Highlights of Wednesday, March 9th

On Wednesday, March 9, the fourteenth day of the invasion of Ukraine, Russian forces surrounded at least four cities: Kharkiv (Ukraine’s second largest city), Sumi (northeast), Chernihiv (north of Kiev), and the capital, Kiev, which is still under Ukrainian control, preparing for the onslaught.

Russia and Ukraine have recently reached a ceasefire agreement to allow the establishment of several humanitarian corridors around the worst-hit areas.

Children’s hospital in Mariupol

A children’s hospital in the besieged port city of Mariupol in southeastern Ukraine was destroyed by a Russian shelling on Wednesday, regional official Pavlo Grilenko said. According to the first provisional report, 17 adults were injured “Among hospital staff”He announced on Ukrainian television that he was there for the moment “No baby” Among the wounded and “No death”.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zhelensky responded quickly on Twitter, writing it “People, children are in the rubble”. “Horrible! (…) Stop these killings”, Wrote again. In a video posted on his Twitter account, he can be seen exploding inside the building and scattering debris, sheets of paper and pieces of glass on the floor.

Like Mariupol. Direct strike by Russian troops at maternity hospital. People and children are in the rubble. Horror! How much longer will the world be on track to ignore terrorism? Close the sky right now! Stop the killings! You have power but you lose humanity. pic.twitter.com/FoaNdbKH5k

– Volodymyr Kelensky (ZelenskyyUa) March 9, 2022

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson slammed an attack, and the international community responded quickly “Immoral”The UN says there is no health facility “Should not be a goal”.

In the strategic port of Mariupol, in the southeastern part of the country, in the Sea of ​​Azov, without water, food and electricity, some 300,000 civilians have been stranded for days, unable to provide humanitarian assistance.

The Chernobyl power station was disconnected from the power grid

After the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, Chernobyl is now the focus of attention in Ukraine. The plant caused the worst civilian nuclear disaster of 1986. “The power supply was completely cut off from the power grid by the military operations of the Russian occupier. There is no more electricity on the site.”, Said Ukrainian operator Ukrenerko. The Chernobyl site, located in an exemption zone, includes decommissioning furnaces and radioactive waste facilities.

Considering the past after the 1986 crash, “The heat load of the swimming pool and the amount of cooling water is sufficient to remove efficient heat without electricity”, IAEA estimates “No major impact on security”She added.

power cut “Causing more problems” Of the four power plants operating in the country, “Where it is absolutely necessary to cool the fuel in the furnace center or pond”, The head of the IRSN believes. Since the beginning of the Russian invasion, IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi has called for greater control. He repeatedly volunteered to travel to Ukraine to build a framework to ensure site security during the conflict, the first of which took place in a country with a large nuclear program.

Progress in negotiations

The Ukrainian government announced on Wednesday that Russians and Ukrainians had agreed to respect the ceasefire around a series of humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians.

Russia invented “Some improvement” In talks with Ukraine, a government spokesman said. Goals of Russia “Includes occupation of Ukraine, destruction of its state or removal of the current government.”He reaffirmed that he was not targeting the public.

Turkey will hold its first face-to-face meeting with Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers on Thursday, following the start of a Russian offensive in Ukraine. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan argued on Wednesday that he had stepped up mediation efforts since the crisis began. “Turkey can talk to both Ukraine and Russia”. “We are working to prevent the crisis from turning into a tragedy.”He insisted.