live blog
Status: 03/01/2022 00:29 a.m
The Ukrainian President is talking about establishing a no-fly zone for Russian missiles, planes and helicopters. The USA reacts cautiously. The developments in the live blog.
12:29 a.m
Ukrainian Ambassador to the US: Russia has used a vacuum bomb
According to the Ukrainian ambassador to the United States, Russia used a so-called vacuum bomb during its advance into Ukraine on Monday. “They used a vacuum bomb today, which is prohibited under the Geneva Convention,” Ambassador Oksana Markarova told the US Congress. “The devastation that Russia wants to inflict on Ukraine is great”. An aerosol bomb, colloquially called a vacuum bomb, uses oxygen from the surrounding air to create a high-temperature explosion, which typically creates a much longer suction effect than a conventional explosive following the blast wave. A Russian statement was initially not available.
12:06 a.m
Sewing sees little risk for German banks because of Swift’s decision
After Russia’s Swift exclusion, the President of the Association of German Banks and CEO of Deutsche Bank, Christian Sewing, sees few risks for the industry. “German banks have greatly reduced their exposure to Russia since 2014. For our banking system as a whole, the risk is manageable. The safety buffers of European banks are higher than ever,” Sewing told the Bild newspaper. Russia’s Swift exclusion will not end the war in Ukraine, “that would be the wrong expectation.” The point is that aggression contrary to international law and the attack on a country in the 21st century must not go unnoticed. He assumes that the sanctions will hit the Russian economy badly. “This is already shown by the rapid step taken by the Russian central bank to double the key interest rate to 20 percent on Monday.”
12:27 a.m
Bamf does not expect a large movement of refugees to Germany
Despite the large number of Ukrainians who have already fled, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (Bamf) does not assume that there will be a large movement of refugees to Germany. “Due to the overwhelming willingness to take in the countries immediately bordering Ukraine, we are currently assuming that most of the war refugees will remain in these countries,” a spokesman for the Federal Office told the “RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland”. So far, only a few war refugees from Ukraine have arrived in Germany, many of them because of family ties to relatives living in Germany. The Federal Office is already coordinating closely with the federal states “to ensure the distribution of the war refugees arriving in Germany,” it said. “Due to the overwhelming receptivity of the federal states, the Bamf does not currently assume that there will be bottlenecks in accommodation.”
12:01 a.m
US government reluctant to no-fly zone
The US government is reluctant to introduce a no-fly zone over Ukraine. This could embroil the US military in a direct conflict and “potentially a war” with Russia, says Presidential Office spokeswoman Jen Psaki. “It’s something we don’t want to get involved in.”
2/28/2022 • 11:05 p.m
Selenskyj brings up the no-fly zone
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi is talking about establishing a no-fly zone for Russian missiles, planes and helicopters over his country. In a video speech, he refers to the recent attacks on the city of Kharkiv. Zelenskyi does not say how such a zone should be implemented. According to him, in the past five days Russia launched 56 rocket attacks against Ukraine and fired 113 cruise missiles.