Artillery shelling on Chernihiv – explosions near Lviv

Dusseldorf According to Ukrainian information, Russian troops are continuing a partial blockade and attacks on the city of Chernihiv in the north of the country. This was announced by the General Staff of the Ukrainian military on Friday night in its report on the military situation, which was published daily on Facebook. The bombardment is therefore carried out by artillery.

In the area of ​​​​the Kiev suburb of Brovary, positions of the Ukrainian army are also regularly under artillery fire, the general staff report said. In the south of the country, Russian units continued to try to track down and destroy the air defense system along the Black Sea coast.

Elsewhere, the Russian units concentrated primarily on securing their territory gains and preparing further offensives. The information is not independently verifiable.

Heavy explosions occurred at the airport in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv (Lemberg) on ​​Friday morning. Several Russian rockets had landed there, Mayor Andriy Sadowy said on Telegram. The airport itself was not hit, but an aircraft repair facility was destroyed. According to initial information, there are no victims. Sadowy called on the residents to pay attention to possible air raid alarms and not to distribute photos of the impact site.

The theater in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol that was bombed a few days ago may have contained even more people than previously thought. The Ukrainian MP Serhiy Taruta wrote on Facebook on Friday night that there were apparently at least 1,300 people there last night. He learned that from people who had been to the theater and had come out of Mariupol. Before that, the city council had assumed around 1,000 people who had sought protection there.

Russia withdraws from UN vote on Ukraine resolution

Russia is refraining from a planned vote on a resolution on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine due to a lack of support in the UN Security Council. Instead, the most powerful UN body is to meet again on Friday morning US Eastern Time (about 3 p.m. CET) for an emergency meeting about alleged US laboratories for the production of biological weapons in Ukraine, announced the Russian UN ambassador Vasily Nebensya on Thursday in New York . The Council had already dealt with the issue at Moscow’s request. The allegations are widely described as misinformation and unfounded propaganda.

>> Read here: Scenarios for the end of the Ukraine war: A long road to the ceasefire

Japan imposes more sanctions on Russia

Japan freezes the assets of other Russian individuals and organizations because of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. As the Japanese news agency Kyodo reported on Friday, citing government circles, this affects, among other things, the head of the Russian military intelligence service GRU and the arms supplier Rosoboronexport.

Japan has now imposed sanctions on 95 Russian individuals and groups. The assets of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the central bank and Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko were also frozen.

Around 4000 civilians were able to escape

According to a high-ranking official of the Ukrainian government, 3,810 people were evacuated from besieged cities on Thursday, reports the Ukrainian news agency Interfax. Deputy Prime Minister Irina Vereshchuk said at a press conference that around 2,000 people had managed to leave the encircled city of Mariupol. According to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, more than 60,000 people were able to flee embattled cities on Wednesday.

>> Read here: World economy in crisis: OECD considers a trillion dollar damage from the Ukraine war to be possible

US-China call scheduled for today

US President Joe Biden and China’s President Xi Jinping will be on the phone today at 2 p.m. German time to discuss the war in Ukraine. According to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the US wants to make it clear that China bears responsibility for any measures it takes in support of Russian aggression.

“We are concerned that China is considering directly supporting Russia with military equipment for use in Ukraine,” Blinken said. China has so far denied such plans. Washington is also concerned that China could help Russia circumvent economic sanctions imposed by Western states.

Habeck travels to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates

Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck is traveling to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates this weekend. The visit is part of efforts to reduce dependence on Russian energy imports following Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine.

Qatar is one of the world’s largest exporters of liquefied natural gas (LNG). So far, however, the vast majority has gone to Asia. The Greens politician said the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine has also put the issue of energy security at the center of international discussion.

>> Read here: Gas from Spain is supposed to help northern Europe – but a pipeline is missing

Habeck initially flies to Qatar on Saturday. In the capital, Doha, he is received by the Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. Talks with ministers are also planned. On Sunday we continue to the United Arab Emirates. Habeck wants to meet several ministers there. According to the ministry, he will be accompanied by a high-ranking business delegation on the trip, which lasts until Monday.
With agency material.

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