Summary of the Events of the Day
The Russian military invasion of Ukraine has largely stalled on all fronts, and Ukrainian resistance remains staunch and well-coordinated. Russia continues to devastate Ukraine from the air.
Battle for Kyiv (including Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Sumy, & Zhitomir)
Russia bombed a line of civilians in line to purchase bread in Chernihiv killing ten people.
The citizens of Lviv were able to get truckloads of humanitarian aid and weapons into the besieged city of Kharkiv.
Battle for the Donbas (Donetsk & Luhansk regions)
Russia bombed a theater in Mariupol which clearly was marked “children”. The theater was packed with people taking shelter. A miracle occurred though as with the theater housing a thousand people, no one was killed.
Battle for Crimean Water Supply (Zaporizhia & Melitopol)
The mayor of Melitopol, who had been kidnapped a few days ago and reportedly was put under torture, was released in a prisoner exchange for several young Russian soldiers.
Other News
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson referred to Russian President Vladimir Putin as a war criminal and predicted Ukraine will win this war because they have an indomitable spirit. He also blamed the West for the suffering of Ukraine as it was them that normalized relations with Russia after Russia had taken Crimea in 2014.
US President Joe Biden called Putin a war criminal as well. Russia called the comment “unacceptable and unforgivable.”
Russia ceases to be a member of the Council of Europe after a quarter century of membership.
President Zelensky addressed the German Bundestag to a standing ovation thanking Germany for their military support while at the same time rebuking them for coming to Ukraine’s aid late.
Russia rejected the demand from the UN to stop their war against Ukraine.
International Support
China came down on the side of Ukraine in the Russo-Ukraine war by stating that they had no national interest in assisting Russia but would help rebuild Ukraine once the war is over.
The EU has completed its work in connecting Ukraine to the European electricity grid.
The US House of Representatives voted to suspend Russia’s and Belarus’ “most favored nation” trade status which will allow the US to raise tariffs on all imports from those two countries. The Senate is expected to approve it as well.