Russia-Ukraine conflict: Zelenskyj demands “security guarantees” | tagesschau.de

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has welcomed the announced sanctions against Russia. The country unilaterally broke the Minsk agreement, he said. Meanwhile, Russia cleared its diplomatic missions in Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for security guarantees for his country in the face of fears of a major Russian attack. “Ukraine needs security guarantees. Clear, concrete and immediate,” said Zelenskyj after a meeting with his Polish colleague Andrzej Duda and Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda in Kiev.

“We are under no illusions that Ukraine is not part of any security alliances,” he said. “We defend ourselves with the support of our partners. But it’s the Ukrainians who are dying. That’s why Ukraine needs clarity.” He believes that Russia “must be among the countries that give clear security guarantees.”

Russia unilaterally broke the Minsk agreement, Zelensky said. He often suggested that Russian President Vladimir Putin sit down at the negotiating table for talks. The further steps of Ukraine depended on the further actions of Russia. His country is “prepared for anything”.

“The future of European security will be decided now”

Zelenskyy described the recognition of the two self-proclaimed “people’s republics” of Luhansk and Donetsk as independent states as aggression and a crime against Ukrainian sovereignty. In this assessment he agrees with Duda and Nauseda. The Ukrainian President also thanked his counterparts for calling for Ukraine to be granted EU candidate status.

In a joint statement, the three countries condemned Russia’s actions. “This unprovoked step of aggression by Russia is another gross violation of the fundamental norms and principles of international law,” it said. The international community should take “determined and far-reaching steps” against this aggressive act by Russia. Moscow should withdraw its troops from Ukraine’s borders and from the “occupied territories of Ukraine”.

According to the Ukrainian President, the conflict with Russia has a decisive influence on the future of Europe. “We share the conviction that the future of European security is being decided right now, here in our homeland, in Ukraine,” said Zelenskyy. He thanked the EU and the US for the quick sanctions against Russia.

Nord Stream 2 “weapon against all of Europe”

Zelenskyy also welcomed the temporary shutdown of the Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea pipeline. The pipeline was “a weapon aimed against Ukraine and against the whole of Europe”. He expects further steps to strengthen the sanctions pressure. The Nord Stream 2 stop should be “irreversible and be phased out completely”.

The federal government made up of SPD, Greens and FDP on Tuesday withdrew a report by the previous government on the effects of the natural gas project on the security of energy supply and thus put the project on hold.

According to the federal government, it could still be months before a possible decision on the future of Nord Stream 2 is made. A prerequisite for this would be a report on the impact of the project on security of supply. When asked whether it would take weeks, months or years to create it, government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said: “I’m not counting on weeks.”

Ambassador warns of ‘huge war’

The Ambassador of Ukraine in Germany Andriy Melnyk said in an interview with tagesschau24, the danger of a “huge war in the middle of Europe” has grown massively with Vladimir Putin’s announcement that he would recognize the separatist areas. According to Melnyk, he would like Germany to provide not only economic aid but also defensive weapons.

Russia withdraws embassy staff

Russia, meanwhile, has begun withdrawing staff from all of its diplomatic facilities in Ukraine. This was reported by the official Russian news agency Tass. Moscow has an embassy in Kiev and consulates in Kharkiv, Odessa and Lviv.

The State Department said the representations would be evacuated to protect “the life and safety” of the diplomats, it said in justification. Russian diplomats in Ukraine have received threats, and there have been “repeated attacks” on the Russian embassy in Kiev and consulates in other cities in the country.

A state of emergency should be declared

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry in Kiev had previously asked Ukrainian citizens in Russia to leave the country immediately and advised them not to travel to the country. The country’s top safety officer announced that a state of emergency would be introduced in most parts of the country. This should initially apply for 30 days and can be extended by a further 30 days. It has been in force in the separatist areas since 2014.