March 24, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

NATO will reinforce its chemical, biological and nuclear defense systems on fears Russia is planning to use such weapons against the people of Ukraine, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday. 

The concerns stem from “absolutely false” Russian “rhetoric” that the United States, NATO allies and Ukraine are preparing to use biological weapons, Stoltenberg said.

“We’ve seen before that this way of accusing others is actually a way to try to create a pretext to do the same themselves."

Before he spoke, NATO leaders issued a joint statement vowing to “enhance our preparedness and readiness for chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats,” adding “further decisions” will be taken at the next NATO summit, scheduled for this summer in Madrid. 

“Any use by Russia of a chemical or biological weapon would be unacceptable and result in severe consequences," the statement added.

The civilian death toll in Ukraine has exceeded 1,000 since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said Thursday — warning that "the actual figures are considerably higher."

“Most of the civilian casualties recorded were caused by the use of explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multiple-launch rocket systems, and missile and air strikes,” according to the OHCHR.

In a statement, the UN body detailed the 1,035 civilian deaths as “214 men, 160 women, 14 girls, and 28 boys, as well as 48 children and 571 adults whose sex is yet unknown.”

It added that at least 1,650 civilians have been injured since the start of the invasion.

In the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in eastern Ukraine, the OHCHR has recorded 311 civilian deaths and 857 civilians injured. In other regions, including the city of Kyiv, Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Kherson, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Sumy, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk and Zhytomyr regions, 724 civilians have been killed and 793 injured.

“OHCHR believes that the actual figures are considerably higher, 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. This concerns, for example, Mariupol and Volnovakha (Donetsk region), Izium (Kharkiv region), Sievierodonetsk and Rubizhne (Luhansk region), and Trostianets (Sumy region), where there are allegations of numerous civilian casualties,” it said.

Two Ukrainian Air Force pilots trained by the US, who go by the names Moonfish and Juice to protect their identities, told CNN that Russian forces "have control of very little part of Ukrainian sky."

He said that reinforcements from Western countries would be a boon to Ukrainian forces.

Juice said they need more jets and more advanced technology.

"The first problem is ... the number of jet[s]," he said.

"Unfortunately, Russian Air Force gets an advantage in technologies. So using this baby [referring to his plane], I'm not efficient. ... We need something more advanced, something modern" to push Russians further from the front lines, he said.

Watch the interview:

A Russia 24 TV channel anchor interrupted a live interview on Thursday to broadcast pre-taped footage of the country’s National Security Council operational meeting, which included Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, who hasn’t been seen in over a week. The broadcaster, however, did not say when the meeting took place.  

The anchor quoted Russia’s presidential spokesperson Dmitriy Peskov, suggesting Shoigu was giving a report on the so-called "Ukrainian military operation" remotely. The footage did not show Shoigu speak, but his image appeared on screen among other video call participants reporting to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Shoigu, a close ally of Putin, has not been seen lately despite having a leading role in Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Some Russian media reports have speculated that he could have health problems.

The Kremlin spokesman previously dismissed Shoigu’s lack of public presence by saying he “has a lot on his plate at the moment.” Speaking to CNN on Thursday, Peskov also refused to comment on an independent investigation into Defence Ministry sources leaking information about Shoigu’s health problems.  

Shoigu last appeared in a Channel One broadcast on March 18, which the Russian outlet said was from that day. But Russian journalists have speculated that the event being broadcast was from March 11.

US President Joe Biden is meeting with the G7 to discuss new sanctions and other actions to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

At the start of the meeting the leaders stood for a family photo, but did not otherwise engage with the press as the talks got underway.

Biden was seen sitting down at a round table and opening his notebooks as the meeting began. He walked in alongside British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Some background: The G7 is shorthand for Group of Seven, an organization of leaders from some of the world's largest economies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the US.

Russia was indefinitely suspended from the group — which was at the time known as the G8 — in 2014 after the majority of member countries allied against its annexation of Crimea. It was the first violation of a European country's borders since World War II.

US President Joe Biden in a statement said that the NATO alliance remains “as strong and united as it has ever been” and vowed continued support for Ukraine following Thursday’s NATO summit in Brussels. 

Biden noted that the leaders were able to hear from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky via videoconference and said in the statement that NATO and the United States will “continue to support him and his government with significant, and increasing, amounts of security assistance to fight Russian aggression and uphold their right to self-defense.”

The United States said Thursday it would provide more than $1 billion in humanitarian assistance for people affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The funds will help provide food, shelter, clean water, medical supplies and other assistance, the White House said.

The money comes as US President Joe Biden meets with European leaders and works to determine the next phase of the response to Russia’s war.

In addition, the White House said it would stand up a $320 million fund meant to bolster democracy in countries bordering the European Union, including funding for human rights, independent media and anti-corruption initiatives.

The G7 leaders just took a family photo in Brussels ahead of an emergency summit to discuss Russia's invasion in Ukraine.

US President Joe Biden is expected to speak soon to the group.

Andriy, a 15-year-old Ukrainian teen from Chernihiv, escaped his city after being forced from his home and then drove over what he thinks was a land mine, he told CNN.

He said he was screaming and couldn't walk. Villagers who heard the explosion brought him to safety.

His mother burned to death.

Andriy started crying when asked about his mother, saying it is "very difficult" for his family.

"I want you to know my mother was a very beautiful woman," he said via a translator.

The northern city of Chernihiv has seen some of the most intense shelling since Russia invaded Ukraine a month ago. Badly damaged buildings line rubble-strewn streets, while still-burning fires fill the air with heavy smoke, as seen in a new video from Mayor Vladyslav Atroshenko.

"It's very hard to look what going on with my city," he added, saying that he'll go back once the war ends. 

Andriy said he wants to "distance myself from this war," then played a song on his guitar for Berman.

Watch the interview: