Ukraine situation in the evening: Putin sees “positive changes”

Dusseldorf Russian President Vladimir Putin has caused a stir with a vague hint. At a meeting with his closest ally, Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko, Putin spoke of “certain positive changes” in the negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators. The talks are now being held “practically daily”. What exactly Putin meant by that he left unclear.

The Russian president appeared unimpressed by the sanctions imposed over his war against Ukraine. He spoke of a “massive blow” to Russia’s economy. However, the country has already adapted to the many sanctions in recent years. “And of course we got stronger,” he said.

No less cryptically, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced shortly thereafter that Ukraine was on the verge of defeating the invading Russian troops. The Ukrainian army has reached a “strategic turning point”.

At the same time, however, said in a TV speech that it would take time and patience before victory was achieved. “It is impossible to say how many more days it will take us to liberate Ukrainian land. But we can say that we will make it.”

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What exactly Selenski was referring to remained unclear. He called on the international community to tighten sanctions against Russia.

Putin sees “positive changes” in dialogue with Kyiv

New sanctions against Russia

The western states complied with this demand in the evening. US President Joe Biden announced that the G7 countries and the European Union had jointly decided on a fourth package of sanctions. This is intended to cut off all normal trade relations with Russia.

This is made possible by the fact that Russia is no longer treated according to the “most-favoured-nation principle”. This basic rule of the World Trade Organization (WTO) states that states should grant all trading partners the same privileges that they also grant to the most favored trading partner. This is intended to reduce trade barriers worldwide.

With the suspension of this principle, higher tariffs on Russian goods are now possible. The sanctions also ban the import of alcohol, seafood and diamonds. Luxury goods are no longer allowed to be exported to Russia and more Russian politicians are now subject to Western financial and travel sanctions. The sanctions are expected to come into effect in the coming days.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a fourth package of sanctions from the EU, which is to be taken on Saturday, almost parallel to Biden’s initiative. Among other things, the EU wants to block Russia’s membership of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. “We will ensure that Russia can no longer receive funding, loans or other benefits from these institutions,” von der Leyen said.

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On the other hand, there should not be a European import ban for energy sources. This was announced by several EU heads of state after their meeting in Versailles, France. However, the EU is supporting Ukraine with additional weapons – the union of states wants to provide 500 million euros for this.

Emmanuel Macron

After a meeting of EU heads of state and government and the EU Commission, the French President made it clear that further sanctions were possible.

(Photo: Reuters)

The EU also reserves the right to impose further sanctions. “Nothing is forbidden, nothing is taboo,” said French President Emmanuel Macron. “We will do everything that is efficient and has a useful effect to stop Russia on the path of aggression.”

The military situation: Russians regroup their units

Meanwhile, the Russian military has stepped up its airstrikes in Ukraine, including shelling the western part of the country. The Defense Ministry announced on Friday that the army had disabled air bases in the western cities of Ivano-Frankivsk and Lutsk with “high-precision weapons”. Lutsk and Ivano-Frankivsk are located north and south of the city of Lviv, not far from the Polish border, to which many Ukrainians initially fled the fighting.

>> Read about this: All current developments in the news blog

In the east, pro-Russian separatists took control of the city of Wolnowacha. The information could not be independently verified. Initially, there was no confirmation from the Ukrainian side.

Puffs of smoke over Ivano-Frankivsk

The Russian airstrikes are now also hitting cities far in western Ukraine.

(Photo: imago images/Ukrinform)

According to Ukrainian rescue workers, no one was injured in the Russian airstrike on a psychiatric clinic in Kharkiv. The patients had previously been brought to safety in the basement of the building. According to its mayor, the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv is under constant fire. 48 schools in the city have already been destroyed.

Fierce fighting also continued around the besieged port city of Mariupol. The city is now completely surrounded, all accesses are either destroyed or mined, according to the Russian side. Several hundred thousand residents are stuck in the city, and their situation is becoming increasingly dramatic in view of the fighting and attacks.

Mariupol

The international Red Cross speaks of appalling conditions in the Ukrainian port city.

(Photo: AP)

The Russian military is regrouping its units near the capital Kyiv. Satellite imagery by Maxar showed armored vehicles in locations near Antonov Airport in Hostomel, northwest of the capital.

British government experts say Russian troops are likely to attack Kyiv in the coming days. “Russia will probably try to regroup its forces for renewed offensives,” according to an assessment by the London Ministry of Defense published on Friday.

Aerial view of Ozera

Maxar Technologies satellite imagery taken on March 10, 2022 shows troops and military vehicles stationed during the Russian invasion at Ozera, northeast of Antonov Airport, 20 kilometers from Kyiv.

(Photo: dpa)

Antonov Airport near Hostomel. about 20 kilometers northwest of Kyiv

Satellite imagery provided by Maxar Technologies on March 10, 2022 shows the south end of the airport and fuel storage area fires in the upper right after the Russian invasion.

(Photo: AP)

Russia now claims the occupied Zaporizhia nuclear power plant as its own. According to the Ukrainian operating company, the technical staff were informed that the nuclear power plant now belongs to the Russian Rosatom. The International Atomic Energy Agency had previously expressed extreme concern because the connection to Europe’s largest nuclear reactor had been cut by Russian troops.

The refugee situation: 2.5 million people have left Ukraine

More than 2.5 million people have now left Ukraine. Most of them have arrived in Poland – and are to be better distributed from there in the future.

Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski announced a “relay system” for receiving and transferring Ukrainian refugees. This had been prepared with partners from western countries, he said on Friday in Warsaw. Refugees arriving in Warsaw, Kraków or other Polish cities or who are already in the country’s reception centers would continue their journey to other European countries in buses or special trains.

Refugees at the Lviv railway station

A total of 2.5 million people have already left Ukraine.

(Photo: action press)

Since the beginning of the Russian attack on Ukraine, more than 1.5 million refugees from the eastern neighboring country have already arrived in Poland. According to the Ministry of the Interior, there are 36 reception centers nationwide, and from Monday there will also be a registration system for refugees in the municipalities. The transport of refugees from the borders is also coordinated. For this purpose, 1,300 buses were rented or provided by the fire brigade.

According to the Federal Police, at least around 110,000 people have come to Germany from Ukraine. As the authority announced on Friday in Potsdam, it assumes that the actual numbers are higher. Ukrainians with a biometric passport can travel freely in the EU for 90 days without a visa.

Because the majority of them arrive in Berlin, the state of Berlin today asked the Bundeswehr for support with admission and care. Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) announced that the refugees should also be distributed to the other federal states.

Ukrainian refugees in Berlin

The federal government now wants to better distribute the people from Ukraine to the federal states.

(Photo: dpa)

Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Iryna Vereshchuk announced new escape routes for the evacuation of civilians. Regarding the port city of Mariupol in the Donetsk region, which has been under siege for days, she said: “We are waiting and hoping that this route will work today.” Trucks with relief supplies and empty buses are on their way from Zaporizhia towards Mariupol.

Russia blocks Facebook, Instagram and Twitter

The Russian state communications authority has meanwhile blocked all international social media – after the Facebook group Meta partially relaxed its rules to allow calls for violence against Russian troops in Ukraine.

As an example of the exception, a Facebook spokesman cited the phrase “death to the Russian invaders.” “We will continue to ban credible calls for violence against Russian civilians,” he wrote on Twitter. The easing will only apply to users in a few countries, including Ukraine, Russia, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Hungary.

Facebook has not been accessible in Russia for days. Now the platforms Instagram and Twitter are also blocked.

More on the Ukraine war:

ARD and ZDF resume reporting from Russia

The German television stations ARD and ZDF, on the other hand, want to report from their studios in Moscow again soon. They want to report “on the political, economic and social situation in Russia” again, but “report on the military situation in Ukraine” from other locations.

Reporting was temporarily suspended over the weekend. The reason was a change in the law in Russia, according to which the dissemination of alleged false information about the Russian armed forces can be punished with high fines and up to 15 years in prison.

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