Russia-Ukraine News: Kiev threatens to boycott Paris 2024 Olympics

Enlarge image

Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba

Photo: REUTERS

This text is continuously updated.

Ukraine threatens to boycott the 2024 Paris Olympics

7.13 a.m .:

Ukraine is threatening to boycott the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris if Russian or Belarusian athletes participate.

"This is one of several options," Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told the newspapers of the Funke media group and the French newspaper Ouest-France.

If Russian and Belarusian athletes came to Paris instead of Ukrainian athletes, it would be against all moral, sporting and political standards.

This also applies if they compete under a neutral flag, as suggested by the President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach.

Kuleba sharply criticized the IOC leadership: "The hypocrisy of the IOC President and the committee is simply pathetic." Most Russian athletes who had won medals at the past Olympic Games represented sports clubs of the Russian army.

"A country that commits aggression - condemned by a large majority of the UN General Assembly - loses the right to compete in the Olympic Games.

That also applies to all of his athletes,” said Kuleba.

UN to vote on general Ukraine resolution

5.56 a.m .:

One 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.

Selenskyj and Scholz open the Munich Security Conference

5.44 a.m .:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj opens the Munich Security Conference with a video speech today.

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 conference will focus on Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, which began a year ago.

For the first time in more than 20 years, the Russian leadership has not been invited.

Conference leader Christoph Heusgen justified this by saying that he did not want to give Russian President Vladimir Putin and his government a forum for their propaganda.

Unlike in previous years, the Iranian leadership and politicians of the AfD did not receive an invitation either.

The participants include 40 heads of state and government and almost 100 ministers.

Ukraine seizes 250 million euros from Russian oligarch

5.17 a.m .:

According to a court order and according to the secret service in Kiev, Ukraine receives 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.

He tried to hide his ownership.

According to the secret service, it was revealed that Deripaska completely 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.

Kiev and Moscow exchange more than 200 prisoners

5.16 a.m .:

Russia and Ukraine exchanged prisoners again shortly before the first anniversary of the start of the war – 101 men each.

According to the President's Office in Kiev, among the Ukrainians are 63 fighters from the long-contested Azov Steel Works in the city of Mariupol.

"Your relatives have been waiting for you for so long," said the head of the presidential office, Andriy Yermak.

The Ministry of Defense in Moscow had previously reported the release of 101 Russians.

They were brought to Moscow by plane.

Russia captured many Ukrainian soldiers during the capture of Mariupol.

Her release is considered a special success for Ukraine.

In the war both sides exchange prisoners again and again.

Most recently, there was a major exchange at the beginning of February.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Kiev was working to free all of its citizens.

According to information from Kiev, around 2,000 Ukrainians have been released so far.

Tank manufacturer KMW considers a significant increase in production to be feasible

4.30 a.m .:

The tank builder Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) sees no industrial obstacles to significantly ramping up its production.

The company is constantly asking subcontractors what production rates are possible, said KMW boss Ralf Ketzel of the news agency dpa in Berlin.

"So far, no one has given us a signal like 'that's impossible'," he said.

»What we need for this is a clear political consensus.«

The German armaments industry has repeatedly criticized the fact that, despite all the political declarations, hardly any orders have been received, even though production has a considerable lead time.

KMW is a manufacturer of weapon systems such as the Leopard 2 main battle tank and the Panzerhaubitze 2000. With more than 4000 employees, the Munich-based company describes itself as the market leader for highly protected wheeled and tracked vehicles in Europe.

Ukraine specifies demand for the delivery of western fighter jets

3.35 a.m .:

Shortly before the start of the Munich Security Conference, Ukraine specifies its 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,” says Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.

The machines could be used to shoot down enemy missiles and are important for the counter-offensive.

Kuleba currently rates diplomatic initiatives to end the Ukraine war as hopeless

1.10 a.m .:

Before the Munich Security Conference, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba made it clear that he currently sees no chance for diplomatic initiatives to end the war in his country.

"I like anyone who wants to achieve peace through diplomatic initiatives," Kuleba told the Funke media group's newspapers.

»But how can such an initiative work?

Should the price of peace be that Russia stays in the occupied territories?”

Kuleba said that if the Kremlin experiences that it can conquer territories militarily, it has no incentive to end the war.

"He might take a break and start another war in about a year," warned Ukraine's foreign minister, who will attend the Munich Security Conference that begins Friday.

"The only way to start any talks with Russia is: Ukraine's territorial integrity must be fully restored," Kuleba said in the interview.

This is "non-negotiable".

The minister added: "We have learned a bitter lesson: if you give Russia the little finger, it takes the whole hand."

mrc/AFP/dpa/Reuters