new York At least 137 people died in the first 24 hours after the start of Russia’s attack on Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the soldiers and civilians killed in the night “heroes”.
The Russian army fought further battles with Ukrainian units and is now advancing on Kiev. Various news organizations reported early in the morning Explosions in the capital Kiev.
The Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba also speaks of a heavy shelling of the capital. “Terrible Russian rocket attacks on Kiev”, Kuleba tweeted early Friday morning. “The last time our capital experienced something like this was in 1941, when it was attacked by Nazi Germany.” Despite the massive attacks, the minister was demonstratively optimistic: “Ukraine has defeated this evil and will defeat it.”
The recent attacks had been expected. The Bloomberg news agency quoted high-ranking officials from Western secret services as saying that Kiev could be taken by Russia that night.
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US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken believes that Putin’s goal is to overthrow the Ukrainian government. In the evening he said on US television: “We know that part of the Russian plan is to endanger Kiev, to attack the capital and also to take action against other major cities.”
According to the US State Department, Ukrainian President Zelensky is a “main target for Russian aggression”. Selenski apparently knows about it and said in a video message: “The enemy has declared me the number one target”. Number two is his family. Nevertheless, he wants to stay in Kiev.
On Thursday evening he ordered a general mobilization. The order is therefore valid for 90 days and provides for the conscription of conscripts and reservists.
EU launches new sanctions
The EU Council ended its session late at night. It was not until half past two in the morning that the President of the European Parliament, Charles Michel, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and French President Emmanuel Macron appeared before the press. The main topic of the deliberations was above all the next sanctions against Russia.
The package of sanctions put together over the past few weeks was launched. However, the exclusion of Russia from the Swift payment system is not included. Germany in particular had recently spoken out against it. The USA had previously refrained from pushing Russia out of the Swift payment system out of consideration for the EU. “Europe doesn’t want that at the moment,” said US President Joe Biden.
More on the Ukraine crisis
Other states also took a clear stand on what was happening in Ukraine. Japan, Taiwan and Australia announced sanctions.
Venezuela, on the other hand, backed the Kremlin. “Venezuela is concerned about the deepening of the crisis in Ukraine and regrets NATO’s breach of the Minsk agreement, promoted by the United States,” the socialist government in Caracas said in a statement on Thursday.
USA announce sanctions and send soldiers
US President Joe Biden also announced sanctions on Thursday evening, aimed at large Russian banks, among other things. In addition, Biden plans strict export controls for the technology sector and further punitive measures against members of the Russian elite. “Putin is the aggressor,” Biden said in the White House.
The United States is also moving 7,000 more troops to Europe, which are initially to be stationed in Germany. “Our forces are not going to Europe to fight in Ukraine, but to defend our NATO allies and reassure allies in the east,” Biden said.
The heads of state and government of the NATO countries are convening for a special meeting this Friday.
Top topic on the talk shows
The Ukrainian ambassador, Andriy Melnyk, addressed Berlin in clear words on Thursday evening in the program “Markus Lanz” on ZDF: He accused the federal government of “coldness and indifference”.. “Any request to help us now was simply smashed. That’s very sad. I can’t understand: how can you remain so cold-hearted and stubborn.” He adds: “This policy, this hesitancy, it leaves us as a sacrificial lamb to be slaughtered.”
Economics Minister Robert Habeck also spoke in the same television studio. His demand: more investment in the Bundeswehr. Germany is now more or less the neighbor of an aggressively belligerent country. This will certainly have the consequence that the Bundeswehr’s operational capability will have to be reviewed again – “and – I don’t think I’m going to reveal any secrets – have to be increased,” he said. In the ARD daily topics, he says that in Germany, too, we have to make sure “that we have a fully capable army that is operational and robust.”
His comments are supported by the Federal Ministry of Finance. Christian Lindner criticized in the ARD program “Maischberger”: “We have to get used to the fact that our armed forces have been managed for many, many years to wear out.” German politics must learn “that alliance defense is also a political priority “.
Recreational hunting at the markets
The international Meanwhile, financial markets recovered at great speed from the shock of the outbreak of war. While Wall Street had opened deep in the loss zone, the most important indices turned positive at the end of trading: The Dow Jones closed 0.3 percent, the broad S&P 500 1.5 and the technology-heavy Nasdaq even 3.3 percent above the closing price of Wednesday.
The markets in Asia are following this trend: the Japanese Nikkei was up around one percent in the first few minutes of trading, up to the lunch break the plus was even 1.5 percent.
One explanation for investors’ buying mood could be the fact that US President Joe Biden has so far refrained from sanctions on the important energy sector. The USA could also bring its strategic oil reserve onto the market again and thus reduce price pressure on the commodity market.
With agency material.
More: You can follow the current developments in our news blog on the Ukraine war