Premier Xi Jinping returns to China after state visit to Russia; Putin and Mishutin are scheduled to visit Beijing in summer or fall. 84 agreements are in place between the two countries including the security sector. Turnover between the two countries is currently $185 billion. Russian gas supplies to China by 2030 will amount to at least 98 billion cubic meters plus 100 million tons of LNG.
The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement signed by Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov on the risks of nuclear war in which the main points are, “The probability of a nuclear conflict is higher now than it has been in recent decades.” “The United States should come to its senses and not continue to play with fire on the issue of restoring START.” “A condition for the discussion of START is a change in the hostile course of the United States toward the Russian Federation.” “Now there can be no talk of secret or open negotiations with the United States to restore anything related to START.” “The U.S. course toward reckless escalation of the conflict in Ukraine has radically changed the entire security situation for the Russian Federation.” “The United States should have previously negotiated the elimination of Russian concerns about START, now this is no longer possible.” “In determining the fate of START, Moscow will take into account the capabilities of the United States, France and Britain together.” “We cannot avoid a remake of the Caribbean crisis and an approach on the brink of terminal scenarios with the use of nuclear weapons. The West’s course makes other options for resolving the crisis impossible.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov commented on sending depleted uranium shells to Ukraine with this sentence, “London has lost its point of reference, as its actions undermine stability.” Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin responded to Britain, “If the UK supplies depleted uranium bullets to Ukraine, Russia will be forced to react.” After the UK’s statements about supplying depleted uranium bullets to Ukraine, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said, “There are fewer and fewer steps to a nuclear collision,” he reported. The minister gave courage orders on March 22 to pilots who prevented a U.S. drone from breaching the boundaries of the special operations area.
The U.S. State Department representative, in response to the Russian Foreign Ministry’s statement that the United States, Britain, France and Germany cannot claim the role of neutral mediators in resolving the situation in Ukraine, expressed the view that only Russia can put an end to this conflict, Newsweek reports.
Observers from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have received information about a possible disconnection of the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) from the last 750-kV backup power line, Rafael Grossi, the organization’s director general, said in a statement posted March 22 on its website.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky visited positions occupied by units of the country’s armed forces in Bachmut’s direction, the Ukrainian leader’s office reported. A post on the office’s website states that during this trip Zelensky heard reports on the operational situation and the course of hostilities in this sector of the front line, and also presented awards to the Ukrainian military.
By 05:45 Ukraine was on air alert in the Ukrainian regions of Kyiv, Poltava, Sumy, Chernihiv, Cherkasy, Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Khmelnytsky, Rivne, and Ternopil.
Odessa authorities reported on the work of air defense systems on the city. According to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak, a three-story house on Monastery territory was damaged and there were injuries. The explosion was reported to Khmelnytsky authorities.
Two out of three drones that attempted to strike objects in Sevastopol in the morning were destroyed by female soldiers reported Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. The movement of maritime passenger transport in Sevastopol has been suspended, according to the city’s Road and Transport Infrastructure Development Directorate. Earlier in the day, former LPR ambassador to Russia Rodion Miroshnik said on his Telegram channel that around 5:00 a.m. three Ukrainian naval drones tried to strike Sevastopol’s coastal barriers were all destroyed.
According to early morning social sphere sources, the Russian fleet repelled the surface drone attack, Sevastopol Governor Mikhail Razvozhaev reported. In total, three objects were reportedly destroyed. They tried to penetrate the bay, our sailors fired at them with small arms. He also worked out the air defense on an aerial target. The Ukrainians launched following the attack a false report of evacuation from the peninsula by ferry crossings.
Overall during the night of March 21-22 it is recorded that: Ukrainian drones attempted to attack Sevastopol, all drones were destroyed. The explosion blew out several windows, but no one was injured.
At night, Russian drones attacked targets in Kiev, Zhytomyr, and Khmelnytsky regions: at least two infrastructure facilities were hit. Russian forces attacked enemy targets in Mikhalchyna Sloboda, Chernihiv region, as well as Volfino and Yunakovka, Sumy region.
In the Kharkiv region, the Russian army worked on targets in Kazachya Lopan, Strelechya, Glubokoe, and Volchansk. In the Starolbisk direction, Russian forces attacked positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Dvurechnaya, Masyutovka, Kupyansk, Krakhmalny, and Berestovoy.
In the Bachmut direction, Russian units struck enemy concentrations in the vicinity of Vasyukovka, Grigorovka, Minkovka, and Chasov Yar. In the Donetsk direction, Russian forces attacked Ukrainian troop concentration sites in Orlovka, Avdiivka, and Tonenkoe.
In turn, Ukrainian formations fired at residential buildings in Donetsk’s Petrovsky district.
In the Yuzhnodonetsk direction, Russian artillerymen hit concentrations of Ukrainian armed forces in Ugledar. In the Zaporozhye region, Russian armed forces attacked enemy positions at Olgovsky, Malinovka, Gulyaipole, and Malaya Tokmachka. In the direction of Kherson, Moscow’s armed forces attacked Ukrainian military massings in Kherson and Antonovka.
At night, Ukrainian formations fired on Novaya Kakhovka, Tavriysk, and Pokrovskoye.
Graziella Giangiulio
