Ukraine war top developments: Russia seized humanitarian convoy in Mariupol, says Ukraine; Biden to visit Europe

As the Russian offensive in Ukraine continues, US President Joe Biden is set to visit Europe for an emergency NATO summit as well as meetings with G7 leaders. He will also be visiting Poland, a crucial ally, which has been hosting NATO troops as well as harbouring Ukrainian refugees.

Here are the top developments: 
🔴 In Mariupol, Russian forces have seized a humanitarian convoy with 15 rescue workers and divers, Ukrainian leaders have said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskky in a video address on Tuesday estimated that 1,00,000 civilians remained in the besieged city, where Russia has been accused of bombarding civilian targets. “We are trying to organize stable humanitarian corridors for Mariupol residents, but almost all of our attempts, unfortunately, are foiled the Russian occupiers, shelling or deliberate terror,” he was quoted as saying AP.
This satellite image provided Maxar Technologies shows burning and destroyed apartment buildings in Mariupol, Ukraine Tuesday, March 22, 2022. (AP)
🔴 US President Joe Biden will set out on a four-day trip to Europe on Wednesday. Biden’s first stop is Brussels, where he’ll address an emergency NATO summit. According to AP, Biden is expected to reiterate his support for Article 5 of the alliance’s charter, which commits all members to collective defense if any are attacked. He will also be visiting Warsaw, Poland to discuss the humanitarian crisis. He is also expected to announce more sanctions against Russia.
🔴 Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski told The Indian Express that the city has reached its capacity to accept refugees, and if there is another wave, Europe and the US will have to step in and share the burden. Trzaskowski, who has also worked as the Deputy Miner of Foreign Affairs for a year, called Putin a “war criminal” and said India must stand united with Western democracies against Russia, Krishn Kaushik reported from Warsaw.
Demonstrators hold signs in front of a ‘peace sign’ lit outside the European Council during a protest to call on EU leaders to ban imports of Russian gas, amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in Brussels, Belgium March 22, 2022. (Reuters)
🔴 Visiting US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland told The Indian Express Wednesday that the US was ready to help India move away from dependence on Russia for defence supplies. “As the autocracies (Russia and China) tighten their relationship…to break the rules of the international system that have favoured India, the US, it is very important for democracies to stand together,” she said.
🔴 Following the UN Security Council meeting on cooperation between the United Nations and the League of Arab States, the Council is expected to vote on a draft resolution on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine put forward Russia. The UN General Assembly will also resume the 11th Emergency Special Session on Ukraine and vote on a resolution, titled “Humanitarian consequences of the aggression against Ukraine”, put forward Ukraine and its allies.
A boxing punch ball with a drawing of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s face hangs inside a bar in downtown Lviv, western Ukraine, Tuesday, March 22, 2022. (AP)
🔴 A senior US Defence official was quoted as saying AP that Russian ground forces have been stalled outside of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. According to the official, Russian troops are struggling to get food and fuel. He added “there are indications that some troops don’t have proper cold weather gear and are suffering from frostbite”.
🔴 Russia has destroyed a new laboratory at the Chernol nuclear power plant, the Ukrainian state agency responsible for the Chernol exclusion zone said Tuesday. According to the agency, the lab contains “highly 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”.
🔴 While Biden has expressed concerns over Russia resorting to the use of chemical or biological weapons, US Pentagon spokesman John Kir, quoted the AP, has said the US has seen no evidence to suggest that such an escalation is imminent.
— with agencies input