Crimea and Donbass.
- Very substantial reparations, $200 billion, for the restoration of Ukraine. That could be taken out of the $400 bn of Russian Central Bank reserves that have been frozen by Western countries.
- Guaranteed access to the Sea of Azov.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky called on the US Congress to impose sanctions against all current Russian politicians, and also demanded that all American companies leave Russia. He also urged the US Congress to enforce a no-fly zone over Ukraine or supply it with S-300s and other air defense systems, as well as military aircraft, as an alternative.
Russia's special military operation in Ukraine is developing successfully and is proceeding strictly in accordance with plans, Russian President Vladimir Putin said. According to the Russian leader, "Ukraine, encouraged by the United States and a number of Western countries, purposefully prepared for a military scenario, a bloody massacre and ethnic cleansing in the Donbas." "Massive attack on the Donbass and then on the Crimea was only a matter of time, and our armed forces thwarted these plans," Putin said.
The President of the Russian Federation pointed out that "in Kyiv they were not only preparing for war, for aggression against Russia, against the Donbass, they were waging it." “Attempts to organize sabotage and terrorist underground in Crimea have not stopped, in recent years hostilities in the Donbass, shelling of peaceful settlements have continued,” he listed, adding that almost 14 thousand civilians, including children, have died during this time.
Putin said that if Russian troops stopped at the borders of the Lugansk and Donetsk People's Republics, this would not be the final decision and would not remove the threat to Russia. “What I want to emphasize and ask you to pay attention to is that if our troops acted only on the territory of the people’s republics, helped them liberate their lands, this would not be the final decision, would not lead to peace and would not eliminate the threat to our country at the root" Putin said.
“I repeat, we had no other option for self-defense, for ensuring the security of Russia, except for conducting a special military operation. And all the tasks set will, of course, be solved,” the president emphasized. Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that the inhabitants of Donbass had been subjected to genocide for eight years. "We are meeting at a difficult time when our armed forces are conducting a special military operation in Ukraine and Donbass. Let me remind you that at the very beginning of it, in the early morning of February 24, I publicly and openly named the reasons and the main goal of Russia's actions is to help our people in Donbass, which for almost eight years by the most barbaric methods - a blockade, large-scale punitive actions, terrorist attacks and constant artillery shelling - were subjected to real genocide," Putin said. “And for what? Only because they were seeking elementary human rights: to live according to the laws and traditions of their ancestors, to speak their native language, to raise their children the way they want,” the president added.
Aviation and air defense of Russia during the day shot down one Ukrainian Mi-24 helicopter and six drones. This was stated by the official representative of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, Major General Igor Konashenkov. The Russian Armed Forces disabled communications, intelligence, relaying and switching centers in the city of Vinnitsa with a long-range high-precision weapon strike.
The Russian Defense Ministry said that aircraft hit 128 military facilities in Ukraine in a day. Aviation and air defense systems of the Russian Aerospace Forces shot down three Ukrainian aircraft and four drones, said the official representative of the department, Major General Igor Konashenkov. "Operational-tactical, army and unmanned aircraft hit 128 military facilities of Ukraine. Among them, one Buk-M1 air defense system, one Osa air defense system, four radar stations for detection and target designation, four command posts, seven weapons and ammunition depots and 68 places accumulation of military equipment," he said.
The Russian National Guard and military personnel of the Russian Armed Forces successfully repelled the attack of Ukrainian neo-Nazis on the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station, the press service of the department reported. "The battalion-tactical group of the Russian Guard, together with the military personnel of the RF Armed Forces, successfully repelled the attack of neo-Nazis who were trying to recapture the station, and did not allow any casualties among the personnel," the message said.
Servicemen of the Lugansk and Donetsk People's Republics are undergoing special training and retraining courses to master the Javelin and NLAW anti-tank missile systems, the Russian Defense Ministry said. "The captured Ukrainian military equipment and weapons of Western countries are being transferred to units of the People's Militia of the Luhansk and Donetsk People's Republics for use in combat operations against Ukrainian nationalists. To master the samples of Javelin and NLAW anti-tank missile systems, the military personnel of the Luhansk and Donetsk People's Republics undergo special training and retraining courses," - reported in the military department.
More than 20 thousand volunteers, including from other countries, expressed their readiness to participate in hostilities to protect the Donetsk People's Republic, said the head of the DPR, Denis Pushilin. “Those volunteers for whom there is complete data that got into the central office so that you can ask for their support at any time are now more than 20 thousand. The list of countries is quite extensive, there is even the United States,” he said.
Units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine fired 60 rockets from the Grad multiple launch rocket system at the settlements of the Donetsk People's Republic, including Donetsk, the DPR representative office at the Joint Center for Control and Coordination of the ceasefire regime said.
The Paris edition of l'Humanité recalled that the French Foreign Ministry called on French citizens to refrain from traveling to Ukraine. Nevertheless, the Ukrainian embassy, the newspaper points out, posted a questionnaire online for "foreigners ready to fight." According to her, the volunteers are offered to sign "an indefinite contract for the entire period of hostilities." Referring to the data of the General Directorate of Internal Security of France and the Directorate of Intelligence and Security of the Ministry of the Armed Forces of the Republic, l'Humanité indicates that there are currently about 70 volunteers from France in Ukraine. According to the newspaper, most of them are "ultra-radicals who sympathize with such neo-Nazi formations as the Azov battalion."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke to the United States Congress, thanking its members for the support the US has offered his country and asking for more. The Ukrainian leader called on US President Joe Biden to be a leader for peace. He repeated calls for a no-fly zone over Ukraine, but failing that asked for more defence systems. He also called for continued and widening sanctions to include any Russian politician supporting the invasion of Ukraine, for the US to close ports to Russian goods, and US businesses to leave Russia.
"This is a terror that Europe has not seen, has not seen for 80 years and we are asking for a reply, for an answer to this terror from the whole world. Is this a lot to ask for? To create a no-fly zone over Ukraine to save people? Is this too much to ask? Humanitarian no-fly zone is something that … Russia would not be able to terrorise our cities.
"If this is too much to ask, we offer an alternative. You know what kind of defence systems we need; S-300 and other similar systems. You know how much depends on the battlefield on the ability to use aircraft, powerful, strong aviation to protect our people, our freedom, our land. Aircraft that can help Ukraine, help Europe. And you know that they exist and you have them, but they are on Earth, not in the Ukrainian sky. They do not defend our people....
"Today, the Ukrainian people are defending not only Ukraine, we are fighting for the values of Europe, and the world, sacrificing our lives in the name of the future. That’s why today, the American people are helping not just Ukraine, but Europe, and the world to keep the planet alive. To keep justice in history....
"As the leader of my nation, I’m addressing to President Biden: You are the leader of the nation, of your great nation. I wish you to be the leader of the world. Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace. Thank you. Glory to Ukraine."
Biden for the first time called Vladimir Putin a "war criminal" over the Russian president's bloody invasion of neighboring Ukraine. "I think he is a war criminal," Biden told reporters shortly after he announced an extra $800 billion weapons aid package for Ukraine. The U.S. administration had avoided using the phrase until now, even when asked directly.
The Senate of the US Congress unanimously approved a resolution condemning Russia for its actions against Ukraine. The document also calls for holding the leadership of the Russian Federation to account for allegedly committed war crimes on Ukrainian territory. The meeting was broadcast on the website of the upper chamber. The resolution approved by the senators contains "condemnation of the Russian Federation, President Vladimir Putin, members of the Russian Security Council, the Russian Armed Forces and Russian military leaders for committing outrageous acts of aggression and other acts of cruelty amounting to crimes against humanity and war crimes against the people of Ukraine and other [peoples]."
Ukraine is a member of the European family and is currently the strongest defender of its values, Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa said following a meeting in Kyiv between the heads of government of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. "In my opinion, at the moment it is absolutely certain that Ukraine is the country that most strongly defends European values. <...> You are members of the [European] family, stay brave and you will win. Together we will manage," he said.
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg has said that the alliance is looking to deploy "substantially more forces" to its eastern flank in light of Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. "On land, our new posture should include substantially more forces in the eastern part of the alliance, at higher readiness, with more pre-positioned equipment and supplies," Stoltenberg told a news conference at the end of an emergency meeting of the alliance's defense ministers in Brussels. But Stoltenberg said that NATO does not plan to deploy forces to Ukraine.
Two days after China's top diplomat Yang Jiechi met with US national security advisor Jake Sullivan in Rome, Chinese Ambassador to the US Qin Gang reiterated China's stance on the Ukraine crisis and hit back at recent rumors and disinformation spread by some US politicians, whose conducts have showed the country's true face of "an empire of lies" by passing the buck to China, despite knowing that the cause of the crisis is the NATO's eastward expansion.
In an opinion piece by Qin published in The Washington Post, the ambassador refuted recent media reports that claim "China had prior knowledge of Russia's military action," demanded that "Russia delay it until the Winter Olympics ends," and Russia was "seeking military assistance from China." Qin wrote in the article"Let me say this responsibly: Assertions that China knew about, acquiesced to or tacitly supported this war are pure disinformation. All these claims serve only the purpose of shifting blame to and slinging mud at China".
One thing that is eye-catching is that the Ukrainian side announced that it had killed four Russian generals, and the Russian side also admitted several of them, which is surprising. Having lost so many generals in one battle, is the Russian army a big victory or a big defeat? According to the Ukrainian side, the four Russian generals they killed were: the deputy commander of the 41st Army Major General Andrei Sukhovitsky, the deputy commander of the 41st Army Major General Vitaly Gerasimov, the Russian Army Major General Andrey Kolesnikov, Commander of the Eastern Military District, and Major General Mehmet Tushayev of the 141st Motorized Column of the Chechen Army.
In this list, the deaths of Major General Andrei Sukhovitsky and Major General Vitaly Gerasimov have been confirmed by the Russian army. Although the Russian side did not say much about this, the death of a general-level person still shows that the Russian army has also suffered certain losses. But so far, the Russian army still occupied the initiative.
Entrepreneur and blogger Veronika Belotserkovsky became one of the first defendants in a criminal case on the public dissemination of deliberately false information about the actions of the Russian Armed Forces. She faces a fine of 3 million rubles to 10 years in prison.
More than 3 million refugees from Ukraine arrived in neighboring countries. This was announced on Tuesday by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). According to information posted on its website, from February 24 to March 15, the number of refugees who left Ukraine reached 3,000,381. In particular, 459,485 in Romania, 337,315 in Moldova, and 267,570 in Hungary. The number of refugees from Ukraine who have arrived in Poland since the start of Russia's military operation has exceeded 1.9 million.
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