Biden: "Clear sign" of possible use of chemical weapons - according to Kyiv, Russians will soon run out of supplies

Created: 03/22/2022, 09:06

By: Felix Durach

US President Biden warns against the use of weapons of mass destruction by Russia in the Ukraine war.

The US wants to help Ukraine to better defend itself.

News ticker.

• Escalated Ukraine conflict *:

  According to the Pentagon, Russia is increasing its operations on water and in the air

  (see update from March 21, 7:50 p.m.).

• Pentagon spokesman John Kirby assumes that Russian troops would deliberately attack civilians 

  (see update from March 21, 10:45 p.m.).

• US President Biden warns against the use of weapons of mass destruction by Russia.  

  (see update from March 22, 6.35 a.m.).

• This

  news ticker on the military battles in the Ukraine war

  * is continuously updated.

  Background information on the Ukraine crisis* here.

Update from March 22, 8:14 a.m .:

According to the Ukrainian General Staff, Russian units continue to have problems securing their supplies for the war in Ukraine.

According to available information, the units operating in Ukraine have ammunition and food supplies for a maximum of three days.

The situation with the supply of fuel is similar, said the Ukrainian General Staff in its morning report published on Facebook on Tuesday.

This information could not be independently verified.

In the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine, Russian units continued to try to take more territory and to establish themselves in previously held positions.

The Ukrainian defenders repelled 13 attacks, destroying military equipment, including 14 tanks.

According to Ukrainian sources, Russia continues to attack the country uninterruptedly.

War in Ukraine: More attacks on important cities - the conflict between Russia and the USA is also coming to a head

Meanwhile, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov sees relations with the United States on the verge of breaking off because of the Ukraine war.

"Yesterday the American ambassador was handed a protest note saying that relations are on the verge of breaking down," Ryabkov said on Tuesday in Moscow, according to the Interfax agency.

Update from March 22, 6:35 a.m .:

The Russian army's attacks on Ukraine continue.

The mayor of Boryspil has called on the civilian population to leave the city.

His call also applies to everyone who has already fled to the city from other parts of Ukraine, said Volodymyr Borisenko on Tuesday night.

The appeal for evacuation was made for purely military-tactical reasons.

"Experience from other places fought over has shown that the work of the armed forces is easier when there is less civilian population in the city," Borissenko said.

“There is no reason to stay in the city, there is already fighting in the area.

“Boryspil with almost 60,000 inhabitants is located almost 30 kilometers south-east of Kyiv

With a view to the Ukraine war, US President Joe Biden has expressed fears about Russian cyber attacks in the USA and the use of chemical and biological weapons in Ukraine.

© Patrick Semansky/AP/dpa

Ukraine war: Biden warns against Russia's use of weapons of mass destruction

Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden warned of a possible Russian attack with chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine.

The Russians would “claim that Ukraine has biological and chemical weapons,” Biden said in Washington on Monday.

This is "a clear sign" that Russian President Vladimir Putin is "considering the use of both weapons".

Biden warned Putin against a "strong" response from NATO.

For weeks, the US, Ukraine and Russia have been accusing each other of wanting to use weapons of mass destruction in the war in Ukraine.

The West suspects that by constantly repeating the accusation, Russia wants to create another pretext for war.

Both sides deny the allegations made by the other.

Defense in the Ukraine War: Urgent defense systems needed

The US wants to help Ukraine better defend itself against Russian missiles.

But the search for suitable air defense systems is proving difficult.

According to experts, mobile anti-aircraft batteries of the Patriot type, which have been used successfully in Iraq and the Persian Gulf in recent years, would be ideal.

However, the Ukrainian military is not trained to handle these sophisticated US weapons.

The Patriot batteries are truck-mounted and have radar capable of automatically detecting and intercepting aircraft, drones or missiles within a radius of more than a hundred kilometers.

In fact, Ukrainian troops are only familiar with the S-300 anti-aircraft system, Russia's first-generation competitor to the Patriot.

However, even with these defense systems, the question arises as to where Ukraine could obtain them from.

Former Eastern bloc countries such as Slovenia and Bulgaria first demand a replacement from the USA before they hand over their S-300 systems.

In addition, the question would be how the defense systems are supposed to get into Ukraine.

Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine: country's size a defense challenge

In addition, the size of Ukraine is problematic.

You need several batteries to protect a city, says Brent Eastwood from the online specialist magazine 19FortyFive.

Before the war began, Ukraine had about a hundred of the S-300 batteries.

It is unclear to what extent Russia's report is true that it had already destroyed about 40 of them at the beginning of the war.

US Chief of Staff Mark Milley was recently on the phone with his Japanese counterpart, and he may have asked the country for Patriots.

The Gulf States also have numerous anti-aircraft batteries to protect themselves from Iranian missiles, but they have been reluctant to support Ukraine.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, two of the world's largest oil exporters, have close ties with both the West and Russia.

So far they have avoided taking a stand against Russia.

Update from March 21, 10:45 p.m .:

The US government currently assumes that the Russian armed forces in the Ukraine war are deliberately targeting civilian targets.

Defense Department spokesman John Kirby spoke on Monday evening of a growing number of civilian casualties for which there was "no justification".

"We continue to see indiscriminate attacks on civilians, which we believe in many cases are premeditated," Kirby said.

The Pentagon spokesman also stated that he did not know exactly what Russia's plans were.

Last week, President Biden and Secretary of State Blinken also accused the Russian armed forces of war crimes.

So far, however, the US government has not officially classified Moscow's actions in Ukraine as war crimes.

The State Department is currently still checking information on this, government spokeswoman Jen Psaki said last week.

War in Ukraine: escape corridors - Russia accuses Ukraine of lack of cooperation

Update from March 21, 8:50 p.m .:

Russia has accused Ukraine of not cooperating in the evacuation of civilians through so-called escape corridors.

The Ukrainian side did not agree to a single corridor to bring people to Russia on Monday, Major General Mikhail Mizintsev said in the evening.

Millions of civilians are being held by the Ukrainian army as "human shields".

Kyiv, on the other hand, repeatedly accuses Moscow of bringing Ukrainians to Russia against their will.

You can read news about the status of the negotiations in our diplomacy ticker on the Ukraine war.

Ukraine War: Russia reports more than 500 Ukrainian prisoners

Update from March 21, 8:02 p.m .:

Russia says it has captured more than 500 Ukrainian soldiers.

Documents for the exchange against Russian soldiers had been sent to the International Red Cross, government human rights commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova told state broadcaster RT on Monday.

“These are Ukrainian prisoners that we are willing to exchange.” Ukraine recently spoke of more than 560 Russian prisoners of war.

A person walks past a residential building destroyed by shelling in the city of Volnowakha on March 21.

© Maksim Blinov/SNA/Imago

Ukraine-News: Russia is said to be stepping up military operations from the air and at sea

Update from March 21, 7:50 p.m .:

According to the Pentagon, Russia is currently strengthening its military offensive from the air and at sea, since the advance of its own troops is being held up by the “skill” of the Ukrainian army.

The Kremlin is "desperately trying" to increase its combat momentum, a senior US defense official said Monday, according to AFP.

The Russian troops are "frustrated and confused" by a Ukrainian resistance that, despite being outnumbered in soldiers and armed, withstood the attacks.

According to the US official, the armed forces under the command of Russian President Vladimir Putin have recently stepped up their operations - in the past 24 hours alone they have carried out more than 300 airstrikes.

Kyiv also responded with increased air operations.

The US official said that only a few of the missions involved close-ranged combat, with Moscow primarily firing air-to-surface missiles from Russian or Belarusian airspace at Ukrainian targets.

"They don't venture very far or long into Ukrainian airspace because Ukrainians defend their airspace with great skill."

In the northern Black Sea, Russia is showing "increased naval activity" with the deployment of several warships, the official said.

However, this was not a clear sign of an imminent attack on the port city of Odessa. "What we are seeing here is an almost desperate attempt by the Russians to turn the situation in their favor," the official said.

He pointed out that Russian forces were still stuck 15 kilometers northwest and 30 kilometers east of Kyiv on the 26th day of the offensive.

War News: Russia Claims Ukraine Uses Bombed Mall As Weapons Depot

Update from March 21, 6:20 p.m .:

After the bombing of a shopping center in Kiev by Russian troops on Monday night, in which several people died, the Russian leadership justifies its actions.

Moscow accuses the Ukrainian armed forces of using the mall as a weapons depot.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov told journalists on Monday that the empty building contained multiple rocket launcher systems and ammunition.

The Russian army used "precision guided weapons" to destroy the building.

The Russian information cannot be independently verified due to the current situation in Kyiv.

According to the Ukrainian government, at least eight people were killed in the bombing.

Ukraine War: BBC collects names of killed Russian soldiers - over 500 confirmed dead

Update from March 21, 6 p.m.:

The Russian offshoot of the British public broadcaster BBC caused a stir with a report.

According to its own statements, BBC Russian has compiled a list of names of Russian soldiers who have so far been proven to have died in the Ukraine war, using publicly available sources such as local reports.

The listing summarizes the full names and ranks of 557 Russian soldiers killed.

So far, only 498 fallen soldiers have been confirmed by the Russian side.

However, since the list only contains the soldiers whose complete personal data is known, the actual number of victims is probably significantly higher.

US intelligence services are basing reports on the consequences of around 7,000 Russian soldiers being killed.

The Ukrainian government puts the losses of the Russian armed forces at well over 10,000 dead.

However, the information on the actual number of victims cannot be independently verified.

Ukraine War: Battle for Kyiv rages on - Russian troops meet stiff resistance

First report from March 21:

Kiev – Almost three and a half weeks after Russian troops attacked Ukraine, the sometimes heavy fighting continued in many parts of the country.

The capture of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv is still one of the top priorities of the Russian armed forces.

A goal that has not yet been achieved.

Although the Russian troops continue to try to encircle the metropolis, they fail, not least because of the bitter resistance of the Ukrainian units.

Ukraine war: situation in Mariupol continues to deteriorate - no end in sight

Military combat operations also continue on the Black Sea coast.

The main focus remains on the city of Mariupol, where the situation is getting worse.

An end to the fighting is currently not in sight.

This was also confirmed by the head of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic Denis Puschilin on Monday (March 21) to the Russian news agency Interfax.

"I'm not so optimistic that two or three days or even a week will be enough to close the case," Puschilin said, referring to the hostilities in Mariupol.

Russian forces, which say they control large parts of the Azov Sea coast, appear to be expanding their military efforts west earlier in the week.

Several residential buildings in the city of Odessa are said to have been shot at by Russian military ships on Monday.

This is reported by the

.

Ukraine News: Odessa as next destination?

Russian Navy apparently attacks residential buildings

Since the Russian armed forces have not yet found a way to reach Odessa by land, experts are now expecting an attack from the sea.

As reported by

, at least 14 Russian Navy ships have been cruising off the coast for several days.

Odessa is considered a strategically extremely important destination.

The third largest city in the country includes the largest port in Ukraine and is considered an economic hub.

Debris and wrecked cars lie in front of a burned-out building March 21 after a shopping mall was shelled in Kyiv.

© Efrem Lukatsky/dpa

Meanwhile, negotiations on an early solution to the conflict between Ukraine and Russia are still making slow progress.

As the Kremlin announced on Monday, there is still no basis for negotiations between the two heads of state Vladimir Putin* and Volodymyr Zelenskyj*.

You can read more about the reactions from Germany to the Ukraine war in our news ticker.