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Ukrainian units near Bakhmut (on March 1, 2023)
Photo: Evgeniy Maloletka / dpa
That says Kyiv
After the Russian rocket attack on the city of Zaporizhia that killed at least two, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced retaliation.
"We will react militarily and legally to today's brutal Russian rocket attack on Zaporizhia," said Zelenskyy in his video address on Thursday.
"The occupier will inevitably feel our strength, the power of justice in the truest sense of the word."
During the Russian airstrike on Thursday night, a multi-storey residential building in the southern Ukrainian city was hit by a rocket.
Two residents were killed, eight people were injured.
According to official information, ten residents were still missing on Thursday evening.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Olexey Reznikov assumes that fighter jets will soon be delivered to Ukraine from the West.
"I'm sure that we will get two or three different types of fighter jets," he says, according to a preliminary report.
Western partners have signaled to Ukraine that they are ready to start training pilots.
They understand that fighter jets are the next step in strengthening the air defense system, the minister said.
When asked when a delivery can be expected, Reznikov replies that he does not know yet: "But I am confident that they will come."
He also categorically rejected negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
President Zelenskyy made it very clear "that we will not negotiate with the current head of the Kremlin," Resnikov said.
Ukraine will only talk "about reparations, an international tribunal and responsibility for the war crimes of Kremlin personnel."
"I am an optimist, I see the situation on the battlefield, I see the development of support and I really see that there is a chance to end this war with our victory this year," Minister Reznikov continued.
It is about "the liberation of all our temporarily occupied territories up to our internationally recognized borders of 1991".
He reacted cautiously to the "security promises" for Ukraine after the end of the war that Chancellor Olaf Scholz addressed.
"Ukraine must have real security guarantees," Reznikov said.
He did not rule out a case in the embattled city of Bakhmut.
With this, however, Russia only achieves “a small victory”.
International reactions
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva tweeted after talks with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy that he wanted to encourage other countries to take part in peace talks aimed at ending the conflict.
“I have reiterated Brazil's desire to speak to other countries and engage in any initiative to build peace and dialogue.
War can't be of anyone's interest.” Lula refused to supply Ukraine with German-made munitions that Brazil has.
He also reiterated that his country would remain neutral in the conflict.
But Russia made a mistake by invading a sovereign country.
US President Joe Biden wants both Finland and Sweden to join NATO soon, in either order.
"Finland and Sweden will be great NATO allies," said John Kirby, a spokesman for the White House national security team, at a briefing for reporters when asked if Biden would back Finland before Sweden.
It is important for the United States that both countries become NATO allies, and the order in which they do so is "not our main concern."
The two countries submitted an application to join the defense alliance last year due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and declared that they want to join NATO together.
Hungary and Turkey are the only NATO members who have not yet ratified the proposals.
Arms deliveries to Ukraine
The US apparently wants to provide Ukraine with a $400 million military aid package.
Several people familiar with the matter from American government circles have learned this.
The aid package is also said to be a key issue between US President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at their meeting at the White House on Friday, the insiders said.
The assistance is expected to consist primarily of guided multiple rocket launchers (GMLRS) for Himars launchers, ammunition for Bradley armored personnel carriers and armored bridge-laying vehicles.
Since the war began a year ago, the US has provided Ukraine with security aid totaling around $27.2 billion.
One day before the expected verdict in the trial against the well-known Belarusian human rights activist Ales Belyatsky, the UN special rapporteur on Belarus warned of a further deterioration in the already fatal human rights situation there.
According to her assessment, the situation has "deteriorated dramatically," said Anais Marin on Thursday on the sidelines of the UN Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva.
"It's getting worse."
The expert is due to present a report to the panel this month, together with the UN human rights office, on violations related to the disputed presidential election three years ago.
At that time, tens of thousands of opposition supporters had been protesting peacefully for weeks against ruler Alexander Lukashenko, whom they accused of massive election fraud.
The authoritarian head of state had the protests violently suppressed.
Thousands of people were arrested or fled abroad.
what is happening today
The US wants to announce a new package of military aid for Ukraine.
The spokesman for the White House did not give reporters any details or volume, but key data were still circulated (see above).
Aid to Ukraine is expected to be a key topic of conversation between President Biden and Chancellor Scholz at the White House.
jok/dpa/Reuters
