Demonstration of power: Russian forces in Kaliningrad simulate nuclear attack

DAccording to information from Moscow, the Russian forces in Kaliningrad have simulated attacks with nuclear-capable missiles in the midst of the offensive in Ukraine. As part of an exercise, around a hundred soldiers simulated the “electronic launch” of mobile ballistic missile systems with Iskander-type nuclear weapons, the Defense Ministry said on Wednesday.

The armed forces practiced attacks on military targets of an imaginary enemy and how to respond to a counterattack.

Since the start of the military operation in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has indicated his readiness to use Russia’s tactical nuclear weapons. In late February, Russia put its nuclear forces on high alert. The head of the Kremlin also warned of “quick retaliation” if the West intervened directly in the Ukraine conflict.

also read

According to observers, Russian state television has been trying in recent days to make the use of nuclear weapons palatable to the public. “For two weeks we have been hearing on our TV screens that the nuclear silos should be opened,” Russian journalist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Dmitry Muratov said on Tuesday.

Kaliningrad is a Russian enclave on the Baltic Sea between two EU and NATO members, Poland and Lithuania.

DWO_AP_Ukraine_Krieg_Gebiete_0505

Source: Infographic WORLD

Meanwhile, air raid sirens sounded again in Ukrainian cities nationwide on Thursday night. Rocket fire followed shortly after in the cities of Cherkasy, Dnipro and Zaporizhia. Dnipro Mayor Borys Filatov said an attack hit the city center.

The city authorities also spoke of attacks on a railway facility without giving details. The railway company said employees were not injured in the attack on Dnipro. Recently, Russia had increasingly attacked the railway infrastructure in Ukraine.

According to the regional administration, at least two civilians were also killed in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk. Another eleven were injured as a result of Russian attacks. There were also reports of artillery shelling on the cities of Mykolaiv and Kharkiv.

This is where you will find third-party content

In order to display embedded content, your revocable consent to the transmission and processing of personal data is required, since the providers of the embedded content as third-party providers require this consent [In diesem Zusammenhang können auch Nutzungsprofile (u.a. auf Basis von Cookie-IDs) gebildet und angereichert werden, auch außerhalb des EWR]. By setting the switch to “on”, you agree to this (which can be revoked at any time). This also includes your consent to the transfer of certain personal data to third countries, including the USA, in accordance with Art. 49 (1) (a) GDPR. You can find more information about this. You can withdraw your consent at any time via the switch and via privacy at the bottom of the page.

Meanwhile, Russia announced a three-day ceasefire to evacuate civilians from the Azov Steelworks in Mariupol, southern Ukraine. The Russian armed forces would open escape corridors for civilians from the industrial complex on Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (7 a.m. to 5 p.m. CEST), the Russian Defense Ministry announced. During this period “all hostilities unilaterally” would cease. The civilians could travel to Russia or the Ukrainian-controlled areas.

The deputy chief of the Russian presidential office, Sergei Kiriyenko, had previously visited the almost completely conquered port city. This was reported by the head of the separatist republic of Donetsk, Denis Puschilin, on Telegram on Wednesday. Former Russian Prime Minister Kiriyenko organizes Russian domestic policy in the Kremlin for President Vladimir Putin. According to the information, he visited the Ilich Steelworks and the port in Mariupol.

Kiriyenko and the Secretary General of the Kremlin’s United Russia party Andrei Turchak also visited the city of Volnovakha. The people of the People’s Republic of Donetsk understood the visit of the high-ranking Kremlin official as a symbol “that Russia has returned here forever,” Puschilin wrote. Shortly before the attack on Ukraine, Russia recognized the so-called People’s Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine, which split off in 2014, as independent.

This is where you will find third-party content

In order to display embedded content, your revocable consent to the transmission and processing of personal data is required, since the providers of the embedded content as third-party providers require this consent [In diesem Zusammenhang können auch Nutzungsprofile (u.a. auf Basis von Cookie-IDs) gebildet und angereichert werden, auch außerhalb des EWR]. By setting the switch to “on”, you agree to this (which can be revoked at any time). This also includes your consent to the transfer of certain personal data to third countries, including the USA, in accordance with Art. 49 (1) (a) GDPR. You can find more information about this. You can withdraw your consent at any time via the switch and via privacy at the bottom of the page.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on UN Secretary-General António Guterres to save the lives of the injured trapped at the Azov steelworks in Mariupol and to help with their evacuation. “The lives of the people who are still there are in danger. Everyone is important to us,” Zelenskyy said in a phone conversation with Guterres on Wednesday.

The United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) managed to save more than a hundred civilians from the steelworks in a five-day evacuation operation over the past few days.

also read

Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Minister of Defense Christine Lambrecht (both SPD)

Heavy weapons for Ukraine

Mayor Wadym Boichenko reported ongoing fierce fighting around the steelworks. Contact with the Ukrainian soldiers holed up there had been broken off. According to Mayor Boichenko, about 200 civilians are still on the premises of the Azov steel plant.

Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Iryna Vereshchuk reported in the online service Telegram that a total of 334 people from Mariupol and the surrounding area were rescued on Wednesday. “This is another small victory for us,” Vereshchuk wrote.

DWO_AP_Ukraine_Flucht_0405_jb_1

Source: Infographic WELT/Jörn Baumgarten

The federal government is now planning to deliver seven self-propelled howitzers to Ukraine. According to information from government circles, the howitzers are currently being repaired and should be intact by the end of June, reported the “Bild” (Thursday edition).

Meanwhile, according to “Bild”, the exchange of rings with Slovenia has been delayed. The Slovenes were supposed to deliver T-72 main battle tanks to Kyiv in return for German Marder infantry fighting vehicles and Fuchs armored personnel carriers. But Slovenia’s government apparently insists on the delivery of more modern tanks.

also read

The Russian oligarchs Leonid Mikhelson, Oleg Deripaska, Vladimir Lisin (from left)

sanctions against Russia

Although the Bundeswehr has around 100 Panzerhaubitze 2000 weapon systems on paper, only 40 of these are operational. With the delivery of the seven repair howitzers, the delivery to the Ukraine would at least not increase the gap in the Bundeswehr.

The Ambassador of Ukraine, Andriy Melnyk, told the newspaper: “We appeal to the federal government to hand over a significant part of the available weapon systems from the Bundeswehr stocks to Ukraine as quickly as possible.”

source site