Today -45 minutes ago | Sarah Emminger
Zelensky: “There are no commitments with the Russians”
The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky sees no possibility of compromise with the Russians. The war is not going according to Moscow’s plans, the Ukrainian president told Rai 1. Giorgia Meloni wants to travel to Kiev in the next few days. According to the media, she could arrive in Kiev on Monday. Meloni, who has been in office since October, announced that she would travel to Ukraine before the anniversary of the outbreak of war on Feb. 24.
“I had very good talks with Meloni. We received a support package from Italy and I am very grateful for her position. I am waiting for her, I know she will come,” said Zelensky.
“The Russians can’t take it anymore, they are not as powerful as before, now we are much stronger than them. We know that if we lose, we lose everything: homes, children, parents. After what happened on February 24th what happened in the last year there are no more commitments, international law has been violated, everything human has been violated. We are not afraid of them. Nobody is afraid of them and things are not going according to their plans,” said the continuous president.
Today -16 minutes ago | Sarah Emminger
Khodorkovsky: “Putin’s influence in Austria is huge”
The Kremlin’s Russian Opponent Mikhail Khodorkovsky according to the influence of the Russian president Vladimir Putin in Austria “huge”. Based on the results of his Dossier Center organization, he could “say for sure,” Khodorkovsky told Standard (Monday). “If you consider the number of professional assassins in ‘sleep mode’, it is much easier for Putin to kill someone in Austria than in other European countries.”
Therefore, Bellingcat’s Bulgarian journalist Christo Grozev He recently left Vienna for security reasons, explains the UK-based Russian dissident. Grozev turned his back on Austria “not for fun”: “His life was in danger.” Despite all the advantages that good relations with the Putin regime bring, Khodorkovsky does not believe that Austria will go to great lengths to further develop relations with Russia. Because: “The stakes are too high,” said the Kremlin critic.
Today, 6:37 pm | Sarah Emminger
Moscow accuses Kiev of plotting nuclear provocation
Russia’s Ministry of Defense accuses the Ukrainian leadership of preparing a nuclear provocation in the war zone – without providing evidence. In a statement published on Sunday, Russia’s military leadership said Kiev would blame Moscow for the “gross breach” of nuclear safety. However, the Ministry does not explain how this allegation came about, nor is there any evidence for it.
The Russian president had already Vladimir Putin claims to know the site where Kiev is building a dirty bomb with nuclear material. Experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency traveled to Ukraine to investigate the allegations. There was no confirmation of the Russian claims.
According to Russian information, next week, on the first anniversary of the war of aggression ordered by Putin on February 24, Kiev plans to accuse Moscow of indiscriminate bombing of nuclear objects and radioactive pollution of the environment. For this purpose, some containers with radioactive substances had been transported by a European country, which was not identified, circumventing customs regulations. The material should then be used to test for contamination from radioactive hazardous objects.
Today, 4:59 pm | Mirad Odobasic
According to the US government, China is considering arms sales to Russia
China is considering supplying weapons to support Russia in its war against Ukraine, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. Washington, meanwhile, maintains its no to fighter jet deliveries to Ukraine.
Today, 4:30 pm | Sarah Emminger
Sweden against Finland’s previous membership of NATO
prime minister of sweden Ulf Kristersson warned against admitting Finland to NATO before its country. For strategic reasons, both membership applications must be ratified at the same time, Kristersson told the Financial Times. “The close military cooperation between Sweden and Finland … would be much more complicated if we were separated as members.” They started the recording process together and must finish it together.
The Finnish head of government had already expressed a similar opinion at the security conference in Munich sanna marin dubbed. “It is in NATO’s interest that Sweden and Finland join at the same time,” she said.
In May 2022, under the impression of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, the two Nordic countries applied for inclusion in the western alliance. All members must ratify membership, but Turkey has so far blocked it. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan justifies this primarily with alleged support for terrorists in Sweden. There is now a debate going on in Finland about whether or not we should wait for our neighbor.
Today, 4:28 pm | Sarah Emminger
Circles: Italy’s Prime Minister Meloni on Monday in Kiev
The Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni travels to Kiev on Monday to meet Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky find, as I said on Sunday, a person familiar with the situation. Meloni, who has been in office since October, announced that he would travel to Ukraine before the anniversary of the outbreak of war on Feb. 24.
Despite disagreements within his right-wing coalition government and divided public opinion in Italy, far-right politics have always supported Ukraine. A few days ago, however, Meloni’s coalition partner again caused international criticism. former prime minister Silvio Berlusconileader of the conservative Forza Italia, co-governor, said last week he would not like to meet with Zelensky try if he was still prime minister. He blamed the war with Russia on the Ukrainian president.
Today, 4:26 pm | Sarah Emminger
Russian bombing in Kherson: Ukrainian family killed
Just before the first anniversary of the war of aggression against Ukraine, Russia again massively bombed Ukrainian cities and towns over the weekend. In the Kherson region of southern Ukraine, three adults from a single family were killed by artillery fire on Sunday, according to local authorities. A 13-year-old boy was injured, the regional military administration said.
Another child of the family in the village of Burhunka was miraculously unharmed. On Friday it was exactly one year since Russia attacked the neighboring country.
Today, 3:03 pm | Mirad Odobasic
Chechen leader Kadyrov wants to found his own mercenary group
Chechen ruler Ramzan Kadyrov praised Russian mercenary group Wagner and its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin for their operations in Ukraine. Wagner’s units achieved “impressive successes”, Kadyrov wrote on his Telegram channel. He further explained that he wanted to assemble his own troupe of professional mercenaries once he was no longer in government office.
One photo showed Kadyrov together with Prigozhin. Their solidarity can be seen as a political signal because both are loyal to President Vladimir Putin but are bitter critics of Russia’s military leadership. However, Prigozhin’s political influence appeared to be waning in recent weeks. The attack on the city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine was carried out with heavy casualties, mainly by Wagner’s gunmen. Recently, they complained that the military was not giving them enough ammo.
Russia is also using units from Chechnya in the war of aggression against Ukraine. They formally belong to the police and national guard, but in practice they mainly follow Kadyrov’s command.
Today, 1:50 pm | Marie North
Kremlin accuses West of unwillingness to negotiate
Russia accuses the West of an unwillingness to negotiate. The West is not open to peace initiatives, says Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, according to state news agency TASS. Therefore, the West is unlikely to support a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Joe Biden, Peskov said.
From the point of view of attacked Ukraine and Western countries, there is no basis for negotiation because Russia maintains its gains in Ukraine and wants to overthrow Kiev’s leadership. Belarusian head of state Alexander Lukashenko has repeatedly suggested a meeting between the presidents of Russia and the USA. As a location, he suggested the Belarusian capital of Minsk, where a long-failed peace plan was negotiated under Franco-German mediation in 2015.
Today, 1:49 pm | Marie North
Ukraine’s attorney general calls kidnappings a genocide
Ukraine has accused Russia of genocide due to the forced resettlement of Ukrainian citizens. “When we talk about genocide in Ukraine, we have to talk about the forced deportation of Ukrainians and Ukrainian children,” Attorney General Andriy Kostin told RTL and NTV today.
“Forced resettlement is clear evidence of genocide.” The Russian war of aggression against the neighboring country has been going on for almost a year. Moscow itself speaks openly of “de-Ukrainization”, Kostin said. “When these messages are sent by the aggressor’s high-ranking politicians, it is not just war propaganda, it is a clear incitement to commit atrocities.” Kidnapping of adults and children is legally considered a form of genocide.
Moscow denies deportations. The departure of many Ukrainians to Russia is presented as an escape from the combat zone. The Kiev government accuses the Russian army of preventing a breakout to the Ukrainian side. Before Russian troops withdrew from the Kherson region last fall, many Ukrainians were taken to Crimea or Russia. Child abduction is also denied by the Russian side, despite evidence to the contrary. When children are brought to Russia, the reason is usually medical treatment or recreation. Russia’s Commissioner for Children’s Rights Maria Lvova-Belova told President Vladimir Putin last week that she had adopted a 15-year-old boy from the devastated city of Mariupol.
Today, 1:47 pm | Marie North
EU Foreign Policy Officer for EU Ammunition Purchases for Ukraine
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell supports Estonia’s proposal that the EU should buy ammunition for its member states, which should go to Ukraine. “We are working on it and it will work,” he said on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.
Today, 1:34 pm | Marie North
Estonian foreign minister calls for more arms spending
Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu is demanding that NATO countries increase their defense spending to 2.5% of economic output. This also applies to Germany, says Reinsalu in an interview with Portal.
Today, 11:58 am | Marie North
Austrian rescue vehicles arrived in Kyiv
Nine of the twelve ambulances that were blessed at Ballhausplatz in mid-February by Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, Archbishop of Vienna, and sent on their way arrived in Kiev on time on Saturday. According to Kathpress, the Vicar General for the Eastern Catholic Churches in Austria, Yuriy Kolasa, handed over the emergency vehicles to the head of Byzantine-rite Catholics, Major Archbishop Svyatoslav Shevchuk, at Kiev’s Resurrection Cathedral.
Today, 11:56 am | Marie North
Norway pledges 7.5 billion euros to Kiev over five years
Norway wants to help Ukraine in the long term and regardless of the current government in Kiev. “Whoever governs Norway after the next elections, Ukraine can be sure that it has support for reconstruction and self-defence,” Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said in an interview with Portal TV published today. “7.5 billion euros in five years was our message.”
Today, 9:20 am | Marie North
Macron: “Neither side can be completely victorious”
According to French President Emmanuel Macron, the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine can only be ended through negotiations. “I want Russia’s defeat in Ukraine and I want Ukraine to be able to defend its position, but I am convinced that in the end it will not be completed militarily,” Macron told French media.
In an interview with the newspapers Le Figaro and Le Journal du Dimanche and broadcaster France Inter, Macron said: “Neither side can win completely.” The consequences of the mobilization are not as great as intended and they are also reaching their limits of capacity.
Today, 9:18 am | Marie North
Germany: Ukrainian refugees massively ease the labor market
About a year after the start of the war against Ukraine, the German Federal Employment Agency assumes that refugees from the country will ease the burden on the German job market. Since the start of the war, about 65,000 more Ukrainians have been employed in jobs subject to social security than before the fighting broke out, Daniel Terzenbach, a board member of the federal agency, told the German Press Agency in Nuremberg.
In addition, there are 21,000 Ukrainians in mini-jobs. They all contribute to combating the shortage of personnel in the German economy. “The German job market is receptive,” said Terzenbach. He expects the number of employees from Ukraine to increase significantly in the coming weeks and months – when both women and men complete integration and professional language courses at the German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees.
From the second quarter in particular, a greater number of graduates with good language skills will be available. “We deliberately try to make people’s skills visible and usable,” Terzenbach said. The intention was not to immediately put refugees into helper jobs, but to take advantage of them according to their possibilities.
Today, 9:10 am | Marie North
Russian parliamentary delegation does not intend to visit ball in Vienna
The Russian delegation is expected at the OSCE winter session. So far, however, there are no Austrian visas.
Today, 7:13 am | Marie North
Stoltenberg rejects Kiev demand for cluster munitions
NATO Secretary General in Munich: “We deliver artillery and other types of weapons, but not cluster bombs.” Ukrainian Chancellor Kuleba had already defended the demand.
Today, 07:00 | Marie North
Russian ambassador to US calls war a ‘crisis’
Russia’s ambassador in Washington has accused the US of fueling the war in Ukraine, which he describes as a crisis, through its own actions. The information is from the state news agency Tass. Anatoly Antonov refers to the statement by US Vice President Kamala Harris, who accused Russia of crimes against humanity in the Ukraine war.
“We regard such allegations as an unprecedented attempt to demonize Russia as part of the hybrid war unleashed against us,” Tass said, quoting the ambassador. There is no doubt that the purpose of such attacks by Washington is to justify its own actions to stoke the crisis in Ukraine.
Today, 6:55 am | Marie North
The Day Before Putin’s Arrival: Could the War Have Been Avoided?
Almost a year ago, a turning point began for Ukraine. What was that country like at that time? And could the war have been avoided?
Find out more here – in a new KURIER series about the beginning of the war almost a year ago (more):