Russians kill over 2,000 civilians in Mariupol in 12 days, US journalist murdered in Irpin by Russian troops
Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine has been going on for nearly two-and-a-half weeks. Today, March 13th, is the 18th day of Putin's war.
UPDATE(1931): Seven people died in a Russian airstrike against Kropyvnyskiy, Kirovohrad Oblast, local authorities have reported.
In Chernihiv Ukrainian Army has shot down Russian jet fighter that was attempting to bomb the city.
Humanitarian aid has once again failed to get to Mariupol today as Russians started shelling the green corridor, Ukraine's Reintegration Minister Iryna Vereshchuk has said in a statement.
Busses with more than 100 tons of food, water and medical supplies will spend another night in Berdyansk and will try to get to Mariupol again on March 14, the minister added.
Meanwhile Kremlin spokesperson Dmitrii Peskov has informed the next round of Russo-Ukrainian negotiations will happen on March 14. Ukraine has not confirmed the date yet.
Ukraine's Armed Forces have reported that as of evening March 13 the enemy has concentrated the main efforts attacking Kryvyi Rih, Mykolaiv and Vuhledar.
UPDATE (1626): The evacuation from Luhansk Oblast is continuing, Luhansk governor Serhiy Hayday said in an interview with Ukrainian TV channel Inter on March 13.
More than 540 evacuees from Lysychansk have already boarded an evacuation train. The evacuation went ahead despite heavy shelling. Ukrainian authorities have also brought seven wagons of humanitarian aid to Luhansk Oblast, and more are on the way.
Meanwhile in neighboring Donetsk Oblast Mariupol cries for help. As of today Russian shelling killed 2187 Mariupol residents, Mariupol City Council said in a message on March 13, begging the West to close the sky over the Ukrainian port city. Some 400,000 Mariupol residents are still trapped under constant Russian shelling.
For 12 days Russian troops have been mercilessly shelling the city, not letting people to evacuate, not letting Ukrainian humanitarian aid to come to the city. Mariupol City Council has reported the remaining food supplies are almost over. Russians have dropped more than 100 aviation bombs on Mariupol in recent days.
In Mykolaiv Russian airstrike hit a school. People are trapped under the debris, Mykolaiv governor Vitaly Kim has said in a statement.
And in Kyiv Oblast Russian occupiers have been regrouping, accumulating forces to attack the left bank of Kyiv, Ukraine's Army General Staff has reported.
Despite Russia's occupiers' attempts to establish the pro-Russian rule in the occupied Berdiansk, Kherson and Melitopol, local residents continue to rally against the occupants.
UPDATE( 1457): Russian occupiers killed the New York Times contributing photographer Brent Renaud (51) and wounded another journalist in Irpin, Andriy Nebytov, the head of the Kyiv Oblast National Police reported on Facebook on March 13.
"The occupiers are cynically killing even journalists in the international media who are trying to show the truth about the atrocities of Russian troops in Ukraine," Nebytov wrote.
The Ukrainian authorities have published Renaud's NYT press ID. But the New York Times has reported Renaud was a contributor to the NYT, NBC, HBO and others. He was an award-winning photographer and filmmaker.
UPDATE (1339): Despite all Russia's efforts to disrupt the process Ukraine has managed to evacuate more than 125,000 people to safety, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has said in a new video statement.
"Now our key task is Mariupol. Some 100 tons of Ukrainian humanitarian aid is only two hours away from the beseiged city. We have been doing everything to get to our goal despite Russia's continuous efforts to block the humanitarian convoy," Zelensky said.
He also noted that as of March 13 Russian army has already lost more than 13,000 soldiers in Ukraine.
UPDATE(1227): Lviv governor Maksym Kozytskiy updated the number of victims of the Russian attack against the International Peacekeeping Center in Yavoriv, Lviv Oblast - 35 died and more than 134 people wounded.
Heavy fighting continues in the Donbas war zone, near Kherson and Mykolaiv and in Mariupol. In Kyiv Oblast the hotest spots are in Irpyn, where Ukraine's Army controls 70 percent of the city, Borodianka,
Despite that Ukraine once again organized 9 humanitarian corridors in Kyiv and Luhansk oblasts. People would be taken from the heavy fighting zones of both regions to Kyiv and Sloviansk.
Meanwhile Kyiv has prepared for a possible Russian blockade, Kyiv City Council has reported. The city stored food and other suppllies enough for 2 million people remaining in the capital to survive dor two weeks, the council said.
Heavy fights had been going in on in north-west of Kyiv, just 25 kilometeres from the city center of the Ukrainian capital for several days in a row. Russians have turned Kyiv Oblast into no mans land, looting, killing civilians, Kyiv Oblast Council has reported. As of today the invaders put the invasion of the capital on hold, regrouping and disbursing forces to surround the capital, Ukraine's President Advisor Oleksiy Arestovych said at a briefing on March 13.
Unraged by Ukrainian resistance, Russians have been commiting more war crimes, killing civilians, abducting democratically elected pro-Ukrainian local mayors of the occupied towns and cities, looting residential buildings and humanitarian aid convoys Ukraine sends to the besieged cities Enerhodar and Mariupol. At the same time sanctions drive Moscow in deeper isolation every day. As Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia is becoming the biggest evil of the world.
Last night Ukraine has managed to evacuate more than 13,000 people to safety, Ukraine's Reintegration Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said in a late night statement on March 12. According to her, Russians have started looting humanitarian convoys that bring food, water and medecine to the residents of the Russian-occupied city Enerhodar in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. "I ask those responsible for disbursing the humanitarian aid to give it to people as fast as you can. Otherwise those, who has no right to be on our land, will take it away," Vereshchuk said.
The humanitarian convoy that departed to Mariupol from Zaporizhzhia on March 12 had to spent the night in the occupied Berdiansk and was also reportedly partly looted by Russian soldiers. Ukrainian authorities say the humanitarian aid will continue its path to Mariupol no matter what.
Meanwhile Russian occupiers have been trying to establish Russian-controlled local governments in the occupied Melitopol and Kherson. Residents of those cities keep protesting against the occupation, despite the waves of Russian propaganda on local TV, trying to assure them Ukraine has abandoned those cities.
Overnight Russians attacked the International Peacekeeping Center, one of the facilities of the Yavoriv military ground in Lviv Oblast, killing 9 soldiers and wounding at least 57, Lviv Oblast Council has reported.
In Mykolaiv 9 people died in a chaotic bombing of the city on March 12, Mykolaiv Oblast governor Vitaly Kim has reported via his official Telegram channel.
Russians have also bombed Sviatohirsk Lavra Monastery in Donetsk Oblast, where dozens of civilians found shelter. The numbers of victims is still unknown. Also Russian occupiers attacked an evacuation train in Donetsk Oblast that was running to pick up evacuees, killing one train attendant and wounding another one.
Also in the night on March 13 Russians have once again attacked western Ukraine's city Ivano-Frankivsk, destroying its airport, local authorities have reported.
Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google News
