Russian invasion: War against Ukraine: That’s the situation

Russian invasion
War against Ukraine: That’s the situation

According to Ukrainian information, Russian troops have established themselves in several places in eastern Ukraine.

According to Ukrainian information, Russian units have gained a foothold in the small town of Lozova, an important railway junction in the Kharkiv region in the east of the country, as the Ukrainian General Staff announced in its report.

In the areas of Selena Dolyna in the Donetsk region and Crimea in the Luhansk region, which is about 40 kilometers to the east and was conquered a few days ago, Russian troops are expanding their positions and preparing for further advances. They could also have gained a foothold in the town of Stepne in the Donetsk region.

Attacks were fended off in the Luhansk region, around 80 percent of which is already under Russian control, according to Ukrainian sources, in the area of ​​the city of Rubishne and the village of Novotoschkivske. The information could not be independently verified.

Selenskyj calls on Ukrainians to resist

The Ukrainian President called on the citizens of his country to resist the Russian war of aggression. “Everyone has to defend themselves against the occupation at every opportunity,” said Zelenskyj in his video message every evening. People shouldn’t cooperate with the Russians. Those living in areas controlled by Russian units should “cause them as many problems as possible.”

Zelenskyy: Invading Ukraine is just the beginning

Zelenskyj also reacted to Russia’s specification of its war goals. The area where Russia should take care of the rights of Russian speakers “is Russia itself,” he said. There is no freedom of speech there, and poverty thrives.

On Friday, a high-ranking Russian military officer said that in the second phase of the war in Ukraine they wanted to take the Donbass in the east and south of the country and there was still access to Transnistria, where “oppression of the Russian-speaking population” was also found . Russia uses this argument to justify its war of aggression in Ukraine. Russian troops are stationed in the Transnistria region, which broke away from Moldova.

The statements from Russia also confirmed what he had already said several times: “That the Russian invasion of Ukraine should only be the beginning and then they want to conquer other countries.”

Ukraine: Possible escape corridor from Mariupol

According to Ukrainian sources, an evacuation from the badly damaged Ukrainian port city of Mariupol could take place on Saturday. This was announced by Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Wereshchuk on Facebook. She went on to say that escape corridors out of the city had failed several times and that she understood how difficult this was for people. “But you and I have to try so many times until it works.”

London: Change in Russian tactics may take time

An announcement by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu that he would use unspecified “new methods of warfare” is, according to the British assessment, a tacit admission that Russia is not progressing as planned in its war of aggression against Ukraine. Nevertheless, it will take a while to adapt and improve tactics, the British Ministry of Defense said, citing intelligence information. This applies in particular to land-based maneuver warfare.

UN Secretary-General meets Putin and Zelenskyy

Around two months after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, UN Secretary-General António Guterres plans to visit Russia and Ukraine next week. After a reception by Russian President Putin in Moscow on Tuesday, Guterres will travel to Ukraine and meet President Zelenskyy there on Thursday, according to the United Nations in New York. The UN chief had previously asked for the meetings to mediate in the struggle for a ceasefire in the conflict. The trip to Moscow is likely to be one of the most important of Guterres’ time as UN Secretary-General.

Medvedev: Europe «doesn’t survive a week» without Russian gas

Ex-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has responded to a guideline from the EU Commission that it appears EU companies could pay for Russian gas without violating sanctions. The “consistency and loyalty to principles of the European partners is appreciated,” wrote Medvedev on Telegram, adding a laughing smiley face and a clown emoji. Especially when you consider that, according to current data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Europe can get by without Russian gas for a maximum of six months. “But seriously, they won’t last a week.”

Satellite images: Possible further graves near Mariupol

Not far from the south-east Ukrainian port of Mariupol, which was besieged by Russian troops, satellite images indicate another possible mass grave. “This time in the left-bank district near the Vynohradne cemetery,” city council deputy Petro Andryushchenko told Telegram. The occupying forces would try to cover up war crimes. The images distributed by the US satellite photo service Maxar from March 22 to April 15 are said to show a cemetery near Wynohradne before, during and after an expansion of the graves. The information cannot be independently verified.

“Moskva”: Russia names number of victims

A week after the sinking of the warship “Moskva”, the Russian leadership admitted one fatality, 27 sailors were missing. “In the fight for the survival of the ship, a soldier died and another 27 crew members are missing,” the Ministry of Defense said, according to the Interfax news agency. There was no information about injuries. After discussions with relatives, the media critical of the Kremlin spoke of a significantly larger number of dead and missing.

That’s going to be important today

With a federal party conference at the weekend, the FDP determines its further course of support for Ukraine. Demonstrations against the war are planned in Düsseldorf and Hamburg.

dpa