Published On 18 Mar 202218 Mar 2022
These are the key events so far on Friday, March 18. Get the latest updates here.
Fighting
- At least three explosions have been heard in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv this morning. Mayor Andriy Sadovyi says Russian missiles have struck an area near the airport.
- The invasion has largely stalled on all fronts in recent days amid heavy losses, British military intelligence and the Ukrainian armed forces say.
- Authorities in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol say Russian forces are dropping 50-100 bombs on the city daily, causing “enormous destruction”.
- Russian shelling has caused a fire at Kharkiv’s Barabashovo market, among the largest in Eastern Europe, Ukraine’s public broadcaster, Suspilne, says.
Civilian toll
- More than 350,000 people are sheltering in Mariupol, officials says.
- Rescuers are combing the rubble of a theatre in the city that was bombed on Wednesday for survivors. Russia denies striking it. Italy says it will rebuild it.
- The governor of the northern Chernihiv region says 53 civilians had been killed in the past 24 hours. The dead included a United States citizen as he waited in a bread line, according to his family. Russia denies targeting civilians.
- The United Nations says it has recorded 780 confirmed civilian deaths since the invasion began, and 3.2 million people have fled. The World Health Organization says it has verified 43 attacks on healthcare facilities in Ukraine that have killed 12 people and injured dozens more, including health workers.
