Enlarge image
Ukrainian units near Kherson (in January 2023)
Photo: Libkos / dpa
What has happened in the past few hours
According to information from Kyiv, several civilians were killed and wounded in Russian attacks in the southern Ukrainian city of Cherson on Sunday.
The Ukrainian general staff did not provide more detailed information on the victims in its situation report on Sunday evening.
The city had been hit by rocket launchers at least 40 times, damaging numerous residential buildings.
The eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv was also the target of Russian attacks using multiple rocket launchers.
At least five people were injured in hits in a residential building.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke on Sunday of a difficult situation and bitter fighting on the front in the Donetsk region in the east of the country.
“But no matter how difficult it may be and no matter how great the pressure there is, we have to endure,” says Zelenskyj in his evening video address.
That says Kyiv
In the midst of the fight against corruption, Zelenskyi changes the defense minister.
Military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov will replace Oleksiy Reznikov at the head of the ministry, said MP and Zelenskyi confidant Davyd Arakhamiya on Sunday.
Resnikov takes on another government post.
It was initially unclear when the change would take place.
"The war dictates a change in personnel policy," said Arakhamiya, who heads Zelenskyi's party faction.
Ministries relevant to security should be headed by forces from the security apparatus.
While Resnikov is a lawyer, Budanov looks back on a military career.
Reznikov took office in November 2021, a few months before the start of the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022.
Selenskyj had recently replaced a number of high-ranking civil servants and justified this with allegations of corruption.
These included the deputy secretary of defense, who resigned after a report he disputed that his department had paid inflated prices for troop meals.
Department head Resnikov had firmly condemned corruption.
Ukraine expects a possible new Russian offensive later this month.
Presumably, Russia will launch them around the anniversary of the start of the invasion on February 24, Reznikov said on Sunday before his replacement was announced.
From a military point of view, however, the Russian reserves are not ready for this.
"Despite everything, we expect a possible Russian offensive in February," said the minister.
“It's just symbolic, it's not logical from a military point of view.
Because not all of their resources are ready.
But they do it anyway.” Reznikov said Russia is likely to start its offensive in eastern or southern Ukraine.
Reznikov estimates that Russia has around 12,000 troops stationed in Belarus, which borders Ukraine to the north.
However, this troop strength is not enough to launch a significant attack on Ukraine from Belarus and open a new front, he said.
Resnikov said that not all of the weapons promised by Western partners had arrived in Ukraine before the start of the expected offensive.
His country has reserves to repel the Russian advance.
The US-assured longer-range missiles will not be used by the Ukrainian military to attack Russian territory, he stressed.
Russian targets in the occupied territories would be attacked.
"We only shoot at Russian units on temporarily occupied Ukrainian territory."
Moscow says so
The founder and head of the Russian Wagner mercenaries, Yevgeny Prigozhin, reported that fierce fighting continued north of Bakhmut.
His mercenaries fought "for every street, every house, every stairwell" against Ukrainian troops who did not retreat.
Arms deliveries to Ukraine
On the issue of fighter jet deliveries to Ukraine, Poland's ambassador in Berlin has called for a decision at the Munich Security Conference.
"We proposed that the heads of state and government meeting there not only discuss this issue, but also make a decision," Ambassador Dariusz Pawlos told the editorial network Germany.
After the German commitment to deliver Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, President Zelenskyi also called for fighter planes, "long-range missiles" and more artillery for the defensive fight against Russia.
Poland had put considerable pressure on Germany in the discussion about the supply of main battle tanks.
SPD parliamentary group leader Rolf Mützenich emphasized on Sunday evening in the ARD program "Report from Berlin": "The red line is of course that weapons are delivered that can also have a strong impact on Russian territory." Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) had one Delivery of fighter jets to Ukraine refused.
Poland's government has made it clear that it would support NATO if it decides to supply fighter jets to Ukraine.
The Munich Security Conference, the world's most important meeting of experts on security policy, will take place from February 17th to 19th.
The deputy leader of the Greens parliamentary group, Agnieszka Brugger, has called on Germany's European partners to act quickly on the delivery of battle tanks.
"In view of the threat of a large-scale Russian offensive, we have no time to lose in a major European effort to give Ukraine all the armored systems that we can somehow spare," she told the "Tagesspiegel".
That is in the European interest.
“Especially the states that have loudly demanded and announced contributions in recent weeks must now deliver in the truest sense of the word.” Putin cannot be stopped by “pithy words” but by “concrete support” of Ukraine.
After its decision to supply Leopard main battle tanks to Ukraine, the German government is struggling to obtain commitments from other countries.
Poland and Canada have started with concrete steps - from Portugal there was a commitment at the weekend for the delivery of more modern Leopard 2A6, which Germany also wants to give.
"Chancellor Scholz and Defense Minister Pistorius are in talks with their EU partners almost every day," said SPD Secretary General Kevin Kühnert on Sunday in the ZDF "heute journal".
"You really have to put it this way: everything that is needed to be able to actually deliver these two tank battalions, which have been promised, to the Ukraine is now being collected in individual quantities."
humanitarian situation
People who have fled Ukraine often move to medium-sized German cities, where they find relatively relaxed housing markets.
According to a study by the market research institute Empirica Regio, which is available to the newspapers of the Funke media group (Monday), the Ukrainians who have fled are mainly in medium-sized cities such as Baden-Baden, Hof, Schwerin, Gera, Chemnitz, Bremerhaven and Halle an der Saale in relation to the total population popular.
Debate on Russian athletes
In view of the Russian war of aggression, athletes from Russia have »no place« in the Olympic Games and international competitions, according to Ukrainian President Zelensky.
"We continue our diplomatic marathon to prevent the Kremlin from using world sport and the Olympic movement for its propaganda," said Zelenskyy on Sunday evening.
"Representatives of a terrorist state" should not be admitted to the Olympic Games or other international competitions.
The IOC around President Thomas Bach recently announced that it wanted to open up ways for athletes from Russia and Belarus to return to the international sports stage despite the war in Ukraine.
This could also open the way for these athletes to the 2024 Olympics in Paris, albeit only under a neutral flag.
Ukraine had sharply criticized this and threatened to boycott the summer games.
jok/dpa/Reuters
