Russian invasion
Journalists leave Russia and Putin warns the West: That was day 10 in the Ukraine war
Vladimir Putin warns the West against imposing a no-fly zone over Ukraine. “We regard any movement in this direction as participation of the respective country in an armed conflict.”
© Andrei Gorshkov / Pool Sputnik Kremlin / AP / DPA
A bitter war has been raging in Europe for more than a week. More and more people have to be evacuated in Ukraine. At the same time, efforts are being made to talk to the Russian invaders – and President Zelenskyy’s requests are turned down. That is the situation on the evening of the tenth day of the war.
Actually it should be one ceasefire give – at least Ukraine and Russia had agreed on Thursday. the Ceasefire around Mariupol and the town of Volnowakha, 40 miles away in the Donetsk region was scheduled for seven hours on Saturday. Between the battles, civilians were to be evacuated from Mariupol, among other places. The city is under fire, was without electricity and water yesterday. The mayor warned of a siege by Russian troops like in Leningrad, and reports of food shortages made the rounds. So now a ceasefire to save the population. But nothing came of it.
Both sides accuse each other of ceasefire violated to have. The “Russian side” is not adhering to the ceasefire in the port city of Mariupol, the city announced on the Telegram news channel. “For security reasons, the evacuation is therefore postponed.” The Russian Defense Ministry, on the other hand, announced that the agreed humanitarian corridor had been shelled.
At the same time, the ministry in Moscow announced that Russian troops had fired shots from Mariupol and from the Donets region. In addition, a residential building in which up to 200 people could have stayed was blown up in the morning. The information could not be checked – the Red Cross, on the other hand, speaks of heartbreaking scenes.
West rejects help, Putin warns and further talks in prospect
In order to end the suffering, the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj asked his western partners to No-fly zone over Ukraine set up. That would mean “Russian planes would be shot down and you would get caught up in a logic of confrontation,” said British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. The West has therefore so far rejected the demand. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the Allies agreed that NATO aircraft do not operate in Ukrainian airspace should.
Possibly right? Russia’s President Vladimir Putin promptly responded to Zelenskyy’s demand – with one threat to the West.“Any movement in this direction is considered by us as participation of the respective country in an armed conflict”, let the Russian ruler know. He also continued to insist on the conditions for an end to the war, including the demilitarization of Ukraine.
Nevertheless, efforts are still being made to hold talks with the parties to the conflict. As it became known, it should be on this one third round of negotiations between Ukraine and Russia give a ceasefire. The meeting may take place again in Belarus, but a date has not yet been announced. The topic could be security guarantees, as Russian government spokesman Dmitry Peskov explained, according to the Tass agency. And President Putin has announced that he will depose the Ukrainian leadership.
Meanwhile, further conclusions are being drawn in the West. In addition to companies turning their backs on the Russian market, more and more foreign journalists are leaving the country. In response to a new media law in Russia, several international broadcasters and agencies are fully or partially ceasing work there, including the US broadcaster CNN, the British BBC, the Canadian broadcaster CBC and the news agency Bloomberg. Even ARD and ZDF announced on Saturday that they would Suspend reporting from their Moscow studios for the time being.
battles and refugees
Meanwhile, fighting in Ukraine continues. Ammunition depots in the western Ukrainian city of Zhytomyr were destroyed by anti-tank missiles, Russian military spokesman Igor Konashenkov said. Overall you have so far destroyed more than 2000 objects of military infrastructure and more than 700 tanks of Ukraine.
Faces of war
20 images
The Ukrainian military also spoke of heavy fighting with Russian troops. There is “bitter fighting to liberate Ukrainian cities from the Russian occupiers”. Regions and cities were not named. According to the authorities, the night was quiet in the capital Kyiv. According to the Ukrainian account, the Russian side is trying to encircle Kyiv and Kharkiv. The Ukrainian army repeatedly emphasizes that attacks are repulsed and that opponents are defeated.
The fighting is driving more and more Ukrainians out of the country. According to federal police, 27,491 war refugees have been registered in Germany so far. However, the actual number could be significantly higher, because only a part can be shown due to the lack of border controls. Worldwide were according to estimates by the UN refugee agency UNHCR by Saturday more than 1.36 million people fled Ukrainemost of them to Poland.
Meanwhile, the agreed ceasefire in Mariupol and Volnowakha is finally over. The Russian military has said it has continued its attacks on Ukrainian cities. According to the Interfax agency, the Ministry of Defense in Moscow announced that the fighting continued at 4:00 p.m. (CET) after a ceasefire of several hours.
More information, background and details? Follow our live blog on the Ukraine war.