Day 56 since the beginning of the war: Ukraine receives more weapons – including heavy war equipment. During the night, other cities in the east of the country were attacked by Russia. All information in the news blog.
More than five million people have fled Ukraine
12:59 p.m: The number of refugees from Ukraine since the start of the Russian war of aggression on February 24 has passed the five million mark. The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Geneva named around five million people who crossed the borders into neighboring countries on Wednesday. 2.8 million of them fled to Poland first. A high-ranking UNHCR representative had already given the number of five million refugees on Tuesday at a meeting of the UN Security Council in New York.
According to the UN Organization for Migration (IOM), more than 215,000 foreigners were among the refugees. According to UNHCR data, almost 550,000 people from Ukraine have also crossed the borders into Russia in the past almost eight weeks.
According to the IOM, more than seven million people had already been displaced within Ukraine by bomb and rocket attacks at the beginning of April and were on the run. Before the war, Ukraine had regarding 44 million inhabitants.
Russian head of parliament wants Europe to compensate for sanctions
11:31 a.m: The head of the Russian parliament, Vyacheslav Volodin, has announced claims for damages from Europe because of the Western sanctions following the Russian war of aggression once morest Ukraine. The sanctions once morest Russia are illegal. “We’ll come back to the topic and calculate the damage you’ve caused to our economy. You have to replace it in any case,” he threatened the Europeans on his Telegram channel on Wednesday. He made his demands in connection with the conversion of gas payments to the Russian national currency, the ruble, demanded by Moscow.
Volodin criticized the European countries as unreliable partners. “You’re constantly robbing gas supplies and effectively stealing money from our budget and thus from our citizens,” he accused the West. The Europeans’ search for new suppliers is throwing the long-standing cooperation in the energy sector on its head anyway, said the Duma chief.
Russia is ready to redirect its energy supplies and has already adapted to the new situation with sanctions. “But whether your states, used to living carefree at Russia’s expense, are ready, time will tell,” wrote Volodin. The 58-year-old is one of the confidants of Russian President Vladimir Putin and is considered by Kremlin critics to be one of the most corrupt representatives of the Russian power apparatus. Since the war once morest Ukraine ordered by Putin on February 24, Volodin has made a name for himself as an agitator in Russian politics.
Norway surrenders 100 French-made anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine
11:15 a.m: Norway has given Ukraine 100 French-made anti-aircraft missiles. The government in Oslo announced on Wednesday that the delivery had already taken place. According to the Ministry of Defence, there are a hundred Mistral missiles that have been carried on Norwegian Navy ships.
The Mistral is a very short-range surface-to-air missile built since the late 1980s by defense contractor Matra, which has since merged with European defense giant MBDA.
The Mistral will be phased out in the Norwegian army, “but it remains a modern and effective weapon that will be of great use to Ukraine,” said Norwegian Defense Minister Bjorn Arild Gram. “Other countries have also donated similar weapon systems,” he added. Since the Russian invasion began on February 24, Norway has provided Ukraine with around 4,000 M72 anti-tank weapons and other military equipment.