Russian military steps up shelling in Kyiv area, but slow progress on the ground

• At 19^and day of the war in Ukraine, the Russian army continues to bombard several cities relentlessly, causing a series of humanitarian crises, but without making any real progress on the ground.
• In Kiev and its region, where the Russian bombardments continued, with even more intensity, during the night, an adviser to the Ukrainian president acknowledges that the “city is under siege”. In Mariupol, besieged and bombarded for several days, the situation is “almost hopeless”, according to Doctors Without Borders, and the inhabitants are hoping for a convoy of humanitarian aid which should arrive on the spot on Monday afternoon. In Mykolaiv, another port city on the Black Sea, the shelling also continued during the night. Russian troops are approaching this city, but their objective remains Odessa, to cut Ukrainian access to the sea. On the latter, Russia has tightened its grip, if the British Ministry of Defense is to be believed, which tweeted that the Russian naval forces had “established a remote blockade of the Ukrainian Black Sea coast”.
• A new session of discussions by videoconference between Russia and Ukraine is to be held on Monday March 14, from 9:20 a.m. (Paris time). This time there is a glimmer of hope, after the failure of the first three sessions in Belarus and then the meeting Thursday, in Turkey, between the Russian foreign ministers, Sergei Lavrov, and Ukrainian, Dmytro Kuleba.
• the New York Times alleged on Sunday, citing US officials who wished to remain anonymous, that Russia had asked China for economic and military assistance to wage the war and circumvent Western sanctions. US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan has warned Beijing that there will be consequences if Chinese assistance is given to Moscow to offset sanctions-related losses.
• “About 1,300” Ukrainian soldiers have been killed since February 24, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Saturday, as well as at least 596 civilians, according to the UN count on Sunday, which underlines that this toll is probably much lower than the reality.
• In twenty-four hours, some 100,000 people joined the ranks of refugees who fled the fighting, bringing their number to nearly 2.7 million, according to a count released Sunday by the United Nations.

Read all our articles, analyzes and reports on the war in Ukraine:

Testimonials. In the hell of Mariupol, isolated and besieged: “My mother tells me that they are afraid that they will be forgotten”

Report. “He asked us: ‘Mom, why?’ »: Ukrainian mothers tell of the anxieties of their children

Decryption. The bombing of the Yaroviv base, a severe warning for Westerners

Report. “It’s no longer livable”: in Mykolaiv, the Russian army deliberately targets civilians

To analyse. The worst-case scenario, in Ukraine and Russia

Podcast. Ukrainian chronicles: everyday war

Our live from Sunday March 13 can be found here.