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Philipp Schulze / dpa
With the approval in the Bundestag for the delivery of heavy weapons, Germany has positioned itself more clearly than ever as a supporter of Ukraine.
The traffic light groups and the Union voted with a large majority for a joint application (read more here).
Chancellor Olaf Scholz was absent - he is currently in Japan.
From there he welcomed the clear vote of the parliament.
"We are very grateful for the clear support that the German Bundestag has given to the policies of the government I lead," he said.
Kyiv immediately praised it: "This vote will go down in history as one of the last nails in the coffin for Putin's lobbying work in Europe and as the return of the German leadership," Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podoliak wrote on Twitter.
US President Joe Biden wants to significantly increase aid to Ukraine.
He will ask Congress to release $33 billion.
"The cost of this fight is not cheap," says Bide, but it would cost more to give in to Russian aggression.
The developments at a glance.
The military situation
Gepard anti-aircraft tanks are the first heavy weapons to be delivered directly from Germany to Ukraine.
With a large majority of 586 votes, the Bundestag called on the federal government on Thursday to “continue and, where possible, accelerate the delivery of necessary equipment to Ukraine and also expand the delivery of heavy weapons and complex systems, for example as part of the ring exchange”.
100 MPs voted no, 7 abstained.
Before the Ukraine war, the principle applied was not to hand over weapons to crisis areas.
The government in Kyiv can also count on more weapons and money from the USA.
US President Joe Biden has asked Congress for an additional $33 billion to help Ukraine fight Russia.
Of that, $20.4 billion is earmarked for military and security aid, the White House announced on Thursday.
"This will continue to deliver arms and ammunition to brave Ukrainian fighters without interruption," Biden said in a speech.
"The cost of this fight is not cheap," said the US President.
“But capitulating to aggression would be more expensive.
Either we support the Ukrainian people in defending their country, or we stand idly by while the Russians continue their atrocities and their aggression in Ukraine pay at the costs«.
Biden stressed that the arms shipments to Ukraine did not constitute a US attack on Russia. “We are not attacking Russia.
We are helping Ukraine to defend itself against Russian aggression.' He reiterated that Russian President Vladimir Putin would 'never succeed in dominating Ukraine'.
Moscow says so
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev compared the Bundestag to Nazi Germany for agreeing to supply heavy weapons to Ukraine.
"Apparently, the German MPs are haunted by the laurels of their predecessors, who sat in the German parliament under a different name in the past century," wrote the deputy chief of the Russian Security Council on Thursday in the Telegram news channel.
'That is sad for Parliament.
It will end sadly."
That says Kyiv
Ukrainian Presidential Advisor Mykhailo Podoliak announced attacks on Russia in retaliation for Russian attacks on civilians.
“Ukraine will defend itself in any way possible, including attacks against camps and bases of Russian killers.
The world recognizes this right.” Podoljak referred to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian judiciary has launched investigations into ten Russian soldiers for alleged war crimes in the Kiev suburb of Bucha.
The members of the Russian army's 64th motorized infantry brigade are accused, among other things, of "the cruel treatment of civilians", the Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office said on Thursday.
After the Russian troops withdrew from Bucha and other places, reports of atrocities had caused international horror.
That's what the international community says
As a sign of solidarity with Ukraine, UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Thursday visited the outskirts of Kyiv where, according to Ukrainian sources, Russian forces have committed atrocities against civilians.
In Bucha, Guterres urged Moscow to cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC) in investigating possible war crimes.
"I fully support the ICC," Guterres said during his visit to Bucha.
He appealed "to the Russian Federation to accept cooperation with the ICC".
Before Bucha Guterres went to the town of Borodyanka.
"The war is an absurdity in the 21st century," he said in the Kyiv suburb, where, like in Bucha and Irpin, Russian troops are said to have killed civilians, according to Ukrainian sources.
You should read and see this
Economics Minister
Habeck
has more than halved dependency on Russian oil.
Only one refinery obtains its raw material from Russia.
The state-owned company Rosneft operates – for now.
Well then:
Germany will deliver heavy weapons to Ukraine
.
Before the vote, there was a heated argument in the Bundestag, the focus of criticism: the chancellor.
But Olaf Scholz wasn't there at all.
Excerpts in the video.
What is the relationship between the SPD and Russia?
The
historian Gerd Koenen
on social democratic merits and omissions, Schröder's sentimentalities and the question of shared responsibility for the war.
The interview.
as /dpa/Reuters/AFP