Liveblog: ++ Selenskyj dampens hopes of a counteroffensive ++

Ukrainian President Selenskyj rules out an early counteroffensive. Almost six million people have fled inside Ukraine as a result of Russia’s war of aggression. The developments in the live blog.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has ruled out a counter-offensive against the Russian invaders at this point in time. An offensive is currently unacceptable because it would cost too many lives, he said in an interview broadcast by the BBC.

“With (what we have) we can move forward and be successful,” said Zelenskyj, according to the BBC. “But we would lose a lot of people. I think that’s unacceptable.” Therefore we still have to wait. “We need a little more time.”

According to the information, the interview was conducted in Kiev by public broadcasters which, like the BBC, are members of Eurovision News.

The Ukrainian spring offensive has been expected for weeks. The Ukrainian military has received a variety of modern Western weapons, including tanks, and Ukrainian units have been trained on the weapon systems. The Russian troops have meanwhile strongly fortified their positions.

According to official information, a fuel depot and an administration building were attacked with drones in the Russian border region not far from Ukraine. The drone dropped an explosive device over the camp, partially damaging an oil tank, wrote the governor of the Bryansk region, Alexander Bogomas, on Telegram. He did not provide any further information about the building.

In social networks it was said that it should have been a military site. In both cases, nobody was injured. Bogomas blamed Ukraine for the attacks, but there was initially no reaction from there.

Russia has been reporting more and more drone incidents in its own border region in recent weeks. Many observers assume that these could be preparations for the Ukrainian counter-offensive by deliberately weakening Russian military infrastructure. In addition to oil refineries and military installations, the targets of the drone attacks have also recently included Russian freight trains.

The German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) continues to believe that it is wrong for athletes from Russia and Belarus to return to major international competitions. “In view of the ongoing acts of war, we believe that the exclusion would still be justified. Russia and Belarus should not even be given the opportunity to abuse the participation of the athletes for war propaganda purposes,” said DOSB President Thomas Weikert in an interview with ” Heilbronner voice”.

A few weeks ago, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommended that the world federations allow athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete again as neutral athletes – provided they meet certain conditions. The DOSB had spoken out against it.

According to British intelligence services, the Russian Ministry of Defense is now recruiting prisoners for the war of aggression against Ukraine itself. The British Ministry of Defense said it is likely that up to 10,000 prisoners joined the military in April 2023 alone. The initiative has been running since the beginning of the year. The campaign is part of an attempt to increase the number of soldiers while avoiding a new mobilization, which would be very unpopular with the Russian public, sources in London said.

There were around 5.9 million internally displaced people in Ukraine at the end of 2022 because of the Russian war of aggression. That reports the Observatory for Internally Displaced Persons (IDMC) in genf. Several million people also fled abroad. According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), around five million people received protection in Europe alone. However, the Observatory’s report only deals with displaced persons who remained in the country in which they previously lived.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy promised his compatriots that he would drive the Russian occupiers completely out of the country with foreign support. “We will not surrender a single piece of our country to the enemy – tyranny will not rule anywhere,” said Zelenskyy in his nightly video address. “Let’s not forget that every day the occupier is on our land is a temptation for him to believe that he will succeed,” said Zelenskyy. “He will not succeed! We must bring freedom, security and Europe back to the entire Ukrainian land.”

The reconstruction of the war-torn country is already being prepared with foreign aid, said Zelenskyj – from business and industry to armaments, energy, infrastructure and education to social and health care.

According to its own statements, the Ukrainian army pushed back the Russian troops in some places near Bakhmut. “We are conducting effective counterattacks there,” Ukrainian army commander Olexander Syrskyj said on Telegram. On some front sections of the city in eastern Ukraine, which has been heavily fought over for months, Russian troops have retreated by up to two kilometers.

According to Syrskyj’s account, the Wagner combat units deployed at Bachmut were replaced in some sections by regular Russian army units. These less well-trained units have now been defeated, said Syrskyj.

Former US President Donald Trump has made a rare appearance on a CNN program, making evasive comments about Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine. When asked whether he would continue to provide money and arms to Ukraine if he won the 2024 presidential election, the Republican said, among other things: “I want Europe to provide more money because they are laughing at us. They think we’re a bunch of idiots.”

Trump claimed that the US government is giving away so much equipment that there is no ammunition left for its own troops. During his time in the White House, he had already accused Germany and other NATO countries of spending too little money on their own armed forces and hiding behind the protective shield of the well-armed US military.

Trump reiterated his claim that he could end the war between Russia and Ukraine, which has been going on for more than 14 months, in 24 hours.

A special adviser to Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. This was preceded by statements made by Lula on the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, which caused unease in Kiev, the USA and Europe and were firmly rejected.

Advisor Celso Amorim, a former foreign minister, told the Brazilian newspaper O Globo after the meeting that Zelenskyy understood that Lula was working for peace. The newspaper “Folha de S.Paulo” quoted Amorim as saying that his talks with representatives of Ukraine had been positive and had built trust. It was conducive to explaining the Brazilian goals for peace.

Lula had called for a ceasefire in the conflict and proposed a group of countries, including his own, to mediate peace. At the same time, he had refused to supply arms to Ukraine, accused Kiev of complicity in the Russian invasion and declared that the US and Europe were sponsoring the fighting.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will reaffirm US support for Ukraine at the G7 summit in Japan. “From day one, our countries have together supported the Ukrainian people who put up fierce resistance,” she said in her speech today at a meeting with her G7 counterparts, according to an excerpt released by the US Treasury Department. “As I said before, we will stand by Ukraine for as long as it takes.”

After the death of a journalist at Bachmut, France initiates investigations into war crimes. The Ukrainian military reports having routed a whole brigade of Russian invasion troops near Bakhmut.