live blog
Status: 03/27/2023 04:04
According to a media report, a visit by the head of the IAEA, Rafael Grossi, to Moscow is soon possible. The Ukrainian military administration in Avdiivka has asked residents to leave the city. The developments in our live blog.
- IAEA chief apparently soon for talks in Moscow
- people should Avdiivka leave
- Zelenskyj calls for more support for soldiers
4:08 a.m
Hungarian parliament wants to ratify Finland’s NATO membership
Hungary’s parliament plans to ratify Finland’s NATO membership today. Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s ruling right-wing conservative Fidesz party wants to make a decision about Sweden’s admission to the military alliance at a later date.
According to Orban’s government, it supports the NATO accession of both countries, but the parliamentary majority for Sweden’s admission is too uncertain.
In the wake of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, Sweden and neighboring Finland jointly applied to join NATO. All 30 NATO member states must give the go-ahead for admission, with Hungary and Turkey still awaiting approval.
4:03 a.m
IAEA boss apparently soon for talks in Moscow
According to a Russian media report, a visit by the head of the UN nuclear regulatory agency IAEA, Rafael Grossi, to Moscow is possible in the near future. Asked whether Russia plans to invite Grossi to Moscow, the Russian ambassador to international organizations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, said it was “quite realistic”. This was reported by the Russian news agency RIA. “Not next week, but Rafael Grossi’s visit to Russia could take place a little later.”
Grossi is pushing for the establishment of a security zone around Zaporizhia. He had announced on Saturday that he would visit the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, which was occupied by Russian troops, in the course of the week to get an idea of the situation on site.
3:50 a.m
People should leave Avdiivka
The head of the Ukrainian military administration in Avdiivka has asked residents to leave the city. “You have to go, you have to pack your things, especially with your children,” the head of the city’s military administration, Vitaly Barabash, wrote on Telegram.
The evacuation of the city has begun and mobile phone reception will soon be switched off “because there are informers from the Russian occupying forces in the city.”
According to Ukrainian sources, Russia fired on two high-rise buildings in Avdiivka on Sunday. According to official figures, about 2,000 civilians still live in Avdiivka in the Donetsk region, about 90 kilometers south-west of the embattled Bakhmut.
conflicting parties as a source
Information on the course of the war, shelling and casualties provided by official bodies of the Russian and Ukrainian conflict parties cannot be directly checked by an independent body in the current situation.
3:11 a.m
Political scientist: Putin wants to intimidate the West
According to one expert, Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to deter the West and distract from mistakes by stationing tactical nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus. “They are intended to intimidate the West into continuing its arms deliveries for the Ukrainian offensives in 2023,” political scientist Maximilian Terhalle told the dpa news agency. First and foremost, however, the announcement should distract attention from the fact that Putin, for example in Bakhmut, is not making the progress that he urgently needs.
The geopolitics expert warned the West not to cut support for Ukraine amid fears of a nuclear strike. “The pattern of a tactical nuclear threat in the event of conventional failure is already known from last October,” Terhalle said.
The political scientist emphasized: “As in 2022, Putin will not use nuclear weapons in 2023 either, because this would mean losing his most important weapon, intimidation, which in the case of Germany and the tank issue had a significant influence on NATO.” At the same time, the Kremlin chief’s stationing in Belarus is unintentionally promoting a debate about the need for stronger nuclear capabilities in Europe.
2:44 a.m
Zelenskyj calls for more support for soldiers
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on the population to give more support to the soldiers in the war against Russia. “The situation at the front is always the focus of our attention,” Zelenskyj said in a video speech on Sunday evening. “It is wrong and unfair when our soldiers, who come back from the front, have the feeling that the war is already over for many in the rear.”
Then he appealed to his compatriots: “Dear Ukrainians, please support our soldiers whenever you can.” The returning soldiers needed all possible help from the population.