DAccording to the US government, Russian troops are encountering unexpectedly heavy resistance as they advance into Ukraine. “We have signs that the Russians are becoming increasingly frustrated with their lack of progress over the past 24 hours, particularly in the northern parts of Ukraine,” a Pentagon official said Saturday.
“According to our observations, the resistance is greater than the Russians expected,” the official said. “Ukrainian air defenses, including aircraft, remain operational and are attacking and denying access to Russian planes in various parts of the country.”
So far, the Russian armed forces have been more successful in their advance in the south from Crimea and the Black Sea. “But in the north there is the toughest resistance. Fierce fighting is still going on in and around Kharkiv and north of Kiev,” the US official said.
The US and other Western countries are still able to supply arms to the country, he stressed. Washington is planning further supplies in the coming days to support the fight against Russian tanks on the ground and attacks from the air.
On Saturday, Russia ordered its troops to advance into Ukraine “from all directions”. According to Pentagon information, around 50 percent of the 150,000 Russian invasion troops are now in Ukraine.
All developments in the live ticker:
04:30 – Zelenskyy thanks Macron for delivery of military material
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked French President Emmanuel Macron for further deliveries of military equipment. Macron called Selenskyj around midnight on Sunday night, the Elysée Palace said. On the occasion, the Ukrainian also acknowledged France’s commitment to the exclusion of Russian banks from the Swift international payment system, which has now been jointly decided by Western countries.
Emmanuel Macron and Volodymyr Zelenskyy (archive image)
Source: dpa-infocom GmbH
4:04 a.m. – UN assumes almost 300,000 displaced persons in Ukraine
The United Nations assumes that almost 300,000 people have been displaced because of the war in Ukraine. As the UN Emergency Relief Office Ocha reported on Saturday, citing the refugee agency UNHCR, 160,000 people are reported to be fleeing within the country – an additional 116,000 people have fled to neighboring countries. Most of them went to Poland, but also to Moldova and Romania.
03:36 am – Ukraine reports shelling of a nuclear waste storage facility in Kiev
In Kiev According to a statement from the Ministry of Culture, a radioactive waste camp was hit. The landfill, a branch of the company Radon Union, had been hit by several Russian grenades, the broadcaster Kanal 24 also reported. According to initial measurements, there was “no threat to the population outside the protection zone,” it said. The information could not be independently verified.
2:39 a.m. – Interior Minister Faeser promises comprehensive help for Ukrainian refugees
Germany wants to provide comprehensive help to refugees from Ukraine. “The federal government will provide every possible support,” said Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faser (SPD) of “Bild am Sonntag”. “We are prepared and very alert to any conceivable implications of this war.”
When caring for the refugees, Germany will also act in consultation with its EU partners. “Now it’s a matter of acting quickly, in solidarity and together in Europe,” said Faeser. The European interior ministers want to discuss this in Brussels on Sunday.
This involves both the supply of people who come across the border to Poland and Hungary and a possible distribution to several European countries. Since the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine began on Thursday, more and more people have been leaving the country. According to Polish information, more than 100,000 people have already come to Poland from Ukraine.
02:16 – Elon Musk activates Starlink in Ukraine
Tech billionaire Elon Musk supports Russia-invaded Ukraine with his Starlink satellite internet service. “The Starlink service is now active in Ukraine. More terminals on the way,” Musk wrote on Twitter on Saturday (local time). In doing so, he complied with a request from the Ukrainian Minister for Digitization, Deputy Prime Minister Mychajlo Fedorov. The latter had contacted Musk directly via Twitter. In response to Musk’s response, Fedorov thanked the American on Twitter and “everyone” who supports Ukraine.
Starlink provides Internet access in areas where an Internet connection is no longer available or not sufficiently available.
02:09 am – Poland is demanding more NATO troops and higher defense spending in the EU
In view of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Poland has called for the stationing of more NATO troops and a doubling of defense spending in the EU. “The next target (of Russia) could be the Baltic states, Poland, Finland or other countries on the eastern flank,” Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told the newspapers of the Funke media group (Sunday). “(Russia’s President Vladimir) Putin wants to restore the Russian Empire. That must worry us all.”
In the short term, Morawiecki therefore advocated a massive increase in NATO troops in the east. “We would like to see 20,000 to 30,000 additional NATO soldiers for Poland alone.” Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia also need support. There is a danger on the eastern flank of the military alliance that “here we are defending democracy, the rule of law and territorial integrity in Europe”.
In addition, the EU must become a “global player”, said Morawiecki. To do this, the member states would have to double their defense spending, “from around 300 billion euros now to 500 to 600 billion euros. It’s not impossible.” One option would be not to exclude defense spending from the EU’s public debt budget rules.
1:45 a.m. – Macron calls on Lukashenko to withdraw Russian troops from Belarus
French President Emmanuel Macron called on the Belarusian head of state Alexander Lukashenko to withdraw Russian troops from his country. Belarus should not be an accomplice of Russia in its war against Ukraine, Macron said in the conversation, according to the Élysée Palace. Belarus – just like Ukraine – must not degenerate into a “vassal” of Russia.
01:21 – Ukrainian Army reports heavy fighting
According to media reports, the Ukrainian armed forces are still being subjected to heavy attacks by the Russian army “from all directions” in many places. However, according to a statement by the Ukrainian army that was distributed on Sunday night, the enemy was being met with “resolute resistance”.
00:56 – Ukraine wants to investigate possible war crimes by Russia
According to its ambassador to the United States, the Ukrainian government wants to investigate possible war crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine. Evidence of the shelling of residential areas, kindergartens and hospitals is being collected to be sent to the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Ambassador Oksana Markarova said on Saturday.
00:52 – Ukrainian Army reports heavy fighting
According to media reports, the Ukrainian armed forces are still being subjected to heavy attacks by the Russian army “from all directions” in many places. However, according to a statement by the Ukrainian army that was distributed on Sunday night, the enemy was being met with “resolute resistance”.