Major offensive in eastern Ukraine feared, Kyiv wants tanks from Düsseldorf

Enlarge image

Salvage and clean-up operations in Borodyanka near Kyiv (on April 9)

Photo: Petros Giannakouris/AP

What has happened in the past few hours

According to Ukrainian sources,

in

in the

region .

There are four fatalities in the city of

, Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said in the Messenger service Telegram.

Another civilian was killed in the nearby village

.

According to the governor, five people were injured in the attacks on the two towns south-east of Donetsk.

Following the withdrawal of the Russian army from the greater

area and northern Ukraine, the Ukrainian government fears a

.

On Saturday, the Ukrainian army said on Facebook that it had destroyed "four tanks, eight armored vehicles and seven enemy vehicles" there, as well as "one plane, one helicopter" and drones.

Further north, in the

region , at least two people were killed in a Russian bombardment, according to authorities.

One person was also injured in the attack in Slatyne, the mayor of the neighboring municipality of Dergatschi said on Facebook.

That says Kyiv

Ukrainian President

has reiterated his call for a freeze

.

"If tyranny has launched an aggression against everything on which peace in Europe rests, we must act immediately," he said in a video message published on Saturday evening.

An oil embargo must be the first step for the "entire civilized world."

“Then Russia will feel it.

Then it will be an argument for them to seek peace, to end the senseless violence,” Zelenskyy said.

The democratic world could definitely do without Russian oil.

The aim of the "anti-war coalition" is clear - to end the war more quickly, said the president.

"It is therefore not only a

of all democratic states, of all forces in Europe, to support Ukraine's desire for peace." Russian aggression will not be limited to his country.

»The entire European project is a target for Russia.«

President

Zelenskyy to

with his Russian counterpart

any time soon to negotiate an end to the war.

"To say that they will meet in a week, in two weeks - no, that will not happen," said presidential adviser Mykhailo Podoliak on Ukrainian television on Saturday.

Kyiv is initially preparing for fighting in the Donbass.

After that, Ukraine would have "a stronger negotiating position" for a possible presidential meeting, he said.

His country continues to insist on strong

and pays a very high price for it, Podoljak said.

»Yes, it's tough, we're losing people and infrastructure every day.

But Russia must free itself from its imperial illusions.«

Moscow says so

According to military information in Moscow, more than

from the

to Russia since February 24

.

On Saturday alone, almost 27,000 people left the contested regions for Russia, said Colonel General Mikhail Mizinzew from the Russian Defense Ministry.

According to Misintsev, 134,000 people have been rescued from the southern Ukrainian port of

, which has been contested since the beginning of March .

According to the TASS agency, he again accused the Kiev side of only allowing harassed civilians to flee to Ukrainian-controlled territory, not to Russia.

The Russian figures cannot be independently verified.

Kyiv accuses the Moscow side of bringing refugees to Russia against their will.

humanitarian situation

According to the Presidential Office in Kiev, more than

were able to flee the regions of

,

and

on Saturday .

Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Wereshchuk accused Russia of not allowing buses for refugees to pass on certain routes, despite an agreement.

"The buses have returned to Zaporizhia and will try again to reach the cities on Sunday to evacuate our citizens," Vereshchuk said.

According to Kiev , 26 Ukrainians have been released

in a new exchange of

with Russia

.

"Twelve of our soldiers, including one officer, are returning home," said Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk on Saturday in the messenger service Telegram.

In addition, 14 Ukrainian civilians were released, including nine women.

Russian Human Rights Commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova said

been released.

Since the beginning of the war on February 24, the crew of the civilian ship "Azov Concord" had been "detained in the port of Mariupol, where the exit to the sea was mined," Moskalkova explained.

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion, Ukraine and Russia have exchanged captured soldiers and civilians on numerous occasions.

On April 1, according to Kiev, 86 Ukrainian soldiers were freed in a prisoner exchange.

International Reactions

Because of future Russian aggression,

is working on plans for a

on its borders ,

according to its Secretary General

"What we are seeing now is a new reality, a new normal for European security," Stoltenberg told The Telegraph newspaper.

NATO is undergoing a fundamental transformation.

This reflects the long-term consequences of Russian President Putin's actions.

Following the Russian withdrawal from

,

has found evidence that

-combatants have been disproportionately

.

There are mass graves, hostages were used as

and civilian infrastructure was mined, the British Ministry of Defense announced on Twitter on Sunday night.

Russian

continued to use

to inflict casualties on Ukraine, lower morale and limit Ukrainian movement.

In addition, the troops continued to attack infrastructure targets where the risk of harming the civilian population was high - such as the recent shelling of a

storage facility near Rubishne in the

.

Italy's former prime minister,

, says he is "deeply

" by Russian President

, whom he had described as a good friend for years.

"I cannot and do not want to hide the fact that I am deeply disappointed and saddened by the behavior of Vladimir Putin," Berlusconi said on Saturday at an event for his party, Forza Italia, in Rome.

"I've known him for about 20 years and he always struck me as a democrat and a man of peace," Berlusconi said of the Russian president.

In view of the "massacres of civilians in Bucha and other Ukrainian locations, which are genuine war crimes, Russia cannot deny its responsibility," added the 85-year-old billionaire.

economic consequences

Because of the Russian war of aggression,

has imposed a complete

on

.

"This is the legal enshrinement of the de facto suspension of trade relations with the Russian Federation on February 24," Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said on Saturday, according to the public broadcaster.

The government estimates Moscow's losses from the boycott at the equivalent of around 5.5 billion euros.

A partial ban on imports of Russian goods has been in effect since 2015. However, Kyiv continues to transport more than 100 million cubic meters of Russian natural gas westwards every day.

According to a newspaper report, the

wants to

buy

German

As the "Bild am Sonntag" reported, the group plans to deliver 35 tanks to Ukraine by the end of the year.

However, the decommissioned tanks must first be repaired.

Rheinmetall had originally suggested that the Bundeswehr deliver operational Marders to Ukraine immediately and then get the repaired tanks from Rheinmetall.

The Federal Ministry of Defense rejected this, however, since the Bundeswehr Marders were used both on NATO's eastern flank and for exercises and training.

In addition, the ministry doubts that the discarded Rheinmetall martens can be made fit again quickly.

As the "Bild am Sonntag" reported, the Ministry of Defense did not even look at the tanks to assess their condition and the need for inspection and maintenance.

jok/Reuters/dpa