As the Russia-Ukraine war enters its 25th day, we take a look at the main developments.
These are the key events so far on Sunday, March 20. Get the latest updates here.
Fighting
- The Mariupol city council says Russia bombed an art school where about 400 residents had sheltered – this could not be independently verified.
- Russia says its forces have broken through Mariupol’s defences and are now inside the besieged city.
- Russia says it used hypersonic Kinzhal (Dagger) missiles again, to destroy a weapons depot in Ukraine’s Ivano-Frankivsk region.
- The mayor of the encircled northern city of Chernihiv says dozens of civilians have been killed by “indiscriminate artillery shelling”, and that a hospital has been hit.
Diplomacy
- After US President Joe Biden warned China of “consequences” if it provided material support to Russia’s war effort, foreign minister Wang Yi said Beijing “always stood for maintaining peace and opposing war” and that “time will prove that China’s claims are on the right side of history.”
- Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy slams Russia’s siege of Mariupol as a “war crime” as Russian forces push deeper into the city.
- Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida urges Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take a tougher line on Russia’s invasion but a joint statement after talks in New Delhi falls short of condemning Moscow’s actions.
Humanitarian crisis
- More than 3.3 million refugees have fled Ukraine since the invasion, while nearly 6.5 million are thought to be internally displaced, UNHCR says.
- Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk says seven humanitarian corridors will open on Sunday to enable civilians to leave front-line areas.
- The UN warns that humanitarian needs are becoming ever more urgent across eastern Ukraine, with a potentially fatal lack of food, water and medicines in besieged cities such as Mariupol and Sumy.
Death toll
- The UN human rights office says at least 847 civilians had been killed and 1,399 wounded in Ukraine as of Friday.
- The Ukrainian prosecutor general’s office says 112 children have been killed.
Economy, markets
- Ukraine may not produce enough crops to export if this year’s sowing is disrupted by the invasion, presidential adviser Oleh Ustenko said.
- Ukrainian officials say one of Europe’s biggest iron and steelworks, Azovstal, has been badly damaged by Russian forces.
- Zelenskyy has urged Switzerland to crack down on Russian oligarchs who he said were helping to wage war on his country from the safety of “beautiful Swiss towns”.
- Poland has called once again for a total trade ban between the EU and Russia.
