Russia-Ukraine War: That happened on Friday night (June 17)

Enlarge image

Crimean Bridge as »Target No. 1« (2018)

Photo: Alexander Nemenov/ AP

's trip to

Ukraine had been a long time coming - on Thursday the time had come: the SPD politician visited Kiev together with French President

, Italy's Prime Minister

and Romania's head of state

.

European leaders made it clear that they

welcomed Ukraine 's

The reactions to the visit

Ukrainian

has spoken of a "historic day" for his country.

"Ukraine has felt the

," the president said in his evening video address.

Never since its independence has Ukraine come so close to the European Union.

Thanks to the courage of Ukrainian men and women, Europe can write a new history of freedom "and finally eliminate the gray area between the EU and Russia in Eastern Europe," Zelensky said.

The

hopes that Scholz will ensure that the necessary unanimity is achieved at the EU summit.

The diplomat described Scholz's and Macron's statements about joining in the ZDF program "Maybrit Illner" as a "strong message" to his country.

Ukraine's accession to the EU is not a gift, but also in Germany's interest.

The Ukraine does not want to be a supplicant, but to do something, also in the area of ​​security.

Ukrainian

described Scholz's visit to Kiev as an important step towards

.

»The words that hit us today must be followed by deeds.

We hope that will happen too," he said in the ARD "Tagesthemen".

It is known that Ukraine cannot immediately become a full member of the European Union.

»But it is important that everyone says that Ukraine belongs to Europe.«

The Mayor of Kiev

, has welcomed the pledges to campaign for Ukraine's EU candidate status.

“That's very, very good news.

We are very happy,” he told the dpa news agency.

It is a dream of Ukraine to be part of the European family.

Ukraine is paying for this with people's lives.

Nevertheless, Klitschko demanded further

.

"Everyone in Germany, everyone in Europe must finally understand: We need defensive weapons," he said.

Ukraine is not only defending its country, cities and families.

"We'll defend you," said Klitschko.

No one knows how far Russia will go.

He pointed out that East Germany had also been part of the "Soviet Empire" tens of years ago.

When asked whether the irritations between the leadership of Ukraine and Germany have now been resolved, Klitschko said that Germany is a reliable partner, Ukraine's largest donor and a leading nation in the European Union.

However, the delivery of weapons and the sanctions against Russia and the end of the Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea pipeline would have taken too long.

"It was a

," said the vice-chairman of the FDP parliamentary group,

, the editorial network Germany (RND).

»There is now no longer any doubt as to whose side Germany and Europe are on.

The statements on candidate status, reconstruction and security guarantees after the end of hostilities were not to be expected with such clarity.«

was also

satisfied.

In a historic phase of upheaval, everything must be done to strengthen Europe geopolitically, Klingbeil told RND.

“That requires guidance.

Olaf Scholz showed this leadership together with the heads of government of France and Italy in Kyiv.«

Klingbeil called on the EU Commission not to regard the candidate status for countries such as Ukraine, Moldova and the Western Balkans as a formality, but rather to link it to political content: "The prospect of accession is a political project and must not be a purely bureaucratic administrative act."

What else has happened in the past few hours

According to their general staff,

are still under

and multiple rocket launchers.

In a report, the military primarily named the cities of

and

and their surroundings, which had been fought over for days.

At two other points on the front, on the other hand, it had been possible to ward off enemy advances.

The information could not be verified.

By capturing Sieverodonetsk and Lysychansk, Russia would take control of the entire

Oblast of Ukraine .

This is one of the Russian war aims.

In the

region , Russian troops used artillery fire to prevent Ukrainians from advancing closer to the border between the two countries, the report said.

On the southern front sections near the city of Donetsk and near Zaporizhia, there are Russian relief attacks to tie down Ukrainian troops there.

In its defensive struggle against Russia, Ukraine also sees the

as a military target.

In a kind of threatening gesture, the Ukrainian military intelligence service published an alleged official Russian specification for the bridge with details of the construction on Thursday.

The authenticity of the almost 300-page document has not yet been verified.

Earlier, Ukrainian General Dmytro Marchenko said that if Ukraine were to receive the necessary weapons, destroying the bridge would be "Objective No. 1."

Finally, the Russian supplies roll over the bridge to Crimea and from there to southern Ukraine.

Since 2018, the 18-kilometer bridge across the Kerch Strait has connected the Russian mainland and the peninsula that was annexed four years earlier.

In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that all precautions had been taken to ensure Crimea's security.

The Kremlin is aware of the new threats from Kyiv against the bridge.

There had already been threats from Moscow to bomb the Ukrainian capital Kyiv in the event of an attack on the building.

That says Kyiv

In his video speech,

accused Russia of not looking for a "path to peace".

It is only up to

that the negotiations to end the war do not get off the ground.

Ukraine will continue to fight until it can guarantee security and territorial integrity.

international reaction

The US has called on Russia to treat foreign fighters in the Ukrainian army who are in the hands of the Russian army as

of war under the Geneva Conventions .

Prisoners of war must receive "the treatment and protection befitting their status, including humane treatment and guarantees of a fair trial," said US State Department spokesman Ned Price.

According to reports, two US citizens who had traveled to Ukraine as volunteer fighters were taken prisoner by the Russians last week.

According to their families and members of Congress, former US soldiers Alexander Drueke and Andy Tai Huynh were last involved in combat north of the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.

Price said Thursday there were reports that a third US citizen was missing in Ukraine.

Economic Reactions

Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck

speaks of a serious situation in view of the Russian

.

The situation is a showdown between the Western Allies and President Vladimir Putin, Habeck told ARD, according to the editorial version.

However, the gas storage tanks are 56 percent full.

"That's above average." Nevertheless, you can't go into winter with the current status.

"They must be full."

What is happening today

• The

  EU Commission

  in Brussels is discussing

  candidate status for Ukraine

  .

  Kyiv applied to join the EU shortly after the start of the Russian war against Ukraine.

  The EU Commission now wants to make a recommendation as to whether the country should be granted candidate status.

  According to information from the dpa news agency, the commission will probably support it.

  The heads of state and government of the EU countries want to deal with it at a summit at the end of next week.

  Ultimately, the EU countries must decide unanimously

• At the

  St. Petersburg International Economic Forum

  , Kremlin chief

  Vladimir Putin

  gives a speech on the country's prospects in view of the sanctions against Russia.

  According to the Kremlin, companies from 40 countries are represented at the international meeting.

  Among other things, the Russian President will meet Kazakhstan's head of state, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

  Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is said to be connected via video.

• The

  non-public constitution of the

  investigative committee

  to clarify processes and decisions relating to the climate foundation, in particular with regard to the completion of the

  Nord Stream 2

  pipeline, takes place in

  Schwerin

bbr/dpa/AFP/Reuters