A Russian rocket attack on houses in the Ukrainian city of Uman has killed 23 people. Selenskyj described the attackers as “terrorists” and called for more weapons to protect his country. Meanwhile, a fuel tank caught fire in Crimea. The day at a glance.
After a deadly rocket attack on Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy blamed not only the Russian leadership but also soldiers for war crimes. “Not just the commanders, but all of you, you are all terrorists and murderers and you all have to be punished,” said the 45-year-old on Saturday evening in his daily video address. Anyone who steers and fires rockets, who maintains planes and ships for terror, is complicit in the deaths of the war, he said.
The background is the rocket attack on the city of Uman in which 23 people died on Friday. According to Selenskyj, there were six minors among them. Anyone who prepares such rocket attacks must know that they are complicit in the deaths of civilians, stressed the Ukrainian head of state. That is why it is not enough to weaken Russia in the war. Rather, it is necessary that the country is actually held accountable for its crimes. Once again, Zelenskyy advocated the creation of an international tribunal against Russia along the lines of the Nuremberg trials of the Nazis.
Seleskyj demands more weapons for protection after Russian attack
In addition, after the Russian attack on the city of Uman, Zelenskyy called for more weapons to protect the country. “Anti-aircraft defense, a modern air force, without which effective airspace defense is impossible, artillery, armored vehicles. Everything that is necessary to provide security for our cities, our villages, both in the rear and at the front,” said the 45- year-old in his daily video speech.
According to Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian anti-aircraft defense prevented a far higher number of civilian casualties by intercepting 21 out of 23 missiles. “Only absolute evil can unleash such terror against Ukraine,” said the President. He was glad that there was agreement on punishing those responsible in Europe. The European Union had condemned Russia’s recent rocket attacks on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine as a war crime.
In Moscow, some citizens laid flowers at a memorial to commemorate the victims in Uman. “Police officers appeared at the Lesja Ukrainka monument in Moscow, where flowers were brought to commemorate the dead Ukrainians,” reported the independent Internet portal Astra on Saturday night. The police officers later cleared the flowers and asked the mourners to “get away to Ukraine,” the portal reported, citing eyewitnesses.
Governor: Fuel tank on fire in Crimea
A fuel tank caught fire in the port city of Sevastopol on the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea annexed by Russia – presumably as a result of a drone attack. Governor Mikhail Rasvozhayev wrote this on Telegram on Saturday. It was a level four fire – “the most serious of all possible,” wrote the governor. According to this, an area of 1000 square meters burns. Civil institutions are not threatened. There was initially no information about injuries.
18 fire engines are currently in use. Because of the size of the fire, it could take many hours to contain the fire, Rasvoschajew later wrote. “The fire does not affect the fuel supply of Sevastopol. These reserves were not used for deliveries to the gas stations.” Rasvozhayev’s statement suggests that it is a fuel depot used by the military.
According to Ukrainian military intelligence, ten oil tanks were destroyed. “Their total volume is about 40,000 tons,” said authority spokesman Andriy Jussow. “This is God’s punishment especially for the killed citizens in Uman, among whom are five children,” he said, referring to a Russian missile attack the night before.
Ukraine has announced several times that it will free Crimea, which was annexed in 2014, from Russian occupation. In various parts of the peninsula, in the course of Russia’s war of aggression against the neighboring country, there are incidents with drones, some with serious damage, injuries and deaths. Russia feels compelled to significantly increase the military effort to defend Crimea.
London: New Russian strategy behind attacks
According to British intelligence services, behind the recent Russian missile attacks there is a new strategy. It is unlikely that Russia wanted to destroy infrastructure with the wave of attacks on Friday morning, in which at least 25 people were killed, as previously announced by the Ministry of Defense in London on Saturday.
There is a realistic possibility that Russia tried to attack Ukrainian reserve units as well as military supplies recently delivered to Ukraine. Russia is pursuing an “inefficient targeting process” and accepting civilian casualties in favor of an assumed military necessity.
Wagner boss complains about high losses
The head of the Russian Wagner mercenary unit, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has threatened to withdraw his troops from the embattled city of Bakhmut in Ukraine because of the high losses caused by a lack of supplies. “Every day we have stacks of thousands of bodies that we put in coffins and send home,” Prigozhin said in an interview with Russian military blogger Semyon Pegov published on Saturday. Losses were five times higher than necessary because of the lack of artillery ammunition, he complained.
He wrote a letter to Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to get supplies as soon as possible. “If the ammunition deficit is not replenished, we are forced – in order not to run like cowardly rats afterwards – either to retreat in an organized manner or to die,” said the 61-year-old. He would probably be forced to withdraw some of his troops, but that would mean that the front would collapse elsewhere, he warned.
EU Commission: Dispute over agricultural imports settled
Meanwhile, the EU Commission announced an agreement with several Eastern European countries in the dispute over agricultural imports from Ukraine. Concerns from farmers in several neighboring EU countries and Ukraine were taken into account, Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis wrote on Twitter on Friday. Poland, Bulgaria, Slovakia and Hungary will therefore lift their countermeasures. In return, there will be “extraordinary protective measures” for wheat, corn, rapeseed and sunflower seeds. He did not give details.
The EU member states had previously agreed on Friday to suspend tariffs for another year. This is intended to strengthen the Ukrainian economy, as announced by the Swedish Council Presidency. The Committee of Permanent Representatives of EU countries has signaled its support. Whether all countries welcomed the decision remained unclear – but unanimity is not required for a final decision.
The agreement met with approval in Ukraine. Blocking Ukrainian imports would not only harm Ukraine but also cause great suffering to the Middle East and Africa, Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko said at a meeting of EU finance ministers in Stockholm on Saturday.
Dead in artillery shelling of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine
Meanwhile, not only Kiev but also the Russian side is complaining about dead civilians from artillery fire. Several people were killed and injured by shelling in the Russian-controlled city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine. According to local authorities on Friday, there were 9 dead and 16 injured. Among other things, a shared taxi caught fire and burned out completely as a result of the Ukrainian rocket fire. Kiev regularly denies attacks on civilian objects. Information from the war zone cannot be independently verified.
Putin signs new maximum penalties for treason
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed tougher laws against high treason, sabotage and terrorism. The penalty for high treason is increased to life imprisonment, according to the text of the law published on Friday. Most recently, a Russian court sentenced Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Mursa to 25 years in prison for alleged high treason.
The Russian parliament, the State Duma, passed the corresponding laws ten days ago. In addition to the life sentence for high treason, the terms of imprisonment for other crimes have also been increased, in some cases significantly. For acts of sabotage, the maximum penalty is increased from 15 to 20 years. Numerous opponents of the war who had set fire to military district offices or damaged rails to prevent the transport of armaments were put on trial. The maximum sentence for “international terrorism” is increased from 10 to 12 years, for complicity in such a case the minimum sentence from 5 to 7 years.
Czech President Pavel visits Dnipro
On the second day of his trip to Ukraine, the new Czech President Petr Pavel visited the central city of Dnipro. There he spoke with local representatives about the reconstruction plans for the region, as reported by accompanying journalists. “We should see this as an opportunity to work together, not as one-sided help,” emphasized the 61-year-old. One thing they have in common is that both the Dnipropetrovsk region and the Czech Republic have a strong industrial character. Dnipro is located almost 400 kilometers south-east of the capital Kiev.
In the city, Pavel visited the place where a Russian missile hit a block of flats in January. He condemned the “barbaric killing of civilians” by Russia. At least 45 people were killed in the attack. (dpa/cgo)