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Latest Developments in Ukraine: March 13

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Refugees who fled the war from Ukraine get on the bus at the Medyka border crossing in Poland, on March 12, 2022.
Refugees who fled the war from Ukraine get on the bus at the Medyka border crossing in Poland, on March 12, 2022.

For full coverage of the crisis in Ukraine, visit Flashpoint Ukraine.

The latest developments of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, all times EST:

11:30 p.m.: Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said that negotiations between Russia and Ukraine are scheduled to resume and “go non-stop in the format of video conferences,” in a Twitter post Sunday.

“A large number of issues require constant attention. On Monday, March 14, a negotiating session will be held to sum up the preliminary results,” Podolyak said.

10:03 p.m.: U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Sunday medical equipment and emergency assistance for civilians impacted by the Russian invasion of Ukraine is “an urgent priority.” He further appealed for humanitarian corridors “to be open and kept safe so that people can get lifesaving aid and escape to safety.”

VOA’s Margaret Besheer reports that Guterres is expected to make remarks about Ukraine at 11:20 a.m. EDT on Monday.

8:58 p.m.: VOA’s Yan Boechat reports from Irpin, Ukraine, a suburb about 25 kilometers north of the capital Kyiv.

Fierce Fighting in Ukraine Town North of Kyiv
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6:17 p.m.: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday urged NATO to impose a no-fly zone over his country or see its member states attacked by Russia, according to Agence France-Presse. “If you don’t close our sky, it is only a matter of time before Russian rockets fall on your territory, on NATO territory,” Zelenskyy said in a video address released shortly after midnight local time.

4:33 p.m.: Ukrainian staff members operating radioactive waste facilities at the Chernobyl nuclear site have stopped carrying out safety-related repairs as they are exhausted since they have not been relieved since Russia seized the site last month, Ukraine informed on Sunday the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, according to a Reuters report.

2:21 p.m.: Ukraine’s atomic energy ministry on Sunday said power had been restored to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which meant cooling systems would operate normally and not have to use backup power, Reuters reported. ​

1:33 p.m.: Ukraine’s foreign minister says he spoke by phone with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and both sides agree that “more needs to be done to stop Russian aggression and hold Russia accountable for its crimes.”

12:48 p.m.: For many Ukrainians, staying online has been daunting as Russia attacks telecoms and power supplies, but some people, like Oleg Kutkov, a software and communications engineer, are testing out a new way to stay connected.In a FaceTime interview with VOA Mandarin from Kyiv, Kutkov held up the components of the two-part terminal needed to connect via Starlink, an internet constellation of some 2,000 satellites operated by billionaire Elon Musk's private firm SpaceX, one of a growing number of enterprises supporting Ukraine. Adam Xu has the story

12:00 p.m.: U.S. officials say Russia’s lethal shelling in the western part of Ukraine on Sunday, close to the border with Poland, is something that they had anticipated. “This does not come as a surprise to the American intelligence and national security community,” said U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan during a Sunday morning appearance on CNN. “What it shows is that Vladimir Putin is frustrated by the fact that his forces are not making the kind of progress that he thought that they would make.” VOA’s Steve Herman has the story.

10:27 a.m.: Ukraine is among the topics on the agenda when high-level U.S. and Chinese officials meet in Rome on Monday. The parties will “discuss ongoing efforts to manage the competition between our two countries and discuss the impact of Russia’s war against Ukraine on regional and global security,” according to National Security Council spokesperson Emily Horne.

10:15 a.m.: Demonstrations are taking place across Russia Sunday to protest Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine with nearly 300 detained by police so far. OVD-Info, which monitors arrests during protests, said demonstrations took place in 25 Russian cities

9:12 a.m.: An American journalist has been shot dead in Ukraine. The New York Times newspaper has expressed sadness over the death of Brent Renaud. The newspaper noted that he was not on assignment for the Times in Ukraine but has contributed to the newspaper in the past.

8:17 a.m.: Pope Francis has issued his toughest condemnation yet of the war in Ukraine, saying the “unacceptable armed aggression” must stop. Speaking to thousands of people in St. Peter’s Square Sunday, the pope said the bombing of hospitals and other civilian targets was “barbaric” and with “no valid strategic reason.” “In the name of God, I ask: ‘Stop this massacre,’” he said

7:02 a.m.: Ukrainian officials say the death toll in a Russian missile attack on one of Ukraine’s biggest training bases has risen to 35, with more than 100 others injured. The base is only 60 kilometers from Lviv, a major hub for Ukrainian evacuees heading into Poland.

5:22 a.m.: CNN looks at the threat of Russian cyberattacks.

4:50 a.m.: VOA’s Jamie Dettmer reports from Warsaw:

One of Ukraine’s biggest military training bases, located 25 kilometers from the Polish border in the west of the country, was struck by eight Russian missiles in an attack that has left nine dead and 57 injured, according to Ukraine’s defense minister Oleksii Reznikov. The base is only 60 kilometers from Lviv, a major hub for Ukrainian evacuees heading into Poland.

The base Yavoriv has also been used by NATO military instructors, but Ukrainian officials say they are still trying to establish whether any were on-site at the time of the attack and were injured. The strike on the International Center for Peacekeeping and Security is the westernmost attack by Russia so far.

“The occupiers launched an airstrike on the International Center for Peacekeeping and Security. According to preliminary data, they fired eight missiles,” Anton Mironovich, spokesperson for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, told the Interfax Ukraine news agency. The local governor said 30 missiles hit the base.

The airstrike came a few hours after Russia’s deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov warned that western arms convoys to Ukraine were a “legitimate military target.”

A map of Ukraine showing the location of Lviv.
A map of Ukraine showing the location of Lviv.

4:15 a.m.: In Taiwan, people turned out to protest Russia’s invasion.

Taiwanese march on the streets protesting the war in Ukraine during a rally in Taipei on March 13, 2022.
Taiwanese march on the streets protesting the war in Ukraine during a rally in Taipei on March 13, 2022.

3:30 a.m.: A former tennis pro from Ukraine is back home to help fight the Russian invasion. ABC News has the story.

2:26 a.m.: In Finland, people watching Russia’s invasion of Ukraine unfold are remembering the 1939 Winter War. Agence France-Presse has the story.

1:55 a.m.: Russian missiles hit a military base in western Ukraine, The New York Times reports.

1:25 a.m.: A commentator on Russian state TV criticizes Putin’s invasion. CNN has video.

12:55 a.m.: Online auction site eBay is the latest company to suspend dealings with Russians, the BBC reports.

12:25 a.m.: The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv has suggestions on ways to better navigate border crossings:

12:04 a.m.: The crisis in Ukraine has some Eastern European cities straining to accommodate surging numbers of refugees, Reuters reports.

12:01 a.m.: Native Americans are wearing kokum scarves as a show of solidarity with Ukraine, Northwest News Network reports.

Some information in this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.

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