Situation in the morning – EU summit accuses Russia of war crimes

new York Fighting continued throughout the night in Ukraine. According to Ukrainian sources, Russian troops fired rockets at military targets near the city of Dnipro. At the same time, reports are piling up that Russia is having increasing difficulties penetrating the country. Apparently, individual Russian units around the capital Kyiv have already been pushed back after massive losses.

Meanwhile, the heads of state and government of the EU countries have concluded their deliberations in Brussels. One result: The EU states set up a solidarity fund to provide financial support to Ukraine. As a result of the Russian war of aggression, Ukraine is suffering enormous destruction and losses, it said in a statement.

The country should be helped with current expenses, but also “after the end of the Russian attack in the reconstruction of a democratic Ukraine”. Like the US before it, the EU has officially accused Russia of committing war crimes in Ukraine.

The G7 and NATO had previously met. In detail, it was about the humanitarian situation in Ukraine and aid from the West, and NATO’s ability to defend itself.

The military situation

A little over a month after the start of the war, the overall picture changes little: although many images show the massive destruction of Ukrainian cities and attacks on civilian facilities by Russian attacks, the invasion is not proceeding as Russia had expected.

According to the Ukrainian armed forces, Russian troops in north-eastern Ukraine have now been forced to retreat. After high losses, it was observed that certain units had withdrawn back to the Russian side of the border.

However, the cities of Kharkiv and Sumy are still blocked. At Izyum in the Kharkiv region, Russian troops were preparing for a new offensive. Moscow is partially managing to maintain the land connection between Russia’s Rostov region on the Ukrainian border and Russia’s annexed Crimea.

>> Read here: All current developments in the news blog

According to Ukrainian information, Ukrainian forces were also attacked in the Dnipropetrovsk region on Friday night. Russia has carried out two rocket attacks on a military unit on the outskirts of the city of Dnipro, a local authority in the region said on Facebook. The unit’s buildings were “considerably” damaged and two fires broke out. There were initially no further details about the victims. The information is not independently verifiable.

Ukrainian forces, meanwhile, are launching attacks in Russian-held areas. According to British intelligence, the Ukrainian army has begun attacking high-value targets in Russian-held areas. Among them is an ammunition depot in the city of Berdyansk, according to an update from the British Ministry of Defense, citing intelligence information, published late Thursday evening.

The Ukrainian general staff also announced on Friday night that they had destroyed the Saratov landing ship in an attack on the port of the city of Berdyansk, which was occupied by Russian units. Two other such ships, “Caesar Kunikov” and “Novocherkassk”, were said to have been damaged. The information could not be independently verified.

Another shelling at Chernobyl

Fighting has also broken out again at the Chernobyl nuclear ruins, raising concerns about the safety of the facility. Russian forces have fired on Ukrainian checkpoints in the city of Slavutych, said the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, on Friday night, citing information from the Ukrainian nuclear regulatory authority.

According to Kyiv, this endangers “the homes and families of the operating staff who ensure nuclear and radioactive safety” at the former nuclear power plant, as well as further rotations of employees. The information could not be independently confirmed.

In the small town of Slavutych, which is outside the exclusion zone and has a population of around 25,000, live many people who work at the nearby former Chernobyl nuclear power plant.

According to Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk, 3,343 people were evacuated from contested areas on Thursday. Among them are 2717 residents from Mariupol.

EU summit accuses Russia of war crimes

Russia’s brutal actions were also a top topic during the negotiations between the EU heads of state and government on Friday night in Brussels. The EU is now officially accusing Russia of committing war crimes in Ukraine. Attacks on the civilian population, hospitals, schools and shelters are mentioned in the declaration of the EU summit. “These war crimes must stop immediately.”

The USA had already taken the step on Wednesday. “Our assessment is based on a careful review of available information from public and intelligence sources,” said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. US President Joe Biden temporarily attended the EU summit as a guest on Thursday.

More on the Ukraine war:

War crimes are violations of international law that can be brought before the International Criminal Court. War crimes include the targeted killing and starvation of civilians, the obstruction of humanitarian aid, and the use of nuclear or chemical weapons.

The EU also wants to provide Ukraine with financial resources in the form of a solidarity fund. When it comes to refugees, the alliance of states is unanimous: All efforts that have already been made to take in the people are acknowledged, according to the statement made at the EU summit in Brussels early on Friday morning.

At the same time, all member states are called on to intensify their efforts “in an ongoing spirit of unity and solidarity”. The EU Commission should take all necessary steps to support these efforts.

Selenski’s video speech from the night

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the EU’s announcements, but also made an appeal to Brussels during the night. He thanks the 27 EU heads of state and government for the sanctions against Russia. But they came so late that they could not have prevented Russia from invading Ukraine.

With regard to Ukraine’s application for EU membership, Zelensky says that he hopes the EU will not be too late again: “Now we are discussing Ukraine’s membership of the European Union. At least here I ask you not to be late,” said the Ukrainian leader.

He hoped that the biggest skeptics of EU enlargement – Germany, France and the Netherlands – would change course. Zelensky criticized Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban for maintaining close ties with Putin while Russia bombed Ukrainian cities.

In his speech, Zelenski also thanked the country’s citizens for their resistance. The Ukrainian defenders would have stopped the enemy anywhere. He believes that millions of Ukrainians who would do anything for Ukraine’s victory and peace deserve medals. “I thank each and every one of them,” he said. Since the beginning of the war, Selenski has sent a video message to the citizens of his country every evening.

Survey: Almost every second person supports Ukraine’s EU membership

According to a survey, 46 percent of citizens in Germany would now be in favor of Ukraine joining the European Union. In 2018, 30 percent were significantly less in favor, according to data published by the polling institute YouGov on Friday. According to the survey, at 30 percent fewer respondents would be against the country joining the EU than in 2018 (47 percent).

Views have also changed in France: 42 percent of citizens there are currently in favor of Ukraine joining the EU (2018: 22 percent). In Spain, 60 percent of respondents are currently in favour, in Italy it is 45 percent. In all countries surveyed, the “don’t know” share is high in both 2018 and 2022 at 24 to 29 percent.

That’s going to be important today

US President Biden will meet EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to say goodbye to Brussels. Then he flies on to the eastern NATO country Poland, which borders directly on Ukraine. Around 2.2 million refugees from Ukraine have entered Poland so far, and the majority have stayed there.

Biden only wants to find out more about the humanitarian operation to care for the refugees in the city of Rzeszow, near the border. He will also meet US soldiers stationed in Poland and come to the capital, Warsaw, for talks with the Polish leadership.

With agency material

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