Mariupol theater bombed
A theater in Mariupol, in the south-east of the country, housing “hundreds of civilians” was heavily damaged by a Russian airstrike. “The plane dropped a bomb on the building where hundreds of civilians were sheltering. It is impossible to establish the toll immediately, because the bombing of residential areas continues, ”wrote the town hall on Telegram, posting a photo of the theater, the central part of which is destroyed.
The Russian Defense Ministry, quoted by the Russian news agency RIA Novosti, denied carrying out the airstrike and instead blamed the Ukrainian nationalist battalion Azov.
According to local authorities, more than 2,000 civilians died in Mariupol, which has been besieged and shelled by Russian forces for several days.
US gives $1 billion in military aid
Hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky delivered a rousing speech to the US Congress on Wednesday, US President Joe Biden announced that he had provided an additional US$800 million in military aid, bringing the total to US$1 billion. US.
Ukraine will notably receive 800 “Stinger” air defense systems, 9,000 anti-tank systems, around 7,000 light weapons, 20 million munitions and drones.
Putin “war criminal”
Responding to a journalist, US President Joe Biden launched, without further details, about his Russian counterpart: “He is a war criminal”.
“Unacceptable and unforgivable” remarks, replied the Kremlin. “We consider unacceptable and unforgivable such rhetoric from the head of state, whose bombs have killed hundreds of thousands of people around the world,” said Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov, quoted by the authorities. Russian news agencies TASS and RIA Novosti.
The International Court of Justice takes a stand
The International Court of Justice (ICJ), the highest UN court, on Wednesday ordered Russia to halt its invasion of Ukraine. Two of the 15 judges voted against, those from Russia and China.
“The Russian Federation must immediately suspend the military operations it started on February 24, 2022 on the territory of Ukraine,” said Joan E. Donoghue, presiding judge of the ICJ, whose seat is in The Hague. , in the Nederlands.
Continuation of negotiations
Another round of talks between Kyiv and Moscow was scheduled for Wednesday. After Tuesday’s talks, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday that a neutral military status for Ukraine was “seriously considered” by both sides.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for his part described Russia’s demands to end the war as becoming “more realistic”.
Hopes for diplomatic progress rose after Mr Zelensky admitted on Tuesday that his country would not join NATO.
According to the British daily FinancialTimes, however, Ukrainians doubt Vladimir Putin’s commitment to peace. They fear that Moscow is trying to buy time to regroup its forces and resume its offensive.
With Agence France-Presse