Ukrainian news, NATO sources: “Nuclear weapons in Belarus, Putin’s grave mistake”

9:53Zelensky has arrived in Poland President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has arrived in Poland. Today will be a busy day for him: from the signing of bilateral agreements to the joint speech with the Polish President at 6 p.m. He will also meet with representatives of Polish companies.10:27“Relocate children from Donetsk province”Ukrainian authorities have ordered the evacuation of all children from 21 towns in Donetsk province, areas under Ukrainian control but the scene of fighting with Russian forces. This was announced by the Ukrainian Ministry of Rehabilitation. The order includes “the mandatory evacuation of 126 children from 21 towns in the Donetsk region, where the security situation remains critical.”11:02“Germany must not become a party to the war”“We must not become a party to the war” in Ukraine and “it is important that this border is always preserved”. That’s what the German Vice Chancellor and Economics Minister Robert Habeck of the Greens told Deutschlandfunk after returning from a two-day trip to the Russian-occupied country. “It’s always a balancing act, where one step can potentially go as far as actively participating in the war,” he explained.11:21 a.mStoltenberg: “Security is a global issue”“In a more dangerous and less predictable world, it is even more evident that security is not a regional but a global issue: what happens in your region, in the Indo-Pacific, matters in Europe, and what happens in Europe affects yours Region. And I think the war in Ukraine shows that very clearly with its global ramifications. Also, the fact that we are seeing China and Russia getting closer together makes it even more important that we stand together as partners, between us NATO allies and you as reliable partners,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said at his meeting the foreign ministers of Australia, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand.11:39Ukrainian drone crashes near a nuclear power plantA Ukrainian drone has crashed near the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant. This was reported by the Russian news agency Ria, citing military sources in Moscow, according to which the drone is manufactured in Poland and weighs over 2 kilos.11:50“Ukraine will not accept agreements with Russia”“Ukraine will not accept agreements with the Kremlin to end the war, which could end this year anyway.” This was stated by Defense Minister of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov in an interview with the independent media outlet New Voice of Ukraine. Reznikov ruled out the possibility of signing peace agreements with Russia, recalling the words of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who ruled out sitting at the negotiating table with Russian President Vladimir Putin.12:05Russia: “Putin and Lukashenko will also talk about Ukraine”Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko will “certainly exchange views” on the Minsk proposal to reach a ceasefire in Ukraine and start negotiations during their talks scheduled for today and tomorrow in Moscow. This was stated by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov to the TASS agency.12:10 p.mMoscow: “Hot war with the USA” Russia and the US have entered a period of “hot conflicts,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told Sputnik Radio. “We are now at the stage of a heated conflict with the United States. We see that this state is directly engaged in a hybrid war with Russia in a variety of areas. Some forms of this war are just unprecedented – they just didn’t exist and couldn’t have existed during the Cold War,” denounces Ryabkov, according to RIA Novosti reports.12:35 p.mUkrainian military company increases production

Ukraine’s state-owned military conglomerate Ukroboronprom has ramped up production even though its facilities have suffered more than 150 attacks since Russian forces invaded the country in February 2022, the group’s director-general Yurii Husiev said, as reported by the Kyiv Independent.

1:00 pmSpain sends six tanks to KyivThe six Leopard 2A4 tanks that Spain has pledged to send to Ukraine will leave the country in the second half of April, Defense Minister Margarita Robles told state broadcaster TVE today, bringing forward the date when the Spanish military vehicles would be shipped to Kiev.1:25 p.m“Countries that buy Russian debt are financing the war”Russia likely expects financial support from “friendly” nations, including buying its national debt. The British Ministry of Defense wrote on Twitter, specifying that “Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said on March 28 that plans to issue part of Russia’s sovereign debt in foreign currencies were under development.” According to London intelligence services, “It has been mainly Russian banks that have been buying debt in recent months, but they are unlikely to have the ability to continue doing so in the long term. Countries buying Russian national debt will indirectly finance the war in Ukraine”.14 o’clockMeloni: “We will continue to guarantee Zelensky and his people support”

“We spoke about the war in Ukraine and reaffirmed our full support for the Ukrainian cause, we will continue to guarantee President Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people all our support, we will also discuss how to move forward with steps towards a just peace that Ukraine respects sovereignty,” he stressed to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at the end of the meeting with the President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez. “We are already working on reconstruction,” he added.

2:41 p.m

Duda: “We will demand new security guarantees”At the NATO summit in Vilnius this summer, Poland wants to demand greater security guarantees for Ukraine. This was stated by Polish President Andrzej Duda during a joint press conference with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “We are trying to obtain additional security guarantees for Ukraine that will strengthen Ukraine’s military potential and the Ukrainian people’s sense of security,” the Warsaw head of state said.3:18 p.m“No change in Russia’s nuclear stance”NATO has “so far not seen any change in Russia’s nuclear stance that would require a change in ours” after Moscow announced plans to transfer tactical nuclear warheads to the country, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in a news conference in Brussels at the end of the 2018 meeting the foreign ministers of the allied countries.3:32 p.mZelenskyy in Poland: “Bachmut’s situation is very difficult”The situation in which Ukrainian troops find themselves in Bakhmut is “very difficult”. This was admitted by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during an official visit to Warsaw, the first since the war began. Zelenskyy referred to “continuing heavy artillery attacks” and “lack of ammunition”. “I can assure you that the enemy does not control Bakhmut,” the Ukrainian President stressed in a joint press conference with his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda. Zelenskyy thanked “the Polish brothers” for their support “since the beginning of the war” and said he had “hope that one day there will be no more borders, neither political nor historical, between Poland and Ukraine”. “There are no compromises in this war: we will not give up our territory, our freedom or our children,” stressed the Ukrainian president, adding that the war his country is waging is in defense of “Europe and freedom”.3:45 p.mDuda: “We will send another 6 Mig-29 to Kiev”

Duda reported that Poland could “in future relocate the entire fleet of Mig-29s,” about 30 fighters, “after consultation with NATO partners” to Ukraine because they are currently being used on Alliance patrol missions. The Polish President has indicated that Warsaw still needs the MiGs, but if the new FA-50 and F-16 aircraft ordered by South Korea and the United States arrive, he could consider handing over his entire fleet of old fighter jets to Ukraine

4:10 p.mBlinking: “Putin has failed”US Secretary of State Antony Blinken: “Putin has failed. The US supports the peace effort, but may it be a just peace”4:25 p.m“We focus on very practical things”“Our focus now is on doing what needs to be done to help Ukraine. We are also looking at what we can do over a longer period of time to help Ukraine”, including to harmonize standards”. NATO remains open, but we must continue to focus on “practical” issues, especially now that Ukraine is “preparing for a counter-offensive to retake territory.” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said this in a press conference at the end of the NATO foreign ministers’ meeting in Brussels.17:04Putin: “Terrorism in Russia with the support of the West”The potential of western special services is used in the preparation of terrorist attacks in Kiev in Russia. This was stated by President Vladimir Putin, who chaired a session of the National Security Council. The tax office reports it.5:15 p.mThe situation in the regions annexed by Russia is tense

The situation in the Ukrainian regions annexed by Russia “remains tense”, due to the bombings and terrorist attacks in Kiev, which “spare no one”, according to Putin, who appealed to the police, judiciary and intelligence services “to ensure the safety of the local population”. .

5:18 p.m40,000 soldiers ready for Ukrainian counterattackEight new assault brigades, for a total of 40,000 soldiers, are ready for the counteroffensive that Ukraine plans to launch in the coming weeks. This is reported by the Portal website. These recruitments follow an ongoing recruitment campaign on social media and billboards aimed at attracting highly motivated volunteers. The new brigades, recruited by the Interior Ministry, will fight alongside regular army units. The brigades are named Hurricane, Spartan, Chervona Kalyna, Frontier, Rage, Azov and Kara Dag, the name of a mountain in Crimea.17:51Moscow to UNO: “No mass adoption of Ukrainian children”Russia does not compulsorily adopt children from the conflict zone in Ukraine. This was stated by the Permanent Representative of Russia to the UN Vasily Nebenzya, quoted by Tass. “The truth is that the children were evacuated from the area of ​​​​hostilities caused by the criminal regime of Kiev, which during all these nine years of war in Donbass did not care about the fate of these children and left their lives in Danger”.6:32 p.mLukashenko is in Moscow: Tonight’s meeting with PutinPresident of Belarus and close ally of Vladimir Putin Alexander Lukashenko has arrived in Moscow for a meeting with the Russian leader, Belarusian state news agency Belta reported. Lukashenko and Putin will meet tonight and “discuss a wide range of issues related to Belarusian-Russian relations, the international situation and measures to ensure security.”6.40 p.mNATO sources: “Nuclear bombs in Belarus, Putin’s mistake”

Allied foreign ministers discussed Vladimir Putin’s decision to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus at the Atlantic Council, and the move was branded a “big mistake” that could impact relations with China. This was announced by a senior NATO diplomatic source. “Beijing is not satisfied given Xi Jinping’s clear message during his visit to Moscow, and this strengthens the Western position: Putin is not a reliable ally and the concept will be underlined during Europeans’ visits to Beijing,” the source indicates .

8:20 p.mPutin ‘attacks’ US: ‘It’s a hot war now’Vladimir Putin has returned to the limelight in his usual capacity as defender of Russia against aggression by hostile foreign powers. The target is always the West, particularly the United States, which has gone well beyond the Cold War framework. By engaging in a real “hot conflict” with Moscow8.30 p.mUkrainian plane crashes in RussiaA small Ukrainian plane crashed in a Russian region bordering Ukraine today and the pilot was arrested. This was announced by the security services of the FSB. “The plane crashed near the village of Butovsk in the Bryansk region for unknown reasons. The pilot (citizen of Ukraine) who tried to flee to Ukrainian territory was detained by a border guard unit,” the FSB reported.8.50 p.mZelenskyi: “Polish tanks already on the battlefield”“Polish tanks are already on the battlefield in Ukraine,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in Warsaw after meeting Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. “We agreed on something that will empower each of us, each soldier. We really need that power now,” he said.21:00The Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong during an exercise in TaiwanThe Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong today began its first exercise in the western Pacific after passing Taiwan and the first island chain, confirming that the unit is “fully ready for operations in the open sea and to uphold China’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity is”. His mission, the Global Times reported late tonight, “comes at a time when Taiwan’s regional leader Tsai Ing-wen and US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy” were meeting in Los Angeles. Taipei’s Defense Ministry confirmed the sharply criticized Chinese move.