“We know what needs to be done” – Zelenskiy promises “freedom” to Ukrainians

Dusseldorf The interpretation of this war remains contradictory even in the fourth week. This Friday, the Russian side in particular is sending out signals that are difficult to interpret clearly. While Russia’s President Vladimir Putin is making a martial appearance, his negotiators are reporting progress in talks with the Kremlin.

At noon, Putin assured the people of his country of military success in Ukraine. “We know what we have to do, how to do it and at what cost,” he said in a televised address to tens of thousands at Moscow’s Luzhniki Olympic Stadium. “And we will absolutely realize all our plans.” The army fights “heroically”.

On the other hand, Russia’s chief negotiator in talks with representatives of Ukraine about an end to the fighting, Vladimir Medinsky, stated that the issue of neutrality and Ukraine’s renunciation of NATO membership had brought them closer together. There is talk of nuances in security guarantees for Ukraine should it not become a NATO member. We are halfway there with the demilitarization of Ukraine demanded by Russia.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz had previously called on Putin to arrange a ceasefire immediately. According to Chinese state media, Chinese President Xi Jinping said in conversation with his US colleague Joe Biden that nobody could have any interest in conflicts like the one in Ukraine. In Ukraine, continued Russian shelling was reported from a number of cities.

Zelensky promises Ukrainians freedom

Putin spoke again of a “military special operation” in the neighboring country. The West and Ukraine itself, on the other hand, speak of a war of aggression and an invasion. There is no reliable information on the exact number of soldiers killed on either side. The UN speaks of at least 816 civilians killed and 1,333 injured. The actual numbers are likely to be much higher.

The TV broadcast of Putin’s speech in front of tens of thousands of viewers in a Moscow stadium was briefly interrupted, for which the Kremlin blamed a technical glitch.

>> More on the topic: All current developments in our news blog

Rocket fire was reported from several Ukrainian cities on Friday, including at an airport near the western Ukrainian city of Lviv. At the same time, according to Russian sources, pro-Russian separatists attacked in the surrounded south-east Ukrainian city of Mariupol. They received support from Russian troops, the RIA news agency reported, citing the Russian Defense Ministry.

The Russian army reported that it had taken control of 90 percent of eastern Ukraine’s Luhansk region. The self-proclaimed People’s Republics of Luhansk and Donetsk have been supported and equipped by Russia since 2014. According to British intelligence, Moscow is having trouble getting food and fuel for its troops because it has no airspace control.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of continuing to block humanitarian corridors into the besieged city of Mariupol. There, rescue work continued at a theater that, according to Ukrainian accounts, had been attacked by Russia. So far, 130 people have been rescued from the rubble, said Selenski. Russia denies the attack.

Both Ukraine and Russia reported military successes on the 23rd day of the war. According to information from Kyiv, the armed forces continue to hold the most important areas into which the Russian army is trying to penetrate. The troops responded to every attack by Russian units, Zelensky said in a video message. Zelenskyi promised his compatriots: “You will be free.”

Western diplomats were ahead of Putin’s delaying tactics

In recent days there had been hopes that Russia and Ukraine could negotiate a ceasefire in direct talks. However, Western diplomats have warned that Putin may only be buying time to redeploy Russian troops in Ukraine.

According to Western military observers, the advance of the Russian army since the invasion of the neighboring country three weeks ago had fallen far short of Moscow’s original plans. “Russian forces have made minimal progress this week,” said a UK Defense Ministry report.

More on the Ukraine war:

US President Joe Biden and China’s President Jinping discussed the war in Ukraine on Friday. “We don’t want to see anything like the Ukraine crisis,” Xi was quoted as saying in Chinese state media. It had been expected that Biden would warn the Chinese President against aid to Russia in the talks.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in an interview that China bears responsibility for any action it takes in support of Russian aggression. “We are concerned that China is considering directly supporting Russia with military equipment for use in Ukraine,” he added. China has so far denied such plans. The United States, for its part, had agreed to add $800 million in new military aid to Ukraine.

Washington is also concerned that China could help Russia circumvent economic sanctions imposed by Western states.

Japan imposed further sanctions on 15 Russian individuals and nine organizations on Friday. This should also include the state arms exporter Rosoboronexport. Australia widened sanctions against the Russian Treasury and 11 other banks and government organizations. The British media regulator Ofcom withdrew the broadcasting license from the Russian television channel RT with immediate effect.

According to the UN refugee agency, 3.3 million people have fled to safety since the Russian invasion began on February 24. According to the federal government, around 200,000 war refugees arrived in Germany. The actual number is likely to be even higher. Only refugees who are found by the federal police – for example at the Austrian-Bavarian border, at train stations or on trains – are recorded.

Federal government develops new security policy

Against the background of the Russian war of aggression, the traffic light coalition of SPD, Greens and FDP is working on a new security concept for Germany. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock underscored Germany’s willingness to step up its international commitment to peace and security.

After an urgent decision by the administrative court in Berlin, the program of the Russian state medium RT may not be distributed further for the time being. The judges rejected an urgent application from RT DE Productions GmbH. The actual lawsuit has not yet been decided. The German media regulators issued a broadcasting ban at the beginning of February because the broadcasting license was missing. Great Britain also banned RT from broadcasting its programme.

Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck said on Friday on ARD: “We should do everything we can to reduce Putin’s power and ultimately destroy it.” Russia out. “If we can say in oil and gas… we’ve secured supply chains, then we can take the next step,” he said, referring to efforts to secure gas supplies from other sources.

>> Read here: Scenarios for the end of the Ukraine war: A long road to the ceasefire

The delivery failures in the wake of the Ukraine war would be “heavy”, also because Ukraine would no longer be able to deliver grain to countries in Africa, said Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.

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