The situation as of 8:00, March 21, 2022 (other languages version in PDF)
OPERATIONAL SITUATION
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine states that it currently records signs of Belarus’ preparations for a direct invasion of Ukraine.
According to Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to the Head of the Office of President of Ukraine, the Russian military has begun using more destructive weapons (Bastion and Kinzhal missile systems) and is looking for manpower reserves due to failures in the offensive against Ukraine.
Kyiv and Zhytomyr directions:
In the Sviatoshynskyi district of Kyiv, fragments of a shell of Russian troops fell into a residential building. The fire was extinguished, but 6 people were injured.
In the evening, shelling caused fire in a shopping center and cars in a parking lot in the Podilskyi district of Kyiv. According to the Main Department of State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Kyiv, 8 people were killed and 1 was wounded.
The National Police reported an airstrike by Russian troops in the direction of the village of of Zabuyannia, Bucha district (Kyiv region).
According to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, on March 20 13 buildings were damaged as a result of an airstrike on residential areas of Korosten district in the Zhytomyr region. At least 3 people were injured.
Chernihiv and Sumy directions:
On the night of March 20-21 in Sumy, the territory of the chemical industry plant Sumykhimprom was shelled. As a result of the shelling, 1 ammonia tank was damaged and 1 person was injured. The head of Sumy Regional Military Administration Dmytro Zhyvytskyy reported a leak of ammonia. The affected area is about 5 km.
Kharkiv and Luhansk directions:
During March 20, the Russian military fired heavily at Severodonetsk, Rubizhne and Popasna (Luhansk region). As a result, about 20 objects were damaged or destroyed, including 12 residential buildings, a food warehouse, outbuildings, garages, and infrastructure facilities. 2 people were injured.
Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia directions:
In the morning, the Mariupol city council said that Russian troops bombed the art school building in Mariupol on March 19. At least 400 people were inside and remain under the rubble.
The Azov Regiment informed that Mariupol was shelled from the sea by four Russian naval ships.
During the day, Russian troops fired mortars and MLRS at the city of Avdiivka in the Donetsk region. Avdiivka City Military-Civil Administration reports damage to the housing stock and the “Malyuk” kindergarten.
According to the head of the Donetsk Regional Military Administration Pavlo Kyrylenko, 3 people were killed and 5 wounded as a result of the shelling of Russian invaders over the past 24 hours in the Donetsk region.
Central direction:
Around 18:00, Serhiy Borzov, the head of the Vinnytsia Regional Military Administration, stated that the Ukrainian Armed Forces shot down a missile over Vinnytsia.
Western direction:
According to Vitaly Koval, head of the Rivne Regional Military Administration, 2 missile strikes were carried out over the training ground in the Rivne region.
Information confrontation
The official group of the Russian social network “VKontakte” has been hacked. Users are sent messages with information about Russia’s war with Ukraine.
HUMANITARIAN SITUATION
On March 20, only 4 of the 7 planned humanitarian corridors went functional. For the second day in a row, the evacuation of the town of Borodyanka (Kyiv region) was disrupted due to violations of the silence regime. Communication with 6 people from the convoy that was supposed to bring aid to the residents of Vovchansk (Kharkiv region) was lost.
The Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, Lyudmila Denisova, reports that besieged settlements in Ukraine are turning into concentration camps. The local civilians are starving, which is torture and a violation of international documents on the protection of human rights. Humanitarian cargoes with food, medicines, and basic necessities are also not allowed into populated areas where hostilities are taking place in Kharkiv Region, Luhansk Region, Donbass Region, and Kyiv Region. Denisova noted that it is not possible to deliver considerable amounts of medicines, including insulin, which many residents urgently need now. The city of Chernihiv, which has no electricity, heating and water, is suffering from a humanitarian catastrophe.
The Prosecutor General’s office reports: 115 children were killed in Ukraine, more than 140 were injured.
On March 20, a partial rotation of the personnel of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant and the evacuation of those who were on the territory of the plant was carried out. Personnel remained at their workplaces for about 600 hours, performing their professional duties and maintaining an adequate level of safety. All four nuclear power plants in Ukraine operate stably. Radiation, fire and environmental conditions at the industrial sites of the nuclear plants and the territories adjacent to them remained unchanged and within normal limits.
More than 278,000 consumers are left without gas supply, 1,336 population centers are without electricity, and a total of more than 1 million consumers.
According to the Minister of Education and Science Serhiy Shkarlet, more than 500 educational institutions in Ukraine have been destroyed or damaged.
The Energodar City Council announced the abduction of First Deputy Mayor Ivan Samoidyuk.
According to the UN, 3389044 Ukrainian refugees have been forced to leave their homes in the last three weeks (from 24.02 to 20.03). The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) warns that humanitarian needs are growing exponentially. About 13 million people have been affected in the worst-hit areas of Ukraine and in need of humanitarian assistance.
The head of the Luhansk Regional State Administration, Serhiy Haidai, said that on March 11, the Russian military fired on a nursing home in Kreminna, killing 56 people. Another 15 people were abducted by the Russian military and taken to the occupied town of Svatove in Luhansk region.
Resistance
Residents of Kherson region continue to protest against the temporary occupation by Russian troops. Several Hundred residents of Kakhovka gathered at the pro-Ukrainian rally, and several thousand citizens of Kherson also attended the peaceful rally.
In a pro-Ukrainian rally in Berdyansk (Zaporizhzhia region) Russian security forces used physical violence and detained civilians.
In Energodar, Zaporozhzhia region, about one and a half thousand residents went to a pro-Ukrainian rally, as well as to support Deputy Mayor Ivan Samoidyuk, who was abducted the day before by the Russian military. The Russian military pressured protesters, including detaining a number of citizens and firing warning fire into the air.
ECONOMIC SITUATION
On the air of the national telethon, Deputy Chief of Staff Rostislav Shurma assured that Ukraine will not have problems with food due to Russian aggression.
The analytical unit of the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE Institute) and volunteers from the Center for Economic Strategy and Prozorro.Sales have launched the Russia Will Pay project, which calculates the damage to Ukraine’s infrastructure as a result of Russia’s military aggression. In particular, as of March 17, the total amount of losses is $ 62.6 billion.
POLITICAL AND DIPLOMATIC EVENTS
On March 20, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky made a video address to the Government of Israel, members of the Knesset and citizens of the country. In his speech, Zelensky drew a parallel between the Nazi extermination of Jews during World War II and the current situation in Ukraine and called on the Israeli government to protect Ukrainian Jews in the war with the Russian Federation.
In addition, the President of Ukraine reiterated his readiness to hold direct talks with the Russian President on peace and noted that Ukraine would not accept any compromise proposals related to its territorial integrity and sovereignty, as it is an independent state.
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson had a telephone conversation with the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday, March 20. The issues of promoting Ukraine’s interests at NATO and G7 summits next week, as well as strengthening military, economic and diplomatic support for Ukraine were discussed.
Prosecutor General of Ukraine Iryna Venediktova said that six European countries have begun investigating criminal cases of Russian war crimes during the attack on Ukraine. These countries are Estonia, Lithuania, Germany, Poland, Slovakia, Sweden.
The Swiss company Weatherford became the last of the so-called “big four” oil service companies, which decided to suspend supplies, investments and the deployment of new technologies in Russia.
Australia has banned the sale of alumina and aluminum ore to Russia. This initiative is aimed at limiting Russia’s ability to produce aluminum, which is a key component of weapons and ammunition. Russia used to receive 20% of its alumina needs from Australia.
On the eve of the meeting of the EU Council of Foreign Ministers, Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics called for tougher sanctions against Russia and Belarus, including the closure of European ports of Russian ships.
France has frozen 22 billion euros in funds from the Central Bank of Russia, as well as the accounts and real estate of individuals in the amount of 850 million euros, which were subject to sanctions, said the Minister of Economy and Finance of France Bruno Le Mer.
The information in the digest is collected from official sources — reports of state authorities of Ukraine, Ukrainian and international news agencies. The accuracy of the data is carefully checked by the project team and corrected in case of fake news.