Putin's chaos war - fire in nuclear power plant
First the good news:
The US Department of Defense and the Russian Ministry of Defense have set up a kind of dedicated line to avoid "misunderstandings" and "escalation" between the nuclear powers.
In other words, the military on both sides are obviously trying to prevent a major war between the two states as much as possible.
At least he shouldn't break out by a stupid coincidence.
Meanwhile, the prospects for an early end to the war in Ukraine continue to dim.
Russia's troops bring
destruction and chaos
to the country.
During the night it was reported that
Parts of the country's largest
nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia
after a Russian attack
should have caught fire.
According to the authorities, the situation in the nuclear power plant is "secured".
The head of the nuclear power plant said that firefighters had reached the plant in the meantime, the head of the regional military administration, Oleksander Staruch, wrote on Facebook.
According to the findings of the Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), no increased radiation has been measured so far.
At a meeting with his security advisers, Vladimir Putin announced that the "military operation" in Ukraine was going according to plan.
In a conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron, Putin is said to have made it clear that he had no intention of calling off the invasion until he had achieved his goals.
Obviously, the Russians remain determined to take the country and bend it to their will.
Because the Ukrainians are bravely resisting, the Russians are now apparently resorting to one of their old tactics, which are already familiar from the Syrian war or Chechnya.
They start bombing homes, schools and hospitals.
Terror against civilians is intended to break the will of opponents.
But even if Putin wins now, he is the loser.
He is increasingly becoming the pariah of the international community.
The blood of innocents is on the hands of the Russian soldiers.
Russia's economy is unlikely to recover from the sanctions for years.
The population is becoming poorer and more isolated, the anger in the country will grow, its rule could gradually erode.
Instead of becoming stronger, Putin has made his country weaker.
He's a failed president.
German military expert on Russian invasion: How much longer can Ukraine withstand the attack?
Suddenly right chancellor
One of the most amazing changes these days is that of Olaf Scholz.
Today the Chancellor is visiting the
Bundeswehr
Operations Command in Schwielowsee near Berlin.
Further troop visits are likely to follow.
The
cautiously groping novice in office
has suddenly become a
real chancellor
who is teaching his mostly pacifist-minded compatriots why Germany should now suddenly be spending billions on rearmament.
Scholz has discarded the cryptic swagger of the first few weeks of his tenure, instead he clearly states what he thinks and wants.
In short, he leads.
Apparently, Scholz and his advisors understood that there is no point in making the right policy if you don't communicate it sufficiently.
There's no point in hiding in conference rooms either.
That's why Scholz is now looking for the big stage, appearing alone in the program "Maybrit Illner" on ZDF to explain his new course in foreign and security policy in detail to an audience of millions.
Scholz made a big promise:
he made it clear
that the traffic light coalition would push ahead with its reform projects in social policy or climate protection despite the additional billions in expenditure for the Bundeswehr .
Scholz now finds very clear words for the behavior of his social democratic party friend Gerhard Schröder.
He called on the ex-chancellor to resign from his posts at Russian state energy companies.
Scholz: "I don't think it's right that Gerhard Schröder holds these offices."
And: The posts at Russian energy companies are "not a private matter at all."
As a former chancellor, Schröder still bears responsibility and has to justify himself to the public.
He could also have said: Basta.
Invasion of Ukraine: Scholz calls on Schröder to resign from Russian energy companies
Macron can hope for election victory
French President Emmanuel Macron
has now officially announced his candidacy for the
presidential election
on April 10th.
What may sound like a matter of course was not so certain in the meantime.
A few months ago, Macron was still so deep in the polls that many French people had already written him off.
Now he has the best chance of winning the next election.
Macron distinguished himself as an experienced crisis diplomat in the Ukraine war, he managed the corona pandemic in his country well, and France's economy is also doing much better.
In addition,
Macron's political opponents are a collection of strange characters.
Alt-left
Jean-Luc Mélenchon
, right-wing extremist
Éric Zemmour
or perennial populist
Marine Le Pen
will garner the protest votes from the usual grumblers, but that's unlikely to be enough for victory.
The Conservative candidate,
Valérie Pécresse
, on the other hand, represents a long-established political elite for which many French have nothing but contempt.
Incidentally, like Russia, France is a nuclear power.
You don't want to imagine what could go wrong if people like Zemmour or Le Pen were sitting at the red button.
That is another reason why Macron's renewed candidacy is a blessing in these times.
"I ask for your trust": Emmanuel Macron still has dreams for France
Loser of the day...
…is former
US President Donald Trump.
In all the excitement about Ukraine, it almost went unnoticed that Trump just had one more problem.
Through a filing before a civil trial in California, it was revealed almost by accident that the US Congressional Special Committee investigating the Jan. 6 storming of the Capitol appears to have accused Trump of being part of a "criminal conspiracy" to influence the outcome of the presidential election to tip in 2020.
The committee has not yet submitted its official final report.
But if the committee's conspiracy allegation against Trump persists, lawmakers would have to refer the matter to US Attorney General Merrick Garland.
The minister can then ensure that federal prosecutors officially charge Trump in a court of law.
Trump could then bury his dreams of running for president again.
The latest news from the night
Russian stock exchange expert toasts the "death of the stock market"
in a live broadcast: In a live broadcast, he commented on the crash in prices with gallows humor - and visibly shocked the moderator
Drosten is taking legal action against Hamburg physicists:
from nature or from the laboratory?
According to a report, virologist Christian Drosten defends himself against physicist Roland Wiesendanger's claim that he deliberately deceived the public
Police discovered cannabis plantation in three connected apartments:
Eight rooms, around one million euros per year, a total of 687 plants: The police found a cannabis plantation in a Düsseldorf apartment.
Two suspects were arrested
The SPIEGEL + recommendations for today
Ukrainian village at war: »I must not cry.
When I cry, everyone cries«
Conscription and Ukraine: would I refuse military service today?
Historian on Vienna's attitude in the war against Ukraine: »If Austria is attacked, neutrality ends«
Approval for the plant in Grünheide: Now it starts at Tesla - or not?
Travel through time – Der SPIEGEL 50 years ago: singer-songwriters in blue shirts led the »singing movement«
I wish you a good start into the day.
Yours, Roland Nelles