Mariupol. Russian atrocities against civilians continue in Mariupol. Yesterday, Russian troops purposefully bombedchildren’s and maternity hospitals in Mariupol. The whole building is destroyed to the ground. Information on the affected children is being clarified. 17 people — young mothers and members of the medical staff — were injured, 3 people died, including 1 child. Due to the ongoing shelling, Russian troops keep more than 400 000 people as hostages in Mariupol. Evacuation is impossible, as well as provision of humanitarian aid. Almost 3 000 newborn babies lack medicine, food, and water. Since the beginning of the war, approximately 1200 civilians have been killed in Mariupol. Only yesterday 47 were buried in a mass grave.
Humanitarian crises. Humanitarian evacuation has started in some cities of Ukraine. Yesterday, around 40 000 women and children were evacuated from different parts of Ukraine, including 3 000 from Irpin and Vorzel. Among the rescued are several hundred children, the elderly, and seriously ill people. ~100 buses and ambulances were involved in the evacuation. In Stoianka, Kyiv Region, the occupiers blocked 50 buses traveling to evacuate civilians and kept them for three hours. During evacuation from Demydiv, Kyiv region, Russian troops fired at the evacuation groups, killing a policeman and injuring two people. Russian shelling thwarted evacuation in Izium, Kharkiv region, thus 5000 civilians could not leave the city. Russian troops did not allow to deliver humanitarian aid to Energodar, Zaporizhzhia oblast. The Russian National Guard keeps 400 Ukrainians as hostages in the Kherson region due to their occupation resistance. In Kharkiv, as a result of numerous ground and air attacks, more than 280 houses, 26 schools, and 23 kindergartens were destroyed.
Cities under attack. In the second week of the war, we observe that Russian troops no longer focus solely on military infrastructure but chaotically shelling civilians and civilian infrastructure. Cluster bombs were launched today in Mykolaiv against a geriatric boarding house with mostly elderly people. Zhytomyr has been under attack once again. Zhytomyr Airstrike of the Russian army on residential buildings, a boiler house was damaged, windows in two hospitals shattered. Ohtyrka, Sumy region was shelled once again at night. Russian occupants deployed Russian National Guard units in occupied Kherson to introduce a controlled administrative-police regime. Two-thirds of Chenigiv remain without heating and hot water. As of now, 60 civilians are killed and 400 injured.
Meanwhile, Russia admitted using TOS-1 thermobaric weapons, sometimes called “vacuum bombs” in Ukraine. Commemorating two of their soldiers, Russia indicated that one of them was successfully operating with TOS-1 in Chernigiv. BBC reports that the White House says that it is concerned Russia is preparing to launch chemical weapons attacks.
Foreign policy. Today Foreign Minister Kuleba meets Foreign Minister Lavrov in Turkey in person for the first time in two weeks to discuss the current situation. Germany is facing accusations due to its resistance to enforcing the EU sanctions at the biggest Russian bank “Sberbank”, says Bloomberg. Members of the Polish Senate voted in favor of speeding up the process of integrating Ukraine with other EU countries. Russia is not welcomed at the World Economic Forum in Davos anymore. WEF suspends their relations with any Russian entities.
Crimea and Black Sea. Russia is using the territory of occupied Crimea as a temporary military base, says the Office of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. Classes in Dzhankoi town schools were canceled more than a week ago. Russian soldiers live there. About 20,000 Russian troops were stationed in the village of Novoozerne until February 24th, 2022. On the evening of March 8th, aviation activity was observed in the Kirov district (the airport is located in the area). Single military trucks were seen carrying broken military vehicles to Simferopol, probably for repairs.
Russian forces seize Ukraine’s Sapphire rescue ship and steer it towards Sevastopol. The captain of the Sapphire reported that there were “little green men” on board who kept the crew “at gunpoint”. The captain of the Russians arrived to assume the role of commander.
Energy security. Chornobyl NPP lost electric supply due to the damage of the electrical grid supplying the power plant. Reserve diesel generators have a 48-hour capacity to power the Chornobyl NPP. After that, cooling systems of the storage facility for spent nuclear fuel will stop, making radiation leaks imminent, says Foreign Minister Kuleba. IAEA says there are no critical safety violations. However, Ukrainian energy experts find this as an understatement to the safety of the plant in the condition of a power cut. The Office of the President says the situation is critical as no one has access and information about the real nuclear safety there.
Sanctions. The European Union has introduced further sanctions against Russia. A new package will target 160 Russian leaders, oligarchs and their family members. Russia will be restricted of the export of maritime navigation and radio communication technologies. The EU introduces a ban on the provision of euro banknotes to Belarus. The EU introduces a ban on the provision of euro banknotes to Belarus. 3 Belarusian banks are disconnected from SWIFT. These are Belagroprombank, Dabarbyt, Development Bank of the Republic of Belarus.
Business. Over 330 companies have announced their withdrawal from Russia in protest of their invasion of Ukraine. Download the list of the companies that left. MFA of Ukraine has compiled a list of some big names that continue operating in Ukraine. As of the morning of March 10, Philip Morris International has already announced suspending further investments and scales down the operations. Google restricts the work of Google Play in Russia providing only free applications available, as well as YouTube Premium is unavailable anymore. In response to the international business leaving Russia, their Ministry of Economy proposes nationalization of companies with a share of foreigners at least 25%.
Statistics:
- Since the start of the war, Russia has launched 700 rockets at Ukrainian territories.
- 79% of Ukrainians oppose the official recognition of the formerly occupied areas of Donbass as part of Russia, 75% oppose the official recognition of Crimea as part of Russia, 56% oppose the ban on Ukraine’s accession to NATO. See more data.
- General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine announced the total estimated losses of the Russian military as of 6 a.m., March 10, 2022: troops – more than 12 000, tanks ‒ 335, APV ‒ 1105, artillery systems – 123, MLRS – 56, anti-aircraft warfare systems – 29, aircraft – 49, helicopters – 81, vehicles – 526, light speed boats – 3, fuel tanks – 60, UAV operational-tactical level – 7.
Every action counts, no contribution is too small!
- Have a look at how to talk about war in Ukraine.
- Follow the link on how to support Ukraine with a list of reliable organizations.
- Share the Public Statement of Euromaidan SOS according attack on the maternity and children’s hospital in Mariupol on March 9, 2022
- Explore and share the resource Philosophers for Ukraine
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Thank you for supporting Ukraine! Slava Ukraini! Glory to Ukraine!