Day 9 of Putin’s invasion: A fire at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant near the major city of Zaporizhia has been extinguished. The facility was apparently under fire. There are said to be problems with the planned further German arms deliveries from old NVA stocks.
Germany plans to supply Ukraine with an additional 2,700 Strela anti-aircraft missiles. They come from the stocks of the National People’s Army (NVA) of the GDR.
But are they still good? A hundred times not! As the “Spiegel” found out, 700 missiles in the delivery are no longer operational. Means: The supply of weapons has shrunk by almost a third.
The rockets are also at least 35 years old and were blocked from use in 2012. Reason: “Microcracks in the ammunition’s propellant charge, which led to corrosion/oxidation.”
︎ Particularly embarrassing: According to “Spiegel”, the wooden boxes in which the rockets are stored were so moldy in November that Bundeswehr soldiers were only allowed to enter the storage facilities with protective equipment.
Before the “Strela” rockets are handed over to Ukraine, experts from the Federal Office for Equipment should check the material. The Federal Security Council still has to approve the delivery.
Here are the developments in the live blog
7.30 am: The most important thing of the past 12 hours: A fire on the site of the Ukrainian nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia caused alarm during the night. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks of a direct threat to the security of all of Europe and wants to hold a special session of the UN Security Council. In the morning, according to the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs, it was cleared. Burned a training complex. Increased radioactivity was not reported.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke of targeted shelling of reactor blocks by Russian tanks. Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko called for NATO to intervene.
On Thursday evening, in a second round of negotiations, Russia and Ukraine agreed on the creation of humanitarian corridors in particularly hard-fought areas of Ukraine.
That’s what representatives of both sides said after the meeting. At the same time, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podoliak stressed that some hoped-for results had not been achieved. There should be a third round of negotiations.
7.25 a.m .: German arms delivery becomes a disgrace
Germany plans to supply Ukraine with an additional 2,700 Strela anti-aircraft missiles. They come from the stocks of the National People’s Army (NVA) of the GDR.
The big question: Are they still good at all? A hundred times not! As the “Spiegel” found out, 700 missiles in the delivery are no longer operational. Means: The supply of weapons has shrunk by almost a third.
7.11 a.m .: Putin restricts other media
According to a media report, the Russian media regulator is restricting access to the BBC’s Russian offerings. This also applies to Radio Liberty and the Meduza news portal, reports the RIA news agency. The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that the BBC was being used to infiltrate Russia’s domestic politics and security.
7:04 a.m.: More explosions in Kyiv
“There were several explosions last night and repeated siren alarms. But that can’t be compared to what we saw in the suburbs of Kyiv,” says BILD reporter Paul Ronzheimer on BILD Live. The damage there is comparable to Aleppo – a city in Syria that was sometimes bombed beyond recognition by Russia’s dictator Putin.
Click here for the live blog archive
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Russian paratroopers near Kyiv
100,000 fleeing in Ukraine, Chernobyl conquered
Putin ready for “high-level negotiations” with Ukraine
Sirens howl! The battle for Kyiv rages!