Ukraine-Russia war live updates: Kremlin expresses fury at Biden-Putin war criminal jibe as Russia ‘bombs theater’

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Related video: Biden calls Putin a ‘war criminal’

A Kremlin has said that comments Joe Biden made on Wednesday, in which he accused the Russian president of committing war crimes, were “unacceptable”.

Dmitry Peskov’s condemnation of the US president came moments after Mr Biden told a reporter at the White House that Vladimir Putin was a “criminal war” on account of his troops have made during the invasion of Ukraine. Mr Peskov rebuked the accusations as “unforgivable rhetoric”.

Hours earlier, Sergei Orlov, the deputy mayor of Mariupol, said a theater where more than 1,000 of the besieged city’s residents — including women and children — had been sheltering was bombed by Russia. While the number of consequence was still not known, Mr Orlov estimated that up to 1,2000 people could have been there when the attack took place.

Russia’s defense ministry has denied responsibility, instead accusing the Azov Battalion, a far-right Ukrainian militia, of blowing up the Donetsk Regional Theater of Drama. It did not give evidence to back up the claim.

Key PointsShow latest update 1647490350Humanitarian corridors did not work yesterday, says Zelensky

The humanitarian corridors for evacuation of Ukrainians did not work on Wednesday as the shelling from Russian continued unabated, said president Volodymyr Zelensky.

In a video message shared on Facebook, Mr Zelensky said: “We are ready to take people out and send humanitarian aid. But we can’t expose people to shelling on the road.”

The residents who managed to escape previously from the Mariupol city are now being moved to safer areas, Mr Zelensky said.

“We are taking away Mariupol residents who managed to escape to Berdyansk. We are taking them to Zaporizhzhia. In total, more than 6,000 Mariupol residents were transported in one day, more than 2,000 of them are children,” the Ukrainian president said.

However, the movement was disrupted by Russian soldiers who fired on the section of road between Vasylivka and Kamyanske in the Zaporizhzhia region, injuring five Ukrainians — including two children.

Arpan Rai17 March 2022 04:12

1647490301Zelensky reiterates his demands in peace talks

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has shared his demands in the ongoing peace talks as the Russia-Ukraine negotiations are likely to continue today.

“My priorities in the negotiations are absolutely clear: The end of the war, security guarantees, sovereignty, restoration of territorial integrity, real guarantees for our country, real protection for our country,” Mr Zelensky said, sharing a video message on Facebook.

Arpan Rai17 March 2022 04:11

1647490273 Russian mothers will lose more children than in Afghan and Chechen wars combined, says Zelensky

Repeating his appeals to the Russian soldiers and asking them to leave, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky warned them of losses which were not seen in Syria nor in Chechen.

Russian soldiers should go back home and there is still such an opportunity, Mr. Zelensky said.

“Every soldier thrown into the territory of our country has such an opportunity. Everyone who has not yet been killed, wounded or taken prisoner. Russian troops suffer such losses in Ukraine which were inflicted neither in Syria nor in Chechen,” he said.

Adding that the Soviet troops did not suffer such losses in Afghanistan, the Ukrainian leader said: “If your war, the war against the Ukrainian people continues, the mothers of Russia will lose more children than in the Afghan and Chechen wars combined.”

Every Russian soldier who puts down their weapon will get a chance to survive, said.

Arpan Rai17 March 2022 04:11

1647488517 Russian troops stealing food, evicting civilians in Sumy: Official

Russian forces moving about in Sumy Oblast are allegedly evicting civilians from their homes and stealing their food, said the regional governor.

The looting by Russian soldiers was detailed by Sumy governor Dmytro Zhyvytsky on Telegram, reported The Kyiv Independent.

Sumy Oblast is among the Ukrainian cities that have witnessed heavy fighting and military since the start of Russian invasion last month.

Arpan Rai17 March 2022 03:41

1647486057Republican pundit slam Zelensky’s outfit, gets flak: ‘Doesn’t he own a suit?’

Republican financier Peter Schiff has come under fire for crassly criticizing the outfit Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wore during his speech to US lawmakers.

The former congressional candidate in Connecticut and the chief economist at Wall Street giant Euro Pacific Capital, took aim at Mr Zelensky at the conclusion of his joint address to Congress on Wednesday morning, writes Megan Sheets.

“I understand times are hard, but doesn’t the President of the #Ukraine own a suit?” Mr Schiff asked.

“I don’t have much respect for current members of the US Congress either, but I still wouldn’t address them wearing a t-shirt. I wouldn’t want to disrespect the institution or the Unites States,” he said.

Arpan Rai17 March 2022 03:00

1647485034Attack on Mariupol theater a ‘war cirme’, says envoy UK

British ambassador to Ukraine Melinda Simmons has called the attack on theater sheltering nearly 500 civilians in Ukraine as a “war crime”.

“The unspeakable inhumanity of bombing a theater in Mariupol being used as a shelter for civilians, including children, and clearly marked as such war crime,” the said in a tweet.

Arpan Rai17 March 2022 02:43

1647484424US attacks Russia, and China over chemical weapons claims

The US state department said Russian president Vladimir Putin’s lies are predictable, responding to the Kremlin’s claims of having destroyed a biological weapons facility in Ukraine.

“Putin’s lies are predictable and he must be held accountable,” the state department said in a newly released video.

It also attacked Russian ally China for “endorsing these lies”.

“Russia falsely claims to have destroyed a biological weapons facility in Ukraine, claiming it was backed by the US. The Kremlin knows the US does not have a chemical or biological weapons programs, but knows Russia does,” the state department said in a video called “Putin’s pattern of lies”.

It added: “Russia is the one that has a chemical and biological weapons program.Putin’s regime consistently uses false flags to shift the blame and justify his atrocities. This happened in Georgia, in eastern Ukraine, in Syria, in the UK, and now in Ukraine again.”

“Putin even has a long record of using chemical and biological weapons against his political opponents, and any countries endorsing these lies are adding to the destruction in Ukraine,” the video said, showing a photo of Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi.

Arpan Rai17 March 2022 02:33

1647481504Theatre hit by a Russian airstrike housing at least 500 civilians – Human Rights Watch

The theater hit by a Russian airstrike had been housing at least 500 civilians, according to Human Rights Watch.

“This raises serious concerns about what the intended target was in a city where civilians have already been under siege for days and telecommunications, power, water, and heating have been almost completely cut off,” Belkis Wille from the rights group said.

Moscow denies targeting civilians and Russia’s defense ministry said its forces had not struck the building, RIA news agency said.

Tom Batchelor17 March 2022 01:45

1647477542CNN anchor Erin Burnett fights back tears during Ukraine interview

Burnett grew emotional during an interview on her CNN show with Serhiy Perebyinis, whose wife, Tetiana, 43, and their children, Mykyta, 18, and Alisa, 9, were killed this month while trying to flee Irpin, Ukraine.

Graeme Massie17 March 2022 00:39

1647476400Mariupol theater hit by airstrike had ‘children’ written on pavement in Russian

In the latest update to the blown-up Mariupol theater (see post from 5.22pm), satellite imagery shows the word “children” written in Russian on the pavement outside.

The number of people killed in the latest alleged civilian attack by Vladimir Putin’s soldiers was unclear on Wednesday evening, but Mariupol’s deputy mayor Sergei Orlov said earlier that between 1,000 and 1,200 people originally sought refuge inside the building and so could have been inside.

A striking satellite image, taken by Maxar Technologies two days before the air strike on 14 March, shows that the Russian word for “children” (дети) was written in large white letters in front of and behind the Donetsk Regional Theater of Drama. This suggests it would have been clear from above that civilians were sheltering inside it.

Sam Hancock17 March 2022 00:20

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