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Day 35 of war | Zelenskyy says ‘Ukraine isn't naive’ as Russia pledges to scale down attack: 10 points
Russia-Ukraine war: Ukrainian President responded to Russia's promise to curtail military operations by saying that the people of Ukraine are ‘not naive.’ As Russia's aggression in Ukraine enters Day 35, here are the top 10 developments.
Russia is promising to scale down military operations around the capital Kyiv, while Ukraine for its part is mooting the adoption of neutral status, in confidence-building steps that may help de-escalate the five-week war.
Russia's invasion began on February 24, when Russian President Vladimir Putin launched what he calls a "special military operation" to demilitarise and "denazify" Ukraine.
Ukraine and the West say Putin launched an unprovoked war of aggression.
Russia-Ukraine war: Top 10 developments
1. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded to Russia's promise to curtail military operations late on Tuesday saying that the people of Ukraine are ‘not naive’. "Ukrainians have already learned during these 34 days of the invasion, and over the past eight years of the war in Donbas, that the only thing they can trust is a concrete result," he added.
2. Peace talks took place in an Istanbul palace on Tuesday as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has already entered its second month.
3. Peace talks: Ukraine agreed that Kyiv would not join alliances or host bases of foreign troops, but would have security guaranteed in terms similar to "Article 5 - the collective defence clause of the transatlantic NATO military alliance.”
4. During the peace talks, Kyiv also proposed Moscow should not oppose Ukraine joining the European Union. Russia has previously opposed Ukrainian membership of the EU and especially of NATO.
5. US military commander in Europe Tod Wolters on Tuesday claimed that Russia has repeatedly fired hypersonic missiles at Ukrainian military targets. "Most of those strikes have been designated at specific military targets," Wolters said. On March 19, Russia announced that it used hypersonic Kinzhal (Dagger) missiles to destroy a large weapons depot in Ukraine's western Ivano-Frankivsk region
6. A series of explosions were heard on Tuesday night outside the Russian city of Belgorod, close to the border with Ukraine, the local governor said, adding there were no casualties.
7. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will address Australia's parliament on Thursday evening by video. Australia has supplied defence equipment and humanitarian supplies to Ukraine, as well as imposing a ban on exports of alumina and aluminium ores, including bauxite, to Russia.
8. The UN food chief warned Tuesday the war in Ukraine has created “a catastrophe on top of a catastrophe” and will have a global impact “beyond anything we’ve seen since World War II" because many of the Ukrainian farmers who produce a significant amount of the world’s wheat are now fighting Russians.
9. “India remains deeply concerned at the ongoing situation, which continues to deteriorate since the beginning of the hostilities. We reiterate our call for unimpeded humanitarian access to areas of armed conflict in Ukraine,” Indian Ambassador to UN, TS Tirumurti told the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday.
10. More than a month into the largest attack on a European nation since World War Two that has killed or injured thousands, nearly 4 million civilians have fled the war-torn country.
With inputs from Reuters
