To divide
New speculations about Lukashenko’s health: apparently he has to go to the hospital. Zelenskyy is coming to Germany for the first time since the war in Ukraine. The news ticker.
- Zelenskyy on Saturday in Italy: Meeting with Pope Francis and Georgia Meloni
- massive weapons pack outside of Germany: New tanks and drones for Ukraine
- Ukraine-War: Russia establishes huge “death zones” for Ukrainian forces
- Here you can read current developments in the conflict in Ukraine. The processed information about the losses of the armies involved in the Ukrainian war comes in part from the warring parties of Russia or Ukraine. They cannot therefore be independently verified in part.
Update from May 13th, 9:44 pm: Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko reportedly went to a hospital near Minsk. This is reported by the independent Belarusian Euroradio and the Hajun Observatory of Belarus. So Lukashenko’s convoy arrived at the hospital around 7 pm. During that time, access to the clinic was blocked and armed security forces guarded the streets.
There was speculation about Lukashenko’s health after the May 9 Victory Day celebrations in Moscow. Lukashenko looked “tired and a little shaky”, according to the Portal news agency. He was also absent from a planned lunch with Vladimir Putin.
Ukraine advances on Bakhmut – successfully? Situation remains “complicated”
Update May 13, 8:52 PM: There has been movement on the front lines around the eastern Ukrainian town of Bakhmut, which has been the focus of fighting for months, and Ukrainian troops report gaining ground in the region. Troops are advancing in two directions on the outskirts of Bakhmut, Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said. However, the situation in the city center is “complicated”. Russia admitted on Friday that its own troops had withdrawn from an area near Bakhmut and regrouped.
War in Ukraine: Zelenskyy meets the Pope at the Vatican
May 13th update at 6pm: During his visit to Rome, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived at the Vatican for a meeting with Pope Francis. After meetings with Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and President Sergio Mattarella, Zelenskyy arrived at the Vatican. There he was expected by the head of the Catholic Church.
The meeting was awaited with great anticipation: the Pope repeatedly emphasizes that he wants to take advantage of every opportunity to promote peace in Ukraine. The meeting was a “great honor,” said Zelenskyy, head of the Catholic Church. Francis then thanked the visit. The two retired for a private conversation.
Ukraine war: Zelenskyy meets Pope Francis. © Vatican Media/dpa
Ukraine war news: Kiev warns Germany to speed up arms delivery
Update May 13, 4:26 pm: The Ukrainian Chancellor, Dmytro Kuleba, asks for agility with a view to the new German arms aid package for his country. Ukraine always needs everything as quickly as possible, says Kuleba on the sidelines of a meeting with colleagues from EU countries in Sweden.
It would be appreciated if everything was done to expedite deliveries. Schedules can be discussed. When asked when Ukraine’s planned counteroffensive against the Russian attackers will begin, Kuleba says that rather than asking when it will begin, one should ask whether enough has been done for it to start and succeed. “We want everyone to focus on this issue,” he adds.
Images from the war in Ukraine: great horror and small moments of happiness
See photo gallery
For the first time since the war in Ukraine: Zelenskyy comes to Germany on Sunday
Update May 13, 2:31 pm: Ukrainian President comes to Germany on Sunday (May 14): Government circles have confirmed to dpa that Zelenskyy’s visit to Berlin will take place. It is not yet clear whether Zelenskyy will arrive on Saturday night or just on Sunday. The president’s exact program on Sunday has yet to be announced.
The Charlemagne Prize for European Merit, which was presented to Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people in December, will be presented in Aachen on Sunday afternoon. A visit to Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) in Berlin can be preceded. There has been speculation about this since an indiscretion by the Berlin police a week ago. Zelenskyy was last in Germany a few days before the Russian invasion in February 2022 as a participant in the Munich Security Conference.
Update May 13, 12:57 PM: The Ukrainian government welcomed the new arms shipments announced today by the German government. The weapons package means that Russia is “doomed” to lose the war in Ukraine and “sit on the bench of historical shame”, said presidential adviser Mykhailo Podoliak. Among other things, the delivery of air defense systems, battle tanks and armored vehicles, artillery ammunition and reconnaissance drones is planned.
Zelenskyy on Saturday in Italy – Meeting with Pope Francis
Update May 13, 10:49 am: Ukrainian President Zelenskyy is in Rome today – after much speculation this is now official. He announced on Twitter that he would meet President Sergio Mattarella, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Pope Francis in the Italian capital on Saturday.
Zelenskyi wrote of an “important visit to achieve Ukraine’s victory”. An Italian government plane had already flown to Rome from the southeastern Polish airport in Rzeszow, close to the Ukrainian border – Zelenskyy was presumed to have been on board. TV footage showed a motorcade leaving Rome’s Ciampino airport.
“Flight, mistakes and losses”: According to Zelenskyy, Russia “already lost in minds”
Update May 13, 9:18 am: According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Kremlin is secretly preparing for defeat in the war against Ukraine. “In their minds, they have already lost this war,” Zelenskyy said in a video on Friday (May 12). “We have to put pressure on them every day so that their sense of defeat turns into flight, mistakes and losses.” At the same time, Zelenskyy announced new sanctions packages against Russia, including against the Russian arms industry.
Huge arms package for Ukraine: Germany supplies new tanks and drones
Update May 13, 7:45 am: Massive New Weapons Support for Ukraine: According to information from Spiegel, the German government has assembled the biggest arms package to date in the Ukraine war. Arms deliveries would have been decided in secret negotiations between the Chancellery and the departments involved in recent days.
Apparently, more armored vehicles and battle tanks, drones, Iris-T air defense systems and ammunition worth a total of around 2.7 billion euros are to be delivered.
German weapons also against targets in Russia?
May 13 update. 6:33 am: Johann Wadephul, vice president of the CDU/CSU, calls for Ukraine to be allowed to use German weapons against targets in Russia. “Neither under international law nor politically is there any reason why Ukraine should not be allowed to attack targets in Russia,” he told the Berliner Tagesspiegel.
Ukraine must “be able to stop logistics and supplies across the border to be able to stop the war in Ukraine,” he said. “Germany should help Ukraine effectively instead of tying the country’s hands.”
Of course, Ukraine must maintain “proportionality”. However, Wadephul takes this for granted: “Unlike Russia, Ukraine limits itself to attacks on industrial plants, fuel depots, transport and military infrastructure. It doesn’t bomb housing complexes, hospitals or kindergartens – very different from Russia.”
News in the war from Ukraine: explosions in Lugansk
Update from May 12th, 11:13 pm: According to Russian information, there were two large explosions in the city of Luhansk in eastern Ukraine on Friday. The administration deployed by Moscow in the annexed region accused the Ukrainian army on Friday of firing rockets at the town, which is almost 100 kilometers from the front. The claim has yet to be independently confirmed. Kiev has not officially commented on the allegations. Videos and images of a tall column of smoke had already been shared on social media.
Update from May 12th, 9:46 pm: While Wagner’s boss Prigozhin claims the Kremlin has failed his troops, the Ukrainian military paints a different picture. “Prigozhin is a liar. Because the first to flee were Wagner’s units,” a Ukrainian Assault Battalion commander said in an interview with a CNN reporter. Ukrainian troops were successful not because the Russians escaped – but because they carried out a well-planned attack, according to the commander.
Worried about the counteroffensive? Russians establish huge “kill zones” in eastern Ukraine
First Mail 12 report, 20:22: Kiev/Frankfurt – Russia has apparently built huge defense lines in southeastern Ukraine to protect the occupied territories from Ukrainian offensives. The range of defense positions is huge: as the Germany editorial network reports, citing satellite images from the European Space Agency ESA, there are staggered defense positions from the Zaporizhia region up to and including the Donetsk region, up to 100 kilometers long. and sometimes 30 kilometers from the front line are distant.
Russians set up massive “death zones” for Ukrainian forces
“Russian defenses were built along the dominant hills and ridges”, analyzed military blogger Pasi Paroinen satellite images of southeastern Ukraine that are also available to him. According to him, the systems built can be divided into a total of six zones: The first zone is about three to four kilometers wide and would form the frontal security zone with individual company bases and some outposts. The trenches would follow in the second, as well as the strong points along the main railing features. The Russians then established reserves and possible diversionary positions. This is also where most of the local Russian artillery and tank reserves are said to be located.
The fourth zone is the main line of defense. This consists of “huge multi-layered trenches with anti-tank pits and dragon’s tooth obstacles”. Dragonfang Obstacles are tooth-shaped concrete traps designed to repel tanks. The military blogger also does not rule out minefields in the area. “These fortifications form an almost uniform continuous belt of defense along the front.” Finally, in the fifth and sixth zones there are still withdrawal and reserve positions.
“Killing zones” in southeastern Ukraine: Russia wants to use this strategy to defend occupied territories
Analysis of the new defense zone in eastern and southern Ukraine commented also the ex-Australian general Mick Ryan. According to him, it was impossible to build such defenses along the entire length of the front line defended by the Russians. He therefore suspects “that defense complexes like this give us glimpses of what the Russians see as the key terrain for the next Ukrainian offensives”. Russian military leaders consider these areas likely to be the most “dangerous” terrain for Ukrainian attacks.
According to the expert, Russia must have thought well beforehand where it would invest so many expensive resources for defense systems in the war in Ukraine. There is a tactic behind this: “It should be noted that most obstacles are not meant to stop an enemy. It’s more about directing you into ‘kill zones’ or crushing your cohesion and combined arms teams.” Zones in particular can slow down surprise attacks while still allowing time for planned counterattacks.
“Extermination zones” in southern and eastern Ukraine: military expert doubts effectiveness
It remains to be seen to what extent the built defense zones will actually resist the Ukrainian armed forces. Political scientist and policy adviser Nico Lange, meanwhile, says the facilities being built are “of varying quality”. According to him, they could therefore be destroyed, violated or bypassed.
Ukraine has already launched counter-offensives in the region. An Institute for the Study of War (ISW) report on Friday said Ukrainian forces may have breached some Russian lines during local counterattacks near Bachhmut. According to Ukrainian Eastern Group commander Oleksandr Syrskyi, Russian forces retreated up to two kilometers behind Russian lines on unspecified sections of Bakhmut’s front. According to ISW, the Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed the Ukrainian counterattacks but denied reports that the Ukrainian defense lines were breached. (nz)