live blog
Ukrainian President Zelensky has welcomed the new US sanctions package against Russia as “very powerful”. The Bundeswehr has trained more than 8,000 Ukrainian soldiers since the start of the war. The information in the live blog.
- Zelensky welcomes US sanctions as “powerful“
According to Ukrainian sources, Russian drones attacked civilian targets in Ukraine’s second largest city, Kharkiv, late Thursday evening. As the governor of the Kharkiv region, Oleh Synehubov, wrote on Telegram, the attacks were aimed at civilian infrastructure in the city in northeastern Ukraine and also hit a location in the region. The mayor of Kharkiv, Ihor Terekhov, said a fire broke out after the shelling, but it was brought under control.
Since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, thousands of Ukrainian soldiers have been trained in Germany. “The Bundeswehr, together with our partners, has already trained over 8,000 Ukrainian soldiers in Germany,” said the head of the Special Staff Ukraine in the Defense Ministry, Major General Christian Freuding, to the “Stuttgarter Zeitung” and the “Stuttgarter Nachrichten”. In July, the Bundeswehr put the number of Ukrainian soldiers it trained at 5,000.
According to Freuding, there is positive feedback on the training: “The feedback we get is always very appreciative,” he said. This also applies to the material delivered to Ukraine. “If you ask the Ukrainian soldiers what they would like more of, German weapon systems are mentioned above all,” he explained.
Russia has accused the US of a “chaotic, illogical” sanctions policy in view of the new package of American punitive measures. The aim of the new “frontal attack” by the USA is to damage Russia’s economy, break the country’s internal unity and also hit its citizens, said Moscow’s ambassador to Washington, Anatoly Antonov. But the damage was greater for Western countries than for Russia itself, he said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has welcomed the new US sanctions package against Russia as “very powerful”. Important areas of the aggressor’s economy are now subject to punitive measures. “The power of sanctions is the strength of the world,” Zelensky said in his video message broadcast in Kiev on Thursday evening. It must be prevented that Moscow can circumvent the sanctions. Russia, which began its war against Ukraine more than 20 months ago, has repeatedly described the sanctions as ineffective.
The US had previously imposed new punitive measures against dozens of people, companies and entities that support Russia in its war of aggression against Ukraine. The sanctions are aimed, among other things, at weakening the Russian energy and raw materials sector.
According to its finance minister, the USA wants to “hold Russia accountable” with new sanctions against 130 companies and individuals. The Russian military reports defense against Ukrainian drones. Thursday’s live blog for reading.