Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1460760
15 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 16 MARCH 2022 NEWS UKRAINE CONFLICT RUSSIAN forces are still mak- ing at best sluggish advances in Ukraine 20 days after the start of the invasion. Still, the Kremlin continues to push ahead with its "special military operation" and has even expanded it to some de- gree with recent missile strikes in Ukraine's far western regions. Now, new commercial satellite imagery strongly indicates that a flotilla of Russian warships, in- cluding amphibious warfare ves- sels, are heading toward the stra- tegic Black Sea port city of Odesa, possibly ahead of a new offensive there. The leaders of three European countries, all of which are NATO and European Union member states, are also due to visit Kyiv in person in a major show of support for the Ukrainian government, ac- cording to Polish authorities. It's unclear how exactly they will make the trip and what securi- ty guarantees they may have re- ceived from the Russian side. Naval expert H.I. Sutton spot- ted what appear to be 14 Russian warships in three distinct groups heading in the general direction of Odesa in a Sentinel Hub satellite image taken today. In the lead-up to the invasion, the Russian military moved ad- ditional large landing ships and other naval vessels into the Black Sea to bolster its already signifi- cant maritime capabilities in the region. This came before Turkey de- clared two weeks ago, with no- table caveats, that it would block warships from any country from entering this body of water. It is very possible that the ships seen in the Sentinel Hub image at least include some of those that were observed off the coast of the Russian-occupied Crimean Pen- insula, just southwest of a naval base there, in other commercially available satellite imagery yester- day. Those vessels look to have been positioned there since at least March 3. There have been fears that the Kremlin could launch an offensive against Odesa since the begin- ning of the invasion. Steps have already been taken to fortify the city against amphibious landings and other ground attacks, such as mining beaches and setting up tank traps and other obstacles in the streets. Odesa is the third-largest pop- ulation center in Ukraine and a highly strategic port. Russian forc- es are also attempting to push in this general region overland via the southern city of Mykolaiv. British officials have also warned that Russian authorities may be working toward taking action to create a new breakaway area in southern Ukraine similar to those in the eastern Donbas region that Moscow now recognizes as inde- pendent countries. Active fighting, of course, is ongoing in many other areas of southern, eastern, and northern Ukrainian. This includes areas around the capital Kyiv, which was itself reportedly subjected to new Russian strikes today. A new two-day curfew has been institut- ed in the city amid fears of esca- lating attacks The capital's mayor, Vitali Klitschko, has said the city will never surrender to invading Russian forces. This all comes amid the Polish government's earlier announce- ment that the country's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Deputy Prime Minister Jarosław Kaczyński, who is also Chairman of the National Security and De- fense Committee, would be head- ing to Kyiv today. An official state- ment said that Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Petr Fiala and Prime Minister of Slovenia Janez Jansa would accompany them to the Ukrainian capital, where they are all due to meet with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and Prime Minister of Ukraine Denis Shmyhal. "The visit is organized in con- sultation with the President of the European Council Charles Michel and the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Ley- en," according to the press release. "The purpose of the visit is to confirm the unequivocal support of the entire European Union for the sovereignty and independence of Ukraine. The aim of this visit is also to present a broad package of support for the Ukraine and Ukrainians." It's not at all clear how these offi- cials plan to get to and from Kyiv, which is an active warzone, safely and whether or not the Kremlin may have provided any security guarantees. This trip, if it does in- deed transpire, is significant given the very real risks involved in trav- eling to Kyiv and represents the highest-level foreign delegation to visit Ukraine since the conflict began. In addition, though this is being conducted under the aus- pices of the European Council, the European Union's main politi- cal body, all three of the countries involved are also NATO mem- bers. The Kremlin has previously has called on Ukraine to formally renounce any plans to join either of these international bodies as one of a number of prerequisites for a negotiated settlement to end its war. Ukrainian President Zelensky has criticized NATO on a num- ber of occasions for not taking more active steps with regards to the conflict, such as establishing a no-fly zone. "We realized that Ukraine will not become a mem- ber of NATO," he said today in a speech where he also called for new forms of security guarantees from the West. Satellite imagery from Planet Labs indicates that Kherson Air Base in southern Ukraine, now controlled by Russian forces, has been subjected to artillery strikes. However, there is no clear evi- dence to support previous Ukrain- ian claims to have destroyed doz- ens of Russia's helicopters there. The United Nations says that approximately 3 million people in Ukraine, including third-party na- tionals who had been living in the country, have now been displaced by the fighting and had fled into neighbouring states. In a tit-for-tat move that is un- likely to have any major impacts, if any at all, the Kremlin has now sanctioned U.S. President Joe Bid- en and a host of other current and former U.S. government officials. This comes as sanctions against Russia continue to grow. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has said that "China is not a par- ty to the crisis, still less wants to be affected by the sanctions." This follows reports that the Chinese government may have been open to providing military assistance to the Kremlin to help it continue its operations in Ukraine. Amphibious assault on Odesa could be imminent according to satellite imagery