LAST UPDATE | 17 Mar 2022
HERE WERE THE major developments on the 22nd day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Good morning, Tadgh McNally here starting off today’s Liveblog.
Overnight we have had some developments in Kyiv, with reports of one person being killed after a downed Russian rocket hit an apartment building.
Rescuers have said that 30 people were evacuated from the building early this morning, with three people being injured in the strike.
Other developments this morning include an address by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the German parliament.
In the address, Zelenskyy urged German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to tear down a new wall that was being built by Russia across Europe, echoing former US President Ronald Reagan.
“It’s not a Berlin Wall — it is a Wall in central Europe between freedom and bondage and this Wall is growing bigger with every bomb” dropped on Ukraine, Zelenskyy told MPs.
Dear Mr Scholz, tear down this Wall.
Give Germany the leadership role that you in Germany deserve.
Zelenskyy was welcomed with a standing ovation from German lawmakers.
Russia avoids debt default
In Russia, Moscow has said that it avoided a debt default this morning after it carried out interest payments on two foreign bonds.
According to the Russian Finance Ministry, the payment was worth $117.2 million.
The payment order… worth $117.2 million due on March 15 was sent to a correspondent bank account on March 14 and was executed.
Due to sanctions against Russia, $300 billion of its foreign currency reserves have been targeted and the country can no longer access the funds.
This lead to some speculation that Russia could default on its debts.
Moscow ignores UN court order to halt invasion
The Kremlin have rejected a UN court order to immediately halt the invasion of Ukraine, saying that both Ukraine and Russia would need to agree to the decision.
Dmitry Peskov, spokesperson for the Kremlin said that “we cannot take this decision into account”.
No consent can be obtained in this case.
The UN’s International Court of Justice ruled yesterday that Russia should “immediately suspend military operations that it commenced on February 24 on the territory of Ukraine”.
Ukrainian Defence Minister urges EU to recognise Putin as ‘war criminal’
In a call with EU legislators, the Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said that what is happening in Ukraine is “state terror”.
It’s not simply a war. It’s state terror. The regular army of the aggressor is conscientiously annihilating the civil population.
I’m appealing to all European Parliamentary members to recognize that Putin is a war criminal, as has been done in the United States.
US President Joe Biden labelled Russian President Vladimir Putin as a “war criminal” yesterday evening.
Reznikov said that Ukraine will ultimately win the conflict against Russia but that assistance is needed.
We will win. It’s a question only of the price which the Ukrainian people will pay.
The Russians can be stopped, victory can be gained, but we need assistance.
Here at home, the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth have said that over 2,000 Ukrainian refugees have been placed in temporary accommodation.
The International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) has placed 2,589 refugees in temporary accommodation and has contracted over 2,500 hotel rooms.
The Department also confirmed that there have been over 20,000 pledges to the Red Cross by people willing to provide accommodation to Ukrainian refugees fleeing the invasion.
It added that it is working with Gardaí, the Department of Justice, Tusla and the Red Cross to ensure that vetting is carried out for people who have pledged.
Speaking on this, Minister Roderic O’Gorman said:
My Department is working as a matter of urgency to accommodate those people who arrive in Ireland fleeing the war in Ukraine. In the previous five days we have commissioned a level of accommodation ordinarily be procured over five months.
We are now taking the next steps of vetting and approving this accommodation so that it can be utilised as soon as possible. This process will be expedited as much as possible, but it is vital that we build these checks into our system to ensure the safety of all involved.
Given the high rates of hotel occupancy for St Patrick’s Day and the bank holiday weekend, alongside increasing numbers fleeing Ukraine, we are expecting significant pressure on accommodation in the coming days. The Department is working through these challenges with colleagues across Government.
Over 100,000 Ukrainian refugees flee in one day
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said that over 100,000 Ukrainian refugees have fled the country in the last 24 hours.
A total of 3,169,897 Ukrainians have fled Ukraine since the war broke out 0n 24 February.
More than three million people have fled the country, the vast majority women, children and older people who left behind their homes and often family members, not knowing what’s to come.
Hour by hour, minute by minute, people are fleeing the terrifying reality of violence in Ukraine. Unless the conflict ends, this heart-breaking crisis is set to grow. We need peace, now.
The UNHCR said that two million people were displaced from their homes still within Ukraine.
There are concerns rising from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) today about the impact of the war in Ukraine could have on global growth levels.
This morning, the OECD said that growth levels could drop by one percentage point over the next year.
Other overnight developments in Ukraine include the release of a Ukrainian mayor, who was kidnapped by Russian forces last week.
Ivan Fedorov, the mayor of Melitopol, was reportedly released as part of an exchange for several young Russian conscripts that were captured by Ukraine.
He spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy over the phone, who told him he was “happy to hear the voice of a man alive”.
“Thank you for not abandoning me. I will need one or two days to recover and then I will be at your disposal to contribute to our victory,” Fedorov said.
French Foreign Minister says Russia ‘pretending’ to negotiate
France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has said that Russia are not negotiating in good faith with Ukraine, saying that it is part of their war playbook.
Speaking to a French daily newspaper, Le Drian said that Russia were making “maximalist demands” while continuing to undertake siege warfare against Ukrainian cities.
Just as in Grozny (in Chechnya) and Aleppo (in Syria), there are three typical elements — indiscriminate bombardment, so-called humanitarian ‘corridors’ designed to allow them to accuse the other side of failing to respect them, and talks with no objective other than pretending that they are negotiating.
Le Drian said that Ukraine were negotiating in good faith and engaging in the talks with “an open mind”.
Just in: 130 survivors have been rescued from the ruins of a theatre destroyed by a Russian missile strike on Mariupol yesterday.
The Kyiv Independent are reporting that a bomb shelter within the theatre survived the attack. There were reports yesterday that there were between 1,000 and 1,200 people sheltering in the theatre.
Rescue efforts are still ongoing.
⚡️130 survivors saved so far from ruins of Mariupol Drama Theater, which Russians hit with massive bomb on March 16.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) March 17, 2022
The theater was known to house hundreds of women and children. Its bomb shelter reportedly survived the attack. The rescue efforts continue.
The White House has said that US President Joe Biden will speak with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping about Russia’s war in Ukraine.
China has refused to condemn Russia, a close ally, over its invasion of Ukraine so far, and has blamed the US and NATO’s eastward expansion for worsening tensions.
“The two leaders will discuss managing the competition between our two countries as well as Russia’s war against Ukraine and other issues of mutual concern,” the White House said in a statement.
The OECD has warned that the war in Ukraine will disrupt commerce and clog up supply chains, slashing economic growth and – in a surprise to nobody – push prices sharply higher around the world.
The organisation forecast that over the next year, the conflict will reduce GDP by 1.08% worldwide, by 1.4% in the 19 Euro countries that share the euro currency and by 0.88% in the United States.
But they group did offer some hope: it said that government spending and tax cuts could partially limit the damage.
Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office says that 108 Ukrainian children and 120 children in total have now been killed in the war, according to the Kyiv Independent:
⚡️Prosecutor General's Office: Russia’s war kills 108 Ukrainian children.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) March 17, 2022
According to the agency, over 120 children have been injured since Russia launched its all-out invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24.
UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has announced that Britain will deploy its latest medium-range missile defence system in Poland – which fears becoming a future target of Russian attacks.
The Sky Sabre system will help Poland defend its airspace from Russian weapons.
“As a NATO ally and a very old ally, Britain stands by Poland as Poland carries much of the burden of the consequences of this war,” Wallace said after a meeting with Polish Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak in Warsaw.
“We stand alongside Poland and protecting their air base from any further aggression by Russia.”
However, he did not reveal when the system will be deployed or for how long.
Russian journalist Marina Ovsyannikova – who held a handwritten sign saying “no war” on a live broadcast in the country – has said she wanted her compatriots to see that they were “zombified by Kremlin propaganda”.
In an interview with the BBC, Ovsyannikova said she “could not remain on the sidelines” following Russia’s invasion.
“I understand it’s very hard in the conditions of an information war to find alternative information, but you need to try to look for it,” she told the BBC.
Ovsyannikova – who was detained and fined after her stunt earlier this week – also believes that the FSB, Russia’s state security service is “building up” conspiracy theories about her.
But she also said that she wanted to show the West that not everybody in Russia believes Putin’s narrative.
“I really wanted to show the western audience that Russians are against war. Not all Russians are like this,” she said.
Pretty extraordinary satellite imagery has shown the word “children” written in Russian outside the theatre in Mariupol that was bombed yesterday - in an apparent effort to deter an attack on it.
The image was captured on Monday by Maxar Technologies, a geospatial intelligence company:
Earlier, it was announced that the UK would deploy a medium-range missile system to Poland to “protect her airspace from any further aggression by Russia”.
It’s now reported that 100 British troops will also be sent to the country on a short deployment of three to six months.
UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has told a news conference: “It is very right that Britain stands by Poland as Poland carries much of the burden of the consequence of this war and stands tall and brave to stand up to the threats from Russia.”
ExoMars mission suspended due to Ukraine invasion
A joint EU-Russia space mission, ExoMars, has been suspended due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The mission, which was being done through the European Space Agency and Russia’s Roscosmos, planned to launch a UK-built craft from Baikonur in Khazakstan.
The European Space Agency has said that it would be impossible to carry out any ongoing cooperation with Roscosmos.
Turkey’s Foreign Minister visits Ukraine
Joining other politicians who have visited Ukraine in recent days, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has visited Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.
In a tweet, Kuleba said that Turkey’s support “remained unwavering” and that Ukraine was grateful for both humanitarian and political support.
Welcomed my Turkish counterpart and friend @MevlutCavusoglu in Ukraine. Turkey’s solidarity remains unwavering. Grateful for political and humanitarian support, as well as Turkey’s ongoing diplomatic efforts to put an end to Russia’s devastating war against Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/kAGh9Rz9Qy
— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) March 17, 2022
Press Association have a map detailing parts of Ukraine that Russian forces now occupy and where they’ve launched attacks as of yesterday.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has reiterated that NATO will not be intervening militarily in the war between Russia and Ukraine.
He did, however, say that Germany will continue to support Ukraine
He spoke during a press conference this afternoon, following the address by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy where he called on Scholz to “tear down” the wall in Europe being built by Russia.
⚡️Scholz: NATO will not intervene militarily in Russia’s war against Ukraine.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) March 17, 2022
During a press conference on March 17, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that his country will, however, continue to support Ukraine.
MSF prepare Kyiv hospital for increase in casualties
Surgical teams from Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) have provided mass casualty training and advice for staff at a large hospital in Kyiv.
The training, at the 750-bed Okhmatdyt paediatric hospital, included war trauma surgery led by an MSF surgeon with experience in war surgeries.
Anja Wolz, MSF Emergency Coordinator in Ukraine said:
Most of the surgeons in this hospital are specialists but they do not have trauma surgeons.
So they have not had experience doing significant debridement [wound cleaning] which is essential for bullet and shrapnel wounds.
If a bullet or shrapnel wound is not dealt with quickly or correctly infection can set in fast and it requires some experience to know how to approach this type of surgery – to ensure the wound is effectively cleaned and will heal properly, and to avoid further infection.
In a St Patrick’s Day address, Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said that Ireland stands with the people of Ukraine as they continue to fight against a Russian invasion.
In a video posted on Twitter this afternoon, Martin, speaking on behalf of the Irish people, saying that Ireland “is one with Ukraine”.
On this St Patrick’s Day, I say with confidence on your behalf: we reasssert our unequivical committment to democratic and humanitarian values – by standing with the people of Ukraine.
We again declare our unshakable support for the rule of law.
We are one with the people of Ukraine: Their freedom is our freedom, their struggle is our struggle.
We stand together. We stand for a better world, and we stand against autocracy and oppression wherever they appear.
— MerrionStreet.ie (@merrionstreet) March 17, 2022
We stand with Ukraine.
🔊A #StPatricksDay message from Taoiseach @MichealMartinTD pic.twitter.com/4I3YrkzULD
Officials have said at least 21 people have been killed and 25 more injured after Russian forces shelled a town in eastern Ukraine.
Artillery fire earlier today hit a school and a cultural centre in the town of Merefa about 30km north of Kharkiv, according to regional prosecutors.
Of the wounded, 10 people are in serious condition, they added.
A photo accompanying the prosecutors’ statement showed a building of several storeys that was destroyed in the middle with windows blown out and emergency workers combing through the wreckage.
Canada has unveiled fresh sanctions against 22 officials in Belarus’ defence department for allowing Russia to launch attacks on Ukraine from its territory.
Canada’s foreign ministry said in a statement that the announcement “sends a clear message to President Putin’s accomplices: those who support violations of Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence will be held accountable”.
US Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said the world needs to continue to isolate Russia from the global economy in response to the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
Speaking moments ago, Pelosi also said that the unity of the G7 and NATO in response to the invasion was “remarkable to behold”.
Ukrainian families fleeing Mariupol have told the AFP news agency that the besieged city is like “hell”, with corpses in the streets and of people required to sleep in sub-zero temperatures, hiding in cellars.
“In the streets there are the bodies of many dead civilians,” Tamara Kavunenko told the agency.
“When the snow came, we collected it and melted it for water. When it didn’t, we boiled water from the river to drink. It’s not Mariupol anymore. It is hell.”
Ukraine says more than 2,000 people have died so far in the city.
Over in Washington, Joe Biden has praised Taoiseach Micheál Martin for his response to the war so far.
The Taoiseach said he shares Biden’s horror at “the barbaric attack on the civilians of Ukraine”.
“It’s heart rending to see the appalling loss of life and also the terrible trauma on the children of Ukraine and their mothers,” Martin said.
Our reporter Christina Finn has been watching:
US President Joe Biden commends the Taoiseach for his 'condemnation of Putin's aggression' and his support of the sanctions.
— Christina Finn (@christinafinn8) March 17, 2022
'It's costing Ireland but as usual you're basing it on principle and moral standing of the country,' he says. pic.twitter.com/KlnKPoyoQu
Biden thanks Ireland for taking in such a high number of Ukrainian refugees.
— Christina Finn (@christinafinn8) March 17, 2022
'I want to publicly compliment you for it. I think you've already brought in over 7,000 or so refugees from Ukraine, and you're prepared to do more. So, thank you.'
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has asked Turkey to be a guarantor of any future deal with Russia, along with the UN Security Council’s five permanent members and Germany.
“Ukraine made an offer on the collective security agreement: P5 (the UN Security Council’s five permanent members), Turkey and Germany,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said during a visit to the Ukrainian city of Lviv.
“I saw that the Russian Federation had no objection and could accept such an offer,” he added, referring to his meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow on Wednesday.
The five permanent UN Security Council members are China, France, Russia, Britain and the United States.
Cavusoglu said ceasefire hopes in the conflict between Kyiv and Moscow had “increased” following his diplomacy in Russia and Ukraine.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke by telephone with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Thursday to repeat his offer of hosting a meeting between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Ankara or Istanbul.
Erdogan also underlined “the necessity of opening humanitarian corridors” to allow civilians to flee the fighting, the Turkish presidency said in a statement.
“Terminator” star Arnold Schwarzenegger appealed to Vladimir Putin on Thursday to end the “senseless” war in Ukraine and praised Russians protesting the conflict as his “new heroes”.
“Ukraine did not start this war,” the former California governor said in an emotional message to the people of Russia and Russian troops posted to his Twitter account.
“I’m speaking to you today because there are things going on in the world that are being kept from you, terrible things that you should know about,” he said in the nine-minute video.
“The strength and the heart of the Russian people have always inspired me,” he said. “That is why I hope that you will let me tell you the truth about the war in Ukraine.
“I know that your government has told you that this is a war to do ‘de-Nazify’ Ukraine. This is not true. Those in power in the Kremlin started this war. This is not the Russian people’s war.”
Schwarzenegger said “the world has turned against Russia because of its actions in Ukraine — whole city blocks have been flattened by Russian artillery and bombs, including a children’s hospital and a maternity hospital.
“Because of its brutality, Russia is now isolated from the society of nations,” he said.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has faced criticism from some politicians in the country following Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s address to the Bundestag earlier today.
Christian Democrat Norbert Roettgen, who is calling for a total Russian energy embargo, led a chorus of conservative criticism of the government after the speech, saying Scholz should have addressed parliament immediately afterwards.
He tweeted that the “historic moment” had been followed by “total silence – that was undignified… a moment of collective shame”.
His party colleague, Roderich Kiesewetter, called it “baffling” that parliament continued with plans to debate a national vaccine mandate Thursday rather than on Germany’s Ukraine policy in the wake of Zelenskyy’s appeal.
“I would have wished for more respect with regard to the suffering of the Ukrainian people due to Putin’s war of extermination!” he wrote on Twitter.
The G7 has warned that perpetrators of war crimes in Ukraine will be called to account, as it condemned “the indiscriminate attacks on civilians” by Russian troops since their invasion.
“Due to President (Vladimir) Putin’s unprovoked and shameful war, millions are forced to flee their homes; the destruction of infrastructure, hospitals, theatres and schools is ongoing,” the G7 foreign ministers said in a statement.
“Those responsible for war crimes, including indiscriminate use of weapons against civilians, will be held responsible.”
Authorities in Mariupol have said that around 30,000 people have fled the besieged city to date.
Officials also said that they were clarifying information on possible victims of the Russian shelling of the theatre sheltering civilians yesterday.
Mariupol’s city hall said on Telegram that “around 30,000 people have left on their transport”, adding that “80 percent of residential housing was destroyed”. It said it was “clarifying information on victims” of the theatre shelling.
US Speaker Nancy Pelosi has joined in the praise for Ireland’s response to the crisis, as our reporter Christina Finn notes:
Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi at the Speakers' lunch.
— Christina Finn (@christinafinn8) March 17, 2022
She says the world has been in 'awe' of the Taoiseach's handling of the pandemic, the economy of Ireland, 'especially during the difficult times of Brexit' and 'his reinvigoration of the govt focus on housing and healthcare'. pic.twitter.com/6gT6HiIoAD
More on Marina Ovsyannikova, the Russian editor who protested Moscow’s military action in Ukraine during a state TV news broadcast.
She’s said that she has quit her job at the station she works for – but that she won’t accept an offer of asylum from France because she is “a patriot”.
Ovsyannikova, who has two young children, said she had “broken the life of our family” through her actions, and that her son in particular is anxious about what happens next.
“But we need to put an end to this fratricidal war so this madness does not turn into nuclear war. I hope when my son is older he will understand why I did this,” she said.
French President Emmanuel Macron had offered earlier this week asylum or other forms of consular protection to Ovsyannikova, saying he would bring up her case with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
But Ovsyannikova told Germany’s Der Spiegel that she would not take up his offer and would stay in Russia.
“I don’t want to leave our country. I am a patriot, my son is even more so. We don’t want to leave in any way, we don’t want to go anywhere,” she said.
She told Der Spiegel that she had prepared her action alone but indicated she believed many colleagues privately sympathised with her.
More on Joe Biden’s virtual meeting with the Taoiseach earlier.
Christina Finn reports:
The US president has commended Ireland for the number of Ukrainian refugees it has taken in since the conflict broke out in the eastern European country.
He made the comments during a traditional St Patrick’s Day meeting with the Taoiseach, which was held via video conference after Micheál Martin tested positive for Covid-19 last night.
Sitting beside a bowl of shamrock in the Oval Office, Biden spoke about the crisis in Ukraine, and complemented Ireland’s policy towards accepting Ukrainian refugees.
He continued: “I want to publicly compliment you for it. I think you’ve already brought in over 7,000 or so refugees from Ukraine, and you’re prepared to do more. So, thank you, thank you.”
The Taoiseach replied: “It’s our duty”.
In a bizarre update from across the Irish Sea, UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has revealed that an “imposter” claiming to be Ukraine’s Prime Minister tried to get in touch with him.
Wallace described the incident as “desperate” on Twitter.
No amount of Russian disinformation, distortion and dirty tricks can distract from Russia’s human rights abuses and illegal invasion of Ukriane. A desperate attempt.
— Rt. Hon Ben Wallace MP (@BWallaceMP) March 17, 2022
The BBC it has seen reports that a bus carrying 53 refugees has overturned in Lithuania – though there are no reports of any deaths.
The broadcaster cites a report from Lithuanian national TV channel LRT, which says that the coach was en route to Finland when the driver lost control this morning.
At least 10 people, including children, are reported to have been injured.
A Russian-European mission to land a rover on Mars has been suspended due to the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine, the European Space Agency has announced.
The ExoMars mission had been set to use a Russian launcher later this year to send a European rover to drill for signs of life on the Red Planet.
However, the ESA said the war in Ukraine and sanctions against Moscow had forced it to cease cooperation with Russia and look for another way to launch ExoMars and four other missions using Russian rockets.
“We deeply deplore the human casualties and tragic consequences of the aggression towards Ukraine,” the agency said in a statement.
“While recognising the impact on scientific exploration of space, ESA is fully aligned with the sanctions imposed on Russia.”
The head of Russia’s space agency Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, called the decision a “shame”.
“This is a very bitter (decision) for all the enthusiasts of space,” Rogozin said on Telegram.
Additional reporting from Press Association and AFP.
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