The day was notably marked by Russian drone strikes in the kyiv and Zaporizhia region.
Reprisals, the end of one official visit and the beginning of another. Wednesday, March 22 was marked in particular by Russian drone strikes which left several dead in the regions of kyiv and Zaporizhia (Ukraine). What Volodymyr Zelensky replied that kyiv will respond to “all attacks from Moscow”. Franceinfo takes stock of this new day of conflict.
The ICC targeted by “threats” after its arrest warrant
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has denounced “threat” emanating from Russia against its members, as well as “measures announced against the prosecutor and judges involved in issuing arrest warrants in the situation in Ukraine”. This intimidation follows the arrest warrant she issued against Vladimir Putin for the war crime of “deportation” of Ukrainian children. In a press release, the legislative body of the ICC thus deplored the “attempts to obstruct international efforts to secure accountability for acts prohibited by general international law”.
Zelensky visiting the front
The visit is very symbolic. The Ukrainian president went to the front line in the Bakhmout area, the epicenter of the fighting in eastern Ukraine, then to Kharkiv. The trip comes as pro-Russian separatists fighting alongside the Russian military claim the city is “almost surrounded”. This trip is the second on this part of the front, where he had already gone in December 2022.
kyiv “will respond to all attacks” from Moscow
The Ukrainian President also claimed that his country “will respond to all attacks” Russians. “We will respond with certainty to the occupier to all attacks against our cities (…) All Russian strikes will receive a military, political and legal response”he assured in his daily address. “Russia will lose this war”he continued.
This statement follows Russian drone strikes. The latter claimed the lives of at least seven civilians in the Kiev region, and hit a residential building in Zaporijjia (center-east) head-on, killing at least one person and injuring dozens.
Russia denounces drone attack
For its part, the Russian Navy has “repelled” a drone attack on the port of Sevastopol, in Crimea, a peninsula annexed by Moscow, announced the governor of the city. “They tried to enter our bay, our sailors fired at them with small arms. The air defense also worked”Governor Mikhail Razvojayev, installed by Russia, said on Telegram.
End of Xi Jinping’s visit to Moscow
The Chinese president’s official visit to Russia, focused on strengthening ties with Vladimir Putin, took END. Xi Jinping’s plane left Moscow’s Vnukovo airport on Wednesday morning after being greeted by an honor guard who played the national anthems, the RIA Novosti news agency said.
This trip is closely scrutinized by Washington, which judges that the Russian-Chinese rapprochement resembles “a marriage of convenience” instead of “conviction”, according to the head of the American diplomacy, Antony Blinken. According to him, Beijing has not yet delivered lethal weapons to Moscow in the midst of the war in Ukraine. “Russia is clearly the junior partner in this relationship”he quipped.