Ukraine argues that it urgently needs cluster munitions to defend against Russian war of aggression and to liberate occupied territories.
(Photo: dpa)
Kyiv According to the White House, Ukraine is already using the cluster munitions supplied by the United States to defend itself against the Russian attackers. “They use them appropriately, they use them effectively,” US government National Security Council communications director John Kirby said Thursday.
The US also warns of Russian false flag actions in the Black Sea. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s culture minister handed in his resignation. In his evening video address, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy questioned whether the state budget was spending too much on cultural projects in times of war.
The use of cluster munitions is already affecting Russian defenses and offensive maneuvers, Kirby said. For more details he referred to the Ukrainians. The Pentagon confirmed last week that the cluster munitions promised by the US shortly before had already arrived in Ukraine.
Cluster munitions are missiles or bombs that burst in mid-air over the target, dispersing many small explosive devices. It is controversial above all because a significant part of it does not detonate, but remains on site as duds, thus endangering the population. More than 100 countries have banned their use, including Germany.
Ukraine argues that it urgently needs these weapons to defend against Russia’s 17-month war of aggression and to liberate occupied territories. In addition, international organizations such as Human Rights Watch have shown that Russia itself has been using cluster munitions for a long time. Residential areas in Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine were hit by Russian cluster bombs last year.
US: Russia could accuse Ukraine of attacking civilian ships
The US government also warned again that Russia could expand its attacks on civilian ships in the Black Sea after withdrawing from the international grain agreement and then blame them on Ukraine.
“Our information indicates that Russia has continued to lay sea mines in the approaches to Ukrainian ports,” said National Security Council communications director John Kirby. “And yesterday we observed that Russia released video of the discovery and detonation of what they claimed was a Ukrainian sea mine.” It is possible that this video could be a “harbinger” of a false flag attack.
The use of the cluster munitions is already affecting Russian defenses and offensive maneuvers, according to the communications director of the US government’s National Security Council.
(Photo: Reuters)
On Monday, Russia declared the agreement on the export of Ukrainian grain across the Black Sea to be over, despite all international appeals. Moscow then announced that it would consider ships calling at Ukrainian ports as possible military targets in the future.
In recent nights, Russia has also attacked the port of Odessa, from which millions of tons of food have been exported in recent months, and other Ukrainian cities on the Black Sea.
UN chief condemns Russian attacks on Odessa
UN Secretary-General António Guterres “strongly condemned” repeated Russian attacks on the port of Odessa and other Ukrainian cities on the Black Sea.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the Russian attacks on the port of Odessa “in the strongest possible terms”.
(Photo: dpa)
“The attacks contradict the commitments of the Russian Federation under the Memorandum of Understanding with the United Nations,” the world organization said. In addition, the destruction of civilian infrastructure constitutes a violation of international humanitarian law.
“Culture in Wartime” – Ukrainian Minister of Culture resigns
The Ukrainian Minister of Culture, Olexander Tkachenko, has resigned after dissatisfaction with the way state funds are handled. There had been “a wave of misunderstandings about the importance of culture in times of war,” Tkachenko said on Telegram late Thursday evening as an explanation for his move. Afterwards he was surprised by a statement by President Zelenskyj on this subject.
Zelenskyi said in his evening video speech that he had asked Prime Minister Denys Schmyhal to consider replacing Tkachenko. Ukrainian media had previously reported that the culture minister wanted to spend 500 million hryvnia (around 12 million euros) to complete a national museum to commemorate the victims of the Holodomor genocide in the 1930s.
Tkachenko wrote on his Telegram channel on Thursday evening that funds for culture were no less important during the war than funds for drones, “because culture is the protective shield of our identity and our borders”.
Zelenskyj criticized in his speech: “In times of war like this, the main attention of the state, and thus also of state resources, should be devoted to defence”. Although museums and other cultural areas are important, “we have other priorities right now.” After around 17 months of Russian war of aggression, Ukrainian society understands that savings are currently being made on things that are not urgently needed.
IAEA: Waiting for access to roofs of Zaporizhia NPP
Experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency are still waiting for access to the roofs of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, which is occupied by Russian troops.
The specialists carried out further inspections of the facility earlier in the week, but so far have not discovered any visible signs of explosives or mines, said IAEA Director Rafael Grossi, according to a report by the agency on Thursday. According to Grossi, the IAEA continues to demand access to the roofs of the reactors and their turbine halls.
Experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency are still waiting for access to the roofs of the nuclear power plant occupied by Russian troops.
(Photo: dpa)
Russian troops had occupied the nuclear power plant almost 17 months ago shortly after the start of the war. The plant came under fire several times, which, despite being shut down, increased international concern about a nuclear catastrophe. For months Moscow and Kiev have suspected each other of deliberately provoking an accident at the nuclear facility, either by shelling or by mining.
What will be important on Friday
Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) will meet his Czech colleague Jana Cernochova during his inaugural visit to Prague on Friday. One topic should be a possible procurement of Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks.
This is how the Handelsblatt reports on the Ukraine war:
As part of a ring exchange, the Czech Republic has already received the first of 14 Leopard 2A4 tanks from Germany. The NATO member state will thus receive a modern replacement for the Soviet-designed T72 tanks delivered to Ukraine.
More: All developments in the Ukraine war in our news blog