International

Russia-Ukraine war: What happened today (March 20)

By NPR Staff

Published March 20, 2022 at 1:56 PM PDT

This story was published more than 2 years ago.

A neighbor stands amid the destruction caused by a bomb in Kyiv's Satoya neighborhood.

As Sunday draws to a close in Kyiv and in Moscow, here are the key developments of the day:

Russia bombed an art school sheltering about 400 people. Russian military forces struck the school in the besieged city of Mariupol, Ukrainian officials said. Ongoing shelling in the southeastern port city has prevented civilians from safely evacuating. According to the UN, more than 900 civilians have died since the invasion started.

Slovenia's prime minister tells NPR he will send his country's ambassador or chargé d'affaires back to Ukraine as a show of support. Prime Minister Janez Janša also wants the European Union to offer Ukraine a fast-track membership. "This is not time as usual, but there is a war going on," he said.

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Australia is banning the export of some types of ore to Russia. The restrictions are designed to curb Russia's ability to produce aluminum — a key component in the making of ammunition. Russia relies on Australia for 20% of its alumina needs.

Ukraine urged Israel for more support. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pleaded for Israel to do more to help Ukraine In a speech to Israeli lawmakers, he also drew comparisons between the Russian invasion and the Holocaust. Zelenskyy asked why Israel — which is mediating Russia-Ukraine talks — won't give Ukraine weapons or impose sanctions on Russia. He criticized Israel's limits on accepting non-Jewish Ukrainian refugees.

President Biden is headed to Europe. The focus of the trip is to rally the world in support of Ukrainians and against Russia's invasion, the White House said, but there are no plans for Biden to visit the country itself.

In-depth

Photojournalist Marcus Yam's mission to capture humanity brings him to the deadly front lines of the war.

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The family of a U.S. citizen killed in Ukraine last week are searching for answers.

The images of Ukraine flooding social media can't give us the full picture.

Earlier developments

You can read more news from Sunday here, as well as more in-depth reporting and daily recaps here. Also, listen and subscribe to NPR's State of Ukraine podcast for updates throughout the day.