By Ellen Salovaara
An update on recent developments in the Russia-Ukraine conflict between March 4th and March 10th.
Before dawn on Friday, March 4th, Russia seized control of the Zaporizhzhia power plant, a nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine, which is the largest in Europe. Gun battle culminated in a fire breaking out, causing global panic that the fire could reach the nuclear reactors and cause a radiation leak.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shared a video early Friday morning, saying: “I address all Ukrainians, all Europeans, everyone who knows the word ‘Chernobyl,’ everyone who knows how many victims that explosion of a nuclear plant brought…Russia wants to relive it and is already doing it.”
Zelensky warned that a disaster at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant could be worse than Chernobyl, one of the most well-known nuclear disasters. Chernobyl had four reactors, and only one exploded, while Zaporizhzhia has six.
On Friday, the U.S. embassy of Ukraine tweeted that “it is a war crime to attack a nuclear power plant.” The U.S. state department instructed all U.S. embassies in Europe not to retweet this or delete it if they already had. At this moment, the U.S. is not publicly labeling the Russian Military’s actions as war crimes.
Military analysts believe that Russia had expected to make more progress than they have made and would not be met with as much Ukrainian resistance. They stated that Russia has failed to establish superiority in the air and therefore is unable to provide air assistance to their troops.
President Zelensky is asking for western support for Ukrainian air defense. He has requested that Western countries impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine, but NATO has rejected the request because it risks direct conflict with Russia.
Despite Russian aerial setbacks, the Russians have a crucial advantage in naval power. The Russian seizing of the port city of Kherson was a major naval victory on their part. Russian troops besieged Mariupol, another coastal city. The city’s residents experienced their third day without heat, electricity, or water on Saturday, March 5th. There was a temporary ceasefire in the city. However, a planned evacuation from its residents was halted, accusing Russia of breaking the ceasefire when fleeing civilians were killed.
Putin likened the crippling economic sanctions placed on Russia by the west to a “declaration of war.” He has blamed the west for his attacks on Ukraine.
On Monday, March 7th, the United Nations Security Council met and discussed the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. Officials mentioned people trapped without food and water, hospitals running out of essential medicine, and women and children being shot and killed as they fled.
On Tuesday, March 8th, U.N. officials announced that in only twelve days, an estimated 2 million refugees, half of which are children, have fled to neighboring countries, according to The New York Times. A spokesperson for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) called the number of children who have fled “a dark historical first.” In Ukraine, there have been an estimated 1,335 civilian casualties, including 474 civilian deaths, 29 of which were children (The New York Times, March 8th).
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) reported “devastating scenes of human suffering” in the city of Mariupol, as the attempts to allow approximately 200,000 civilians to leave the city failed (United Nations News). The U.N. Secretary, António Guterres, declared that it is absolutely essential to establish a pause in the fighting to protect citizens and allow for their safe passage from all conflict zones, as well as ensure that they are provided with humanitarian aid.
The conflict has more than a physical impact. The World Health Organization’s (WHO) recent Ukraine situation report outlines mental health care due to “significant stress due to acute conflict,” exacerbated by the lack of access to healthcare facilities.
As the world celebrated International Women’s Day on March 8th, humanitarian agencies raised the alarm about the danger women and girls fleeing Ukraine face. They are concerned that these women and girls are more vulnerable to violence, abuse, and exploitation in the wake of this conflict.
On Wednesday, March 9th, three people including a child were killed from a Russian strike on a maternity and children’s hospital located in Mariupol. An estimated 17 people were also injured, including people waiting to give birth, children, and doctors. President Zelensky stated that people were trapped under the wreckage, and he labeled the strike a war crime.
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