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Destroyed building in Mariupol
Photo: IMAGO/Vladimir Gerdo / IMAGO/ITAR-TASS
What has happened in the past few hours
The commanders of Ukraine's last military resistance in
Mariupol say
they are still at the
Azov Steel Plant
.
Ukrainian media circulated a video showing the deputy
commander
of the Azov regiment Svyatoslav Palamar.
“Me and the command are at the Azov steel works site.
There is a certain operation going on, the details of which I will not say.
We thank the whole world, thank Ukraine,” said Palamar.
The authenticity of the video has not yet been verified, and it has received wide response in the Ukrainian media.
According to Russian information, since the beginning of the week 1,730 Ukrainian gunmen have surrendered, hiding in the branched bunkers under the steelworks.
They were taken prisoner of war.
According to President
Volodymyr Zelenskyy
, the Ukrainian army is continuing to work on the
liberation of the Kharkiv region
.
»But in the Donbass the occupiers are trying to increase the pressure.
Hell is there, and that's no exaggeration.' The
Donbass
was 'completely destroyed'.
That says Kyiv
Zelenskyj assumes that Ukraine will be able to defend its
independence
.
Neighboring
Russia
will continue to pose a
threat
.
“We will always think of protection.
And we must understand that there is no better security than citizens' willingness to defend their own state," Selensky said in an online conference with students and university leaders.
Ukrainian society has shown its resilience since the February 24 Russian attack.
But the country also needs
security guarantees
from outside.
As a political instrument, these would have to be well thought out and designed to last for decades.
“We have to understand that Russia will always be there.
And maybe always will be a threat«.
According to President Selenskyj, the Russian war of aggression means a
budget deficit of around five billion US dollars
(4.8 billion euros) every month for Ukraine.
"In order to be able to survive in the war for freedom, we need quick and sufficient financial support," he said in a video address.
Foreign partners of Ukraine should not see aid as expenses or gifts.
"It's your contribution to your own security." Ukraine protects other countries from war.
Together we must ensure that Russia's aggression is unsuccessful.
The Ukrainian Ambassador
Andriy Melnyk
has again accused
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) of being hesitant to deliver
heavy weapons .
"We have the impression that the Chancellor does not want to deliver," Melnyk told the editorial network Germany (RND).
According to the report, when asked whether Germany was playing for time, Melnyk replied: »It looks like it.
One can get the impression that one is waiting for a ceasefire.
Then the pressure from Germany will be gone and then no more courageous decisions will need to be made." So far, neither
Cheetah tanks
nor
Leopard 1
or
Marder
have been delivered.
Moscow says so
According to information from Moscow, 1.36 million people have been brought to Russia
from the contested areas of Ukraine since the start of the fighting
.
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense,
more than
230,000
of them are
children .
People were brought to safety from Ukrainian areas such as the separatist republics of Donetsk and Luhansk.
17,700 people were evacuated on Thursday, including 2,370 children.
The Kiev leadership accuses the Russian troops of preventing people from fleeing to Ukrainian-controlled territory.
Most Ukrainians did not go to Russia voluntarily, but were deported.
International reactions
According to the dpa news agency, the Czech Republic
should be quickly equipped with
Leopard 2 tanks
from Germany.
"Delivery is scheduled to begin this year and will also include a 30-day supply of 120 mm ammunition," the German Ministry of Defense told the responsible officials in the Bundestag.
“Equipment and ammunition come from industry stocks and are financed by the Federal Republic of Germany.
Follow-up care is the responsibility of the Czech Republic.«
The Czech Republic intends to provide Ukraine with significant support by donating 20 T-72 main battle tanks from its own stocks.
“In a first step, the Czech Republic is to receive 14 Leopard 2 A4 main battle tanks and one Leopard 2-based recovery vehicle as a replacement for its own delivery,” the letter says.
According to the
commander-in-chief of NATO forces in Europe , more than
42,000 soldiers
and
120 combat aircraft
under his command
are currently on high
alert.
Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, reactions have been taken in all areas and in all regions to protect the Allies, said US General Tod Wolters after a meeting of the chiefs of staff of the 30 NATO countries.
The number of NATO land forces has increased tenfold and the number of combat aircraft patrolling the airspace has increased by 50 percent.
According to Wolters, more than 20 ships are under his command for deterrence and defense at sea.
The permanent naval units of NATO had been replenished.
The
European Union
is exploring ways to use frozen
assets of Russian oligarchs
to finance post-war reconstruction in Ukraine.
That said the President of the European Commission,
Ursula von der Leyen
on ZDF.
This would allow Russia to contribute to post-war reconstruction.
Von der Leyen also suggested linking future
reconstruction aid for Ukraine to
reforms
given the country's desire to join the EU
.
In her opinion, it makes sense to say: »Yes to investments, but right away with the necessary reforms, for example against corruption or for example for establishing the rule of law.
Ukraine wants that too, I discussed it again this morning with President Zelenskyy.”
Looking back, Left Chairwoman Janine Wissler
sees failures in her party's positioning on Russia
.
“You have to be self-critical: even before the attack on Ukraine, Russia was waging brutal wars in Chechnya, Georgia and Syria, supporting the dictatorships in Belarus and Kazakhstan, banning Memorial and suppressing the opposition,” she said the »taz« .
"Our
criticism
should have been louder."
However, the party was not a "fifth column of Putin's".
No one on the left endorses the Ukraine war or sides with the Russian government.
The
US Congress
passed a new
aid package for Ukraine
.
A good week after the House of Representatives, the other chamber of Congress, the Senate, passed the package with a volume of almost 40 billion dollars
(38 billion euros)
with a large majority on Thursday .
humanitarian situation
The Czech Republic
has extended the state of
emergency
imposed because of the
refugees
from Ukraine by one month until the end of June.
On Thursday evening, the parliament in Prague gave the necessary approval for a corresponding application by the liberal-conservative government.
The state of emergency allows the government to take far-reaching crisis measures.
Before the United Nations Security Council,
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken appealed to Russia to end the
blockade
of Ukrainian ports so that food could be exported.
“The
food supply
for millions of Ukrainians and millions more around the world has been literally held hostage,” he says.
A senior official in Moscow denied the allegations, saying the Russians are "not idiots" and will not export food while severe sanctions are in place.
What is happening today
The
annual meeting of the foreign ministers of the Council of Europe begins in
Turin
in the morning
.
The central topic of the meeting, in which
Annalena Baerbock
takes part, is the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine.
The states want to
underline their support for and
solidarity with Ukraine .
The
meeting of EU development
ministers takes place in
Brussels
.
The tentative agenda includes polls and debates on the global implications of Russia's aggression against Ukraine, with a focus on
food security
and
multilateral response
.
After a technical discussion in Berlin, Saxony's Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer
commented on the question: How will the Russia sanctions affect East Germany?
The discussion focuses on the
consequences of
Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, the energy crisis, an imminent oil embargo and a discussed gas embargo, particularly for the
East German economy and society
.
bbr/dpa/Reuters
