Updated on 04/21/2022 at 21:38
- The difficult Ukrainian port of Mariupol has fallen, according to Russian sources.
- Germany is preparing a first ring exchange for the delivery of heavy weapons to Ukraine.
- The United States, for its part, wants to deliver more weapons and ammunition worth up to $800 million.
After nearly two months of fierce fighting, Russia announced the fall of the strategically important Ukrainian port city of Mariupol. However, hundreds of Ukrainian fighters and civilians are still trapped in a steel mill in the city. The US is once again pouring huge sums of money into providing Ukraine with weapons and economic aid. Pressure is growing on Germany to supply heavy weapons to defend Ukraine. The federal government is preparing an exchange of rings with Slovenia for the delivery of tanks.
At a meeting with Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu on Thursday, Russian head of state Vladimir Putin spoke of the “liberation” of Mariupol. In addition, the Azovstal steel mills must no longer be invaded, but hermetically sealed. “Block this industrial zone so that not even a fly can get out.” The Ukrainian fighters were to lay down their arms and escape with their lives.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on the other hand, does not believe the city is completely lost. “The situation is difficult, the situation is bad,” the head of state told reporters in Kiev, according to local media. There are 400 wounded soldiers in the factory. “Ahead of us are the decisive days, the decisive battle for our state.” US President Joe Biden said “there is no evidence that Mariupol has completely fallen”. Warzone information cannot be independently confirmed.
The city had been surrounded by enemy troops shortly after the start of the Russian war of aggression. Only at the steelworks Azovstal do soldiers resist in bunkers. According to Ukrainian information, there are also around 1,000 civilians with them. Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Wereshchuk called on the “world” to focus all efforts on work. Humanitarian corridors are needed. “This is now the key point and moment for the humanitarian effort.”
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock demanded that Putin allow the evacuation of the city. “The situation is not only very dramatic, it is almost unbearable,” the green politician said during a visit to Estonia.
Other Russian conquests
Russian troops are pushing further into Ukraine, but the dreaded major offensive in the east may still be ahead. The Russians have been attacking across the front in the Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv regions since Tuesday, Ukrainian Security Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov said in a radio interview. However, these are likely just “test attacks”. However, according to Ukrainian sources, most of Luhansk is already under Russian control.
According to Ukrainian sources, two graves with a total of nine bodies were discovered in the Borodyanka suburb of Kiev. Andriy Njebytow of the capital region police said on Facebook that they were civilians, male and female. Some of them showed signs of torture.
In a video speech to the Portuguese parliament, President Zelenskyy compared the damage in his country to that of World War II. He also said: “Occupants killed just for fun, they tortured, raped, killed these people and shot cars with children in them.”
Demand for more weapons from Germany
Ukraine is demanding weapons such as air defense systems, battle tanks and armored personnel carriers and heavy artillery from the federal government in order to withstand the expected Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) is accused of hesitation. He is now due to present a personal report at the next Defense Committee meeting on arms deliveries to Ukraine.
Berlin prepares a first exchange of rings for the delivery of heavy weapons. According to information from the German Press Agency, Slovenia, a NATO partner, must deliver a large number of its former main battle tanks to Ukraine and receive in exchange the Marder infantry fighting vehicle and the Fuchs wheeled armored vehicle from Germany. . Slovenia still has a Yugoslavian variant of the T-72 main battle tank, which is also used by Ukraine, under the designation M-84. “The situation in Ukraine is peaking dramatically. And we must not allow Putin and Russia to win this war of aggression,” said Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD).
The idea behind a ring exchange: The Ukrainian military can handle aged weapons without special training. So they can be used faster.
Read too: All current information about the war in Ukraine on the live ticker
However, it remains unclear whether and when German industry will deliver heavy weapons. From a list of 210 offers worth 307 million euros since the end of March, there is only one offer that can be classified in this category: 12 mortars, 120mm caliber. You will search in vain for the battle tanks, heavy artillery or air defense systems required by Ukraine.
Not only in the traffic light coalition, but also among the Eastern European allies, patience is waning. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced that he wanted to speak with Scholz. “Germany’s ambiguous attitude” doesn’t help.
US gives more money and closes ports
Meanwhile, US President Biden announced that he would provide Ukraine with more weapons and ammunition worth up to 800 million dollars (about 736 million euros). Support will be sent “directly to the front lines of freedom”. In addition, another $500 million in economic aid is expected to flow. Under the new pledge, the United States has already pledged or delivered weapons worth more than $3.3 billion to Ukraine since the start of the war. The US government also wants to block its ports to Russian ships.
According to new figures from the United Nations Organization for Migration (IOM), more than 7.7 million people are fleeing in Ukraine. This corresponds to 17 percent of the population before the start of the war, as reported by the IOM. (best/dpa)
Updated on 04/21/2022 15:43
A distressing video surfaced Wednesday that allegedly showed a little girl in a bunker beneath Mariupol Steelworks. Four-year-old Alice asks to be evacuated. The Ukrainian city has been fiercely contested for weeks.
Teaser image: © Alexei Alexandrov/AP/dpa