In Ukraine, in the morning of Wednesday, March 16, the country’s defence forces have launched counter-attacks on Russian troops. In the sieged strategic city of Mariupol, many people are in dire need of food and medical help, while evacuation continues. Russian negotiators in the talks between Moscow and Kyiv have expressed a more realistic approach than before, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukrinform and BBC report.
«The state, situation and nature of the actions of defence forces have not changed significantly over the past 24 hours. The Armed Forces of Ukraine managed to deliver a devastating blow to groups of occupiers’ troops in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and launched a counter-attack in some areas,» the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine stated.
It added that the air defence units of the Ukrainian Air Force had destroyed three aircraft (including two Su-34s) over the past 24 hours. In addition, one helicopter, three tactical UAVs and two cruise missiles were said to be shot down. Ukrainian Air Force aircraft continued to launch missile and bomb strikes on ground targets. Nine air attacks had been carried out on military convoys and groups of invading troops,» according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Russian forces continued to launch missile and bomb strikes on the infrastructure and densely populated areas of Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv and Zaporizhia, Ukrinform wrote.
The city’s emergency services now say that a 12-storey residential building in the Shevchenko district was hit by Russian shelling at around 6am. A neighbouring nine-storey building was also damaged, Ukrainian authorities stated, as quoted by BBC.
The Russian Defence Ministry, which heads the troops of the aggressor, wrote on Twitter that Inohodets complexes of attack drones had struck at the fortifications and armoured vehicles of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
In the south-eastern city of Mariupol, evacuations have taken place, but many civilians continue to be unable to leave and are in a dire situation. Mariupol’s deputy mayor has said that Russian troops were holding 400 people, including doctors and patients, «like hostages».
A part of civilians have been able to leave Mariupol, where 20,000 people have fled the city in the past day in 4,000 private cars. Local authorities say that Russian forces are preventing buses from evacuating civilians from the city, which is facing intense Russian bombardment, BBC reports.
After another round of talks between the warring countries, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that it would take time for talks with Russia to end in Ukraine’s interests, but Russian negotiators had started to sound more realistic than before.
Zelenskyy’s address in Ukrainian with English subtitles.
Day 21 of war in Ukraine: Ukrainians launch counterattacks, Mariupol siege increasingly dangerous, more «realistic talks»
