月: 2022年3月

1.The United Nations human rights chief say there are credible allegations that Russian armed forces have used cluster munitions in populated areas in Ukraine. Cluster munitions are banned by an international convention for their cruelty.
2.Ukrainian officials are closely watching Russian movements, following promises to scale back attacks on the capital, Kyiv. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy updated US President Joe Biden on the fighting, once again, asked for help. White House officials say Zelenskyy also updated the US leader on ceasefire talks. Biden promised another 500 million dollars in aid and more money to help Ukraine’s military.
3.Russia and China have agreed to widen cooperation as the rift between Moscow and Western countries grows over the invasion of Ukraine. Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi exchanged views on the Ukraine situation. Russia’s Foreign Ministry says Lavrov explained the developments with Russian forces, while Wang reiterated his opposition to sanctions other countries have imposed on Russia.

1.In the ceasefire talks between Russia and Ukraine, Russian delegates are promising to withdraw some troops from positions around Kyiv. But other parts of the country are facing new attacks. Ukrainian officials reported some progress in the talks. They said they discussed a new framework to ensure that Ukraine has security without becoming a member of NATO. They named possible security guarantors, including the US, Britain, Canada, Poland and Turkey.
2.People who have flied the fighting in Ukraine still have no idea how long they will be forced to say in neighboring countries. The border between Ukraine and Moldova is crowded with evacuees heading in both directions – some fleeing Ukraine while others make brief trips home to pick up family members and belongings. As of Monday, Moldova was hosting more than 380,000 Ukrainian evacuees.
3.Russian Deputy Defence Minister Alexander Fomin said, “We have decided to drastically scale down military activity around Kiev and Chernihiv.” US officials are, however, skeptical about Russia’s pledge. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday, “I have not seen anything that suggests that this is moving forward in an effective way, because Russia – at least we have not seen signs of real seriousness.”

1.Ukraine’s besieged city of Mariupol has seen the worst of the fighting for weeks.The UN says the constant shelling has made it difficult to know just how many people have been killed. Ukrainian media outlets quoted the mayor of Mariupol as claiming that about 5,000 people have been killed since the Russian invasion.
2.A private university in Tokyo has decided to accept Ukrainian students who want to evacuate to Japan. The International Christian University says it will solicit applications with refugee support group Pathways Japan. Eligible applicants should be students at universities in Ukraine who have remained in the country or fled to another country since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
3.The Group of Seven countries have agreed to refuse Russian President Vladimir Putin’s demand to pay for natural gas imports in rubles. G7 ministers looked into the plans Putin revealed last week to demand ruble payments for gas sales to what Moscow has deemed “unfriendly” countries, including the US and European nations.

1.Negotiators from Russia and Ukraine are expected to hold ceasefire talks in Istanbul on Tuesday. In an interview with Russian journalists, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskky indicated that his government is prepared to discuss a new security framework, replacing Ukraine’s bid for NATO membership.
2.South Korea’s President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol has stressed the need for Japan, the United States and his country to strengthen cooperation to deal with North Korea’s nuclear and missile development.
3.The Japanese film “Drive My Car” has picked up the Oscar for best international feature film. The Hamaguchi Ryusuke-directed film is based on a short story by author Murakami Haruki. It’s about a stage director grappling with the death of his wife and his interaction with a woman assigned to be his driver.

1.The situation in Ukraine is also affecting the lives of millions of children. A NGO,Save the Children, says many are suffering and in immediate need of support. Pete Walsh, Country Director for Save the Children in Ukraine, says they face great risk while the authorities try to reunite them. He also called for a ban on adoptions of children who have been uprooted in the war.
2.Ukrainian troops are continuing their all-out defense against the invading Russians. Ukraine said on Thursday that it had destroyed a Russian landing ship in the occupied southern port of Berdyansk, less than 100 kilometers from the besieged city of Mariupol. The media is quoting Ukrainian officials as saying the country’s military also damaged two other vessels at the port.
3.A Ukrainian government official says the country has exchanged 10 prisoners of war with Russia. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk posted on social media on Thursday that the “first full-fledged exchange of prisoners of war” has taken place. She reportedly said ten Ukrainian personnel were released in exchange for ten captured Russian soldiers.

1.US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the United States has officially determined that Russian forces are committing war crimes in Ukraine.
2.A senior US Defense Department official says that some of the Russian ground forces advancing toward Ukraine’s capital Kyiv have been pushed back by Ukrainians. The official said on Wednesday that one Russian unit that had been 20 to 30 kilometers northeast of central Kyiv is now about 55 kilometers away.
3.Britain’s Defense Ministry says Ukraine has launched a series of counterattacks against Russian forces near the capital, Kyiv. The ministry tweeted on Wednesday that Ukrainian troops are intensifying their offensive in the northeast of the city. It noted that the Russian units there are “facing considerable supply and morale issues.”

1.The head of the United Nations has called for immediate negotiations to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Speaking to reporters at the United Nations headquarters in New York on Tuesday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres noted that Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine a month ago, in violation of the UN Charter.
2.Russian troops are intensifying their attacks on the besieged port city of Mariupol in Ukraine. Russia has demanded that Ukraine surrender the city, but Ukraine’s leadership has refused.
3.The office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees says that as of Monday, more than 3.53 million Ukrainians have fled their country since the Russian invasion began. Ukraine’s western neighbor Poland has taken in the largest number, at over 2 million. The Polish government says about 70,000 Ukrainian children are attending school in Poland. But many face challenges due to the language barrier.

1.A human rights group says a local official told it that more than 3,000 civilians may have been killed in Russia’s attacks on the eastern Ukrainian city of Mariupol. It says that the exact death toll in Mariupol is unknown. But a city official told the group that at least 200,000 people were still in the city as of Sunday. That figure represents half of the city’s pre-war population.
2.US President Joe Biden and four European leaders agreed on Monday to continue providing humanitarian and security assistance to Ukraine. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters that “they discussed their serious concerns about Russia’s brutal tactics in Ukraine, including its attacks on civilians.”
3.Russia’s foreign ministry says it is suspending peace treaty talks with Japan in response to sanctions imposed by Tokyo in relation to the invasion of Ukraine. In a statement issued on Monday, the ministry says Moscow does not intend to continue peace talks, because it is impossible to discuss a fundamental document on bilateral relations with a state that holds an explicitly unfriendly position.

1.The International Atomic Energy Agency says about half of the workers at Ukraine’s Chernobyl nuclear power plant have been able to return home. The workers who left have been replaced by other Ukrainian staff.
2.The situation in Ukraine is worsening in the eastern city of Mariupol, the site of heavy shelling. The country has turned down a Russian call to surrender the city.
3.US President Joe Biden will visit Poland and meet the country’s President Andrzej Duda to discuss the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The White House says Biden will travel on Friday to Warsaw following meetings in Belgium with NATO and G7 leaders to discuss international efforts to deal with the crisis.

1.A senior US defense department official says Russian artillery units are joining forces around Kyiv in an apparent move to attack the Ukrainian capital from afar. The official said there has been basically no change in the Russian forces around Kyiv, but Russia is moving some of those forces, including artillery units, from their rear to join their advancing elements, which the official said are 15 kilometers from the city center.
2.Russian forces are lashing out at Ukrainian resistance with the relentless siege of the country’s cities. The eastern city of Mariupol has seen the worst of it. But with rescue efforts hampered by constant shelling, it’s difficult to know exactly how hard the city has been hit.
3.Western countries attending a UN Security Council meeting have condemned Russia for destroying a theater in the eastern Ukrainian city of Mariupol, where civilians were taking shelter. UN Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo told the delegates that the use of powerful weapons in populated areas has caused many casualties.