Biden to announce $800M in new aid for Ukraine; Russian forces take 500 hostages in Mariupol hospital, official says: March 15 recap
Follow here for the latest updates and news from Wednesday, March 16, as Russia’s invasion continues.
Ukrainians must realize the country will not be joining NATO and must “count on ourselves and our partners who are helping us” to withstand the Russian onslaught, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday.
Later in the day, the White House said President Joe Biden will travel to Brussels for a March 24 NATO summit on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations yielded a sliver of hope when Zelenskyy adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said “there is certainly room for compromise.” However, the invading forces continued their bombardment of Kyiv while a siege of the port city of Mariupol prompted about 20,000 civilians to flee. Negotiations are expected to resume Wednesday.
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►A fourth Russian general was killed in fighting at Mariupol, Ukrainian officials said Tuesday, identifying him as Maj. Gen. Oleg Mityaev, commander of the 150th motorized rifle division. Russia did not confirm the death.
cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski and journalist Oleksandra “Sasha” Kuvshynovawere killed while reporting with correspondent Benjamin Hall in Ukraine outside the capital city of Kyiv, Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott announced Tuesday.7-year-old girl singing the song “Let It Go” from Disney’s “Frozen” in a bomb shelter in Kyiv went viral last week. Now she has made it safely to Poland.
The girl, Amelia, is in the country with her grandmother, the BBC reported. She told the outlet that, “It was OK” in the bomb shelter.
“There were other children there. My classmate, Artyom, was there too,” she said.
“I would be very happy to be with my mother and father, in Kyiv, of course,” she added. She also thanked the millions of people who saw the video of her singing the hit song from the Disney movie.
Last week, Idina Menzel, who voiced Elsa, the character who sings “Let it Go” in “Frozen,” shared the video of Amelia singing on Twitter, writing, “We see you. We really, really see you.”
— Marina Pitofsky
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Russian troops in an online video early Tuesday that they can surrender and will be treated “decently” and pleaded with European nations to provide his military with more weapons.
“On behalf of the Ukrainian people, I give you a chance,” Zelenskyy said in a video translated into English by his office, ahead of his scheduled speech to Canada’s parliament Tuesday. “Chance to survive. If you surrender to our forces, we will treat you the way people are supposed to be treated. As people, decently.”
Damage in Ukraine estimated at $500 billion and rising
Preliminary losses from Russia’s attack in Ukraine are already estimated at $500 billion – and the damage grows worse every day, Minister of Finance Serhiy Marchenko said Tuesday. Supply chains have been broken, some businesses destroyed and others left unable to function because their workers have fled, Marchenko said. The true cost of the war won’t be determined until it’s over, he said. The International Monetary Fund, which has approved $1.4 billion in emergency financing for Ukraine, said this week that the country’s economic output could shrink by up to 35% if the war drags on.
Marchenko said some of the hundreds of billions in Russian assets frozen in the U.S. and Europe could be tapped to help his country rebuild.
China defends position on Ukraine
China’s stance on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is “impartial and constructive” while the U.S. has been “immoral and irresponsible” by spreading misinformation, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said Tuesday.
Lijian accused the U.S. of spreading misinformation over reports Beijing had agreed to a Russian request for military supplies. Lijian also said the U.S. played a major role in the development of the crisis, a reference to NATO expansion.
Lijian spoke at a press briefing on day after Yang Jiechi, one of China’s top diplomats, met with U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan. Yang called on the international community to support peace talks and said “China always stands for respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries.”
State Department spokesman Ned Price declined to confirm whether U.S. officials believe Beijing has conveyed its support for Moscow’s assault on Ukraine but said the U.S. is watching very closely whether China or any other country is providing any form of support, including material, economic or financial assistance.
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– Katelyn Ferral, USA TODAY Network
Contributing: The Associated Press