live blog
The first Russian citizens who no longer have a residence permit must leave Latvia. After more than two years on the front, Ukraine is releasing military servicemen into the reserves. The developments in the live blog.
Federal Defense Minister Boris Pistorius rejects new powers for the EU Commission in the defense sector. He said during a visit to Finland that he could imagine a Commissioner or a Commission for the defense industry, whereby existing competencies would be pooled within the European Commission and no new competencies would be created.
“Defense in the EU is organized on an intergovernmental basis,” he adds. That is why, first and foremost, a permanent EU Council of Defense Ministers is needed. So far they have only met informally.
In Latvia, the first Russian citizens who no longer have a residence permit have been ordered to leave the country. According to the migration authority in Riga, six Russians have received a corresponding decision. Two of them had already left the country, said authority head Maira Roze on Latvian television. The other four now have to do this within 30 days.
The background is changes to Latvia’s immigration law that were passed in autumn 2022 in response to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Anyone who wants to continue living legally in Latvia with a Russian passport must now apply for permanent residence status and – with a few exceptions – prove that they have everyday knowledge of Latvian in a language test. People who have not provided proof in a timely manner and have not met the legal requirements for obtaining a residence permit must leave the Baltic country.
France plans to produce military equipment through defense companies on Ukrainian soil. “Three French companies will cooperate with Ukrainian companies, primarily in the field of drones and land equipment, to produce spare parts on Ukrainian soil,” said Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu.
The first production facilities should start operations in the summer. He suggests that the companies include the tank manufacturer KNDS, which includes the French arms company Nexter and the German Krauss-Maffei-Wegmann.
The US Embassy in Russia warns of possible imminent attacks by extremists in Moscow. US citizens should therefore avoid large gatherings of people. The embassy is checking reports that extremists are planning to soon target large crowds, including concerts in Moscow, the diplomatic mission writes on its website.
US citizens should therefore avoid such crowds for the next 48 hours. The embassy does not provide any further details.
Russia and Ukraine each reported defending themselves against dozens of drones in mutual attacks last night. According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia fired three missiles and 37 Iranian-made Shahed drones into Ukraine. 33 Shahed drones were shot down over the Kirovograd, Odessa, Kherson, Mykolaiv and Kharkiv regions, the air force said in the Telegram online service.
The Defense Ministry in Moscow spoke of 16 Ukrainian drones being intercepted. According to information, 15 of them were destroyed over the southern Russian region of Volgograd, the closest part of which is around 300 kilometers from the front lines in eastern Ukraine. Another drone was shot down over the border region of Belgorod, the ministry said. Belgorod has been the target of shelling and air strikes several times since the Russian invasion began in February 2022.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected in Turkey today for talks with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan. According to an announcement from the Turkish presidential office, the main topic will be the Russian war of aggression, and ways to achieve “permanent peace in the region” will be discussed. The presidential office in Kiev did not initially confirm the visit.
Turkey also intends to talk about the continuation of the so-called grain agreement, it said. These were Russian security guarantees for Ukrainian grain exports across the Black Sea. Turkey and the United Nations brokered the deal. However, after the agreement expired last summer, Kiev set up its own corridor along the coastline through which freighters could safely call at Ukrainian ports.
In his State of the Union speech, US President Joe Biden emphasized that he wanted to continue to defy Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin. “My message to President Putin, whom I have known for a long time, is simple: we will not run away,” he told both houses of parliament. “If anyone in this room thinks Putin is going to go after Ukraine, that’s wrong. I assure you he won’t,” the Democrat warned.
Biden is again calling on Congress to release further US aid to the country attacked by Russia. “Ukraine can stop Putin. If we stand by Ukraine and supply the weapons,” said the 81-year-old. Ukraine is not asking for US soldiers and he will not send any, the US President emphasized. The Republicans wanted the United States to abandon its leadership role in the world.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj issues a decree that gives long-term conscripts a breather. “Today we issued a decree releasing into the reserve conscripts who were called up for military service before the start of the invasion,” he said in his evening video address. The decree allows conscripts who were already drafted into military service before Russian troops crossed the border in February 2022 to take a longer break. From April they will be transferred to the reserve and exempt from further call-ups for twelve months.
According to the head of the Ukrainian presidential administration, after a meeting, the Chinese special envoy for Eurasian affairs now knows Kiev’s peace plan and evidence of Russia’s use of North Korean weapons. Andriy Yermak wrote on Telegram that the situation on the battlefield and Kiev’s peace proposals had been presented to the Chinese special envoy Li Hui. In addition, the Chinese delegation was shown examples of fragments of launched missiles and weapons that North Korea manufactured and made available to Russia. In addition, Russia’s violations of international conventions on prisoners of war were discussed and how China could help ensure the return of deported Ukrainian children.
Li met a Russian deputy foreign minister in Moscow last week and said it was impossible to discuss a solution for Ukraine without Moscow’s participation.