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FNC: “Russian President Vladimir Putin spokesman Dmitri Peskov refused Tuesday to say his nation would not use nuclear weapons.
“If there’s a threat to the very existence of our country, it can be used in accordance with this concept,” he stated in response to the question of whether Russia’s use of nuclear weapons could be completely ruled out, according to the Russian government-controlled news site TASS.
“Russian military doctrine envisions use of nuclear weapons in a first use scenario if it is losing a conventional conflict. Ukraine is exactly the scenario for which this was developed,” said Rebekah Koffler, who is a former DIA intelligence officer who specialized in Russia.
“They fear U.S. intervention in Ukraine because they fear we are conventionally superior,” she said. “And if they interpret our action as offensive rather than defensive, that is when the viability of Russian statehood would be threatened, in accordance with the Russian national security concept and military doctrine.”
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“As of today, there are about a hundred thousand people in the city [Mariupol]. In inhumane conditions. In a complete blockade. No food, no water, no medicine. Under constant shelling, under constant bombing,” President Zelenskyy said.
“For more than a week now we have been trying to organize stable humanitarian corridors for Mariupol residents. And almost all our attempts, unfortunately, are disrupted by the Russian occupiers. By shelling or deliberate terror,” he added.
“We continue to work at various levels to force Russia to peace. To the end of this brutal war. Ukrainian representatives are working on the negotiations, which continue virtually every day. It’s very difficult. Sometimes scandalous. But step by step we are moving forward.
“We will work, we will fight in any way we can. Till the end. Bravely and openly. At all these sites. With full energy.”
?@ZelenskyyUa:
«We will work, we will fight in any way we can. Till the end. Bravely and openly. At all these sites. With full energy. For the result. With all our strength. And we will not get tired. Let's rest when we win» – https://t.co/kBwcw8KPOT— Defence of Ukraine (@DefenceU) March 23, 2022
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Maria Smarovailo, a Mariupol native, told press that there has been “no food for more than three weeks.
“In the first week of hostiles in the city, residents bought food in stores en masse,” she said. “When electricity, water and cellphone signals were cut, people began collecting snow and rainwater and looting stores that were still standing to get at least some food and water for children.”
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Alexei Navalny, a jailed opposition Russian political leader, said, “I want to say: the best support for me and other political prisoners is not sympathy and kind words, but actions. Any activity against the deceitful and thievish Putin’s regime. Any opposition to these war criminals.”
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Russian losses surpass Afghanistan.
The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces released the information claiming that as of March 22 the Russian military sustained 15,300 casualties. Over the ten years of the USSR’s war in Afghanistan, the reported number was 15,051.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) March 23, 2022
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It is paradoxical that Russia would “fear for its statehood” as a result of a war RUssia, itself, declared. To surround a city and starve its occupants is nothing short of a blatant war crime. How can the Russian forces live with themselves is the question I keep asking? They know how wrong their actions are. Yet, fear drives them. It is time for the head of the snake to be lopped.