Russia’s President
Putin: No requirement for martial law in Russia
Vladimir Putin: The most important demand is the demilitarization of Ukraine. Photo: Andrei Gorshkov/Pool Sputnik Kremlin/AP/dpa
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Many Russians fear that martial law will soon be declared in their country. Kremlin chief Putin is now opposing this. There are currently no prerequisites for this.
Russian President Vladimir Putin currently sees no prerequisites for declaring martial law in Russia. Such a situation requires external aggression or fighting in specific regions, Putin said on Saturday, according to Russian agencies in Moscow.
“But we don’t have such a situation, and I hope it doesn’t come either.” He is also not planning a state of emergency. He countered the fears of many Russians. As a result, many have already left the country.
Finnish Railways deploy additional trains for Russians
Because more and more Russians want to leave their country, Finnish Railways are expanding their train service from St. Petersburg in Russia to the capital Helsinki. Thousands have already arrived in Finland, and in addition to the Allegro express train, the buses on the approximately 400-kilometer route between St. Petersburg and Helsinki are also full, the Finnish television station Yle reported.
Russia and Finland are neighboring countries and share a border of around 1300 kilometers in length. “We are trying to offer several additional trips on several days in the next week,” said a spokesman for Finnish Railways. “The trains in the opposite direction are practically empty,” he added.
Putin’s terms for ending the war
Once again, Putin reiterated his terms for an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine. «Our proposals are on the table of a group of negotiators from Kyiv. We hope that they will react positively to this.” The most important demand is the demilitarization of Ukraine. “We need to know clearly what weapons are where and what control they are under.” Various options are currently being discussed with the Ukrainian delegation.
According to Putin, the “destruction of the military infrastructure” in Ukraine “as part of the operation (…) is practically complete”. He mentioned weapons and ammunition depots.
Putin warns west of no-fly zone
Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned against enforcing a no-fly zone over Ukraine. “We consider any movement in this direction as a country’s participation in an armed conflict,” Putin said at a meeting with pilots from the state airline Aeroflot on Saturday. It does not matter which organization these countries belong to.
NATO had already rejected a corresponding request from Ukraine. The Allies are in agreement that NATO aircraft should not operate in Ukrainian airspace, the Secretary General of the military alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, said on Friday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had previously urged the NATO countries to prevent Russia from launching further airstrikes on his country.