These are the key events so far on Wednesday, March 23. Get the latest updates here.
Fighting
- Relentless Russian bombardment is turning Mariupol into the “ashes of a dead land”, said the council of the besieged port city in southeast Ukraine, after it refused to surrender.
- Ukraine’s government urged Russia to allow the evacuation of at least 100,000 civilians who want to leave Mariupol, while the military warned Ukrainians nationwide of more indiscriminate Russian shelling.
- A United States defence official has told reporters that Russia’s combat power has declined below 90 percent of its pre-invasion levels for the first time since its assault on Ukraine began.
Sanctions
- Russian companies have been having problems paying their debt holders due to existing sanctions.
- The US and its Western allies are assessing whether Russia should remain within the Group of Twenty (G20) major economies.
- A second superyacht linked to Roman Abramovich docked in a Turkish resort and sources said he and other wealthy Russians were looking to invest in Turkey, given sanctions elsewhere.
Weapons
- Russia, the US and the United Kingdom traded accusations over the possibility of a chemical weapons attack in Ukraine, but none produced evidence to back their concerns.
- The Kremlin said it would only use nuclear weapons in the case of an “existential threat” to Russia.
Information war
- A Russian newspaper accused hackers of planting fake news on its website after a report briefly appeared there saying nearly 10,000 Russian soldiers had been killed in Ukraine.
Diplomacy
- The United Nations General Assembly is expected to vote again this week on a motion criticising Russia for the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine.
- The European Union on Wednesday is due to set out plans on how it will provide jobs, education and housing for refugees
You can read key moments from Day 27 here
