March 14, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

By Aditi Sangal, Melissa Macaya, Helen Regan, Steve George, Amy Woodyatt, Ben Church, Ed Upright, Maureen Chowdhury and Jason Kurtz, CNN

Updated 12:01 a.m. ET, March 15, 2022
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7:56 p.m. ET, March 14, 2022

Anti-war protester interrupts Russian state TV news broadcast

From CNN Staff

An anti-war protester holding a sign interrupted one of Russia's major state television broadcast news shows around 9:31 p.m. Moscow time.

"NO WAR. Stop the war. Do not believe propaganda they tell you lies here," the sign reads. 

"Russians against war," the last line of the sign says in English.

See the moment:

What we know about the protester: The woman holding the sign is an employee of the channel, according to OVD-Info, an independent human rights protest-monitoring group.

On its Telegram channel, OVD-Info reported that the employee is Maria Ovsyannikova. Friends of Ovsyannikova told OVD-Info that she was currently at the Ostankino Police Department in Moscow.

CNN cannot independently verify that the woman seen interrupting the news broadcast is Ovsyannikova, but photos on social media profiles bearing her name match the woman seen on screen. 

Russian state news agency TASS confirmed OVD-Info’s reporting, citing a source, and added that she could face prosecution.

OVD-Info also obtained a video purportedly made by Ovsyannikova before she interrupted the news broadcast.

"What is happening now in Ukraine is a crime, and Russia is the aggressor country, and the responsibility for this aggression lies on the conscience of only one person. This man is Vladimir Putin," Ovsyannikova says in the video, noting that her father is Ukrainian, and her mother is Russian. 

"Unfortunately, for the past few years, I have been working on Channel One and doing Kremlin propaganda, and now I am very ashamed of it," she says. "It's a shame that I allowed to speak lies from the TV screens, ashamed that I allowed to zombify Russian people."

"I am ashamed that we kept silent in 2014, when all this was just beginning," she says. "We didn’t go to rallies when the Kremlin poisoned Navalny, we just silently watched this anti-human regime and now the world has turned its back on us forever, and another ten generations of our descendants will not be able to wash away from the shame of this fraternal war.”

"We are Russian people, thinking and smart, and it is only in our power to stop all this madness," she says. "Go to the rallies and do not be afraid! They can't transplant us all!"

Videos of the interruption quickly were posted on social media shortly after it aired. CNN obtained the video from a live feed from Russia Channel One VK's profile. 

Within minutes, that live feed was removed.

See more:

Correction: An earlier version of this post incorrectly reported the type of organization OVD-Info is. OVD-Info is an independent human rights protest-monitoring group.

4:16 p.m. ET, March 14, 2022

Pentagon spokesperson says it appears "Russians are broadening their target set" after strike near Lviv

From CNN's Ellie Kaufman and Jeremy Herb

A Russian airstrike that targeted the Yavoriv training facility near Lviv in western Ukraine on Sunday is the third airstrike in western Ukraine, Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said during a briefing at the Pentagon on Monday.

With the latest strike, “it certainly appears as if the Russians are broadening their target set,” Kirby added.

The training facility was the location where Florida National Guard members had been doing their training before they left Ukraine before the invasion, Kirby said. No US contractors, civilians or government personnel were at the facility when it was hit, Kirby said.

This site was not one of the routes where US has been getting security assistance to Ukraine, Kirby added.

The Pentagon does not believe that Russia’s strike on a military training facility was a sign that Russia was targeting the delivery of foreign security assistance to Ukraine. 

“We’re not looking at this strike as an effort to go after the delivery of security assistance to Ukraine,” Kirby said.

“I’m not going to talk about all the modalities of how we’re continuing to find ways to help Ukraine defense itself,” Kirby added. “We’re going to continue to get as much security assistance to the Ukrainians as fast as we can and in the most efficient, effective way. And there’s lot of diff ways that we’re pursuing that.”

Kirby also said during the briefing that the airspace over Ukraine remains “contested."

“We still assess that Russia does not have air superiority over Ukraine and that the Ukrainians are defending their space ably,” Kirby said.

“It's contested because the Ukrainians are, are finding ways to continue to try to defend their airspace and preserve their own mobility and maneuver space,” he added.

A defense official earlier today echoed Kirby's comments regarding Ukraine's airspace, adding that the airspace is “dynamic” and there are “times and places” where Russia or Ukraine “has more dominance.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly called for the establishment of a no-fly zone over Ukraine as Russia continues strikes across the country. The US and NATO have opposed creating a no-fly zone in Ukraine, warning that such a move could lead to a "full-fledged war in Europe."

CNN's Daniel Maraccini contributed reporting to this post.

3:50 p.m. ET, March 14, 2022

US conveyed to China potential negative outcomes of assisting Russia in its war in Ukraine, official says

From CNN's Kevin Liptak

The US has conveyed directly to China the potential negative outcomes of assisting Russia in its war with Ukraine, a senior Biden administration official said after the US national security adviser met his Chinese counterpart in Rome on Monday.

“We do have concerns about China's alignment with Russia at this time and the national security adviser was direct about those concerns and the potential implications and consequences of certain actions," the official said, describing a "very candid," "intense" seven-hour meeting between US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and top Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi

In their conversation about Ukraine, Sullivan laid out "where we are, how we got here and what the risks are lying ahead," the official said. In particular, he described unity among the United States and its allies, including those in Europe and Asia, in punishing Russia for its actions. 

“We are communicating directly and privately to China about our concerns about the kinds of support that other countries might be providing to Russia," said the official.

Sullivan and Yang also discussed crisis management and North Korea in their meeting, the official said.

More context: The US has information suggesting China has expressed some openness to providing Russia with requested military and financial assistance, a Western official and a US diplomat told CNN. But it is not yet clear whether China intends to provide Russia with military or financial assistance as part of its war on Ukraine, US officials familiar with the intelligence tell CNN.

The consideration was detailed in a diplomatic cable relayed to allies in Europe and Asia, according to the sources.

The cable did not state definitively that assistance had been provided. One official also said the US warned in the cable that China would likely deny it was willing to provide assistance. 

Officials are also monitoring whether China provides some economic and diplomatic relief for Russia in other forms, like abstention votes at the United Nations.

3:33 p.m. ET, March 14, 2022

US defense secretary will travel to NATO Defense Ministerial in Brussels, Slovakia and Bulgaria this week

From CNN's Ellie Kaufman

(Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP)
(Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP)

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will travel to Brussels, Belgium, to participate in the NATO Defense Ministerial this week. He will then travel to Slovakia and Bulgaria, Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said at a briefing on Monday.

Austin’s trip to Brussels and Slovakia had already been announced, but he added a stop to Bulgaria for a day, Kirby said. Austin leaves for Europe on March 15. 

In Bulgaria, Austin will meet with “senior civilian and military leaders,” Kirby said.

3:20 p.m. ET, March 14, 2022

UN secretary general on conflict in Ukraine: "This war will have no winners, only losers"

From CNN staff

UN Secretary-General António Guterres delivers a statement on Monday, March 14.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres delivers a statement on Monday, March 14. (Richard Drew/AP)

UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged for peace in Ukraine on Monday.

"Ukraine is on fire. The country is being decimated before the eyes of the world. The impact on civilians is reaching terrifying proportions. Countless innocent people — including women and children — have been killed," he said addressing reporters.

Guterres added, "After being hit by Russian forces, roads, airports and schools lie in ruins. According to the World Health Organization, at least 24 health facilities have suffered attacks. Hundreds of thousands of people are without water or electricity. With each passing hour, two things are increasingly clear: First, it keeps getting worse. Second, whatever the outcome, this war will have no winners, only losers."

Guterres said he has spoken to several world leaders who have been in contact with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. He said they are working on mediation efforts.

Guterres has not spoken with Putin since the conflict in Ukraine began in late February.

Asked about his opinion of a no-fly zone, Guterres was cautious in responding, telling reporters “consider that possibility as a risk of escalation that could create a global conflict. It is based on that analysis that I think we need to be prudent, even if I understand the dramatic appeal of Ukrainian government.”

CNN’s Senior UN Correspondent Richard Roth contributed to this report.

3:28 p.m. ET, March 14, 2022

Fox News correspondent hospitalized after being injured in Ukraine, network says

From CNN's Oliver Darcy

People walk past Fox signs in New York on February 6.
People walk past Fox signs in New York on February 6. (Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg/Getty Images)

Fox News correspondent Benjamin Hall, who had been deployed in recent weeks to cover the war in Ukraine, has been hospitalized after being injured while reporting near Kyiv, the network said on Monday.

"We have a minimal level of details right now, but Ben is hospitalized and our teams on the ground are working to gather additional information as the situation quickly unfolds," Fox News chief executive Suzanne Scott said in a memo to employees.

"The safety of our entire our entire team of journalists in Ukraine and the surrounding regions is our top priority and of the utmost importance," Scott added. "This is a stark reminder for all journalists who are putting their lives on the line every day to deliver the news from a war zone."

Scott said Fox would provide further updates when the network knows more.

Hall's injury comes one day after Brent Renaud, an award-winning American journalist, was killed in the Ukrainian city of Irpin.

Andriy Nebitov, the head of the Kyiv region police, said that Russian forces shot Renaud, adding that "the occupants cynically kill even journalists of international media, who've been trying to tell the truth about atrocities of Russian military in Ukraine."

Another journalist, Juan Arredondo, was also wounded in Ukraine on Sunday.

Press freedom groups have denounced the violence journalists are facing while covering the war. The Committee to Protect Journalists, after the death of Renaud, called on Russian forces to "stop all violence against journalists and other civilians at once."

3:16 p.m. ET, March 14, 2022

China has expressed some openness to providing military and financial aid to Russia, US cable suggests  

From CNN's Natasha Bertrand, Katie Bo Lillis, Kevin Liptak, Kylie Atwood and Jennifer Hansler 

The US has information suggesting China has expressed some openness to providing Russia with requested military and financial assistance, a Western official and a US diplomat told CNN. But it is not yet clear whether China intends to provide Russia with military or financial assistance as part of its war on Ukraine, US officials familiar with the intelligence tell CNN.

The consideration was detailed in a diplomatic cable relayed to allies in Europe and Asia, according to the sources.

The cable did not state definitively that assistance had been provided. One official also said the US warned in the cable that China would likely deny it was willing to provide assistance.

The Chinese Community Party leadership is not all in agreement regarding how to respond to Russia’s request for assistance, said one of the sources. Two officials said that China's desire to avoid economic consequences may limit its appetite to help Russia.

“There is real concern by some that their involvement could hurt economic relationships with the West, on which China relies," said one of the sources. 

Officials are also monitoring whether China provides some economic and diplomatic relief for Russia in other forms, like the abstention vote at the UN. 

Chinese President Xi Jinping is “unsettled” by the Russian invasion of Ukraine in part because “his own intelligence doesn’t appear to have told him what was going to happen,” and because of how Putin “has driven Americans and Europeans more closely together,” CIA Director Bill Burns told the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday. 

Officials separately told CNN that Xi has been unnerved by how the war in Ukraine has reinvigorated the NATO alliance.

Chinese leadership is also concerned because of “the reputational damage that China suffers by association with the ugliness of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine” and “the economic consequences at a time when growth rates in China are lower than they’ve been in 30 years,” according to Burns.

The US is “watching very closely the extent to which" China or any other country "provides any form of support, whether that's material support, whether that's economic support, whether that's financial support to Russia,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price said. “Any such support from anywhere in the world would be of great concern to us."

He declined to comment specifically on reports of a diplomatic cable that the US had sent to NATO allies about China’s willingness to support Russia’s war in Ukraine.

China and Russia have denied allegations that Moscow requested military assistance from Beijing.

3:11 p.m. ET, March 14, 2022

It's 9 p.m. in Kyiv. Catch up on the latest developments. 

A Ukrainian soldier stands among debris from a damaged apartment block in Kyiv on March 14.
A Ukrainian soldier stands among debris from a damaged apartment block in Kyiv on March 14. (Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

There have been heavy explosions in Kyiv on Monday and an apartment block in one of the city's suburbs was hit with a deadly strike. Russia has now launched more than 900 missiles against Ukraine since the beginning of the invasion, an increase of around 200 missiles since Wednesday, according to a senior US defense official.

Meanwhile, a fourth round of talks between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators are on "pause" until Tuesday, according to Ukraine's negotiator who noted that "negotiations continue."

Here's a catch up of other major developments in Russia's invasion of Ukraine:

  • Russia continues its assault on Kyiv: One person has died and six more were injured when an apartment building in the city's Obolon district was hit earlier today. People living in the area were visibly in shock. Many were crying, seeking refuge with relatives and friends. A man and a woman who live on the ninth floor of the building told CNN they were woken up by the sudden sound of a massive explosion.
  • Russian advances "remain stalled" in Ukraine: “Almost all” of the Russian advances in Ukraine “remain stalled,” a senior US defense official said Monday during a background briefing with reporters. Russian forces moving on Kyiv, including the infamous convoy to the north, have not appreciably progressed over the weekend, said the official, though the US does see Russia trying to “flow in forces behind the advance elements” moving to the north of Kyiv.
  • Ukrainian forces have "effectively struck" Russian logistics and sustainment capabilities: Ukrainian forces have “effectively struck Russian logistics and sustainment capabilities,” in the ongoing war in Ukraine, a senior US defense official told reporters on Monday. The US has seen examples of Ukrainians targeting Russian sustainment and logistics capabilities in their strikes on the large Russian military convoy that is outside of Kyiv, the official said. 
  • People beginning to escape from Mariupol through evacuation corridor, mayor's office says: An adviser to the mayor's office in the besieged city of Mariupol says that civilians are at last able to get out of the city through an evacuation corridor — and head towards the city of Zaporizhzhia, which is under Ukrainian control.
  • UN: At least 636 civilians have been killed in Ukraine since Russian invasion began: As of Sunday, at least 636 civilians have died in Ukraine since the Russian invasion began, the UN Human Rights office (OHCHR) said Monday in a statement sent to CNN. This is an increase of 40 deaths compared to the previous daily update. Among the dead are six girls, 10 boys and 30 more children whose gender is not known, the OHCHR says. According to the agency, at least 1,125 civilians have been injured so far. The agency says it believes that "the actual figures are considerably higher, especially in Government-controlled territory and especially in recent days, as the receipt of information from some locations where intense hostilities have been going on has been delayed and many reports are still pending corroboration."
  • White House having early discussions about Biden traveling to Europe, sources say: White House officials are having early discussions about having US President Joe Biden travel to Europe soon amid the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to multiple sources familiar with the planning. The trip would come on the heels of visits of several top aides, including US Vice President Kamala Harris and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. No trip has been finalized or announced. 
  • Biden administration also weighing expediting some Ukrainian refugee cases: The Biden administration is considering expediting the resettlement of Ukrainian refugees with US ties, including family already living here, according to a US official, amid growing calls from advocates to do more for the millions of people fleeing war-torn Ukraine. Nearly 3 million people have already fled Ukraine into neighboring countries, according to the United Nations refugee agency.
  • Ukrainian prime minister calls for Russia's expulsion from Council of Europe: Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal pleaded “Ukraine is on fire” as he asked for Russia to be ousted from the Council of Europe on Monday, in a speech to the chamber.  Shmyhal was standing in for President Volodymyr Zelensky who was scheduled to give the address earlier on Monday. "For the past 18 days the world finally opened its eyes," Shmyhal said, referring to Russian actions in Ukraine.

2:43 p.m. ET, March 14, 2022

Ukrainian flag taken down in Melitopol's Victory Square

From CNN’s Paul P. Murphy

The large Ukrainian flag in Russian-occupied Melitopol's Victory Square, the site of many protests in recent days, has been taken down.

CNN has geolocated and verified the authenticity of the photos posted to social media.

Local news outlet RIA-Melitopol posted one of the photos, saying the flag was taken down by public works employees.

Russian troops gained control of Melitopol on Feb. 26. On Friday, armed men detained the elected mayor Ivan Fedorov and later that day the prosecutor's office for the Russian-backed separatist Luhansk region accused him of terrorism.

Since then, newly installed mayor Galina Danilchenko has ordered the broadcasting of Russian television channels and attempted to dissolve the city council in favor of creating a People's Committee.

Ukraine's prosecutor general opened a treason investigation into Danilchenko on Sunday.