On the 32nd day of the war, fighting in Ukraine continues. Federal President Steinmeier warns that the consequences will also affect Germany for a long time. A new round of negotiations is also planned. The evening overview.
In an interview with Russian journalists more than a month after the start of the war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin of delaying the peace negotiations. In the approximately one-and-a-half-hour video conversation that the critical portal Meduza published on Sunday evening, Selenskyj once again called for Russian troops to be withdrawn from Ukrainian territory. Only then can there be security guarantees for Ukraine, which in turn are the basis for Ukraine’s renunciation of NATO demanded by Moscow, said the Ukrainian head of state. Zelenskyy also renewed his announcement that ultimately only Ukrainian citizens would be able to decide on a possible neutral status of Ukraine in a referendum.
A day earlier, US President Joe Biden had caused a stir with a verbal attack on Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin. At the end of a speech in Warsaw on Saturday evening, Biden said: “For God’s sake, this man cannot stay in power.” The White House quickly tried to qualify the statement and emphasized that this was not a call for subversion. But Moscow was outraged. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Biden does not decide who is president of Russia. Prominent Russian MPs accused Biden of weakness.
New negotiations planned between Ukraine and Russia
After around two weeks of peace negotiations in online format, the delegations from Ukraine and Russia now want to meet again in person. A meeting is planned for Tuesday and Wednesday, the head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinski, wrote on Telegram on Sunday. The Ukrainian negotiator David Arachamija confirmed a planned face-to-face meeting on Facebook – but said it would start on Monday. The meeting will take place in Istanbul, the Turkish President’s Office announced on Sunday evening. A time was not mentioned.
At the weekend, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy again demanded the delivery of heavy weapons such as tanks and fighter jets. The Ukrainian air force leadership also declared: “In order to fight on an equal footing with the enemy’s forces in the airspace, both quantitative and technological upgrades are needed.” The Ukrainian government bought 5,100 anti-tank weapons from a German arms manufacturer on its own account, the German Press Agency learned. The “Welt” and the “Bild” newspaper had previously reported on the purchase.
Pro-Russian separatists plan referendum
Meanwhile, fighting in Ukraine continues. Russia has control of parts of the country in the north, east and south, but is encountering Ukrainian resistance there. The Ukrainian General Staff reported fighting around the city of Chernihiv in the north and around the cities of Rubishne, Sievarodonetsk and Mariupol in the south-east. “The enemy continues its all-out armed aggression against Ukraine,” it said. The mayor of the port city of Mariupol, Wadym Boychenko, accused the Russian forces of being ruthless. However, a second escape corridor was designated for the eastern Ukrainian region of Luhansk.
The Russian Defense Ministry also confirmed a missile attack on Lviv in western Ukraine, which is only about 80 kilometers from the Polish border. A fuel store was hit there on Saturday. According to Russian sources, rockets were also fired at the area around the capital Kyiv. A total of 67 military objects were destroyed within 24 hours. The information provided by the warring parties cannot be independently verified.
Meanwhile, the pro-Russian separatists in Luhansk announced on Sunday that they would hold a vote on the region’s accession to Russia. A referendum will be held in the near future, said Luhansk separatist leader Leonid Passechnik, according to the TASS state agency.
Steinmeier: “Hard days are also coming for Germany”
Federal President Steinmeier said in a video message for a concert in Bellevue Palace: “These are terrible days and weeks. We are all shocked, we are appalled by what is happening in Ukraine”. Because of the sanctions against Russia, harder times would inevitably also come to Germany – and for a longer period of time. “We will have to be prepared to wear them if our solidarity is not just to be lip service, if it is to be taken seriously,” said the Federal President.
At the same time, political Berlin is discussing building a missile defense shield. “We have to protect ourselves better against the threat from Russia,” SPD politician Andreas Schwarzer told the “Bild am Sonntag”. “The Israeli system “Arrow 3″ is a good solution.” It is currently being examined how the planned special fund for the Bundeswehr of 100 billion euros will be spent.
Source: Stern
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