Diplomacy seems to stand little chance in Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Military pressure on Ukrainian cities is increasing. An overview of what happened during the night.
No electricity, no heating, many dead: After a failed ceasefire, the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, which was besieged by Russia, is reporting dramatic conditions.
In addition, Russian troops are advancing on the capital Kyiv and other cities, as the Ukrainian general staff said on Sunday morning. President Volodymyr Zelenskyj once again called on the Ukrainians to resist. At the same time, the economic pressure on Moscow is growing: Mastercard and Visa are capping international credit card payments with Russia.
The war events
After more than a week of war, the two sides agreed on a ceasefire lasting several hours in the southern Ukrainian port of Mariupol and a small town in the area on Saturday to allow civilians to flee. But the ceasefire was broken and the evacuation failed. Mariupol Mayor Wadym Boitschenko then spoke on Ukrainian television of a “humanitarian blockade” of the city by Russian units.
There has been no electricity or heating for five days, as well as problems with the water supply, thousands of people have been injured and many have died, the mayor said. He pleads for a corridor to be built to take the elderly, women and children out of the city.
The Ukrainian General Staff said on Sunday morning that the main focus of the Russian offensive continued to be the encirclement of the cities of Kyiv, Kharkiv to the east and Mykolaiv to the south. Russian units attempted to penetrate the south-western outskirts of Kyiv, approaching the highway to Boryspil, where Kiev International Airport is located.
According to estimates by the Ukrainian army, Russia is planning to seize the dam of the Kaniv hydroelectric power station around 150 kilometers south of Kyiv on the Dnipro River. Ukraine is hoping for an agreement with Russia on an early humanitarian corridor from Kharkiv, Ukrainian negotiator David Arakhamiya wrote on Facebook.
From the Russian side, new attacks on the self-declared People’s Republic of Luhansk in eastern Ukraine, which is dominated by pro-Russian forces, have been reported. The Ukrainian army is said to have shelled four settlements eight times within 24 hours, the Russian agency Tass reported. At least two civilians were injured. 23 residential buildings as well as a gas and a high-voltage line were damaged. The information provided by both sides cannot be independently verified.
“We must go outside!”
In a video message, President Zelenskyy called on his compatriots to expel the Russian troops. “We have to go outside! We have to fight! Whenever there is an opportunity.” As in Cherson, Berdyansk or Melitopol, people should go outside “and drive this evil out of our cities”. It was reported from the Ukrainian cities mentioned that unarmed people had opposed Russian units.
Israel tries to mediate
Attempts at international mediation in the war currently seem to be of little use. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett traveled to Moscow on Saturday for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to Israeli sources, the meeting lasted three hours. Bennet also phoned Zelenskyj. Results were not known. Bennet then came to Berlin for a one-and-a-half hour talk with Chancellor Olaf Scholz. After that, the German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit only said that the common goal remained to end the war in Ukraine “as quickly as possible”. “We will work on that with all our might.” US President Joe Biden also spoke to Zelenskyy on the phone.
Economic pressure on Russia
The USA, the EU and other western partners had imposed tough sanctions on Russia since the beginning of the war. Another blow from the private sector followed: the world’s two largest credit card providers, Visa and Mastercard, suspended business with Russia. Visa said it would stop all transactions in the coming days. After that, cards issued in Russia would no longer work abroad. Mastercard made a similar statement. Both companies had previously stopped processing transactions for Russian banks affected by international sanctions.
Tens of thousands of Ukrainian refugees in Germany
Before the war, tens of thousands of people continue to flee across the Ukrainian borders to the European Union every day. Around 830,000 made it to Poland alone, and tens of thousands to Germany. Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) promised to accept people regardless of nationality. “We want to save lives. It doesn’t depend on the passport,” said Faeser of the “Bild am Sonntag”. “The vast majority of refugees are Ukrainians. People from other countries who already had a permanent right of residence in Ukraine bring this status with them.” She cited Indians who studied in Ukraine as an example. Faeser called the European cooperation in the care of the refugees “historic”. The Saxon Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU) called for better coordination within Germany.
What is important today
Chancellor Scholz receives EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen for a meeting in the Chancellery at noon, which is also said to be about the Ukraine war. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is traveling to talks with NATO ally Moldova. Further negotiations between Ukraine and Russia will not take place until Monday.
Source: Stern
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