USA deliver multiple rocket launchers to Ukraine Heavy fighting in Sjewerodonetsk The developments in the Ukraine war in the stern ticker.
Day 98 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine: The Russian troops are apparently on the verge of taking complete control of the eastern Ukrainian region of Luhansk. According to the Ukrainian governor, most of Sievjerodonetsk is now under Russian control. Still, the Ukrainian defenders didn’t give up. 90 percent of the buildings in the city are damaged, of the once 100,000 inhabitants there are said to be 12,000 left. Meanwhile, the US has announced that it will equip Ukraine with heavy rocket launchers after all.
5.09 a.m .: Selenskyj calls for new sanctions against Moscow
In view of the advance of Russian troops in the east of his country, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked the EU for the planned new sanctions package and at the same time called for new punitive measures. “Ultimately, there should be no significant economic ties between the free world and the terrorist state,” he said in a video speech. “We will work on new restrictions against Russia for this war.”
Thanks to the EU’s planned oil boycott, Russia will lose “tens of billions of euros” that can no longer be used to finance terrorism. At the same time, Zelenskyi reiterated his demands for the delivery of heavy weapons to the West.
5.25 a.m .: Heavy fighting in Sievjerodonetsk
In the eastern Ukrainian region of Luhansk, Russian troops are poised to overthrow the last bastion of Ukrainian forces. If the embattled regional capital Sievjerodonetsk falls, Russia would have achieved one of its war aims: complete control of the Luhansk region. From there, the Russian troops and the Moscow-loyal separatists could advance further west to capture the strategically important cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk in the Donetsk region.
During the fighting in Sieverodonetsk, an incident occurred at a nitric acid chemical plant. The Ukrainian authorities spoke on Tuesday of a Russian airstrike on the plant. The pro-Russian separatists, on the other hand, announced that there had been an explosion there. A large plume of smoke could be seen in photos published by the Ukrainian governor of the Luhansk region, Serhiy Hajday, on his Telegram news channel.
3:25 a.m.: Biden: US not trying to overthrow Putin
US President Joe Biden has assured in a guest article for the “New York Times” that NATO is not aiming for a war against Russia. “We don’t want a war between NATO and Russia,” Biden said in the post. Nor did the US attempt to overthrow Russian President Vladimir Putin. However, if Russia does not pay a high price for attacking Ukraine, it could lead to the end of the rules-based international order and catastrophic consequences worldwide.
“As long as the United States or our allies are not attacked, we will not intervene directly in this conflict, either by sending American troops to Ukraine or by attacking Russian forces,” stressed the US President. “We do not encourage or enable Ukraine to strike beyond its borders. We do not want to prolong the war just to inflict pain on Russia.”
2:21 a.m.: United States to deliver multiple rocket launchers to Ukraine
The US wants to equip the Ukrainian armed forces with multiple rocket launchers. A senior government official said that Ukraine should receive the Himar system with ammunition with a range of 80 kilometers. US President Biden ruled out the delivery of multiple rocket launchers to Ukraine on Monday that could reach targets in Russia. On Tuesday evening, however, he announced in an opinion piece for the “New York Times” that he would deliver “more advanced missile systems” to Ukraine. These would “allow for more precise hitting of key targets on the battlefield in Ukraine,” Biden wrote. However, he emphasized: “We do not encourage or enable Ukraine to strike beyond its borders.”
The Himar vehicle-mounted system can fire missiles with a range of several hundred kilometers. However, as the government representative pointed out, the US does not want to supply ammunition with such a long range. “These systems are used by the Ukrainians to repel Russian advances into Ukrainian territory, but they are not used against Russia,” the official said.
2.01 a.m .: Unicef: Five million children from Ukraine need humanitarian aid
According to the children’s charity Unicef, more than five million children from Ukraine are dependent on humanitarian aid because of the war in their home country. According to the UN organization in New York, around three million children in Ukraine need support after the Russian attack. In addition, there are around 2.2 million children who have since fled to other countries. At least 262 children have been killed since the war began on February 24, according to UNICEF. Hundreds of schools were damaged.
1.01 a.m .: Union politician Frei criticizes the government’s choice of words about the Ukraine war
The parliamentary director of the Union faction, Thorsten Frei, has accused parts of the federal government of being too reluctant to make statements about the Ukraine war. “The statements by the Green and Social Democratic ministers that Russia should not win are disappointing and insufficient,” the CDU politician told the “Bild” newspaper. The Union hopes and wants more: “That Ukraine wins this war.”
0.03 a.m .: Poland’s Deputy Foreign Minister: Scholz’s calls to Putin “pointless”
The Polish government has criticized the phone calls between German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron and Russian President Vladimir Putin. “We think it’s absolutely pointless,” said Deputy Foreign Minister Szymon Szynkowski vel Sek on the ARD program “Maischberger”. Instead of traveling to Kyiv, Scholz calls the Kremlin boss “quite regularly” – but that doesn’t do Ukraine any good. On the contrary, it helps Russia. The talks would bring nothing more than Putin’s new credibility.
With regard to arms deliveries, Germany must “finally do more” for Ukraine, Szynkowski vel Sek demands in the program, addressing both direct arms deliveries and ring exchange procedures. “We need concrete actions and not just words and declarations.” Nothing promised by the German side was kept.
