As the war between Russia and Ukraine enters its 390th day, we take a look at the main developments.
This is the state of affairs on Monday, March 20, 2023:
To fight
- Putin made a surprise visit to the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Mariupol on Sunday, a trip condemned by members of the exiled city council.
- Ukrainian troops outside the disputed eastern city of Bakhmut are managing to hold off Russian units so that ammunition, food, equipment and medicines can be delivered to the defenders, the army said.
- Russian shelling on a residential building in southern Ukraine’s Zaporizhia region on Sunday killed three civilians and injured two, regional officials said.
- The Kremlin has claimed that United States drone flights over the Black Sea are a sign of “direct” US involvement in the conflict.
Diplomacy
- Chinese President Xi Jinping is on his way to Moscow and will hold talks with Putin at 15:00 local time (12:00 GMT).
- Xi has called for a “rational way out” of the conflict, based on a 12-point proposal Beijing released last month.
- Putin has welcomed Chinese efforts to play a “constructive role” in trying to end the crisis. The Russian president called Xi his “good old friend”.
- Russia has extended a Black Sea grain deal for 60 days, allowing Kiev to export its products abroad.
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Justice ministers from around the world are meeting in London to talk about scaling up support for the International Criminal Court after it issued an arrest warrant against Putin on war crimes charges for the deportation of hundreds of children from Ukraine.
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