Polen’s President Andrzej Duda has condemned the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine as “terrorism”. “This is not a war, this is terrorism,” Duda said at a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv. “If someone sends planes and soldiers to bomb residential areas and kill civilians, that’s not war. It’s cruelty, banditry, terrorism.”
Duda was on a visit to Ukraine on Wednesday along with his Baltic counterparts, Estonian President Alar Karis, Latvian President Egils Levits and Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda.
After a visit to the war-torn city of Borodyanka, Nauseda also expressed her shock.
Meeting with President Zelenskyy: Lithuanian President Nauseda, Poland President Duda, Latvian President Levits and Estonian President Karis in Kyiv
Source: AP
“It is hard to believe that such atrocities of war can be perpetrated in 21st century Europe, but this is the reality,” he said.
Ukraine news – all events in the live ticker:
07:45 – US pledges another $800 million in military aid to Ukraine
US President Joe Biden has approved a further 800 million dollars (around 740 million euros) in military aid for Ukraine. This includes artillery systems, ammunition, armored personnel carriers and helicopters to support the Ukrainian war effort against an expected major Russian offensive in the east of the country.
The new package will include many of the highly effective weapon systems that the US has already delivered and “new capabilities” tailored to the expected Russian offensive, Biden said. The US worked with its allies to supply more weapons and resources. “We can’t take a break now,” Biden said.
07:30 – Australia imposes new sanctions on Russia
Australia extends sanctions against Russia. The government in Canberra has imposed “targeted financial sanctions” on 14 Russian state-owned companies. Among other things, the list includes “defence-related companies such as the transport company Kamaz as well as the shipping companies SEVMASH and United Shipbuilding Corporation”.
In addition to the electronics manufacturer Ruselectronics, which is responsible for the production of around 80 percent of all Russian electronic components, the Russian railways will also be sanctioned, it said.
The government in Canberra imposed sanctions shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine. These were punishments for members of the government, military leaders and dozens of “propagandists and disinformation activists”. Most recently, the export of luxury goods to the country was banned. Australia has also sent military equipment to Ukraine.
5:15 am – Fiji arrests Russian oligarch’s yacht and crew
Police in Fiji seized Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov’s superyacht “Amadea” and arrested the crew. An official with the National Police Command and Control Center confirmed to Reuters that the ship’s captain is being questioned about how the luxury yacht got to the Lautoka shipyard in Fiji without customs clearance.
Police Commissioner Sitivini Qilihov told the Fiji Sun newspaper that Fiji’s Attorney General’s Office had been asked by a foreign government for assistance in a criminal case and that Fiji had reached agreements with other countries to enforce sanctions against Russian oligarchs. According to reports in the “Fiji Times”, the US Embassy and the EU delegations have asked for cooperation. The US Embassy in Fiji has so far declined to comment on Reuters.
5:00 a.m. – Heil: “Many war refugees will stay with us longer”
According to Federal Labor Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD), many Ukrainian war refugees need long-term prospects in Germany. “The brutality of this war, the destruction and the unforeseeable duration suggest that many people will probably stay with us longer,” Heil told the German Press Agency in Berlin. “We have to be prepared for that.” So far, around 340,000 refugees from Ukraine have been officially identified in Germany.
03:00 – Military – Forces repel 8 Russian attacks in East
According to the Ukrainian armed forces, they repelled eight Russian attacks in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. “In particular, Ukrainian defenders destroyed one enemy tank, four armored vehicles and six other vehicles,” the Ukrainian military said in a statement.
2:35 am – Insider – US plans to send senior US officials to Kyiv
According to an insider, the US wants to send a high-ranking US official to visit the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv in solidarity. According to the insider, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Austin Lloyd are possible candidates for a surprise visit. It is unlikely that US President Joe Biden will make the trip himself.
According to the person familiar with the matter, a final decision has not yet been made. The US daily newspaper “Politico” also reports on talks about sending a high-ranking member of the government, citing two other insiders.
02:00 a.m. – Habeck calls for de-escalation after Steinmeier’s unloading
Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck (Die Grünen) calls for de-escalation after Ukraine’s cancellation of a trip to Kyiv by Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. “Now we should all make sure that we solve the problem and don’t escalate it. That’s what phones were invented for,” says Habeck, according to a preliminary report in the newspapers of the Funke media group. The federal government would be in constant and ongoing exchange with the Ukrainian government. Nevertheless, according to the Green Party politician, the Ukrainian side made a diplomatic mistake.
00:48 – “Tens of thousands” of unexploded explosive devices
Russian troops are said to have left large quantities of unexploded explosive devices in the north of the country, according to Ukrainian sources. Tens of thousands of unexploded grenades or mines are in the area, said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his video message on Thursday night. Demining is ongoing and residents returning must be extremely careful and vigilant.
The military situation, said Zelenskyj, is currently not significantly different from that of the past few days. Russian troops increased their activities in the east and south. They tried to make up for their losses, bombing and artillery attacks continued. They also wanted to recruit residents of areas in the south of the country held by Russian troops into their forces. The information could not be independently verified.
12:32 a.m. – Zelenskyy: “Friends of Ukraine” were visiting Kyiv
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia for their commitment to Ukraine after a visit by their presidents to Kyiv. The visit of the presidents of the “four states – friends of Ukraine” on Wednesday was useful and fruitful, Zelenskyj said in his video message on Thursday night. It was the presidents of those countries that had helped Ukraine from day one, who had no hesitation in supplying arms to Kyiv and had no doubts about sanctions against Russia.
12:05 a.m. – KMK President: 400,000 Ukrainian students expected
According to the President of the Conference of Ministers of Education, Karin Prien, Germany must prepare for up to 400,000 refugee Ukrainian schoolchildren and would need 24,000 teachers for this. “The federal government assumes that one million people from the Ukraine could come to Germany. Of these, 40 percent will certainly be schoolchildren,” said Prien, who is Minister of Education in Schleswig-Holstein, to the editorial network Germany (Thursday). “That would then be up to 400,000 young people that we first have to do justice to in the German school system,” the CDU politicians continued.
“We calculate that you need about 60 teachers for every 1000 students. So for 400,000 children and young people from the Ukraine we would need 24,000 teachers”, at least if one wants to continue working with small group sizes in the area of welcome classes.
11:30 p.m. – Moscow is considering government aid for airlines
According to a media report, the Russian government is considering supporting airlines and airports with state aid. The Interfax agency reports that the airlines and airports could use the money to better compensate for the economic damage caused by the western sanctions.
10:45 p.m. – USA delivers howitzers to Ukraine for the first time
The US is also supplying howitzers to Ukraine for the first time as part of its new military aid program. The 18 guns have a caliber of 155 mm, according to the announcement. Military expert John Spencer of the Madison Policy Forum think tank welcomed the deployment of artillery and associated ammunition. “You need these bigger, more powerful weapons to match what Russia is bringing to the attempted takeover of eastern Ukraine,” he told Reuters.