live blog
Status: 03/15/2022 01:58 am
Spanish authorities have arrested a yacht that, according to media reports, belongs to the Russian oligarch Sergei Chemesov. Britain warns of Russian bioweapons use. The developments in the live blog.
1:58 am
UN warns of ‘hurricane of hunger’
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has warned of a “cyclone of hunger” around the world because of the war in Ukraine. The international community must act to prevent a “collapse of the global food system”. The war in Ukraine is “also an attack on the most vulnerable people and countries in the world,” Guterres said, citing Ukraine’s importance as a food exporter. Even before the war, developing countries were struggling with the consequences of the pandemic, such as inflation, rising interest rates and debt. “Now their granary is being bombed,” Guterres said.
More than half of the World Food Program’s wheat shipments come from Ukraine. According to UN calculations, global food prices have reached their highest level ever. The world’s 45 least developed countries would import at least a third of their wheat from Ukraine or Russia. These include Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. In many of them, millions of people are already suffering from hunger.
1:40 a.m
Elon Musk challenges Putin to a duel
Tesla founder Elon Musk has challenged Russian President Vladimir Putin to a duel. It should be about the fate of Ukraine. “I hereby challenge Vladimir Putin to a man to man battle. The stake is Ukraine,” Musk tweeted. “Are you accepting this fight?” he added in Russian. The billionaire and founder of the aerospace company SpaceX directed the tweet directly to Putin’s official English-language Twitter account. He’s “absolutely serious,” he wrote. “If Putin could humiliate the West so easily, he would accept the challenge. But he won’t.” There was no immediate reaction from the Kremlin.
1:32 a.m
Spain seizes oligarch yacht
The Spanish authorities have arrested the yacht of a Russian oligarch in Barcelona as part of the Russia sanctions. “We have temporarily detained a yacht belonging to one of Russia’s most important oligarchs, with an estimated value of 140 million US dollars (128 million euros) in Barcelona,” said Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. “More will follow”. The prime minister did not say which oligarch owns the ship.
According to the daily newspaper “El País”, it was the yacht “Valerie” owned by Sergey Chemezov, head of the Russian arms company Rostec. He is on the sanctions lists of the EU, Great Britain and the US list. He is an old acquaintance of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Both once served together with the Soviet secret service KGB in Dresden.
1:25 a.m
Britain warns of Russian use of bioweapons
Russia may be planning to use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine, according to the British Ministry of Defense. The ministry tweeted that this could be in response to a fake attack on Russian troops, without giving any evidence to support its assumption. Similar fears had already been expressed by US government officials.
1:58 am
Stübgen for nationwide contact points for refugees
Brandenburg’s Interior Minister Michael Stübgen has called for more support from the federal government in the distribution and registration of refugees from Ukraine. “The reception of the displaced people must be coordinated more professionally. We need contact centers throughout Germany where people can arrive and stay for a night or two,” Stübgen told the editorial network Germany.
The federal government must control the influx of trains and buses to these centers and ensure funding. “The war in Ukraine is becoming more and more dramatic. Germany has to be prepared for rising numbers of refugees for a long time,” said the CDU politician. “Around 5,000 people arrive in Brandenburg every day and are temporarily cared for. Many travel on immediately, but some have to regain their strength first. That’s now around 1,000 people every day and the trend is rising,” says Stübgen. “That brings our capacities to their limits.”
1:12 a.m
Ukraine: Seven out of ten escape corridors worked
In Ukraine, according to information from Kyiv, only seven of the ten planned nationwide escape corridors from particularly hard-fought towns and villages have worked. A total of around 4,000 people were taken to safer areas, said Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Wereschuk, according to the Unian news agency. Most civilians came from the Kyiv region (2028). On the other hand, evacuations in Mariupol largely failed on the 19th day of the war. An aid column with medicine and water for the besieged port city will continue to be blocked, said Wereshchuk.
The Ukrainian authorities also accused Russia of having used mortars on vehicles carrying fleeing civilians from the town of Hostomel near Kyiv. A woman was killed and two men injured. The information is not independently verifiable.
1:00 a.m
Slovakia expels Russian embassy staff
Slovakia has expelled three employees of the Russian embassy in Bratislava on suspicion of espionage. According to the Slovakian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, they have to leave Slovakia within 72 hours because their activities contradict diplomatic rules. The Slovak Foreign Ministry did not specify who the three people are and what tasks they performed. At the same time, at least three Slovak citizens were arrested who are said to have spied for money. Defense Minister Jaroslav Nad told the news portal Pravda.sk: “This is just the beginning. We will continue. Clearly and consistently.”
According to information from the daily Dennik N, those arrested included an officer from the Ministry of Defense and an employee of the domestic intelligence service SIS, as well as a third person working in the pro-Russian media. The Slovak police confirmed that they were investigating suspected espionage, but declined to provide any specific information about those arrested.