Ukraine retakes key Kyiv suburb, Zelenskyy open to NATO 'compromise' with Putin to gain cease-fire – live updates
Tuesday, 22 March 2022 (09:59 IST)
The Ukrainian military said its troops have driven Russian forces out of Makariv, a town about 60 kilometers (37 miles) west of Kyiv.
The strategically important town was the scene of a fierce battle and has sustained significant damage from Russian shelling, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said, adding its recapture prevents Russian forces from encircling the capital from the northwest.
The "state flag of Ukraine was raised over the city of Makariv" as the Russians retreated, the ministry wrote in a post on Facebook.
DW could not confirm the claim by the Ukraine forces.
India's response to Russia invasion has been 'shaky' says Biden
US President Joe Biden said India's response to the war in Ukraine was "somewhat shaky" and an exception among Washington's allies.
Biden, during an address to a meeting of US business leaders in Washington on Monday, praised NATO, the European Union and Quad countries Japan and Australia, for their response to the war.
The so-called Quad countries, namely Australia, India, Japan, and United States, formed a security dialogue that was initiated by Tokyo in 2007 but Biden has been less than impressed with India's reaction to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
"The Quad is, with the possible exception of India being somewhat shaky on some of this, but Japan has been extremely strong — so has Australia — in terms of dealing with Putin's aggression," Biden said.
India has refused to condemn the Russian invasion so far and continues to purchase Russian oil.
Zelenskyy open to NATO compromise with Putin to gain cease-fire
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has told local media that he's willing to compromise on Ukraine not seeking NATO membership in exchange for a cease-fire.
"It's a compromise for everyone: for the West, which doesn't know what to do with us with regard to NATO, for Ukraine, which wants security guarantees, and for Russia, which doesn't want further NATO expansion," Zelenskyy said in an interview carried broadcast on local channels.
Zelenskyy again said that he was open for direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Ukrainian counter-intelligence has scuppered a possible attempt on the life of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy according to local media reports.
News agency UNIAN reported that a man belonging to group of Russian saboteurs was arrested in Uzhhorod, a city in the far west of the country.
The group of up to 25 men planned on pretending to be members of the Ukrainian armed forces in a bid to make their way towards Kyiv. The report states that the group was also planning on carrying out acts of sabotage.
Ukraine's government has claimed that Russia has sent a number of assassination squads to kill Zelenskyy.
The report could not be independently verified.
Pentagon accuses Moscow of 'indiscriminate' attacks
The US Department of Defense has accused Russia of attacking Ukrainian cities in an "indiscriminate" manner.
"Whether that's cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, artillery fire, they're lobbying an awful lot of hardware into the cities to try to
force their surrender," Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said. "And that's resulting in more civilian casualties, more damage to residential areas, hospitals, schools, and innocent victims at greater rates and greater numbers," Kirby said, adding: "In many ways, it's indiscriminate."
Russia pulls out of Japan peace treaty talks
Russia's Foreign Ministry says it has withdrawn from peace treaty negotiations with Japan, as a result of sanctions imposed by Tokyo over the invasion of Ukraine.
"Under the current conditions Russia does not intend to continue negotiations with Japan on a peace treaty," the foreign ministry said and cited Japan's "openly unfriendly positions and attempts to damage the interests of our country."
Last week Japan announced plans to revoke Moscow's trade status and expand freezing of assets against Russian individuals.
Russia and Japan have not officially ended World War II hostilities due to a dispute over islands north of Hokkaido.
And Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida hit back at Russia's decision to withdraw from the peace treaty.
"The latest situation occurred as a result of Russia's aggression against Ukraine, and Russia's attempt to shift the issue to Japan-Russia relations is extremely unjustified and absolutely unacceptable," he said in parliament.
Japan "strongly protests," he added, condemning Russia for its actions to "unilaterally change the status quo by force."
Summary of Monday's events in Ukraine-Russia crisis
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said again that he is ready to meet Russian leader Vladimir Putin "in any format" but would also not bow to ultimatums from Russia to surrender.
Russian publication Komsomolskaya Pravda briefly published a casualty figure of nearly 10,000 deaths of Russian soldiers since the invasion of Ukraine on February 24 began, but then deleted it.
US President Joe Biden says Vladimir Putin is considering the use of biological and chemical weapons as a false flag attack, based on US intelligence assessments.
The Pentagon has accused Russian forces of committing war crimes in Ukraine and said it would help gather evidence of them.
The European Union's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Monday that Russia's attacks on the Ukrainian coastal city of Mariupol amount to a "war crime."
German Christian Democratic Union (CDU) lawmaker Michael Brand called for sanctions against former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder over his strong links with Russia.
Humanitarian organization Save the Children said upwards of 6 million children are in imminent danger as a growing number of hospitals and schools come under attack during Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
A Moscow court ruled in favor of Russia's FSB intelligence services on Monday, agreeing to label the US internet giant Meta (formerly Facebook) an "extremist organization."
