March 15, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

The Prime Ministers of Poland, Slovenia and the Czech Republic have arrived by train in Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.

The prime ministers arrived in the city on behalf of the EU council, Shmyal said on Twitter, praising the “courage of true friends.”

The leaders would discuss “support of Ukraine and strengthening sanctions against the Russian aggression,” he added.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki also tweeted pictures the show him in conversation with the other visiting prime ministers.

“It is here, in war-torn Kyiv, that history is being made. It is here, that freedom fights against the world of tyranny. It is here that the future of us all hangs in the balance. EU supports UA, which can count on the help of its friends - we brought this message to Kyiv today," he said.

One day after France and Mexico said they were going to seek United Nations General Assembly approval of a humanitarian resolution on Ukraine, the Russian ambassador disclosed Moscow was submitting its own resolution to the UN Security Council. Russia had objected to the initial draft resolution in the Security Council, where it has veto power.

Russian Ambassador to the UN Vassily Nebenzia said that “the chances are still there” for Russia to agree to a humanitarian resolution, adding that their conditions will “call for negotiated ceasefire, evacuation of civilians, the respect of international humanitarian and human rights law, condemnation of attacks against civilians and civilian objects safe and unhindered passage and unhindered humanitarian assistance.”

When pressed on details of resolution conditions, Nebenzia said Russia would also call for the demilitarization of Ukraine, no future threats from that country toward Russia and that Ukraine not join NATO.

Nebenzia also said Russian President Vladimir Putin will stop the assault on Ukraine "when the goals of the special military operations are achieved."

Ireland’s Ambassador to the UN Geraldine Byrne Nason said that she has not yet seen any proposals from Russia but remains focused on the main issue at hand: providing humanitarian assistance to Ukrainians. 

Nason said she is willing to work with her Russian colleagues “on all aspects of the text” of the draft resolution to be presented to the UN General Assembly. 

“The important thing is right now I think that we saw the result in the General Assembly where you have no veto and where you have the broad body of opinion calling this war in Ukraine for what it is, an active aggression by the Russian federation and calling for humanitarian support for the people in Ukraine,” Nason said.

Pope Francis will hold an extraordinary prayer called a “consecration” for Russia and Ukraine next week, the Vatican announced on Tuesday.

The prayer is unique because it is connected to a belief in a 1917 prophecy of the Virgin Mary in Fatima, in which it is claimed she said that the consecration of Russia would usher in a period of world peace.

“Russia will spread her errors throughout the world, causing wars and persecutions of the Church. The good will be martyred; the Holy Father will have much to suffer; various nations will be annihilated,” the prophecy reads.

The Catholic Church holds that Mary asked for prayers for the “conversion of Russia,” in particular for the “consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart,” saying that if this is done, “Russia will be converted and there will be peace.”

This special request of the Virgin Mary is known as the Third Secret of Fatima, for the name of the town in Portugal where she is said to have appeared to three children in 1917.

John Paul II was devoted to the Virgin of Fatima, as he believed she saved him from being killed during an assassination attempt in St. Peter’s Square on May 13, 1981, the Feast Day of Our Lady of Fatima.

On March 25, 1984, John Paul II consecrated Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, but did not specifically mention Russia, leading some to suggest that the consecration had not been done properly.

Pope Francis will perform the consecration in St. Peter’s Basilica on the same date as John Paul II did, March 25, according to the Vatican statement.

On the same day, Cardinal Krajewski, the papal almoner, will perform the consecration in Fatima, the statement says.

The Pope has so far refrained from calling on Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill to condemn the war, and he has not publicly condemned Putin or Russia by name, despite his fervent appeals for an end to the war. Other Catholic Church officials, however, have not been so reticent.

Here's what else religious leaders have said about the war:

RELATED

In Putin's vision for the world, a medieval narrative resurfaces

In an address on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reiterated his call to close Ukrainian airspace after a night of air alarms heard "almost all over" the country. 

"Each of the more than 800 Russian missiles that have hit our country is an answer to a long-standing question about NATO — whether the doors of the alliance are really open for Ukraine," Zelensky said while speaking from his office Tuesday afternoon. "If they were open, if it was honest, we would not have to convince the alliance for 20 days to close the skies over Ukraine, to close from the death being brought by the Russian Air Force. But ...they don't hear or don't want to hear us yet."

He went on to call out NATO's Article 5, the principle of collective defense, "weak" as the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues. 

Some background: Article 5 is the principle that an attack on one member of NATO is an attack on all members. It's been a cornerstone of the 30-member alliance since it was founded in 1949 as a counterweight to the Soviet Union.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday that there will be an extraordinary summit on March 24 in Brussels to “address Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, our strong support for Ukraine, and further strengthening NATO’s deterrence & defense.” US President Joe Biden announced he will travel to Brussels for the meeting. 

Zelensky added that evacuation corridors from the cities of Sumy, Trostyanets, Lebedyn, Shostka and Konotop were "partially opened today," but Russian forces "did not stop the shelling and disrupted the work of humanitarian corridors in the Kyiv region." 

White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Tuesday that despite repeated requests from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the White House still does not support instituting a no-fly zone over Ukraine or supplying the Ukrainian Air Force with new fighter aircrafts.

On the topic of a no-fly zone, Psaki said Biden “has to look at decisions that are made through the prism of what is in our national security interests and global security interests, and he continues to believe that a no-fly zone would be escalatory, could prompt a war with Russia.” 

“I don't believe there's a lot of advocates calling for that at this point in time from Capitol Hill, but we certainly understand and recognize that is still a call from President Zelensky,” she added.

Zelensky is scheduled to virtually address a joint session of Congress on Wednesday. In remarks Tuesday to Canada’s House of Commons, the Ukrainian president requested further military assistance and urged Canada to support closing Ukraine’s airspace from Russian military aircrafts.

“I would say that without knowing what he's going to say tomorrow, we certainly are familiar with what the asks have been,” Psaki acknowledged Tuesday. “We have provided our own assessment of what does make sense and doesn't make sense."

White House press secretary Jen Psaki declined to say if US President Joe Biden will travel to Poland, as has been reported by some outlets, when he visits Europe for a NATO summit next Thursday. 

“We're still working through the final details of the trip and what it may look like, but I don't have any more details at this point in time,” Psaki told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins during Tuesday’s White House press briefing. She said the President’s objective “is to meet, in person, face-to-face with his European counterparts, and talk about and assess where we are at this point in the conflict, in the invasion of Ukraine by Russia."

“We've been incredibly aligned to date — that doesn't happen by accident," she added. "The President's a big believer in face-to-face diplomacy, so it's an opportunity to do exactly that."

Psaki declined to detail if Biden would meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, saying there’s “nothing on the table at this point in time.”

“But the real focus right now is to meet with NATO partners in Brussels. If there are additional steps, we'll share all those details with all of you," she said.

As the war in Ukraine rages on, two Nigerian students who have since returned home after fleeing Russia’s invasion of the country have described their traumatic escape.

Adetomiwa Adeniyi, 24, and Amamchim Steve-Ajufo, 17, were both studying medicine in Ukraine before Russian troops invaded. The Nigerian government has been evacuating its citizens escaping the war in Ukraine, and more than 1,500 of them have been flown back home, according to the authorities.

Adeniyi and Steve-Ajufo were among Nigerian students recently evacuated by the government.

The pair crossed into neighboring Romania through the Ukrainian border. The experience, they said, was harrowing and unfamiliar.

“If you were Ukrainian…or white, it was almost as though you had a fast track to the gate (of the border to Romania). I lost the hope that I’ll be able to cross,” he added.

Several people CNN spoke with in recent days — mainly African and Indian students schooling in Ukraine — complained of difficulty crossing the Ukraine border to bordering nations.

Others said they had experienced racist treatment by Ukrainian security forces and border officials who reportedly prioritized Ukrainian refugees and “showed prejudice against foreign students.”

Steve-Ajufo said she was ordered back to the queue meant for Africans by Ukrainian border officials when she was seen standing among Ukrainians.

“I accidentally went to the Ukrainian line and instantly I was told to return to my side. I cried a whole lot. The border officials kept screaming ‘go back, go back!.’ I was so tired and cold, and I did not understand what was going on. I wanted to give up several times but I kept reminding myself of my mum,” the 17-year-old medical student said.

Adeniyi and Steve-Ajufo were eventually able to cross into the Romanian capital of Bucharest, where they were flown back to Nigeria in a chartered flight provided by the Nigerian government.

The young Nigerian students, however, told CNN that Ukraine had become their home, and they were devastated to leave the Eastern European country now under siege by Russian forces.

“It (Ukraine) is my home. I’ve almost spent six years there,” Adeniyi told CNN.

According to Steve-Ajufo, her home (Ukraine) has been “snatched” from her.

Ukraine is home to many foreign students who opt to study there because it is more affordable than other western nations. The country also has a strong reputation for medical courses.

Around 4,000 Nigerian students study in Ukraine with most of them studying medicine, according to the Nigerian President’s office.

Watch more of their story here.

Russia has imposed sanctions against US President Joe Biden, his son, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, other US officials, and “individuals associated with them,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

The statement went on to explain that this retaliation step was “an inevitable consequence of the extremely Russophobic course taken by the current US Administration, which, in a desperate attempt to maintain American hegemony, has relied, discarding all decency, on the frontal constricting of Russia.”

“At the same time, we do not refuse to maintain official relations if they meet our national interests, and, if necessary, we will solve problems arising from the status of persons who appear on the 'black list' in order to organize high-level contacts,” the statement continues.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Tuesday addressed Russia’s recent sanctions against top US officials, suggesting the restrictions will not have much of an impact on their intended targets. 

“(I)t won’t surprise any of you that none of us are planning tourist trips to Russia, none of us have bank accounts that we won’t be able to access, so we will forge ahead,” Psaki told reporters during the White House press briefing when asked about the sanctions’ impact.  

Psaki also noted that Russia’s statement on the sanctions omitted that “President Biden is a ‘Junior,’” joking that “they may have sanctioned his dad, may he rest in peace.”

Here is a list of people included in Russia’s “stop list”:

The statement announces more sanctions will follow to expand the list by including “top US officials, military officials, lawmakers, businessmen, experts, and media people who are Russophobic or contribute to inciting hatred towards Russia and the introduction of restrictive measures.”

Russian government and its banking and other institutions will collectively carry out these sanctions, it added.

Russia will withdraw from the Council of Europe, a human rights watchdog based in Strasbourg, France, as of March 15, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

The Council of Europe, whose brief is to uphold human rights and the rule of law and is separate from the European Union, had suspended Russia's membership on Feb. 25, the day after it invaded Ukraine.

The Russian foreign ministry's statement noted this suspension in its reasoning and claimed that the NATO and EU members are turning the Council of Europe "into an instrument of anti-Russian policy."

On March 15, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Marija Pejčinović Burić, was given a notice of the withdrawal, the statement added.