March 22 (Reuters) – Ukraine’s military warned the public of more indiscriminate Russian shelling of critical infrastructure as U.S. President Joe Biden issued one of his strongest warnings yet that Russia is considering using chemical weapons. Read full story
Russian troops have failed to capture any major Ukrainian city more than four weeks into their invasion, and increasingly are resorting to massive destruction of residential areas with air strikes, long-range missiles and artillery.
FIGHTING
* The focal point is Mariupol, a strategically important southern port. There, horror and bewilderment stalk the devastated, Russian-besieged city, where some bury neighbours in roadside graves. Read full story
* Russian artillery continues to blast the eastern cities of Kharkhiv, Sumy and Chernihiv.
* In the capital Kyiv, shells hit a shopping centre on Sunday evening, killing at least eight people. Read full story
REFUGEES
* Nearly 6.5 million people have been uprooted from homes, the United Nations says. Just over 8,000 people were evacuated on Monday. Read full story
SANCTIONS
* The European Union cannot agree on whether or how to impose sanctions on Russia’s lucrative energy sector. Germany and the Netherlands say the bloc is currently too dependent on Russian oil and gas to impose an embargo now. Other potential sanctions are being discussed including cutting off more Russian banks’ access to the SWIFT global messaging system. Read full story
* Russian energy giant Gazprom GAZP.MM said on Tuesday it was continuing to supply gas to Europe via Ukraine in line with requests from European consumers. Read full story
DIPLOMACY
* Peace talks resumed but there is no sign of significant progress. Read full story
* Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said it would not be possible to negotiate an end to the war without meeting Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin. Read full story
* U.S.-Russia bilateral ties were on the brink of collapse, Russia’s foreign ministry said, summoning the U.S. ambassador after Biden called Putin a “war criminal.” Read full story
* Biden has said only India among the Quad group of countries was “somewhat shaky” in acting against Russia. Read full story
COMING UP
* The U.N. General Assembly is expected to vote again this week on a motion criticising Russia for the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. Read full story
QUOTES
* “Please think about how many things he has come through,” President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, referring to Boris Romanchenko, a 96-year-old Holocaust survivor killed last week when shelling hit his flat in Kharkiv. Read full story
* “Everything is destroyed. Where can we go?” asked librarian Irina Chernenko in a dark cellar in Mariupol packed with families for 11 days.
(Compiled by Robert Birsel and Mark Heinrich)
