On 16 March 2022, the Russians deliberately targeted a civilian building marked ‘children’ in Russian. This was supposed to protect them, and to let the Russians know it was not a military target. Instead, the Russians chose to bomb the Mariupol theatre, where at least 600 people are known to have died. There could be more deaths as there is no way of knowing how many people were taking refuge there, or who they were.
One could consider it an act of genocide, where the aim is to wipe out the population of Ukraine. It was a despicable act, yet the West still hesitated to supply any weapons to Ukraine. Humanitarian aid was coming in, and countries took in refugees, but Ukraine did not have sufficient weapons to defend themselves against the Russian missiles. That is why the call for fighter jets has been made again. Either way, Russia committed a war crime in targeting a civilian building where there were children.
The allied countries have said it takes too long to train a pilot to use F-16s and other jets, and so former F-16 pilots are volunteering to be privately hired by Ukraine to fly the jets, and if Ukraine purchases the jets themselves then there is technically no conflict of interest in terms of escalation.
Russia is now seeking clarification of the ICC arrest warrant. Considering these are some of the top legal minds in the world, they knew how to get around obstacles in indicting Putin, and only the poor African countries support them and of course China, who have not publicly stated that they support Russia, but all their actions indicate that they do.
Day 389 (19 March 2023)
Putin, or his double have paid a visit to Crimea (anniversary of being annexed) and Mariupol according to Russian media who have released footage of the visit last night. Apparently, he arrived by helicopter and was taken around at night due to security risks. One might think that this is a message to the ICC and the West, that Putin can travel and is not afraid of travelling. He also visited Rostov-on-Don where there is a command post.
Reports claim that a Ukrainian drone was intercepted in Tula, 200 km from Moscow.
Putin has admitted that he had been planning a full-scale invasion and chose to carry it out when he was ready for war. Having made such a public declaration, he contradicts himself by claiming the special military operation was to save Ukraine from the Nazis. It also indicates that Putin has no desire for peace talks or to negotiate if he had planned to go to war.
Another Russian proxy has been sentenced in absentia, Oleander Saulenko, who is head of the occupied town, Beridiansk (Zaporizhzhia ) has been sentenced to 15 years.
The Anniversary of the Mariupol Bombing