Enlarge image
Russian soldiers in Mariupol (June 12)
Photo: SERGEI ILNITSKY / EPA
What has happened in the past few hours
According to the authorities,
four people were injured
in an
explosion
in the Ukrainian city of
Melitopol
, which was occupied by Russian troops .
The occupation authorities assumed that an explosive device had detonated in a rubbish bin next to their local office of the Ministry of the Interior, the Russian news agency Tass reported on Sunday evening.
Only civilians were injured, it said.
The information could not be independently verified.
Melitopol is located in the Zaporizhia region of Ukraine, which is partly occupied by Russian troops.
That says Kyiv
Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelenskyy
has again asked
the West to
supply modern air defense
systems
.
Since the Russian invasion in February, Ukrainian cities have been hit by more than 2,600 enemy missiles, Zelenskyy said in his daily video address on Sunday.
“These are lives that could have been saved, tragedies that could have been prevented – if Ukraine had been heard.” Even before the war, the country asked for modern air defense systems that could have been delivered years ago , Zelenskyy said.
Kyiv Mayor
Vitali Klitschko
has
high expectations
for the visit of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi.
"We need tough support sanctions
and
weapons
from the three leaders of the most important countries
as soon as possible," Klitschko said in a TV interview with "Bild" in Kiev.
"Bild am Sonntag" had previously reported that the three heads of government want to travel together to Kyiv before the G7 summit at the end of June.
According to Klitschko, Ukraine urgently needs more ammunition and modern weapons to defend itself.
Moscow says so
Unknown
hackers
placed a
message against the war
in Ukraine on
Russian state television websites
.
On Sunday evening, for example, the streaming portal Smotrim.ru read next to photos of the destruction in Ukraine: “Putin destroys Russians and Ukrainians!
Stop the war!«, as numerous internet users reported.
Russian state television later admitted to a hacker attack on "Smotrim" and the website of the news program "Vesti".
As a result, “unauthorized content with extremist calls” was displayed for less than an hour.
In Russia, the war of aggression in Ukraine is officially called a military special operation.
Deviating from the official line is punishable as disseminating alleged misinformation about Russian armed forces.
humanitarian situation
A
Russian non-governmental organization
campaigning against the
use
of
torture has
disbanded
under pressure from the authorities
.
The fact that the authorities had classified the Committee for the Prevention of Torture as a "foreign agent" was an "insult," said its chairman, Sergei Babinets, on Sunday in the messenger service Telegram.
"We don't want to continue working if we're labeled 'foreign agents.'"
The members of the organization decided on Saturday to stop their activities, Babinez explained.
"Despite the apparent importance of our mission, for many years the authorities have attempted to portray it as alien and harmful."
In this way, the authorities would send out the signal "that torture is becoming (or already is) part of government policy," he criticized.
The NGO, founded in 2000, works to ensure that the authorities investigate abuses by security forces and take preventive measures against them.
According to research by
Amnesty International ,
Russian troops
have killed numerous civilians in the eastern Ukrainian region of Kharkiv
by using
cluster munitions .
"In Kharkiv, people were killed in their homes and on the streets while they were taking their children to playgrounds, commemorating their loved ones in cemeteries, queuing for aid deliveries or shopping," reported Janine Uhlmannsiek from the German branch of Amnesty International.
(You'll find more about it here.)
International Reactions
In the first three months of the Ukraine war, the federal government approved the delivery of
weapons
and
other
armaments
worth 350.1 million euros
to the country attacked by Russia.
This emerges from a response from the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection to a request from Left Party MP Sevim Dagdelen, which the dpa news agency has received.
From the first day of the war, February 24, to June 1, the government gave the go-ahead for the delivery of weapons of war for 219.8 million euros and other armaments such as helmets and protective vests for 85.2 million euros.
In addition, there are weapons and equipment for the Bundeswehr for 45.1 million euros, which were approved in a simplified procedure from April 1st.
There is no breakdown into weapons of war and other armaments for this.
A former
British soldier
who fought for Ukraine has died in
the city of
Sieverodonetsk in eastern Ukraine.
This was announced by his family on social media.
The man left the British army in March and traveled to Ukraine to support the country's armed forces against the Russian invaders.
The British Foreign Office said it wanted to support the family of the Brit who died in Ukraine.
economic consequences
Chancellor
Olaf Scholz
(SPD) has admitted
mistakes
in
dealing
with the
energy supply from Russia
.
»We have relied too long and too one-sidedly on energy supplies from Russia.
(...) The old equation that Russia is a reliable business partner even in crises no longer applies (...),” said Scholz on Sunday evening in his opening speech at the East German Economic Forum in Bad Saarow.
The goal is therefore clear: Germany must become independent of Russian energy imports - "as quickly as possible, but also as safely as necessary," emphasized the Chancellor.
The federal government always has eastern Germany in mind.
It is about security of
supply
and
affordability
of energy.
»An oil embargo must not lead to massive regional price differences at the pumps.
For me, this is a question of solidarity.
We all bear the cost of the war together,” he affirmed.
What is happening today
The Russian attack on Ukraine and the human rights situation around the world will be the focus of the session of the
UN Human Rights
Council starting Monday .
For four weeks, representatives of the 47 member countries discuss problematic developments.
In the spring, the Europeans and other states left the room in a demonstrative manner when Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov took the floor to justify the war against Ukraine.
A few weeks later, Russia anticipated an impending expulsion from the body and announced its exit
jok/Reuters/dpa