In summary :
– The question of the “neutrality” of Ukraine, one of the central points of negotiations with Russia to end the conflict, is “studied in depth”Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday. Ukrainian and Russian negotiators meet in Istanbul today or Tuesday depending on the sources.
– Emmanuel Macron is to meet with Vladimir Putin today or Tuesday to organize a evacuation operation from the city of Mariupol.
– The Russian invasion of Ukraine has already forced more than 3.8 million Ukrainians to flee their country, according to a UN count on Sunday, and caused some 63 billion in damage to the country’s infrastructure, according to a study by the Kyiv School of Economics.
Moment of silence at the Oscars. A moment of silence was called for in honor of Ukraine at the 94th Academy Awards in Hollywood on Sunday night. During this brief moment of contemplation, screens broadcast messages calling for help to be sent by listing the essential needs of Ukrainians such as food, medical care or blankets. “We ask you to help Ukraine in every way possible,” added one of the posts.
© Provided by Liberation
Message of support for Ukraine broadcast during the Oscars ceremony on Sunday evening.
A “Korean” solution? The head of Ukrainian military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, estimated on Sunday that, “after failing to take Kyiv and overthrow the Ukrainian government», Moscow “could impose a dividing line between the occupied and unoccupied regions of our country, (in) an attempt” to establish a Korean-style separation. These statements come as the Russian command surprised Friday by announcing “ to concentrate the bulk of efforts on the main objective: the liberation of Donbass”.
Fires in Chernobyl. On the ground, the fighting continues but the noose seemed to loosen in certain besieged cities, such as Mykolaiv, a lock-town on the road to Odessa, the largest port in Ukraine, looted for days by Russian artillery. However, new fires broke out in the area of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, occupied by Russian forces, according to the Ukrainian authorities who requested the “demilitarization” of the sector under the aegis of the United Nations. “Significant fires have started in the exclusion zone, which can have very serious consequences”, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk wrote on her Telegram account on Sunday evening. According to Ukrainian regional authorities, the Russian army took control of the town of Slavutitch, where the personnel of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant reside, briefly arresting the mayor and sparking pro-Ukrainian demonstrations.
Catastrophic situation in Mariupol. In the besieged and bombarded city for weeks, “People are struggling to survive. The humanitarian situation is catastrophic., said on the night of Sunday to Monday the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on its Twitter account. “The Russian armed forces are turning the city into dust”, he added, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky denouncing for his part a total blockade of this city that the Russian army has been trying to take for weeks. “All entrances and exits to the city are blocked […] it is impossible to bring food and medicine into Mariupolhe said on Sunday evening. Russian forces bomb humanitarian aid convoys and kill the drivers”.
Mariupol before it was destroyed by the Russian army ???????????????? pic.twitter.com/RHBkc5axs3
— Mikhail Khodorkovsky (English) (@mbk_center) March 27, 2022
Abductions of children by the hundreds, denounces Kyiv. Some 2,000 children were also taken to Russia, he said. “And that means kidnapped. Because we don’t know exactly where they are. Some are with their parents, some are not. It is a disaster”, he launched. More than 2,000 civilians were killed in Mariupol, according to a recent report communicated by the town hall. According to the Ukrainian president, some 100,000 people are still stranded in this strategic port on the Sea of Azov. Several attempts to establish safe routes for civilians have failed, with both sides accusing each other of ceasefire violations.
Macron-Putin phone call. The French president said on Sunday that he would speak to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Monday or Tuesday to organize an evacuation operation from Mariupol. Emmanuel Macron, who has already spoken eight times with Vladimir Putin since the beginning of the Russian invasion on February 24, remains convinced that the path of dialogue with Moscow is still possible, “to stop the war that Russia has launched in Ukraine without going to war”.
The issue of Ukraine’s “neutrality” is “studied in depth”. The question of the “neutrality” of Ukraine, one of the central points of negotiations with Russia to end the conflict, is “studied in depth”Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with Russian media on Sunday. “This point of the negotiations […] is under discussion, it is studied in depth”he said in this online interview, broadcast on the Telegram channel of the Ukrainian presidential administration.