In the capital Kyiv he will meet President Volodymyr Zelenskyj, Prime Minister Denys Schmyhal and Mayor Vitali Klitschko on Saturday. The program also includes a local inspection in the city of Bucha, where more than 300 civilians died in alleged Russian war atrocities. The return is on Sunday.
Nehammer (ÖVP) first flew to Poland on Friday evening, from where the delegation, including media representatives, was to continue on a night train from Przemysl. Przemysl is located 13 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. The arrival in the city of Kyiv, around 700 kilometers away, was scheduled for Saturday morning. The airspace over Ukraine is closed because of the war.
The aim of the visit is “to continue to provide Ukraine with the best possible humanitarian and political support,” said Nehammer’s office in the run-up to the mission. “Austria has already provided more than 17.5 million euros from the foreign disaster fund and delivered 10,000 helmets and over 9,100 protective vests for civilian use. Further specific measures are already being coordinated and will be announced in the near future.”
Nehammer himself was quoted as saying: “It is important that, within the framework of our neutrality, we support Ukraine on both a humanitarian and a political level. My visit to Kyiv and Bucha at the invitation of President Zelenskyy also serves to show our solidarity with the Ukrainian What is happening in Ukraine, and in particular in many cities of Ukraine, is a terrible war of aggression against the civilian population.”
The “war crimes that have become known” must be “completely cleared up,” demanded the Federal Chancellor, “by independent and international experts.” Those responsible for these crimes “must and will” be held accountable, Nehammer said. “I’ll get an idea of the situation on the ground for myself. Austria will continue to help where it can. We are demonstrating our willingness to help both on the ground and when we take in displaced persons from the war zones. Ukraine can look forward to the leave the free world.”
EU leaders already in Kyiv
On Friday were over the same route EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Foreign Affairs Commissioner Josep Borrell traveled to President Selenskyj. Among other things, it was agreed to reopen the representation of the European Union a good six weeks after the start of the war. In response to the murder of hundreds of civilians in Bucha, von der Leyen proposed a fifth package of sanctions against Russia on Tuesday. Among other things, it contains an import ban on coal from Russia, but also further restrictions on trade with Russia and an extensive entry ban for Russian ships in EU ports.
Sanctions: Austria is one of the brakemen
For some Member States, the sanctions do not go far enough. Austria, on the other hand, like Germany or Hungary, is putting the brakes on the brakes if a ban on imports of gas from Russia is under consideration. Borrell also announced that he would make 7.5 million euros available for the investigations that Ukraine is conducting into the alleged war crimes in the Kiev suburb of Bucha and other places – such as Stoyank and Irpin. Russia has always denied the allegations.
Selenskyj had announced Nehammer’s visit in a video message to the Ukrainian population published on Tuesday night after he had telephoned the Austrian head of government. Most recently, Selenskyj called for stricter punitive measures against the Russian aggressor. The sanctions now imposed were not enough to stop Russia and end the war. At the same time, Ukraine’s president called for weapons “with which we can win on the battlefield.” This will be the strongest sanction against Russia.
More than 100 attacks on healthcare facilities
The World Health Organization (WHO) has recorded more than 100 attacks on healthcare in Ukraine since the Russian invasion. “Attacks on healthcare are a violation of international humanitarian law,” said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
According to Ukrainian sources, Russian troops are still concentrating on capturing Mariupol. According to experts, the southern port city can be expected to be taken in the coming days. Russian state television had reported that the center of the city on the Azov Sea had already been taken. However, there are still 3,000 Ukrainian fighters in the city, it said. According to the Mariupol city administration, which was deployed by pro-Russian forces, around 5,000 civilians have been killed in the fighting so far.
According to the US government, Russian head of state Vladimir Putin has already given up his goal of conquering the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. “Putin thought he could very quickly take over the country of Ukraine, very quickly take this capital,” US military experts said. “He was wrong.”
Russia has been at war with its neighbor since February 24. This also set a refugee movement in motion. Since the beginning of the war, almost 4.5 million of around 44 million Ukrainians have left their homeland. Around 51,000 refugees have been registered in Austria so far, mostly women with children.
Source: Nachrichten
