In the port city of Mariupol, which was largely conquered and destroyed by Russia, tens of thousands have yet to persevere among the rubble. Despite a massive evacuation campaign announced earlier, only a few manage to escape the city today. According to Reuters, a small convoy of buses with a few dozen people drove into the Ukrainian-controlled area outside the city.
Jürgen Klatzer (text), Michael Baldauf (image), Flo Zischka (video), Michaela Pichler (editing), all ORF.at
According to Ukrainian information, there are still more than 100,000 civilians in Mariupol. An estimated 1,000 of them were locked up in the city’s steel mills along with Ukrainian soldiers, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Combat units located in steel mills appealed to the world today to bring them to safety in an evacuation operation – for example, by helicopter. Commander Serhiy Volyna called for the people to be evacuated from Mariupol and taken to a safe third country.
Russia has recently stepped up its attacks in eastern Ukraine and wants to force the entire Donbass region down. According to his own statements, the Russian military fired on more than a thousand Ukrainian military sites on Wednesday night alone. According to British information, Russian forces tried to break through Ukrainian defense lines. According to one of Zelenskyy’s aides, Ukrainian troops stopped the advance on the city of Sloviansk.
Russia is testing ICBMs
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin used today’s test of a new Russian ICBM to threaten the West. The weapon will “make those who, in the heat of aggressive rhetoric, try to threaten our country, think twice,” Putin said in a televised speech.
Michel at Selenskyj in Kiev
Meanwhile, in Kiev, Zelenskyj once again welcomes a high-ranking EU politician, in the person of EU Council President Charles Michel. “Today in Kiev,” the Belgian wrote on Twitter Wednesday morning. Michel paid a visit to the devastated Kiev suburb of Borodyanka. “You are not alone, we are with you and we will do everything we can to support you and ensure that Ukraine wins the war,” Michel told a joint news conference with Zelenskyy.
Meanwhile, a historic debate has begun in the Finnish parliament – specifically over an application for NATO membership that is supported by a clear majority in the country.
Debate: How is war changing the world?
Russian President Vladimir Putin has been at war in Ukraine for several weeks now, and there is no end in sight. Solidarity with Ukraine unites Europe and the US. Will solidarity last in the EU? Does Austria have to decide between neutrality and NATO in the long run? And will China side with Russia?
Discuss with debate.ORF.at!