Three weeks into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, civilian losses are mounting.
Ukraine’s prosecutor general said Russian forces had killed 10 people standing in line for bread near a grocery shop in the northern city of Chernihiv.
Ukraine’s armed forces said a convoy of civilians attempting to flee Mariupol had been fired on by Russian forces, with some killed, though the number is not known.
And in Mariupol itself local officials said Russian forces had bombed a theatre where hundreds of civilians were sheltering.
One of our reporters in Ukraine, Hugo Bachega, has been following the story.
Confusion over ceasefire talks
Despite the violence, efforts continue to find a ceasefire.
There was some optimism after Ukraine’s President Zelensky late on Tuesday suggested that the positions of each side “already sound more realistic”. Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said there was “hope for compromise” and some areas might be “close to agreement”.
The Financial Times reported that a peace plan had been discussed in which Russia would withdraw if Ukraine declared neutrality and accepted limits on its armed forces.
But the likelihood of an imminent truce appears slim. The Kremlin said it was too early to disclose any terms, and a Ukrainian official said the leaked details were a draft which only showed the starting position of the Russian side – and that Ukraine held different views.
Our World Affairs editor John Simpson writes that Mr Putin is looking for a way to save face in all this.
Putin decries ‘traitors’ among Russians
Russian President Vladimir Putin used a televised address to hit back at Ukraine and the West, saying his invasion – or special military operation, as Russia calls it – was “going to plan”.
He railed against Russians he said were being provoked by the West into civil unrest, urging loyal Russians to “spit out” those he labelled as traitors among the populace.
“Of course they will try to bet on the so-called fifth column, on traitors – on those who earn their money here, but live over there. Live, not in the geographical sense, but in the sense of their thoughts, their slavish thinking,” he said. A “fifth column” is a term long used to refer to those undermining a nation from within.
US President Joe Biden has also made some strong comments – he called Putin a “war criminal”.
Zelensky gets a standing ovation
Ukraine’s President Zelensky received a standing ovation from the US Congress when he gave a video-link speech to the assembled members.
Speaking to Americans in American terms, he invoked Pearl Harbor and the 11 September attacks, telling the audience that Ukrainians were experiencing that kind of terror every day.
“In your great history, you have pages that would allow you to understand the Ukrainian history. Understand us now,” he said.
Russian journalists resign in numbers
Russia maintains tight control over its media, almost all of which is state-controlled. So what happens when journalists have had enough?
A slew of resignations in recent weeks suggests that some are no longer content to say nothing.
Hours after Russian TV editor Marina Ovsyannikova ran into frame on live TV carrying an anti-war sign, three other resignations came to light. Some of those involved had worked for Russian channels for years. And that’s not even counting those from English-language international outlet RT, or those few remaining independent Russian outlets which have been forced to close.
And then there’s the case of the leading ballerina who denounced the invasion – and is leaving Russia to head the Dutch National Ballet.
Life under Russian occupation
Russia’s invasion may not be going to plan, but is has managed to seize some territory – and the city of Kherson. It’s been under Russian occupation for two weeks, but residents are still holding daily public protests, despite the warning shots fired at them.
Yet despite the citizens’ defiance, the city is facing very real problems, as food and medicine run out – “a real humanitarian catastrophe”, as the deputy mayor puts it.
A sports superstar missing in Russia
One of the world’s best basketball players has gone missing in Russia.
Brittney Griner landed in Russia in February to play games during the US professional off-season, when she was arrested for reasons that ostensibly have nothing to do with the war in Ukraine. But a month after her detention on drug charges little is known about her circumstances.
That is remarkable, give her achievements and her status as arguably the greatest female basketball player of all time.
There’s no indication her arrest is connected to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine but officials say this could complicate her safe return.
