Enlarge image
Port in Mariupol
Photo: IMAGO/Vladimir Gerdo / IMAGO/ITAR-TASS
On the 91st day of the illegal war of aggression, Russia continued its attacks on Ukrainian territory.
The Kremlin will apparently try prisoners of war before agreeing to a prisoner exchange.
Moscow only wants to lift the blockade of Ukrainian ports – and thus of wheat deliveries from the country – in exchange for easing sanctions.
At the World Economic Forum in Davos there is talk of a »Marshall Plan Group for Ukraine«
The developments at a glance.
military situation
In the morning, the cities of Zaporizhia and Kryvyi Rih in central Ukraine were fired upon by Russian rockets.
The Ukrainian media report unanimously.
Accordingly, an industrial complex in Kryvyi Rih was hit by three rockets.
Of the four rockets fired at Zaporizhia, one was intercepted, it said.
The information could not be independently confirmed.
In their most recent analysis, military experts from the US war research institute Institute for the Study of War (ISW) state that the Russian military is concentrating forces from various directions in the heavily contested Luhansk region.
The reserves needed for an offensive would be withdrawn from the areas around Kharkiv, Izyum, Donetsk and Zaporizhia.
In the last week, the Russian troops in the Luhansk region managed to gain more territory than in the whole of May, the analysts said.
The governor of the Russian border region of Belgorod has accused Ukraine of renewed shelling.
A young man was injured in the village of Zhuravlevka, Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote on Wednesday in the Telegram news service.
In view of the tense situation, the entire village had actually been evacuated a few weeks ago, the governor continued.
It is unclear why the young man was still there.
The granary of Europe
Millions of people around the world, especially in Asia and Africa, depend on grain exports from Ukraine.
However, Russia is blocking the important Ukrainian ports and thus the wheat deliveries from the country.
In order to end the blockade, Moscow is demanding that Western sanctions be relaxed.
According to the Interfax agency, Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko called for the punitive measures imposed on Russia's export industry and the financial sector to be lifted.
In addition, Ukraine must demine all ports, he demanded.
Russia would then be ready to secure a “humanitarian passage”.
According to the Kremlin, the port in Mariupol has already resumed operations.
"The demining and demilitarization operations at the port" have been completed.
More than 12,000 armaments and "dangerous explosive objects" were collected.
In the coming days, a first ship with around 3,000 tons of products from the metal industry will leave the port in the direction of Rostov-on-Don in southern Russia, said the new pro-Russian mayor of Mariupol, Konstantin Ivashchenko.
Grain was the main export from Mariupol before the start of the war.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba dismissed Russia's demands as "blackmail."
"Yes, we feel for everyone in the world who is affected by the massive consequences of the Russian blockade," he said in Davos at the World Economic Forum.
At the same time, he called on every politician not to allow the sanctions to be lifted.
“Before he talks about ending sanctions to save children from starvation, he prefers to come to Ukraine to see the dead children, to talk to the parents whose children were abused by Russian soldiers – and then remain silent .«
Kuleba also called for a comprehensive import stop for Russian goods.
"Stop buying from Russia." The West must not allow Russia to take money for its "war machine."
That says Kyiv
Volodymyr Zelenskyj continues to insist on direct talks with the Russian head of state Vladimir Putin.
In a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, he again rejects consultations about intermediaries.
"I can only speak directly to the President, no intermediaries, no intermediaries," said the President of Ukraine.
Zelenskyy accused the Western countries of not standing united on the side of Ukraine.
“My question is: is there unity in practice?
I don't see them," Zelenskyy said during a panel discussion.
Selenskyj expressly criticized Hungary, which refused to agree to an EU-wide oil embargo against Russia.
"There's something wrong with Hungary!" he said.
The country is "not as united as the rest of the EU" in supporting Ukraine.
The head of state also referred to the resistance of NATO member Turkey to the application of the two Nordic countries Finland and Sweden to join the defense alliance.
»Is there unity when Sweden and Finland join NATO?
no
So is the West united?
No,” said the Ukrainian President.
Moscow says so
Ukraine hopes for an early prisoner exchange for the defenders of the Azov steel plant in Mariupol.
Apparently, this is not yet an option for the Kremlin.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko said, according to Russian news agencies, an exchange would only be considered after a verdict against “those who have surrendered”.
Before that, discussions about an exchange are "premature".
It is not clear from the TASS report whether this affects all Ukrainian prisoners of war or only the defenders of the Azov Steelworks in Mariupol.
The Kremlin will also facilitate the naturalization process for residents in the occupied Ukrainian regions of Kherson and Zaporizhia.
Applicants do not have to have lived in Russia, prove sufficient financial means or pass a Russian language test.
Vladimir Putin signed a corresponding decree, which will make it easier to obtain Russian citizenship and a Russian passport in these areas.
The decree extends a procedure that has been in place since 2019 for residents of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions controlled by pro-Russian separatists.
The international community
In Davos, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, met the heads of the Ukrainian government and more than 50 entrepreneurs and representatives of the financial sector to launch a reconstruction initiative for Ukraine.
The President of the World Economic Forum, Børge Brende, described the initiative as the “Marshall Plan Group for Ukraine”.
Von der Leyen said that Ukraine's desire to join the EU was heard "loud and clear".
Meanwhile, Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock warned of "war fatigue" in western countries.
"We have reached a moment of fatigue," said the Greens politician in Kristiansand after the conclusion of the Baltic Sea Council.
Sanctions against Russia and aid to Ukraine must be maintained.
The growing skepticism is also related to the fact that the Russian war of aggression is leading to higher energy and food prices.
But this is exactly Putin's tactic.
You should read or see this
The border is closed, tourists from Russia stay away, the gas tap is closed.
What do the people in eastern Finland say about the planned NATO membership?
The Russian attackers are encountering growing resistance in eastern Ukraine.
Now they are trying to take at least the borders of the Luhansk region - is a major Ukrainian offensive coming soon?
svs/dpa/Reuters/AFP