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What the news showed on 25 March 2022
Summary
A look back at reports from 23 and 24 March 2022: nuclear staff under threat, a shift towards Donbas, sanctions and a border incident in Nagorno-Karabakh.
What was the picture in the war in Ukraine as of 25 March 2022? The reports from the preceding two days point to pressure on several fronts, and to a widening diplomatic response.
Chornobyl staff in danger
On 24 March 2022, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said that workers at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant were at risk because of Russian shelling of a neighbouring town. The shelling, it said, endangered the homes and families of the operational staff who maintain nuclear and radiation safety.
Chernihiv and the shift to Donbas
On 23 March 2022, troops in Chernihiv managed to push back some of the Russian forces that had been encircling the city for weeks. The same day, an official said that Russia had begun to give priority to its operations in the Donbas region, including around Luhansk.
Sanctions from Australia
On 24 March 2022, Australia imposed sanctions on Belarusian president Oleksandr Lukashenko and his family for supporting the Russian invasion. It also targeted 22 Russian propagandists and disinformation operatives, among them managing editors of Russia Today, the Strategic Culture Foundation, InfoRos and NewsFront.
A separate flashpoint
Also on 24 March 2022, the government of Artsakh reported that Azerbaijani soldiers had crossed the Line of Contact and taken control of the village of Farukh. Women and children were being evacuated from the nearby village of Khramort, and Russian peacekeepers were reported to be negotiating with Azerbaijan.
Taken together, these reports show a war that was affecting nuclear safety, shaping military priorities in the east and drawing sanctions from far beyond the region, while tension flared elsewhere in the neighbourhood.
