RAccording to Ukrainian sources, US troops are stepping up their activities in the east and south of the country. They tried to make up for their losses, the bombing and artillery attacks continued, said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a video message on Thursday night. A major Russian offensive is expected shortly. The USA and the European Union (EU), including Germany, therefore want to massively arm Ukraine. The fact that President Frank-Walter Steinmeier was uninvited by the Ukraine leadership was met with even more incomprehension and criticism.
Russians report capture of Mariupol port
According to the Russian army, the port of the largely destroyed Ukrainian city of Mariupol is now completely under its control. The commercial port was “liberated” by Ukrainian Azov militants, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said. The remaining Ukrainian troops are “blocked and deprived of the opportunity to escape from the encirclement”. There was no confirmation of this from the Ukrainian side. According to the US war research institute Institute for the Study of War (ISW), the Russian troops will “probably” conquer the city in the coming week, as it was said on Thursday night.
Evacuation of Russian missile cruiser
The crew of the Russian missile cruiser “Moskva” (“Moscow”) has meanwhile been completely evacuated, according to information from Moscow. The ship of the Black Sea Fleet was badly damaged by the “detonation of ammunition as a result of a fire”, the Russian agency TASS reported on Thursday night, citing the Russian Ministry of Defense. A few hours earlier, it had been said from Kyiv that the missile cruiser had been hit by a Ukrainian anti-ship missile. According to Ukrainian sources, the warship has a crew of more than 500 sailors.
Ukrainians are clearing mines in the north
Russian troops are said to have left large quantities of unexploded explosive devices in the north of the country, according to Ukrainian sources. Tens of thousands of unexploded shells or mines are in the area, Zelensky said. Mine clearance continues. The current military situation is not significantly different from that of the past few days. Russian troops increased their activities in the east and south. This could not be independently verified.
West arms Ukraine
In view of the expected large-scale Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine, the US and the EU together are providing more than 1.2 billion euros for arms deliveries to Kyiv. The US announced it would supply Ukraine with up to $800 million in additional arms and ammunition. These include artillery, armored vehicles and helicopters. US President Joe Biden said after talks with Zelenskyy that the new deliveries should support Ukraine, especially in view of the feared large-scale attack in the Donbass region.