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Ukrainian President Zelensky has called for participation in the peace conference in Switzerland. At the start of his US trip, Defense Minister Pistorius urged lasting support for Ukraine. All developments in the live blog.
During his visit to the USA, Federal Defense Minister Boris Pistorius reiterated the goal of significantly strengthening Germany’s defense capability. The SPD politician emphasized that the Federal Republic will spend more on defense this year than ever before in the history of the Bundeswehr. Achieving the goal of spending at least two percent of the federal budget on defense, which the NATO states have set themselves, must only be the beginning. “The war is back in Europe. That’s why we’re taking our share,” emphasized Pistorius, referring to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.
The target of the Russian attacks that night was also a gas storage facility in the western Ukrainian region of Lviv, as the region’s governor, Maksym Kozytskyi, said. The gas storage facility has already been repeatedly attacked as Russia increasingly focuses its attacks on critical infrastructure targets in Ukraine.
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Russia attacked Ukrainian territory with at least 50 missiles and more than 20 drones during the night. According to the Ukrainian Air Force, 39 of the projectiles and 20 of 21 drones were repelled.
Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko reported on the short message service Telegram a “further massive attack” by Russia on the Ukrainian energy industry. The regions affected are Poltava, Kirovohrad, Zaporizhia, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk and Vinnytsia. Several systems were damaged.
Halushtechenko called on the population to save electricity. In this way she could make “a contribution to victory”.
Ukraine’s largest private electricity supplier, DTEK, said on Telegram that three thermal power plants were also “seriously damaged” by the Russian attacks.
At the start of his trip to the USA, Federal Defense Minister Boris Pistorius called for further joint support for Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin should not be allowed to get away with his brutal war of aggression. “It’s about the question of whether and how democracies defend themselves,” said Pistorius. This is Europe’s most important strategic issue and the attack is also the greatest threat to the international order.
A good month before the planned peace summit in Switzerland, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj once again called for participation in the format. The summit, scheduled for June 15 and 16 near Lucerne, “can and should demonstrate the value of international cooperation,” Zelensky said in his evening video address.
According to previous information, up to 80 states will be represented at the conference and will discuss peace prospects for Ukraine.
According to Ukrainian information, Russia attacked the capital Kiev and the western Ukrainian city of Lviv from the air. The Ukrainian military said its air defense systems were busy repelling the attack. There is initially no information about damage or victims. Eyewitnesses in Moscow told the Reuters news agency that they heard explosions, as if air defense systems had hit objects in the air.
The chemical weapons control authority OPCW sees insufficient evidence of the use of chemical weapons in Ukraine. The EU is apparently planning to restrict Russia’s liquefied gas business through sanctions. All developments can be read in the live blog.