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Vice Chancellor Habeck has assured Ukraine of the Federal Government’s continued support. Authorities report several deaths in a Russian attack on the Dnipropetrovsk region of Ukraine. All developments in the live blog.
Kremlin opponent Yulia Navalnaya, widow of the late Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny, once again emphasized her determination in the fight against Russian repression at an awards ceremony in Bavaria. “I will continue to fight for media freedom, like Alexei did,” said Navalnaya at the Ludwig Erhard summit on Lake Tegernsee.
There she accepted the “Media Freedom Prize,” which was awarded to her and, posthumously, to her late husband. In her acceptance speech, Navalnaya emphasized the achievements of her husband, who died in Russian captivity two months ago: “My husband was amazingly good at turning all media into free media,” emphasized the 48-year-old.
Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck has assured Ukraine of the Federal Government’s continued support. “I’m also here to make it clear to the interlocutors in Ukraine and also to the people in Ukraine that Germany’s support, as I said, will be reliable and lasting,” said the Green politician at his Ukraine -Trip. “But they also expect that, because the military situation at the front demands that we continue to support Ukraine with more ammunition and new weapon systems now that the pressure is increasing again.”
A 14th sanctions package is being prepared in the EU due to Russia’s ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine. According to a senior EU official, this will include punitive measures against actors who circumvent existing Russia sanctions.
In addition, according to diplomats, there is likely to be a further expansion of the list of people and entities whose assets in the EU must be frozen. The EU Foreign Service and the EU Commission want to present concrete proposals to the member states next week.
Ukraine says it will receive 560 million euros from the European Investment Bank for energy and transport infrastructure. In addition, the funds would flow into the reconstruction of residential buildings and other economic projects, says Prime Minister Denys Schmyhal. The projects would bring Ukraine closer to the European Union. According to previous information, the total cost of rebuilding the country is likely to be many hundreds of billions of euros.
The parliamentary speakers of the Baltic states Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have jointly appealed to the US Congress to pass an additional aid package for Ukraine. “Europe is taking historic steps to strengthen its defense capabilities, but that inevitably takes time – time that Ukraine does not have. That is why U.S. assistance is essential at this crucial moment, before Europe’s defense capability comes into play and we do even more, to help Ukraine,” they wrote to U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson.
The G7 foreign ministers are committed to strengthening Ukraine’s air defense capabilities. This emerges from a joint statement by the ministers at their meeting on the Italian Mediterranean island of Capri. We will also work with partner countries to achieve this goal.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj visits the front in eastern Ukraine and speaks with paratroopers from a paratrooper unit. He wrote on his social media channels that he was in the Donetsk region. “I visited our defenders who are receiving medical treatment,” he said.
He also found out about the regional security situation and measures to protect the population.
According to Ukrainian information, the G7 states have identified concrete steps to help the country in the fight against the Russian war of aggression. This is what Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on the sidelines of discussions between the G7 department heads on the Italian Mediterranean island of Capri.
The West has the opportunity “to provide Ukraine with all the necessary means as quickly as possible to save Europe from a major war,” Kuleba told journalists. The group of seven strongest Western democracies includes Germany, the USA, Canada, Great Britain, France, Italy and Japan.
The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed the crash of a TU-22M3 long-range bomber over the Stavropol region in the southwest of the country, according to Russian news agencies. Accordingly, the ministry spoke of a technical error as the reason for the crash.
As the Interfax news agency also reported, citing the region’s governor, Vladimir Vladimirov, one crew member died in the incident. Two others who had activated ejection seats were taken to hospitals. A fourth crew member is still missing.
The Ukrainian military says it has destroyed a Russian TU-22M3 long-range bomber. For the first time, such a fighter plane was shot down, said the commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, Mykola Oleshchuk, on the short message service Telegram.
According to authorities, at least eight people were killed in the Ukrainian region of Dnipropetrovsk. According to regional governor Serhiy Lyssak, at least two people died and 15 others were injured in the regional capital Dnipro. A five-story residential building and two infrastructure properties were hit. According to Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko, six people were killed in the city of Synelnykove, including two children.
The state-owned company said that Ukrainian railway facilities were also targeted. The main train station in Dnipro is closed and long-distance trains are being rerouted.
Hatched: territories occupied by Russia
For Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck, the day began in the air raid shelter. An air alarm was triggered in Kiev on Friday morning at 4:40 a.m. local time (3:40 a.m. German time). The Green Party politician and his companions spent around an hour and a half in the underground car park of their hotel until the all-clear was given again.
Habeck has been in Ukraine since Thursday and continued his journey in the morning. A visit to the Republic of Moldova was also planned, where Habeck wanted to meet, among others, Prime Minister Dorin Recean.
According to Ukrainian sources, infrastructure in the city of Kryvyi Rih was damaged in a Russian attack early this morning. Three people were injured, the head of the region’s military administration, Olexander Wilkul, said via Telegram. A fire broke out.
According to authorities, a woman was killed in Russian air strikes on the Ukrainian region of Dnipropetrovsk. At least six other people were injured, the region’s governor, Serhiy Lyssak, said on the short message service Telegram. In the city of Dnipro, a five-story building caught fire and was partially destroyed. It is feared that there are still people under the rubble.
Conflict parties as a source
In the current situation, information on the course of the war, shelling and casualties provided by official bodies of the Russian and Ukrainian parties to the conflict cannot be directly verified by an independent body.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj thanked Germany for his country’s continued support after Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck’s visit. “We appreciate Germany’s leadership role, which helps not only us in Ukraine to protect lives, but all of Europe itself – to preserve the very Europe that knows how to live peacefully, knows the law and knows how to take care of people,” Zelensky said in his daily video address.
The Ukrainian president said he discussed the situation at the front and the needs, particularly in terms of anti-aircraft defense, with Habeck. In a separate entry on Telegram, he also praised the federal government’s decision to send another Patriot anti-aircraft system.
According to its governor, Russian air defense intercepted 25 flying objects over the southern Belgorod region. The main target was the city of Belgorod, but there were no injuries, Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote on the Telegram short message service. Several private homes and other buildings were damaged. A small fire in a storage room was quickly extinguished.
Conflict parties as a source
In the current situation, information on the course of the war, shelling and casualties provided by official bodies of the Russian and Ukrainian parties to the conflict cannot be directly verified by an independent body.
Two days before a planned vote in the US House of Representatives on a Ukraine aid package, former President Donald Trump called on Europe to provide more money to support the country attacked by Russia. “We all agree that the survival and strength of Ukraine should be much more important to Europe than to us, but it is also important to us,” Trump wrote on his online platform Truth Social. “How is it that the United States is spending over $100 billion more on the Ukraine war than Europe, and we have an ocean separating us!” Trump continued.
Although Trump is no longer in office, the former president exerts strong control over many Republicans in Washington who have delayed new military aid to Ukraine. They insist on prioritizing the fight against illegal immigration at the border with Mexico. The deadlock between Democrats and Republicans has left Ukraine lacking ammunition and defense systems to defend itself against the Russian invasion.
Russia has declared the FDP-affiliated Naumann Foundation an undesirable organization. According to IMF head Georgieva, Ukraine needs $42 billion in aid this year. All developments can be read in the live blog.