Ukraine Briefly

March 08, 2022

Ukraine Briefly

Ukraine

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• Ukraine rejected the Kremlin’s offer to provide corridors for residents of Ukraine’s two main cities to flee only to Russia and Belarus, calling the move an immoral stunt to exploit the suffering of civilians under Russian bombardment, according to Reuters. Civilians trying to flee came under direct attack under an intensifying bombardment in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Mariupol and elsewhere, with residents suffering from a lack of gas, heat and water, the UK said. Meanwhile, a third round of talks on a ceasefire Monday between Russia and Ukraine fizzled without a breakthrough.

• Russia is recruiting Syrian soldiers to fight in Ukraine as Moscow’s invasion is expected to expand deeper into Ukrainian cities, the Wall Street Journal reported. Ukrainian officials said that almost 20,000 foreign fighters have arrived to help repel the Russian invasion.

• China’s Red Cross will provide humanitarian aid to Ukraine, even as Chinese officials said Beijing’s relations with Russia are “rock solid,” Reuters wrote. Meanwhile, Russia’s ally Kazakhstan allowed a large peace rally over the weekend, as the Central Asian country looks to distance itself from Moscow’s sanctions-triggering military invasion of Ukraine, Agence France-Pressed added.

• Ukraine asked the United Nation’s top court Monday to order Russia to stop its invasion, even as Moscow snubbed the hearings and said it will not participate in the proceedings, the Associated Press reported. In avideo interview aired Monday night, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russian soldiers of being “war criminals,” the Washington Post reported. A growing number of Western leaders are also raising questions about possible war crimes.

This story originally appeared in the March 08, 2022 newsletter, Of Handicapped Wins.