After months of troop deployment at the borders, Putin launched a large-scale offensive against the neighboring country on Thursday morning. While Russian tanks advanced on the territory of the former Soviet republic, there were air raids across the country. In Kiev, people fled to air raid shelters. Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke of a blatant breach of international law. The entire west reacted in shock. In Germany, a debate began about strengthening the Bundeswehr.
The exact military situation in Ukraine remained unclear. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video message that night that the Ukrainian army had lost 137 soldiers on the first day of the Russian invasion and 316 soldiers were injured. Russia attacked the entire territory of Ukraine.
In the night to Friday there were repeated indications of the shelling of Kiev. Mayor Vitali Klitschko published a video on the Telegram network showing fires on several floors of a building. The city administration reported three injuries, one of them in mortal danger. An adviser to the interior minister wrote that Ukrainian forces shot down a Russian aircraft.
According to the Ukrainian General Staff, its troops fought fierce battles near the capital with Russian forces advancing in armored vehicles. The sirens wailed again in Kiev, as a correspondent for the German Press Agency reported. The metro stations in the capital, with a population of around 2.8 million, served as shelters. Attacks were also reported from other parts of the country, including the south.
According to Ukrainian data, the Russian troops, for their part, suffered heavy losses. The Ministry of Defense in Kiev spoke of 30 destroyed Russian tanks, 130 armored vehicles, 7 airplanes and 6 helicopters. About 800 Russian soldiers were killed. The information could not be independently verified. The Russian side did not comment on this.
President Zelenskyy suspected that the Russian attack was intended to overthrow him. “According to our information, the enemy has made me Target #1, my family Target #2,” he said, an assessment shared by the US government. Late on Thursday evening, Zelenskyj had already ordered a general mobilization, which is to apply for 90 days and provides for the drafting of conscripts and reservists. The 44-year-old did not say how many men will be affected.
At a crisis summit in Brussels, Chancellor Scholz and the other EU heads of state and government sought a strong response to the Russian attack. They agreed on punitive measures with a view to energy, finance and transport. In addition, there should be export controls for certain products and restrictions on issuing visas. Selenskyj was connected to Brussels.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen then emphasized: “Our unity is our strength.” However, the heads of state and government were not entirely unanimous: several called for even more severe penalties, also with a view to the banking communications network SWIFT. A SWIFT exclusion would mean that Russian financial institutions would be virtually excluded from the global financial system.
However, Scholz opposed the use of this sanctioning instrument now. Some things you have to “keep for a situation where it is necessary to do other things as well,” said the SPD politician. US President Joe Biden also announced sanctions, including against large Russian banks. He also wants strict export controls for the technology sector and further punitive measures against the Russian elite. “Putin is the aggressor,” Biden said in the White House.
The United States is also transferring 7,000 more soldiers to Europe, who will initially be stationed in Germany and are intended to strengthen the defense of NATO partners. According to information from the “Spiegel”, Germany also wants to offer the alliance further support. The heads of state and government of the NATO countries are convening for a special meeting this Friday.
The West had tried to avert a Russian invasion through negotiations and the threat of tough sanctions – ultimately in vain. After the offensive began, Macron became the first Western politician to speak directly to Putin. The French President called the talks “open, direct and short”. He asked Putin to end the fighting as soon as possible. But this had no effect. Macron spoke out in favor of not letting the thread of the conversation break off completely.
Pro-Russian separatists have been fighting Ukrainian government troops in eastern Ukraine since 2014. Earlier this week, Putin recognized the self-proclaimed people’s republics of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states. That was the beginning of the most recent escalation.
In Germany, leading politicians in the traffic light coalition spoke out in favor of making more money available to the Bundeswehr. Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) expressed this in the ARD program “Maischberger” and Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck (Green) in the ZDF program “Markus Lanz”. Union faction leader Friedrich Merz called for a realignment of foreign and security policy on Deutschlandfunk.
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MOSCOW/KIEV/BRSSEL (dpa-AFX)
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