March 14, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

By Aditi Sangal, Melissa Macaya, Helen Regan, Steve George, Amy Woodyatt, Ben Church, Ed Upright, Maureen Chowdhury and Jason Kurtz, CNN

Updated 12:01 a.m. ET, March 15, 2022

19 Posts

Sort by

6:01 a.m. ET, March 14, 2022

Ukraine puts death toll in Mariupol bombardment at more than 2,500

From CNN's Tim Lister and Julia Kesa

An explosion at an apartment building in Mariupol, Ukraine, on March 11. (Evgeniy Maloletka/AP)

Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser in Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's office, says that the Russian bombardment of the southern city of Mariupol has now caused more than 2,500 deaths.

"Our military is succeeding there -- yesterday they defeated another attempt at an armored breakthrough in Mariupol, took prisoners of war," he said Monday.

"But for this the Russians are wiping the city out.

"More than 2,500 people have been killed, according to official reports from the city authorities. And this is a catastrophe to which the world has not given a proper assessment," Arestovych added.

CNN cannot independently verify these casualty figures.

Dire situation: Mariupol's city administration confirmed Sunday that a large convoy of humanitarian aid destined for the besieged city had not arrived, and was still stuck in Berdyansk, some 50 miles to the west. Berdyansk is held by Russia forces. A resident of Mariupol also painted a grim picture of the situation in the city.

5:43 a.m. ET, March 14, 2022

Ukraine says fourth round of talks with Russia will start soon

From Tim Lister and Julia Kesa

The fourth round of talks between Ukraine and Russia is about to get underway, according to Ukraine's lead negotiator.

The session will be held virtually, not in person. The Ukrainian negotiating team is in Kyiv.

The Ukrainian negotiator, Mykhailo Podoliak, posted a short video on Twitter saying:

Negotiations. 4th round. On peace, ceasefire, immediate withdrawal of troops & security guarantees. Hard discussion."

Podoliak added: "Although Russia realizes the nonsense of its aggressive actions, it still has a delusion that 19 days of violence against 🇺🇦 peaceful cities is the right strategy."

5:41 a.m. ET, March 14, 2022

Russian embassy denies reported threats to seize Western assets and arrest business leaders

From CNN's Richard Greene

The Russian embassy in the US dismissed as “pure fiction” a report that Western companies operating in Russia who are critical of the government received threats from prosecutors.

“The Wall Street Journal published an article accusing Russian prosecutors of intimidating representatives of the American business community and threatening to nationalize their assets in Russia,” the embassy said in a Facebook post Sunday.
“Once again, we urge local media to abandon the vicious practice of spreading fake news.”

The statement went on to say that “the decision whether to continue entrepreneurial activity in our country is entirely up to the Americans. As well as the right to ignore the Russophobic hysteria that encourages foreign businesses to suffer huge losses in order to hit Russia.”

Some background: The Wall Street Journal had reported that the Russian prosecutor's office issued warnings to seize the assets and arrest heads of Western companies that decided to stop operating in Russia. The Journal labeled its report “exclusive” and did not name sources, citing “people familiar with the matter.”

Major international businesses including Coca-Cola and McDonald’s have announced plans to suspend business in Russia in light of the invasion of Ukraine and international sanctions.

5:35 a.m. ET, March 14, 2022

Heavy explosions rock Ukrainian capital

From CNN's Tim Lister in Kyiv

A Ukrainian firefighter works at an apartment building after it was hit by artillery shelling in Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 14. (Vadim Ghirda/AP)

Several heavy explosions reverberated across Kyiv at 11 a.m. local time Monday.

They appear to have been caused by Ukrainian air-defense batteries aiming at either Russian aircraft or cruise missiles.

Several trails of smoke heading into the sky could be seen from central Kyiv.

Residential buildings hit: At least two people died and three were hospitalized after a residential building in a suburb of the capital was hit by shelling Monday morning, Ukraine's emergency services said earlier today.

Fifteen people were rescued and 63 evacuated after a shell hit the ninth floor of a residential building in the Obolon district, a northern suburb of Kyiv.

4:48 a.m. ET, March 14, 2022

Australia, the Netherlands to sue Russia over MH17

From CNN’s Angus Watson in Sydney

Ukrainian rescue servicemen inspect part of the wreckage of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 on July 20, 2014, in Rassipnoye, Ukraine (Rob Stothard/Getty Images)

Australia and the Netherlands have begun legal action against Russia at the UN’s International Civil Aviation Organisation over the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in 2014, according to an Australian government statement Monday.

The Malaysia Airlines Amsterdam-Kuala Lumpur flight was shot down in July 2014 by a missile fired by pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine. All 298 people aboard were killed.

“The Russian Federation’s refusal to take responsibility for its role in the downing of Flight MH17 is unacceptable and the Australian Government has always said that it will not exclude any legal options in our pursuit of justice,” the statement issued by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Attorney General Michaelia Cash reads.
“In October 2020, Russia unilaterally withdrew from negotiations with Australia and the Netherlands regarding the downing of Flight MH17, and refused to return to the negotiating table despite repeated requests by Australia and the Netherlands.”

The two countries will argue that Russia supplied the separatists with the missile system used in the attack then took it back afterward. They say “the missile could only have been fired by the trained Russian crew of the Buk-TELAR, or at least by someone acting under their instruction, direction or control.”

5:31 a.m. ET, March 14, 2022

Two killed, three wounded as Russian shelling hits Kyiv residential building

From CNN's Tim Lister and Alex Stambaugh

A firefighter carries a hose in front of a residential building that was hit by a shell in the Obolon district in Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 14. (Thomas Peter/Reuters)

At least two people have died and three were hospitalized after a residential building in a northern suburb of Kyiv was hit by shelling Monday morning, Ukraine's emergency services said.

Fifteen people were rescued and 63 evacuated after a shell hit the ninth floor of a residential building in the Obolon district.

The fire was extinguished around 7:58 a.m. local time.

Search operations continue.

3:33 a.m. ET, March 14, 2022

Strategic land corridor established between Crimea and Donbas, Russian state media claims

From CNN's Alex Stambaugh and Yulia Sevchenko

A map showing Crimea and Mariupol in the Donetsk Oblast region of Ukraine. (Google Earth)

A land corridor has been established between Crimea and Donbas, according to Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.

In its report, the news agency cited the Vice-Premier of Crimea Georgiy Muradov, who is the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Crimea under the President of Russia.

CNN has not been able to independently verify the Russian state media report.

According to RIA, the corridor provides a strategic route connecting Crimea to Mariupol, which is currently surrounded by Russian and Russian-backed separatist troops.

The land corridor would allow troops in Crimea to join forces with Russian-backed rebels in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), as well as giving Russian-backed forces access to key port cities along the Sea of Azov.

The RIA report also called it an "important route" for connecting Crimea to the steel-making capital Mariupol and the industrial Donbas region.

3:19 a.m. ET, March 14, 2022

More than 2.5 million Ukrainians have fled their country since Russia's invasion. Here's where they are now

From CNN's Travis Caldwell

Refugees from Ukraine at the main railway station in Krakow, Poland, on March 13. (Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto/Getty Images)

In little over two weeks, millions of Ukrainian refugees have been forced to flee as the brutal Russian invasion of their homeland continues.

The amount of people on the move constitutes "the fastest growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War II," UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) Commissioner Filippo Grandi said Sunday.

While many residents in the central and eastern portions of the country have relocated to western Ukraine and away from the front lines, more than 2.5 million Ukrainians have left entirely following Russia's invasion on February 24, according to the latest United Nations refugee estimates.

Most of those fleeing Ukraine are women and children. Ukrainian males aged 18 to 60 were banned from leaving after its national government enforced martial law.

With more than 1.6 million Ukrainians crossing into its territory as of Friday, according to UNHCR data, Poland has received by far the most refugees.
Nations directly to the west and south of Ukraine have also accepted large numbers of refugees. Since the invasion, more than 245,000 Ukrainians have entered Hungary, while over 195,000 have fled to Slovakia, according to UNHCR data Friday.
Over 328,000 refugees have arrived in Moldova, the country's Foreign Affairs Minister Nicu Popescu said.
And more than 173,000 have since fled to neighboring Romania, according to UNHCR.

Across Europe, nations including Germany, Austria, Croatia, Estonia, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Portugal and Sweden have each reported thousands of Ukrainians arriving.

Read the full story:

More than 2.5 million Ukrainians have fled their country since Russia's invasion. Here's where they are now

2:12 a.m. ET, March 14, 2022

Russia-Ukraine talks are set to resume today. Here's what we know

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podoliak tweeted Sunday diplomatic talks between Ukrainian and Russian officials will take place Monday through video.

Here's what we know:

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed the negotiations, telling Russian state news agency RIA Sunday talks will continue Monday.
A tweet from Podoliak’s verified twitter page said: “Again. Negotiations go non-stop in the format of video conferences. Working groups are constantly functioning. A large number of issues require constant attention. On Monday, March 14, a negotiating session will be held to sum up the preliminary results…”
Podoliak earlier tweeted that Ukraine "will not give up any of the positions" or listen to Russian "ultimatums."
Ukraine's demands, Podoliak said, are the end of the war and the withdrawal of Russian troops from the country.
Podoliak also said he thinks they will “achieve concrete results” from talks with Russia.
In a video posted on Twitter, Podoliak said Russia has become "much more sensitive to the Ukrainian position” and has “started to talk constructively.”

“Our proposals are on the table. They are very tough. Among them, the withdrawal of troops, the ceasefire," Podoliak said. "We shall not give up on any points, out of principle.”

There are hopes the talks will open the way for more civilians to evacuate, particularly from areas bombarded by Russian shelling such as the besieged city of Mariupol. The city's administration confirmed Sunday a large convoy of humanitarian aid destined for the besieged city had not arrived, and trapped residents were in desperate need of aid.
Hundreds of thousands of people there are facing “extreme or total shortages of basic necessities like food, water, and medicine” in Mariupol and many are sheltering in “unheated basements,” the International Committee of the Red Cross said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a Facebook video address Sunday that his team is continuing to work in diplomatic negotiations with Russia to arrange a meeting between him and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“Representatives of our countries’ delegations speak in video format every day. Our delegation has a clear task — to do everything to ensure a meeting of the presidents. The meeting that I am sure people are waiting for,” he said.