Every day since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Meduza’s editors have selected key shots taken during the previous day of the war. These pictures contain scenes of cruelty, violence and death, but most of them are not placed under a special plate, which the editors usually hide such images with. In this series of materials, we try to document the war as it is.
- The International Criminal Court in The Hague has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin. He and Maria Lvova-Belova, Commissioner for Children’s Rights of the Russian Federation, are suspected of illegally deporting children from Ukraine.
- Sberbank, which is under sanctions, announced the payment of record dividends for 2022.
- Su-27 pilots who intercepted an American drone over the Black Sea were presented with state awards.
- The Kremlin announced a visit to Russia on March 20-22 by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
- Journalists reported that Turkey banned the refueling and maintenance of Boeing and Airbus aircraft from Russia. The Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation said that there were no problems with the service.
- The Slovak government approved the transfer of 13 MiG-29 aircraft to Ukraine.
- Politico reported that in 2022, a number of Chinese companies sent shipments of weapons to Russia, in particular, assault rifles, drone parts and bulletproof vests.
Frame of the day. Ukrainian soldier under fire
On the morning of March 17, Russian troops launched four airstrikes on the city of Avdiivka, Donetsk region. According to the Ukrainian authorities, this time there were no casualties, and the fighting for the city practically does not stop. Journalist Evgeny Maloletka works in Avdiivka, one of the main photojournalists of this war. He filmed a Ukrainian soldier hiding from shelling near a burning house.
Fighting in the vicinity of Bakhmut
The battles for Bakhmut do not stop and go on in the city. American Institute for the Study of War published map of the location of troops in the city. At the same time, from a strategic point of view, the greatest danger to the Armed Forces of Ukraine is not the possible loss of Bakhmut, but the potential capture by Russian forces of the neighboring Chasov Yar. This city is located on top of a hilly ridge that dominates the area to the south and west, its loss can create a real threat to Kramatorsk and Slavyansk.
Arrival for treatment of a wounded resident of Donbass
Ukrainian Mariupol was completely occupied by Russian troops in May 2022. The battles for the city went on for several months, and during this time a significant part of the city was destroyed. The number of deaths during the siege measured many thousands of people, tens of thousands more inhabitants were forced to leave the city, becoming refugees. In October, The Village published a master plan for the development of Mariupol, according to which by 2035 the population of the city should return to pre-war levels. The occupying authorities planned to restore the drama theater destroyed by Russian bombs (during one of the strikes in the building died up to 600 people; it was completely demolished in December 2022), as well as the Azovstal plant, which became the last stronghold of the city’s defenders – later the Russian authorities announced that they were not going to restore it. But right now, houses that cannot be restored after shelling will be processed into crumbled concrete to build roads.
The main photos of the previous – three hundred and eighty-sixth – day of the war can be viewed at this link.
