This Sunday March 20 marks the 25th day of the war in Ukraine, launched by Russia on February 24. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, ten million people, more than a quarter of the population, have now fled their homes. About 90% are women and children.
The essential
- Ten million people have fled their homes since the start of the war
- Russia announces that it has, for the second time, used supersonic missiles, which defy anti-aircraft systems
- A destroyed factory in Mariupol
- Boris Johnson asks Beijing to condemn the invasion
The situation on the military front
A bombed out school
The Ukrainian authorities announced on Sunday that the Russian army bombed the day before an art school serving as a refuge for several hundred people in Mariupol, in the south-east of the country. “400 residents of Mariupol – women, children and the elderly – had taken refuge”Ukrainian authorities said, adding that the building had been destroyed and that civilians were trapped under the rubble.
A destroyed factory in Mariupol
The Azovstal steel and metallurgical plant, one of the largest in Europe, was heavily damaged by Russian bombing. “The economic losses for Ukraine are immense”said MP Lesia Vasylenko, posting a video on her Twitter account showing thick columns of smoke rising from an industrial complex.
2nd hypersonic missile launch
Moscow claims, this Sunday, to have used hypersonic missiles for a second time. The day before, the Russian army had announced for the first time the use of this weapon, called “invincible” by Vladimir Putin.
10 million people fled their homes
Ten million people, more than a quarter of Ukraine’s population, have now fled their homes due to Russia’s “devastating” war, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo said on Sunday. Grown up. These people have either internally displaced or refugees abroad (3,389,044 people), he said. The vast majority, around 90%, are women and children.
The diplomatic situation and international reactions
Zelensky says he is ‘ready for negotiations’ with Putin
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky repeated that he was “ready for negotiations” with Vladimir Putin, saying this Sunday that “without negotiations, we will not stop the war”. “If there is only a 1% chance of stopping this war, we must seize it”he said, believing that the conflict in Ukraine would be “a third world war” if these attempts at negotiations fail.
Boris Johnson urges China to condemn Russian invasion
The British Prime Minister is urging China this Sunday to take a stand and condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The day before, Ukraine had already called on China, Moscow’s strategic ally, to “condemn Russian barbarism”.
France has immobilized nearly 850 million euros in assets of Russian oligarchs
The Minister of Economy and Finance, Burno Le Maire, affirms this Sunday that France has immobilized nearly 850 million euros of assets of Russian oligarchs: yachts, apartments, or even bank accounts on French territory. . This means that their owners can no longer use them, resell them or monetize them, but they are not not seized by the State as owner.