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Ukrainian units in Bakhmut (in January 2023)
Photo: George Ivanchenko/EPA
That says Kyiv
For Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, diplomatic initiatives to end the war only stand a chance on the basis of Ukraine's fully restored territorial integrity.
This is the prerequisite for talks with Russia and is non-negotiable, the minister told the newspapers of the Funke media group and the French newspaper "Ouest-France" immediately before the start of the Munich Security Conference.
If the Kremlin understands that it can conquer territories militarily, it has no incentive to end the war.
"We learned a bitter lesson: If you give Russia your little finger, it takes your whole hand," Kuleba said.
Kuleba also specified the demand for the delivery of western combat aircraft.
»We would be particularly interested in fighter jets from the USA, Great Britain, France and Germany.
These countries have the highest production capacities and the largest aircraft fleets,” he says.
The machines could be used to shoot down enemy missiles and are important for the counter-offensive.
According to a court order and according to the secret service in Kiev, Ukraine will receive assets from the Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska worth the equivalent of 250 million euros.
The Supreme Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine has upheld a decision by the Ministry of Justice in Kiev, according to which Deripaska's companies, land and holdings will be handed over to the state, the secret service said on Thursday evening.
Ukraine wants to use the money to compensate for war damage.
Deripaska, who is close to the head of the Kremlin Vladimir Putin and is also subject to sanctions in the West as a supporter of the war of aggression against Ukraine, is one of the richest Russians.
The multi-billionaire, who became rich in the aluminum business, among other things, has managed companies through a network of companies and business structures in various regions of Ukraine, it said.
According to the secret service, it was discovered that Deripaska owned or partially owned several companies.
More than 300 objects were also confiscated, including real estate that would now be transferred to state assets.
The secret service announced that the total value of the assets transferred to state ownership was ten billion hryvnia (around 250 million euros).
Deripaska has been criticized for making money directly from the war in Ukraine through his commodity deals and proximity to the Kremlin.
At the start of the Berlinale, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj made an emotional appeal to filmmakers and artists to support his country after the Russian attack.
“Can art stay out of politics?” asked Zelenskyj via video link at the opening gala on Thursday evening.
The question is now extremely important again.
Both the festival organizers and Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth assured Ukraine of solidarity.
humanitarian situation
President Zelenskyy has described the return of soldiers from Russian captivity as a success.
100 soldiers and the first deputy mayor of the city of Enerhodar, known as the site of Europe's largest nuclear power plant Zaporizhia, are free again, Zelensky said in his evening video message in Kiev on Thursday.
"I am happy for the more than 100 families whose sons, brothers and husbands are returning," he said.
Russia had received 101 soldiers from Ukrainian captivity.
At the same time, Zelenskyy emphasized that the fight continues to focus on keeping the front line under control and preparing for new escalation steps by the enemy.
"Progress in the further liberation of our country is a priority," said Zelenskyy.
For this, deliveries of weapons and ammunition from the West and training of the military are necessary.
International reactions
A year after Russia invaded Ukraine, the UN General Assembly is to vote on a resolution without concrete ideas for a peace solution.
The draft, prepared by Ukraine and the representation of the European Union and available to the dpa news agency, reaffirms a number of positions already expressed by the largest UN body with its 193 member states - including the territorial integrity of Ukraine and the call on Russia to withdraw its troops .
A special session of the UN General Assembly to mark the anniversary of the invasion begins on Wednesday at the UN headquarters in New York.
A number of foreign ministers are expected.
"It is an echo of certain resolutions of the UN General Assembly," said a diplomat from the dpa.
The strategy of Ukraine's western supporters is not to put complex outlines to a vote for an end to the war, but to persuade as many countries as possible to vote "yes".
In doing so, they want to build on the voting results of last year, when in October 143 states opposed annexations by Moscow that violate international law.
A strong result on the scale of past votes could counteract the impression that there is war-weariness and crumbling support for Kiev in much of the world.
According to Western assessments, Russia's President Putin is counting on dwindling support for Ukraine.
Russian Kremlin opponent Mikhail Khodorkovsky does not believe in a peace solution for Ukraine with Russian President Putin.
"As long as Putin's regime is in power, the war will not end," said Khodorkovsky on Thursday in Munich before the official start of the Munich Security Conference.
Khodorkovsky described Russian society as deeply divided down to the families because of the war against Ukraine.
This is not yet a war of the Russian people.
If, under the conditions of a dictatorship, 15 to 20 percent of the people said they were against the war, that was a lot.
He considers the “active support” for the war or the willingness to volunteer for the Russian military to be minimal.
Putin is trying to make people believe that the reason for the war doesn't matter, but that defeat is bad for them and their families.
Khodorkovsky advocated a deep federalization of Russia as an alternative to a centralized state that needed an external enemy to survive.
economic consequences
According to the US, the sanctions imposed on Russia at the beginning of the invasion are gradually affecting the supply of important parts to replace destroyed or used up war equipment.
Russia is trying to circumvent the restrictions, senior economics ministry official Alan Estevez told Reuters.
However, not everything that is needed can be imported.
"Over time, Putin's war machine will be crippled, and as we continue to supply arms to Ukraine, their military capability will increase and Putin's will decrease."
What is happening today
Ukrainian President Selenskyj opens the Munich Security Conference with a video address.
Then Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and French President Emmanuel Macron will speak at the meeting of politicians and experts from 96 countries, which lasts until Sunday.
The focus of the conference will be the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.
jok/dpa/Reuters