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Pro-Russian separatists in Mariupol: The port city is said to be surrounded
Photo:
ALEXANDER ERMOCHENKO / REUTERS
War has been raging in Ukraine for almost seven weeks. The overview of the 48th day of the war.
military situation
A major offensive by the Russian army is imminent in eastern Ukraine.
According to the findings of the Western and Ukrainian military, a major attack involving tens of thousands of soldiers and the massive use of tanks, artillery and air force is emerging.
There are different statements about the time.
According to their own statements, Russian forces fired on 32 military objects in Ukraine during the night.
Among other things, a Buk-M1 anti-aircraft missile system as well as an ammunition depot and an aircraft hangar with Ukrainian air force technology were destroyed, the spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry said.
The authorities also reported fierce fighting in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol.
The remaining Ukrainian soldiers in Mariupol had already declared on Monday that they were preparing for the "final battle".
However, the army leadership continued to be combative: "The defense of Mariupol continues."
The port city is considered surrounded.
According to recent estimates, about 21,000 civilians have been killed in Mariupol since the Russian invasion began.
The Azov regiment reported the use of poison gas, but this has not yet been confirmed by the official Ukrainian side.
Pro-Russian separatists rejected the accusation: "The armed forces of the Donetsk People's Republic did not use any chemical weapons in Mariupol," said a spokesman.
Western states had warned Moscow of serious consequences if chemical weapons or other weapons of mass destruction were to be used.
humanitarian situation
According to Ukrainian information, nine escape corridors for besieged places were agreed for Tuesday, including Mariupol.
Civilians should be able to get to safety in private vehicles.
Five of the nine corridors should be in the Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine.
According to Ukrainian sources, Russian troops fired again there.
In the early evening, the Ukrainian government announced that 2,671 civilians had been evacuated from frontline regions, including more than 200 residents of Mariupol.
According to UNICEF, at least 142 children have been killed in Ukraine since the Russian invasion.
In reality, the numbers are likely to be far higher, the organization said.
The judiciary in Ukraine itself spoke of at least 186 dead and 344 injured children and young people.
UNICEF also referred to the many minors who either fled with their families or continued to persevere in the war zone.
According to the EU Commission, the war in Ukraine has already forced more than 4.5 million people to flee to neighboring countries such as Hungary, Moldova, Poland and Slovakia.
Most of them are women and children.
It is the fastest growing refugee crisis in the world, the agency said.
Around seven million more people have been displaced within Ukraine.
In the Ukrainian neighboring country of Moldova, the EU is currently setting up a warehouse to collect aid supplies for refugees.
In addition, more than 1200 tents and 4000 blankets would be delivered this week.
That says Kyiv
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy complained that Ukraine still lacked heavy weapons, for example to liberate Mariupol.
"If we had planes and enough heavy armored vehicles and the necessary artillery, we could do it," he said on Tuesday night.
It shouldn't be delayed any longer.
"Not only time is lost, but also the lives of Ukrainians," he said.
more on the subject
War in Ukraine: "A New Phase of Terror"
Speaking via video to the parliament in Lithuania, Zelenskyy also expressed doubts about Europe's determination to increase pressure on Russia over the war atrocities in Ukraine.
"Some EU states cannot decide when they will at least noticeably restrict the purchase of Russian energy sources," he said.
»Are the values that became the foundation of Europe after the Second World War still alive?«
He accused Russian troops of kidnapping hundreds of thousands of people from Ukraine to Russia with the aim of silencing them over war crimes being committed by Russian soldiers.
So far there is no evidence for these allegations.
Zelenskyy further accused the Russian armed forces in Ukraine of serious war crimes, including mass rapes and torture.
“Hundreds of rapes have been reported, including by young girls and very young children.
Even on a baby,” he said during the speech in the Lithuanian parliament.
New mass graves were discovered almost every day, and bodies were found in gullies and cellars.
After evaluating the first reports from victims, human rights organizations assume that rapes in Ukraine are used as a »weapon of war«.
Moscow says so
At a meeting with the Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko, Russia's president was confident of victory.
The goals of the "special operation" - the war of aggression in Ukraine - would be achieved, said Putin in Vostochny in eastern Russia.
"There is no doubt about that."
The Kremlin chief accused the USA and Europe of waging a failed “economic war” against Russia with their sanctions.
"Of course, this blitzkrieg, which our benefactors backed, failed, that's obvious," said the head of state.
Russia's economy and financial system are "steady on both feet."
more on the subject
Putin in Vostochny: Undeterred, certain of victory
In fact, the Russian economy is in bad shape: the worst economic downturn since 1994 is expected. "The official forecast is likely to envisage a contraction of more than ten percent," said the head of the auditors, Alexei Kudrin, according to the Russian news agency RIA.
Putin also commented on allegations that Russian soldiers committed war crimes in Bucha near Kyiv.
He called these accusations “provocation” and “fake”.
Ukraine accuses Russian troops of massacring civilians in Bucha.
more on the subject
Russia's War Against Ukraine: The General Who Should Turn Putin AroundBy Monika Bolliger, Francesco Collini and Fritz Schaap
Media conformity in Russia: murder and manipulation for PutinA column by Christian Stöcker
Opposition Khodorkovsky on Putin: "He will attack NATO countries, one way or another"
Daughter of the murdered Putin opponent Nemtsov: »No one can fight half the world and win« An interview by Annette Langer
In Russia, the government continues to take action against critics.
It became known that the Russian opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Mursa had been arrested by the police on Monday evening in front of his apartment building in Moscow.
The well-known Kremlin critic was then sentenced to 15 days in prison for not following police instructions – the maximum sentence for this charge.
The 40-year-old former journalist Kara-Mursa has repeatedly criticized the Russian military intervention in Ukraine in recent weeks.
He is considered a confidant of opposition politician Boris Nemtsov, who was murdered in 2015.
That's what the West says
“I was ready.
But obviously – and I have to acknowledge that – that was not wanted in Kyiv.”
Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said this sentence during a visit to Poland.
The German head of state had actually planned to travel to Kyiv afterwards, but this trip fell through.
The Ukrainian leadership had signaled to Steinmeier that he was not welcome.
The Ukrainian Ambassador Andriy Melnyk recently said that it would be better if Chancellor Scholz came to Kyiv.
A visit by the Federal President would only have a symbolic character.
Steinmeier had recently admitted mistakes in his Russia policy as foreign minister.
In the afternoon, Lithuania's parliament called on the international community to supply Ukraine with a large number of weapons.
MEPs from the Baltic EU and NATO countries also proposed qualifying Russia's actions in Ukraine as genocide against the Ukrainian people after an appropriate legal review.
You should read (and see)
While advancing on Kyiv, Putin's troops besieged the city of Chernihiv for almost five weeks.
At least 700 people died.
The Russian strategy had probably aimed particularly at civilians.
Thore Schröder and Maxim Dondyuk report from on site.
The Ukrainian government is demanding the delivery of weapons.
But do all weapons help equally?
The defense expert Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann considers Marder armored personnel carriers to be unsuitable in the fight against the Russians.
In the video, she discusses alternatives with the Ukrainian Ambassador Andrji Melnyk.
“He's the thug Putin called in to raze cities like Aleppo in Syria.
He's the worst of the worst," warns a US admiral and ex-NATO commander-in-chief on US television.
Russian General Alexander Dvornikov is notorious for his ruthless warfare in Syria.
Now Putin puts him at the head of his army in Ukraine - with what aim?
The Ukrainian Post has released a new postage stamp with an unmistakable signal to the Russian attackers: a finger.
vki/svs/dpa/Reuters/AFP
