News and assessments of the Russian attack and the war in Ukraine and the effects:
Retail does not expect any restrictions for consumers
The retail association HDE does not expect any restrictions for consumers in Germany as a result of the Ukraine war. Many trading companies have adjusted their ranges and stopped selling products made in Russia, said HDE general manager Stefan Genth of the Passauer Neue Presse. However, only a few agricultural and food products are imported from Russia. Nevertheless, the CDU/CSU called for a crisis management team to be set up in the Federal Chancellery to ensure security of supply. Genth pointed out that in addition to the corona pandemic, the war in Ukraine was another crisis “the effects of which will also accompany retail in Germany”. The war had caused great dismay in the retail trade. “The industry helps wherever it can,” emphasized the HDE general manager.
Zelenskyj calls on Russia for serious negotiations
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Russia again on Saturday for talks. “Negotiations on peace and security for Ukraine are the only chance for Russia to limit the damage caused by its own mistakes,” said Zelenskyy in a video published on Facebook, which shows him walking on a deserted street at night. “It’s time to meet, to discuss, time to restore territorial integrity and justice to Ukraine,” Zelenskyy demanded. Otherwise, “the losses for Russia would be such that it would take several generations to recover from them,” the Ukrainian president warned. Referring to Mariupol, Zelenskyy said the Ukrainian authorities had managed to evacuate more than 9,000 people from the port city besieged by Russian forces. According to Zelensky, rescue work is continuing at the theater in Mariupol that was bombed on Wednesday. “Unfortunately, some suffered serious injuries,” said Zelenskyj. Information about possible deaths is not yet available.
zdemir: Already delivered over 3,000 tons of food aid in Ukraine
According to Federal Minister of Agriculture Cem zdemir (Greens), the German food industry has already delivered more than 3,000 tons of food aid to Ukraine. Since the beginning of March, more than 100 truckloads with almost 3,300 pallets of food and a few other products have been delivered to Ukraine via Polish central and collection points, zdemir announced on Saturday in Berlin. At the beginning of March, the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture set up a coordination office for food aid from the German food industry for the Ukraine. According to zdemir, the total volume of the promised deliveries from the German food companies, including the goods already delivered, is currently 130 truckloads with over 4100 pallets. Above all, basic foodstuffs, drinks such as water and juice, baby food as well as fish, meat and canned food were delivered. German aid goods were distributed among other things in the direction of Kharkiv, Kyiv and Zaporischschja.
Moscow: Military uses hypersonic missiles in western Ukraine
About three weeks after the start of the Ukraine war, the Russian armed forces said they used a hypersonic missile in the west of the country – it is probably the first time that this newly developed weapon has been used. According to information from Moscow on Saturday, the day before the Kinzhal missile destroyed an underground weapons depot in a village. The Ukrainian head of state, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, called on the Kremlin to start negotiations in order to limit the war’s damage to Russia as well. The Russian Defense Ministry said the destroyed stockpile of missiles and ammunition was located in the village of Delyatyn, about a hundred kilometers from the border with NATO-member Romania. According to Russian information, the Kinshah missiles can bypass all air defense systems, and the Russian side has never announced their use in a conflict zone.
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DJG/AFP/cbr
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 19, 2022 09:26 ET (13:26 GMT)