Portal:Current events/2022 March 13

March 13, 2022 (Sunday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Russo-Ukrainian War
- 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
  - Eastern Ukraine offensive
    - Usage of white phosphorus bombs is reported overnight in the town of Popasna in Luhansk Oblast. (Ukrayinska Pravda)
  - Kyiv offensive
    - Brent Renaud, a filmmaker and photojournalist formerly affiliated with The New York Times, is shot and killed by Russian troops in Irpin, Kyiv Oblast. His colleague, another U.S. citizen, is wounded and evacuated to a hospital. (Jerusalem Post)
  - Battle of Melitopol
    - Russian occupation forces install Halyna Danylchenko as the new mayor of Melitopol following the abduction of Ivan Fedorov. Danilchenko, a former member of the city council, calls on residents to "adapt to the new reality" and stop "committing extremist acts". However, the city council refuses to recognise Danilchenko as mayor and calls on Ukrainian authorities to indict her for treason. (Sky News) (Ukrayinska Pravda)
  - Siege of Mariupol
    - Ukrainian authorities say that 2,187 civilians have now been killed in Mariupol, Donetsk Oblast. Mariupol's City Council says that Russian forces are deliberately targeting residential buildings and densely populated areas in the port city. (Ukrayinska Pravda)
  - Aftermath of the Battle of Chernobyl
    - Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko announces that power has been restored to the former power plant in Chernobyl. (Axios)
  - Russian airstrikes inflict significant damage on the Ivano-Frankivsk International Airport in western Ukraine, with no casualties immediately reported. (CNN)
  - An airstrike on the NATO–Ukraine Partnership for Peace Yavoriv military base some 10–20 km (6.2–12.4 mi) from the border with Poland kills 35 people and injures 134 others. (USA Today)
  - White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan warns that Russia could be preparing to use chemical weapons in Ukraine. (USA Today)
  - Russian forces abduct Yevgeny Matveyev, the mayor of Dniprorudne in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, after he refused to cooperate with the military. (The Jerusalem Post)
  - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy again calls for a no-fly zone over Ukraine, saying "it is only a matter of time before Russian rockets fall on your territory, on NATO territory". (NDTV)
2022 Erbil rocket attacks
- Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claims responsibility for the overnight missile strikes on Erbil in Kurdistan Region, Iraq, saying that the strikes were in response to "recent crimes of the fake Zionist regime". The missiles were launched from Iran's East Azerbaijan province. (The Jerusalem Post)
Insurgency in Northern Chad; aftermath of the 2021 Northern Chad offensive
- The Transitional Military Council of Chad meets with 44 different armed rebel and opposition groups, including the Front for Change and Concord in Chad, Movement for Democracy and Justice in Chad, and the Union of Forces for Democracy and Development in Doha, Qatar for peace talks. The President of Chad, Mahamat Déby, hopes that the talks will be the first step towards agreeing on a new constitution and holding free elections. (ABC News) (France 24)
- The Transitional Military Council says that it has released hundreds of prisoners of war and has granted amnesty to several prominent leaders as a condition for the talks. (France 24)
Benishangul-Gumuz conflict
- The Ethiopian government says that it will take action against men who were seen in a video wearing Ethiopian military and police uniforms and burning civilians alive in the Metekel Zone. (Reuters)

Arts and culture

75th British Academy Film Awards
- The 75th British Academy Film Awards is held, with The Power of the Dog winning Best Film and Best Director. (BBC News)

Disasters and accidents

2021–22 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season
- Around 12 people in Mozambique are dead after Tropical Cyclone Gombe struck the Nampula and Zambezia provinces. (Phys.org)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Shanghai
    - Shanghai restricts access and urges residents not to leave the city amid an increase in the number of new COVID-19 cases. (Seven News Australia)
    - Areas in the Jinshan and Minhang districts of Shanghai are elevated to medium-risk areas of COVID-19. (Shanghai Daily)
  - Shenzhen enters a lockdown until March 20 after 66 cases of COVID-19 were reported in the city. (Bloomberg)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
  - Former President Barack Obama tests positive for COVID-19. (People)

International relations

Reactions to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Russia–Ukraine relations
  - Ukrainian negotiator and presidential adviser Mykhailo Podoliyak and Russian delegate Leonid Slutsky say that there are signs of progress in the peace talks. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman says that Russia is willing to engage in negotiations aimed at a ceasefire. (Reuters)
  - Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov and Ukrainian adviser Mykhailo Podoliyak confirm that the fourth round of talks between Russia and Ukraine will resume tomorrow. (Times of Israel) (Market Screener)
  - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that the purpose of the talks between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations is to ensure direct talks between himself and Russian President Vladimir Putin. (GMA Network)
- India–Ukraine relations
  - The embassy of India in Ukraine is relocated from Lviv to Poland due to the attacks on Western Ukraine. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Protests against the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- 2022 anti-war protests in Russia
  - Around 250 anti-war protesters are detained in Russia for opposing the military invasion of Ukraine. (The Moscow Times)

Politics and elections

2022 Colombian parliamentary election
- Colombians go to the polls to elect the members of the Congress. (France 24)

Sports

2022 Winter Paralympics
- The closing ceremony of the Winter Paralympics is held in Beijing. (CBC)