After Putin’s stage victory, the war of words escalated
Putin sends sharp warning to the West
Moscow is continuing its offensive in eastern Ukraine – residential areas are also repeatedly in its sights. Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin again accuses the West of wanting to fight “to the last Ukrainian” and threatens that he hasn’t really got started yet.
Russia’s president openly threatens the West, Ukraine counters and charms its allies. After the Russian conquest of the key region of Luhansk, Moscow and Kyiv verbally position themselves. In the Bundestag, however, a push for German arms deliveries fails. An overview.
Nfter weeks of fighting, Russia has the key Luhansk region under control. Now the fighting has died down – and everything indicates that Russia is preparing for the next big offensive in its war of aggression. The Kremlin’s second key target in eastern Ukraine is the Donetsk region.
In the calm before the storm, the war of words between Moscow and Kyiv threatens to escalate. Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned the West against a military confrontation. “Today we hear that they want to beat us on the battlefield. What can I say? Let them try,” he said. Everyone should know that Russia hasn’t really started in Ukraine yet.
Putin spoke at a meeting with faction leaders of the State Duma parties in Moscow. The President praised the politicians as “true statesmen and patriots” who supported the “military special operation” in Ukraine from the beginning at the end of February. “There are many parties, but only one homeland,” Putin said at the meeting in the Kremlin. “There is nothing more important than the fate of the fatherland.” The West is waging an “economic blitzkrieg against Russia”.
Vladimir Putin addressed the leaders of the parties in the Russian parliament in the Kremlin
Source: via REUTERS
Putin again accused the West of wanting to fight “to the last Ukrainian”. “This is a tragedy for the Ukrainian people.” The influential Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podoliak countered this sharply. Putin’s mantra of “war to the last Ukrainian” is further evidence of Russia’s planned “genocide” of the Ukrainians, Podoljak wrote on Twitter. Putin resorted to “primitive propaganda”.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged the West to continue supplying arms in the war against Russia. “The greater the defense aid for Ukraine now, the sooner the war will end with our victory and the lower the losses of all countries in the world will be,” he said in a video message on Friday night. Kiev’s partners have accurate information about Ukraine’s needs. “This applies to both air defense and modern artillery.”
Against the background of Boris Johnson’s announced departure as British Prime Minister, Zelenskyy emphasized Britain’s role as an arms supplier. London has given Kyiv air defense and anti-tank systems, among other things, but also artillery, ammunition and armored vehicles. “Britain’s role in protecting liberty is truly global.” Russian troops invaded Ukraine on February 24.
Germany, on the other hand, did not mention Selenskyj in his remarks. The government in Kyiv has been criticizing the sluggish German arms deliveries for months. The Union faction in the Bundestag was now putting repeated pressure on the Bundestag and submitted its own application for the short-term delivery of 200 Fuchs-type armored personnel carriers to the Bundestag.
However, this did not find a majority. Parliament voted against the corresponding motion for a resolution by the Union faction on Friday night. Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) had already warned before the vote that the Bundeswehr would be “looted”. “We support Ukraine with everything that is possible and responsible. But we have to ensure Germany’s ability to defend itself,” she told the German Press Agency.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) also confirmed that he would support Ukraine for as long as necessary. “We will show solidarity for as long – at least that’s my wish – as is necessary so that Ukraine can defend itself against the terrible and brutal Russian attack,” he said on ZDF on Thursday evening. For months now, German arms deliveries have been arriving in Ukraine very slowly and sparingly. This has led to fierce criticism from Kyiv, but also from Warsaw.
While the Bundestag rejected the Fuchs delivery, it also decided on various measures to accelerate procurement for the Bundeswehr. The law, which was passed late Thursday evening, will make it possible for an initial period of three and a half years to award contracts faster than was possible under the previous legal situation. For example, various orders can be awarded together and joint projects with other EU countries can be implemented more easily.
As a reaction to the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, the Bundestag and Bundesrat decided a few weeks ago on a special program worth 100 billion euros to improve the equipment of the Bundeswehr. The money is to be used, among other things, to purchase new planes, helicopters, ships and tanks. In the past, however, such procurement projects have regularly drawn out. This problem should be defused by the measures that have now been decided.
The Canadian government meanwhile announced that it would supply Ukraine with 39 armored vehicles in the summer. The vehicles from Canadian manufacturer General Dynamics could be used as ambulances, maintenance and recovery vehicles or to transport troops, says Defense Minister Anita Anand. The delivery is part of a military support package for Ukraine worth around 380 million euros.
The current situation in Ukraine
Source: Infographic WORLD
Meanwhile, Russian troops continued to cause massive destruction in their unabated attacks in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine. At least one person was killed and several others injured in an airstrike on the city of Kramatorsk on Thursday. According to Ukrainian sources, seven people were killed and several others injured in the region within 24 hours. The nearby city of Sloviansk was again attacked by Russian troops.