{"id":1677,"date":"2022-03-24T19:44:27","date_gmt":"2022-03-24T19:44:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/linksus.net\/russia-moves-to-expel-american-diplomats-from-moscow-us-accuses-russia-of-war-crimes-march-23-recap-usa-today\/"},"modified":"2022-03-24T19:44:27","modified_gmt":"2022-03-24T19:44:27","slug":"russia-moves-to-expel-american-diplomats-from-moscow-us-accuses-russia-of-war-crimes-march-23-recap-usa-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/2022\/03\/24\/russia-moves-to-expel-american-diplomats-from-moscow-us-accuses-russia-of-war-crimes-march-23-recap-usa-today\/","title":{"rendered":"Russia moves to expel American diplomats from Moscow; US accuses Russia of war crimes: March 23 recap – USA TODAY"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor’s note: This page recaps the news from Ukraine on Wednesday, March 23. Follow here for the latest updates and news from Thursday, March 24, as Russia’s invasion continues<\/a>.<\/em>
As many as 15,000 Russian troops have been killed\u00a0since the invasion of Ukraine began four weeks ago, according to NATO’s first estimate.
Russia has suffered\u00a030,000 to\u00a040,000 battlefield casualties, including 7,000 to 15,000 killed, a senior NATO military officer said in a briefing Wednesday from the alliance\u2019s military headquarters in Belgium.\u00a0
Also Wednesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S.\u00a0has determined Russian military forces have committed war crimes in Ukraine.
The senior military officer, speaking on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by NATO, said the estimated deaths are based on information from the Ukrainian government, indications from Russia\u00a0and open-source information. The officer said the number of fatalities came\u00a0from a calculation of three wounded soldiers for every soldier killed. Casualties include killed, wounded or missing in action as well as those taken prisoner.
Earlier this week, a senior Pentagon official estimated the Russian military had lost more than 10% of the combat force in Ukraine.\u00a0
Russia is beginning to dig into defensive positions outside Kyiv in the face of fierce Ukrainian opposition, a senior Defense official said.\u00a0The Russian advance from the north remains stalled about 10 miles from the city center, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence assessments. To the east of Kyiv, the Ukrainians have pushed back the front line about 15 miles to 30 miles outside the city.
The Russians appear to be attacking more aggressively in eastern Ukraine, the official said. Fighting between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatists has been ongoing in the region since 2014.
The Ukraine Defense Ministry claims its forces have driven occupying Russian troops out of Makariv\u00a0\u2013\u00a0a small Kyiv suburb that’s crucial because it provides control of a highway to the west.\u00a0The effort also\u00a0blocked Russian troops from surrounding Kyiv from the northwest and provided the\u00a0Ukrainian military with a much-needed success story.
LATEST MOVEMENTS:<\/strong>Mapping and tracking Russia’s invasion of Ukraine<\/a>
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President Joe Biden embarked\u00a0Wednesday\u00a0on a multi-day trip to Europe, where he’ll talk with allies about the ongoing\u00a0response to Russia’s invasion<\/a>, including military assistance for Ukraine and new sanctions on Russia.\u00a0Jake Sullivan, Biden\u2019s national security adviser, said the president is working on long-term efforts to boost defenses in Eastern Europe and reduce the continent’s reliance on Russian energy.
Latest developments<\/em><\/strong>
\u25baPutin aide Anatoly Chubais\u00a0resigned,\u00a0left Russia because of the war and has no intention of returning, according to multiple media outlets.\u00a0Chubais, a special envoy\u00a0for ties with international organizations,\u00a0is the highest-profile figure to step down since the war began, Reuters reported<\/a>.
\u25baOksana Baulina, a journalist with the\u00a0independent Russian outlet The Insider, was killed by shelling Wednesday in Kyiv while documenting the damage of Russian bombardment in the capital, the news organization said.
\u25baEuropean Union nations signed off on another 500 million euros ($550 million) in military aid for Ukraine, a previously announced commitment that doubles the EU\u2019s military contributions to the country since Russia invaded Feb. 24.
\u25baPoland says it’s seeking to expel 45 Russian intelligence officers using diplomatic status as cover to stay in country. Tweeted Interior Minister\u00a0Mariusz Kami\u0144ski:\u00a0“We are breaking up the agents of the Russian secret services in our country.”
\u25baIn a nightly address to the nation, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said 100,000 civilians remained in the port city of\u00a0Mariupol, which has also come under naval attack after weeks of air and land strikes.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday the United States has determined Russian forces have committed war crimes in Ukraine.
\u201cToday, I can announce that, based on information currently available, the U.S. government assesses that members of Russia’s forces have committed war crimes in Ukraine,\u201d Blinken said in a statement.
He said the assessment is based on \u201ca careful review of available information from public and intelligence sources.\u201d
Blinken said Russian President Vladimir Putin\u2019s invasion has unleashed \u201cunrelenting violence that has caused death and destruction across Ukraine.\u201d He cited reports of indiscriminate attacks, including those deliberately targeting civilians, among other atrocities.\u00a0
\u201cRussia\u2019s forces have destroyed apartment buildings, schools, hospitals, critical infrastructure, civilian vehicles, shopping centers\u00a0and ambulances, leaving thousands of innocent civilians killed or wounded,\u201d Blinken said, pointing to\u00a0the\u00a0attack on a maternity hospital in Mariupol, among other incidents.
\u201cAs with any alleged crime, a court of law with jurisdiction over the crime is ultimately responsible for determining criminal guilt in specific cases,\u201d Blinken said.\u00a0\u201cThe U.S. government will continue to track reports of war crimes and will share information we gather with allies, partners\u00a0and international institutions and organizations, as appropriate.\u00a0We are committed to pursuing accountability using every tool available, including criminal prosecutions.\u201d
\u2013\u00a0Deirdre Shesgreen<\/em>
Russia has begun the process\u00a0to expel several American diplomats from the U.S. embassy in Moscow, the State Department said Wednesday.\u00a0
The department said it received a list of diplomats on who have been declared \u201cpersona non grata\u201d by the Russian foreign ministry. It didn\u2019t say how many diplomats were affected by the order, which generally results in the expulsion of those targeted within 72 hours.
The State Department called Wednesday\u2019s move \u201cRussia\u2019s latest unhelpful and unproductive step\u201d in relations between the countries. It urged Russia \u201cto end its unjustified expulsions of U.S. diplomats and staff.\u201d
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wants the whole world to acknowledge the four-week mark of the Russian invasion.\u00a0
In a video address shot near his offices in Kyiv late Wednesday, Zelenskyy urged citizens around the globe to take to the streets Thursday and demonstrate support for his country, which has been under a brutal, unprovoked attack since Feb. 24.
\u201cCome from your offices, your homes, your schools and universities,” Zelenskyy said. “Come in the name of peace. Come with Ukrainian symbols to support Ukraine, to support freedom, to support life.\u00a0Come to your squares, your streets. Make yourselves visible and heard. Say that people matter. Freedom matters. Peace matters. Ukraine matters.\u201d\u00a0
Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, owner of the Chelsea soccer club in the British Premier League,\u00a0has been sanctioned by the U.K. and the European Union because of his close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
But so far Abramovich has avoided penalties from the United States, and the reason stems from a request made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who sees Abramovich as a potential key figure in negotiating a peace deal, the Wall Street Journal reported<\/a>.
The newspaper said Zelenskyy made the request to President Joe Biden shortly before the U.S. was about to impose sanctions on Abramovich, a former oil tycoon.
A spokesperson for Abramovich declined to offer details but said in a statement to the WSJ that, “Based on requests, including from Jewish organizations in Ukraine, he has been doing all he can to support efforts aimed at restoring peace as soon as possible.”\u00a0\u00a0
NATO leaders will pressure China to condemn Russia\u2019s invasion and not provide military support to its ally, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday.\u00a0
\u201cI expect leaders will call on China to live up to its responsibilities as a member of the U.N. Security Council,\u201d Stoltenberg said at a news conference previewing Thursday\u2019s emergency NATO meeting on Ukraine in Brussels, which President Joe Biden will attend.
Stoltenberg said Beijing has joined Moscow in questioning the right of independent nations to choose their own path. And he charged China with providing political support to Russia by \u201cspreading blatant lies and disinformation\u201d about the war.
\u201cChina has not been able to condemn the invasion,\u201d he said.
Stoltenberg said China should do so now and \u201cengage in diplomatic efforts to find a peaceful way to end this war as soon as possible.\u201d
\u2013 Maureen Groppe<\/em>
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and U.S. lawmakers are discussing the possibility of freezing Russia’s gold reserves, estimated at a value of $130 billion, after legislators introduced a bill\u00a0targeting Russia\u2019s ability to sell its gold to avoid the impact of sanctions.
President Vladimir Putin has for years built Russia’s stockpile of gold, which is not subject to the sanctions imposed by the West since the early stages of the Ukraine invasion.
\u201cWe cannot allow Putin to take advantage of a loophole that could help finance his unconscionable attack on Ukraine,\u201d\u00a0said Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire.
State Department spokesman Ned Price said\u00a0U.S. Embassy officials in Russia were finally granted consular access to Brittney Griner and that the WNBA star was in \u201cgood condition.” Griner, who also plays professionally in Russia, has been in custody since last month after Russian officials accused her of trying to enter the country with vape cartridges containing hashish oil. A conviction\u00a0could keep her in a Russian prison for 10 years.\u00a0Griner has been ordered held in pre-trial detention until May 19.
The Russian assault on Kharkiv has left the northeastern city with Ukraine’s second-largest population in a “terrible” situation.\u00a0That’s the assessment of\u00a0Natalia Savchenko, 37, a Ukrainian who left the city and sought refuge in\u00a0Medyka, Poland.
\u201cPeople are being killed day and night,” Savchenko said. “They are shooting with everything they have. There is almost no one left in Kharkiv. There is no electricity, water. The city is almost empty. They do not supply children with medicine and food. They are just killing people.\u201d
Savchenko said the military helped her escape by train.
\u201cIt is horrible, so horrible,\u201d she said. \u201cWe left, but in the district where we lived, my grandmother stayed, my mom and my husband. Today our district was bombed, Shevchenkivsky district. We are running away.\u201d
President Joe Biden and other NATO leaders meeting Thursday\u00a0in Brussels will likely\u00a0agree to strengthen the alliance’s position on land, at sea and in the air, NATO’s\u00a0 Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday.\u00a0
Stoltenberg said NATO will deploy four new battlegroups, which usually involved more than 1,000 troops each,\u00a0in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania\u00a0and Slovakia. Added to\u00a0existing forces in the Baltics and Poland, NATO will have eight multinational NATO battlegroups along the eastern flank from the\u00a0Baltic to the Black Sea, he said.
“We face a new reality for our security,” Stoltenberg said. “So we must reset our deterrence and defense for the longer term.”
Amid the more than 3.5 million refugees who have left their homes in Ukraine for the safety of other countries because of the Russian invasion, a small but growing number are heading back<\/a>.
Many plan to stay only briefly, to check on their homes or to collect clothing more suited for the coming spring weather. Others say they’re tired of living in fear and are confident the Ukrainian military will ultimately prevail, thanks in part to the weapons, supplies and intelligence being provided by the United States and its allies.
International aid workers said the number of eastbound returnees to Ukraine is increasing daily, most of them women and children because men of fighting age had to stay behind to defend the country.
\u201cEverything we have is there,” said Karina Hoderan, an engineer who was heading home to Odesa with her family to pick up clothes and wasn’t sure whether they would go back to Moldova for refuge. “And we are too tired to be nervous.”
\u00a0Trevor Hughes<\/em>
President Joe\u00a0Biden warned Wednesday of the threat of chemical warfare in Ukraine as he departed for a four-day trip to Europe for meetings with key U.S. allies.
\u201cI think it\u2019s a real threat,\u201d Biden told reporters on the White House South Lawn.
Biden is heading to Brussels for a summit of NATO leaders and a meeting with the European Council as leaders seek to reaffirm their unity amid Russia\u2019s ongoing assault on Ukraine. Biden is expected to coordinate with allies on military assistance for Ukraine and new sanctions on Russia.
On Friday, Biden will travel to Warsaw, Poland, for a bilateral meeting with President Andrzej Duda. The two leaders are expected to discuss how allies are responding to the humanitarian crisis sparked by the war.
\u2013\u00a0Michael Collins<\/em>
Ukrainian leaders accused Russia of seizing 15 rescue workers and drivers from a humanitarian convoy of 11 buses that had been expected to evacuate residents.
\u201cEmployees of the state emergency service and bus drivers have been taken captive,\u201d Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. \u201cWe are trying to organize stable humanitarian corridors for Mariupol residents, but almost all of our attempts, unfortunately, are foiled by the Russian occupiers, by shelling or deliberate terror.”
He estimated 100,000 civilians remained in Mariupol, once home to more than 400,000 people,\u00a0after weeks of shelling that have battered the city.
\u201cThey bombed us for the past 20 days,\u201d said Viktoria Totsen, 39, who fled into Poland. \u201cDuring the last five days, the planes were flying over us every five seconds and dropped bombs everywhere \u2013\u00a0on residential buildings, kindergartens, art schools, everywhere.\u201d
A\u00a0laboratory at the Chernobyl nuclear plant that works to improve the management of radioactive waste was destroyed, according to the Ukrainian agency in charge of the area surrounding the plant.
The laboratory contained \u201chighly active samples and samples of radionuclides that are now in the hands of the enemy, which we hope will harm itself and not the civilized world,\u201d the agency said in its statement.
Ukraine\u2019s nuclear regulatory agency also said Monday that radiation monitors around the plant had stopped working.
Russia seized control of the Chernobyl plant early in its invasion of Ukraine, along with the\u00a0Zaporizhzhia plant. Chernobyl is the site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster in 1986 when a reactor exploded. The exclusion zone is the contaminated area around the plant.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has not ruled out the possibility of using nuclear weapons in the nearly four-week-long war with Ukraine, his longtime spokesman said Tuesday in a CNN interview.
Asked by\u00a0CNN\u2019s chief international anchor, Christiane Amanpour, whether he’s convinced Putin won’t take that drastic step, press secretary\u00a0Dmitry Peskov declined to dismiss that option.
“Well, we have a concept of domestic security, and, well, it’s public,” Peskov responded. “You can read all the reasons for nuclear arms to be used. So, if it is an existential threat for our country, then it can be used, in accordance with our concept.”
It’s not the first time a high-ranking Russian official has dangled a nuclear threat,\u00a0likely to sow fear among adversaries. Three days after launching the Ukraine invasion Feb. 24, Putin\u00a0ordered Russian nuclear forces put on high alert in response to tough sanctions from the West.
Contributing: The Associated Press<\/em><\/p>\n

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Editor’s note: This page recaps the news from Ukraine on Wednesday, March 23. Follow here for the latest updates and news from Thursday, March 24, as Russia’s invasion continues.As many as 15,000 Russian troops have been killed\u00a0since the invasion of Ukraine began four weeks ago, according to NATO’s first estimate.Russia has suffered\u00a030,000 to\u00a040,000 battlefield casualties, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":869,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1677"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/869"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1677"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1677\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1677"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1677"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1677"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}