Day 17 of Putin's war: Zelensky says Ukraine lost 1300 soldiers in Russia's war against Ukraine, Russians regroup and attack on all fronts
Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine has been going on for nearly two-and-a-half weeks. Today, March 12th, is the 17th day of Putin's war against Ukraine.
UPDATE(1945): In Chernihiv Oblast Ukrainian Army has liberated two more villages. Ukrainians also haven't allowed the Russian invaders to set a pontone ferry that would allow them to move closer to Kyiv, Ukraine's Operative Commandership North has reported on Facebook.
Meanwhile Russian occupiers have opened fire against an evacuation column of civilians in Kyiv Oblast, that consisted mostly of women and children, Ukraine's Military Intelligence has reported via its official Telegram channel. As the result 7 civilians were killed, including one child.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Russians have been trying to organize a sham referendum in occupied Kherson in order to create yet another Russian-baked "republic' in Ukraine.
UPDATE(1713): Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has first time named Ukrainian military losses since the start of the Russia's war against Ukraine on Feb. 24. "1300 of our servicemen died as of today. While Russia has already lost 12,000 soldiers in Ukraine. One in ten. I am not happy about that. This is not my vision of the world," Zelensky said on March 12 at a briefing for foreign media.
Zelensky has also said he appealed to all the leaders of the world that are still talking to Russia to assist Ukraine and push Russia to release Ivan Fedoruk, the mayor of Russian-occupied Melitopol, Russians kidnapped on March 11.
"He is alive and he is being tortured right now for refusing to happily meet the Russian rulers in the city," Zelensky said.
Meanwhile in Zaporizhzhia oblast a Russian tank ran over a private vehicle, killing two men and a child that were inside, National Police of Zaporizhzhia Oblast has reported.
UPDATE (1322): In the Donetsk and Tavriya areas, the main efforts of the Russian invasion force were focused on capturing the cities of Mariupol and Severodonetsk. The enemy has captured the eastern outskirts of Mariupol, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Army has reported in a message on Facebook.
Overnight the United Nations refuted Russian propaganda claims that Ukraine is preparing a bioweapon program.
Russian airstrikes completely destroyed the airport and military depot in Vasylkiv south of the city of Kyiv, and caused massive fires in Brovary district of Kyiv Oblast to the east of the capital.
While on March 11 Russia disrupted evacuations in most humanitarian corridors, Ukraine still managed to evacuate more than 7,000 people to safety, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a morning statement on March 12. More than 1,800 residents were evacuated from Bucha, a town in Kyiv Oblast, which is currently partly controlled by invading Russian forces.
"Unfortunately Mariupol still remains under a blockade by Russian troops," Zelensky said. "Ukraine's attempts to at least deliver food and water to more than 400,000 residents trapped in a destroyed city failed again. But we won't stop trying."
Ukraine once again tried to save civilians by opening 14 humanitarian corridors on March 14. A column with humanitarian aid left for Mariupol from Zaporizhzhia for a fifth time, hoping that this time it would manage to get into the city.
Residents of Zhytomyr Oblast, Sumy Oblast and many other regions will again get a chance to reach safety. "We urge Russia to keep to its promises finally and organize a ceasefire within all the humanitarian corridors," Ukrainian Reintegration Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said in a statement on March 12.
The Ukrainian government reported that as of March 12, invading Russian forces have killed 79 children in Ukraine.
Russian airstrikes have left another Ukraine's city without water, heating and electricity - Chernihiv, a city of more than 285,000 people in northern Ukraine. Overnight Russian shelling destroyed the Ukraine Hotel in Chernihiv. Museums, churches and numerous residential buildings in the city have already been destroyed by the Russians.
Early in the morning of March 12 hundreds of residents of Melitopol, a city in southern Ukraine, went on a protest to demand that the Russian invaders release local mayor Ivan Fedorov, who was kidnapped by Russian soldiers on March 11. Fedorov's whereabouts are still unknown. A number of Russian mercenaries' Telegram channels have reported that Fedorov was arrested for "cooperating with the Right Sector."
Right Sector is a small nationalist organization in Ukraine that is demonized in Russian propaganda.
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