On the 62nd day of the Russian invasion, around 40 countries are meeting in Germany this Tuesday at the invitation of the United States to strengthen Ukraine’s defenses, which the US Secretary of Defense says “can win” against Russia if the means are given.
In summary :
– No agreement was finally reached on Monday to create a humanitarian corridor that would allow evacuation of civilians hiding with Ukrainian fighters in the besieged Azovstal metallurgical complex in Mariupol (southeast), Kyiv said.
– UN Secretary-General António Guterres is expected in Moscow on Tuesday after Monday’s visit to Turkey, a country trying to mediate in the conflict. He then travels to Kyiv.
– At least 5 people were killed and 18 others injured in Russian attacks on railway facilities in the Vinnytsia region (central-west) on Monday, local prosecutors said.
9:19
For the British, Ukraine has the right to attack Russia. Speaking to Britain’s TimesRadio, British Defense Secretary James Heappey supported Ukraine’s right to attack Russian territory and use the ammunition provided. When Moscow started the war, he said it was “completely legitimate” for Kyiv to target Russia’s “depth” and logistics. He acknowledged that the weapons that the West is supplying to Ukraine “have the range to be deployed beyond Russia’s borders.”
NEW: Britain supports Ukraine’s right to attack Russian territory using ammunition donated by the West, says James Heappey.
Secretary of Defense tells @TimesRadio that Moscow started the war and that it is “completely legitimate” for Kyiv to target Russia’s “depth” and logistics
— Lucy Fisher (@LOS_Fisher) April 26, 2022
8:57
Germany will allow the delivery of tanks to Ukraine. Federal Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) wants to accelerate the delivery of new weapons to Ukraine. According to Der Spiegel, the minister will announce the delivery of these tanks this morning during the Ramstein meeting hastily convened by the United States. This is the anti-aircraft tank model “Gepard”. In addition, Ukrainian soldiers are being trained in the “Panzerhaubitze 2000” system, a self-propelled gun of German design that the Netherlands also wants to supply to the Ukrainian army. Der Spiegel speaks of around fifty models of Gepard tanks that could be made operational “quickly” by the armaments company KraussMaffei Wegmann (KMW). Tanks of the same type have already been resold by KMW in Brazil and Qatar, where they were used in particular for the security of the Summer Olympics and the future World Cup. Gepard tanks are based on the chassis of the main battle tank “Leopard”. They are equipped with two 35mm cannons and radar. In addition to air strikes, these armored vehicles can also engage ground targets.
News: Germany wants deliveries of “Gepard” anti-aircraft tanks to the #Ukraine enable. Christine Lambrecht dies at the “arms conference” on the US base #Ramstein proclaim. KMW has about 50 of the systems in stock, which could be made operational “quickly”.
— Matthias Gebauer (@gebauerspon) April 26, 2022
8:41
The city of Kreminna in Luhansk would have fallen. The information comes from the UK Ministry of Defense’s latest report on the military situation in Ukraine. The Defense Ministry added that heavy fighting was reported south of the city of Izium as Russian forces try to advance towards the cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk from the north and east. In Zaporiyah the noose tightens around the city.
8:25
Europe commemorates the Chernobyl disaster. It is the 36th anniversary of the nuclear accident that occurred on the night of April 25-26, 1986 at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, 100 kilometers north of Kyiv. In a tweet, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausèda raised the risk of the nuclear threat by pointing to Russia’s war in Ukraine and called on the International Atomic Energy Agency to take action to prevent a “Chernobyl 2”.
Sad commemoration of the devastating Chernobyl nuclear disaster.
Today, Russia’s war against Ukraine, the attack on nuclear power plants in 🇺🇦 renewed the threat of nuclear catastrophe.
I’ll call @iaeaorg Measures to prevent Chernobyl 2 from happening again.
— Gitanas Nauseda (@GitanasNauseda) April 26, 2022
8:19
The UN Secretary-General will meet with Putin on Tuesday. Antonio Guterres is due to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin later today in Moscow, but expectations are low after multiple diplomatic efforts have failed so far. Talks between Putin and Guterres are expected to focus on the besieged city of Mariupol, where Russian forces are failing to take the Azovstal Steel Plant. For its part, Ukraine has asked António Guterres to guarantee a humanitarian corridor for the evacuation of civilians who were staying in Azovstal. The UN chief is also expected to travel to Kyiv on Thursday, where he will meet President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
8:06
Threat of World War III: Evidence that Russia “feels his defeat coming,” Ukraine said. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba is getting involved on twitter his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, who warned Monday night that the “danger” of a third world war was “real.” The Ukrainian sees it as Moscow’s ultimate attempt “to dissuade Kyiv from supporting a country that wants to support it through fear.” Dmytro Kuleba says this is proof that Russia “sees its defeat coming”. For him, therefore, this is an opportunity to increase international aid to Ukraine so that it can triumph when it arrives.
Russia is losing last hope of stopping the world from supporting Ukraine. Hence the talk of a “real” danger of World War III. That only means that Moscow smells a defeat in Ukraine. Therefore, the world must redouble its support for Ukraine to prevail and safeguard European and global security.
— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) April 25, 2022
7:42
The United States unites its allies. Around 40 countries are meeting in Germany this Tuesday at the invitation of the United States to strengthen Ukraine’s defenses, which, according to US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, can “win” against Russia if given the means to do so. At a time when Moscow is seeking full control of southern Ukraine and the Donbass region, this meeting, being organized at the US air base in Ramstein, west Germany, is intended to “create additional capacity for the Ukrainian armed forces,” Lloyd Austin said on Monday , returning from his visit to Kyiv.
7:18
A third world war, according to Lavrov, a “real” risk. On Monday evening, Russia assured that it wanted to continue the peace negotiations with Ukraine, but at the same time warned of the “real” danger that the conflict could degenerate into a world conflict. “Don’t underestimate that,” he warned. The statements come the day after Pentagon Chief Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Kyiv, where they met President Zelenskyy. A first since the conflict began on February 24. Returning from this trip, the head of the Pentagon felt that Kyiv could win the war.