Russia and Ukraine want to talk again

new York What’s next in Ukraine? So far, the capital Kyiv has been spared major fighting on Wednesday. But in numerous parts of the country the attacks of the Russian army are increasing.

According to a media report, Russian soldiers attacked a military medical center in Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine, the country’s second largest city. The Unian agency reported that there was a fight with Ukrainian units.

According to the Ukrinform agency, a Russian tank fired on a building of the Ukrainian secret service SBU in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson. According to Moscow, Russian forces have now taken Kherson.

The southern Ukrainian city of Mariupol on the Azov Sea is also under heavy shelling. The city council said it was still in Ukrainian hands. Russian military are attacking civilian facilities, including apartment blocks, hospitals and makeshift shelters for people displaced by the fighting.

Talks probably on Wednesday

In the morning, the Kremlin announced that it was now ready for renewed negotiations with the Ukrainian side. “This afternoon, late afternoon, our delegation will be there waiting for the Ukrainian negotiators,” spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, according to the Interfax agency. “Our delegation will be ready to talk to continue tonight.” Peskow initially did not name the location.

After the first talks on Monday, both sides named the Belarusian-Polish border as a place for negotiations. The first round had remained without tangible results.

Moscow does not want to make concessions in advance. Peskov made it clear that Russia insists on the demands formulated by President Vladimir Putin.

The government in Kyiv must therefore recognize the “people’s republics” of Luhansk and Donetsk and Russia’s sovereignty over the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea. In addition, Russia is demanding a “demilitarization” of Ukraine.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian side said they were ready to talk, but not ready to accept Russian ultimatums. Tass news agency reported that both parties will continue their second-round talks later today.

>> Read here: The current developments in our news blog

Hundreds of thousands of people fleeing

The war continues to drive numerous Ukrainians from their homeland. According to the government, around 500,000 refugees from the neighboring country have now arrived in Poland. “We have an obligation to help our neighbors and we do it. We have established a humanitarian corridor, we have accelerated all procedures that we could accelerate from our side,” said Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.

Romania announced that about 120,000 people had entered the country from Ukraine since the start of the aggressive war. More than half of them have traveled on to other Western countries, so that around 46,000 Ukrainian refugees are currently staying in Romania, Romania’s Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca said.

The EU Commission wants to quickly grant protection to the war refugees in the EU countries. The Brussels authority officially proposed to put in place EU rules in the event of a “mass influx” of displaced people, which would allow Ukrainians to be temporarily protected without lengthy asylum procedures.

Should the rules come into force, Ukrainians would be allowed to apply for protection status in any EU country. The protection is initially valid for one year, but can be extended by a total of two more years. The right to apply for asylum continues to exist.

According to official information, around 5,300 refugees from Ukraine have been registered in Germany so far. Since there are no border controls in the EU, there could be a lot more, it said.

Navalny calls for protests

Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalny, who is in prison, has called on people in Russia to protest against the war in neighboring Ukraine. There should be protests every day – “wherever you are: in Russia, Belarus or on the other side of the planet,” said Navalny’s Twitter account.

“We, Russia, want to be a nation of peace. Alas, few people would call us that these days. But at least let’s not become a nation of fearful silent people.”

The 45-year-old called for people to dare to take to the streets despite the threat of arrest. The Russian authorities warn against taking part in the unauthorized rallies. According to civil rights activists, thousands of people have been arrested at anti-war demonstrations across Russia in the past few days.

“In order to stop the war, we have to fill the prisons and prisoner transporters,” said Navalny’s account. “Everything has it’s price. And now, in the spring of 2022, we have to pay that price.”

The Russian regime is cracking down on protests. At least 6,000 anti-war demonstrators have now been arrested.

Scholz continues to rule out NATO deployment

For Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), NATO intervention in the Russian war in Ukraine is not an option. “We will not intervene militarily. That applies to NATO, it will not do that, and also to everyone else. That would be wrong in this situation,” said Scholz on Wednesday during his first visit to Israel. “What we do is support.”

Specifically, he mentioned financial aid and relief supplies. “That’s what we can do.” The sanctions have already had an effect. This shows that the attitude between consistency and the necessary caution is correct. “I believe these are the right decisions.”

Scholz also wants to work to ensure that the peace talks between Russia and Ukraine are continued soon. “Of course it’s now about diplomacy getting a great chance again,” he said. At the same time, he again called on Russia to stop all hostilities immediately. “Attacks on civilian infrastructure and civilians must stop,” he said.

Meanwhile, Federal Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht traveled to Romania for talks. The SPD politician wants to find out more about the NATO mission to protect the alliance’s south-eastern flank.

The Bundeswehr has stationed six Eurofighters in Romania, which participate in armed airspace patrols (“combat air patrol”) with alliance partners. She also wants to send infantry soldiers to Romania for a NATO battle group. From this year until 2024, Germany will provide around 13,600 of the 40,000 soldiers for the NATO Response Force.

You can find more reports from the Handelsblatt here:

EU wants to sanction Belarus

The EU states agree on new sanctions against Russia’s ally Belarus. This was announced by the French EU Council Presidency on Twitter. The Belarusian timber, potash and steel industries are particularly affected. The measures will come into force as soon as they are published in the EU Official Journal.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is seen as an ally and military supporter of Kremlin chief Putin in the war against Ukraine. Russian attacks on the neighboring country are also carried out from Belarusian territory. However, Belarus denies this.

EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen announced punitive measures against Belarus on Sunday and called the Lukashenko government “the other aggressor in this war”.

The current punitive measures against Russia do not go far enough for the EU country Poland. Poland is demanding a European embargo on oil, gas and coal from Russia. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said his country would immediately unilaterally stop imports of Russian coal. All he needs is an assurance from the EU Commission that Poland will not be penalized because sanctions policy is an EU matter.

With agency material