Air raids on Kyiv and Kharkiv – Mariupol without water, heating and electricity

New York, Dusseldorf In Ukraine, the Russian air force bombed several cities on Thursday night. Authorities spoke of dead and injured. According to figures from the United Nations, more than a million people are now fleeing.

In the capital Kyiv there were several heavy explosions. Air alert was triggered, as reported by the Ukrainian agency Unian. Powerful detonations could be seen on videos on social networks. Ukrainian media reported fighting in the suburbs of the city of millions. A Russian plane is said to have been shot down. The information was not independently verified. Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko wrote on Telegram: “The enemy is trying to break through into the capital.”

In the eastern Ukrainian city of Izyum Kharkiv According to local authorities, eight people were killed in an airstrike, including two children. According to the media, a multi-storey residential building was hit in the attack. Two rockets hit an administrative building in the city of Kharkiv. The Assumption Cathedral was also damaged.

The southern Ukrainian port city Mariupol With around 440,000 inhabitants, according to local authorities, is without water, heating and electricity after air raids. The municipal utilities want to try to restore the critical infrastructure, said Mayor Vadym Boychenko, according to Unian.

Mariupol is located near the so-called line of contact between pro-Russian separatists and the Ukrainian army in the Donetsk administrative region and is of great strategic importance. According to the authorities, more than 130 people have been injured in air raids in Mariupol.

In korosten According to the administration, two people died north of the city of Zhytomyr in an air raid on a large checkpoint. Five people were injured.

Germany meanwhile wants more arms to Ukraine deliver. The Federal Ministry of Economics approved the delivery of 2,700 anti-aircraft missiles of the “Strela” type, as the German Press Agency learned from the ministry. These are weapons of Soviet production from former stocks of the National People’s Army (NVA) of the GDR.

UN General Assembly condemns Russian attack

the United Nations General Assembly had condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine by a clear majority on Wednesday. At the rare emergency meeting, 141 member states voted for a corresponding resolution. Thirty-five abstained – including China – and five voted against, including Russia, Belarus and Syria.

The text condemns the Russian “aggression against Ukraine” and calls for the withdrawal of Russian troops. General Assembly resolutions are not binding, but carry political weight. Furthermore, they cannot be blocked by a veto in the Security Council, where Russia has a permanent seat. According to the UN, it was the first emergency meeting since 1982.

According to the United Nations, since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine a million people fled the attacked country. “For many more millions in Ukraine, it is time the guns fell silent so that life-saving humanitarian assistance could be delivered,” UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi wrote on Twitter.

After Evacuation of an orphanage In Odessa, southern Ukraine, around 120 children – including a six-day-old baby – are fleeing to Berlin. The orphans set off in five buses with a dozen carers, said Chief Rabbi of Odessa and southern Ukraine, Abraham Wolff.

The buses arrived in Chisinau, the capital of Moldova, on Wednesday. An attack by the Russian army is feared in Odessa.

International Criminal Court opens investigation

The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky remained combative in the face of the Russian invasion. “They will not have peace here, they will not have food here, they will not have a quiet moment here,” he said in a video message. Occupiers would only get one thing from the Ukrainians: “Such fierce resistance that they will always remember that we will not give up what is ours.” Selenski spoke of almost 9,000 Russians killed. Russian soldiers were being taken prisoner every day.

the International Criminal Court (ICC) has launched official investigations into war crimes in Russia-invaded Ukraine. This was announced by chief prosecutor Karim Khan. 39 contracting states of the ICC had made a corresponding recommendation, which made the investigations possible.’

Negotiators from Russia and Ukraine want to meet for official talks on a ceasefire for the second time since the war began. According to a report by the Interfax agency, the head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinski, said the Ukrainians were on their way. Both sides agreed on the Brest region in western Belarus as the location for the talks.

Companies stop doing business in Russia

The German software giant SAP and its US rival Oracle are suspending all activities in Russia. “We are ceasing our business in Russia as part of the sanctions and are also pausing all sales of SAP services and products in Russia,” said SAP CEO Christian Klein.

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In addition to an initial EUR 1 million in humanitarian support for Ukraine, the company “also offered to convert our office space in locations across Europe into camps and shelters for refugees.”

Oracle also explains on the short message service that the company has already stopped all activities in Russia. The Ukrainian minister for digital transformation had previously asked both companies for support in a tweet.

Also the Japanese car giant Toyota ceases production at its plant in St. Petersburg, Russia until further notice. The reason given by the group was disruptions in the supply chain. Production at the plant in St. Petersburg, where Toyota mainly produces the SUV model RAV4 and the Camry for the Russian market, will be stopped from this Friday until further notice, the industry leader announced on Thursday.
With agency material from the dpa.