Russian invasion
War against Ukraine: That’s the situation
Russian President Vladimir Putin has called a special session of the National Security Council. photo
© Vladimir Gerdo/Pool Sputnik Kremlin via AP/dpa/Archive
Two people die in the city of Zaporizhia when their home is believed to have been hit by a Russian missile. The news at a glance.
Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin has called a special session of the National Security Council after reports from his secret service about fighting with Ukrainian units on Russian territory.
A planned trip to the Caucasus was canceled at short notice. It was not initially known what the meeting of the important committee would be about. Ukraine accuses Russia of targeted disinformation.
Putin’s spokesman leaves Security Council agenda open
Russian Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov replied to journalists’ question as to whether the Security Council would continue to upgrade what Moscow had described as a “special military operation”: “I don’t know, I can’t say yet.” There has long been speculation that Russia could officially declare war on Ukraine or order another wave of army mobilization.
Baerbock tells Lavrov to his face: “Stop the war”
Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock appealed to her Russian colleague Sergey Lavrov at a foreign ministers’ meeting of the G20 states in New Delhi: “Stop the war. Not in a month or a year, but today.” Unlike at the G20 meeting a year ago, the 72-year-old did not leave the room this time, but listened to the criticism.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also exchanged a few words with Lavrov for the first time since the Russian war of aggression began on February 24, 2022. According to the US newspaper “New York Times”, he told his Russian colleague that the United States would continue to support the attacked Ukraine. At a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Qin, Lavrov stressed the importance of close ties with Beijing.
Scholz: “You can’t negotiate with a gun on your temple”
Chancellor Olaf Scholz made it clear in a government statement in the Bundestag that he is not currently expecting peace negotiations. “You can’t negotiate with a gun to your temple – except about your own submission,” he said. With clear words, the SPD politician rejected all those who recently demanded concessions from Ukraine. “Love of peace does not mean submission to a larger neighbor. If Ukraine stopped defending itself, then that would not be peace, it would be the end of Ukraine,” said Scholz.
Putin: Will criminals be “crushed”
It was “another terrorist attack and another crime,” Putin said at a video conference on Thursday. The domestic secret service FSB had previously spoken of heavy fighting with “Ukrainian nationalists” in Bryansk near the border with Ukraine. Kiev rejected responsibility for the incidents and spoke of targeted Russian disinformation. Putin again described the elected government in Kiev as “neo-Nazis” who wanted to use violence to rob Russia of its historical identity and language. “But I repeat myself: they will not succeed and we will crush them.”
Moscow speaks of a targeted attack on civilians
According to Russian sources, a motorist was killed in the Bryansk region and a child was injured when Ukrainian sabotage squads fired on it. “They entered the border area, where they opened fire on civilians. They saw that it was a civilian vehicle, that there were civilians and children inside,” Putin said. In the meantime, the media had even spread reports of alleged hostage-taking and the shooting at a school bus, which were then retracted by official bodies in Russia.
Russian nationalists admit to attacks
In a confession video, Russian nationalists claimed responsibility for the attacks in the Bryansk region. While some Russian nationalists support Putin’s war of aggression, others are fighting on Kiev’s side. However, it was not known whether the action in Bryansk was coordinated with the Ukrainian military.
Zelenskyj: The army has the situation on the fronts under control
Despite major problems, the armed forces of Ukraine have the situation on the fronts under control, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address on Wednesday. The military reported continued Russian attacks in the east of the country – with a focus on Bakhmut. “Deliberate terror,” Zelenskyy said of the Russian artillery attacks on towns and villages behind the fronts in southern and eastern Ukraine.
Reports of explosions in Crimea
Several explosions were registered in Russian-occupied Crimea on Wednesday evening. The detonations were heard in Yalta, Bakhchisarai and Gurzuf in the south of the peninsula, social media reported. There were no official statements on this.