Updated on 4/21/2022 at 9:38 p.m
- The hard-fought Ukrainian port of Mariupol has fallen, according to Russian sources.
- Germany is preparing a first ring exchange for the delivery of heavy weapons to Ukraine.
- The United States, meanwhile, wants to deliver more weapons and ammunition worth up to $800 million.
After almost two months of bitter fighting, Russia has Fall of the strategically important Ukrainian port city of Mariupol announced. However, hundreds of Ukrainian fighters and civilians are still trapped in a steel plant in the city. the USA are once once more investing huge sums of money in order to Ukraine to provide them with arms and economic aid. Pressure is growing on Germany to provide heavy weapons to defend Ukraine. The federal government is preparing a ring exchange with Slovenia for the delivery of tanks.
of Russia head of state Wladimir Putin spoke on Thursday at a meeting with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu regarding the “liberation” of Mariupol. In addition, the Azovstal steelworks should no longer be stormed, but hermetically sealed off. “Block this industrial zone so that not even a fly can come out.” The Ukrainian fighters should lay down their arms and they would escape with their lives.
The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Selenskyj the city, on the other hand, doesn’t think it’s completely lost. “The situation is difficult, the situation is bad,” the head of state told journalists in Kyiv, according to local media. There are 400 wounded soldiers in the factory. “Ahead of us are decisive days, the decisive battle for our state.” US President Joe Biden stated that there was “no evidence that Mariupol fell completely”. The information from the war zones cannot be independently confirmed.
The city had been encircled by enemy troops shortly following the start of the Russian war of aggression. Only in the Azovstal steelworks do soldiers hold out in bunkers. According to Ukrainian sources, there are also around 1,000 civilians with them. Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Wereshchuk called on “the world” to focus all efforts on the work. Humanitarian corridors are necessary. “This is now the key point and key moment for the humanitarian effort.”
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock demanded that Putin allow the city to be evacuated. “The situation is not only highly dramatic, it is almost unbearable,” said the Green politician during a visit to Estonia.
Further conquests by Russia
Russian troops are advancing in Ukraine, but the feared major offensive in the east may be yet to come. The Russians have been attacking along the entire front in the Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv regions since Tuesday, Secretary of the Ukrainian Security Council Oleksiy Danilov said in a radio interview. However, these are probably only “test attacks”. However, according to Ukrainian sources, most of Luhansk is already under Russian control.
According to Ukrainian sources, two graves with a total of nine bodies were discovered in the Kiev suburb of Borodyanka. Andriy Njebytow from the police in the capital region said on Facebook that they were civilians, both men and women. Some of them showed signs of torture.
In a video address to the Portuguese parliament, President Zelenskyy compared the damage in his country to that of World War II. He also said: “The occupiers killed just for fun, they tortured, raped, killed these people and shot them in cars with children in them.”
Demand for more weapons from Germany
Ukraine demands from the federal government Weapons such as anti-aircraft systems, main battle tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and heavy artillery to withstand the expected Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) is accused of hesitation. He is now to report personally at the next meeting of the Defense Committee on arms deliveries to Ukraine.
Berlin prepares one first ring exchange for delivery of heavy weapons in front. According to information from the German Press Agency, the NATO partner Slovenia give a larger number of his old battle tanks to the Ukraine and out Deutschland received the Marder armored personnel carrier and the Fuchs wheeled armored vehicle. Slovenia still has a Yugoslav variant of the T-72 main battle tank, which is also used by Ukraine, under the designation M-84. “The situation in Ukraine is coming to a head dramatically. And we must not allow Putin and Russia to win this war of aggression,” said Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD).
The idea behind an exchange of rings: The Ukrainian armed forces can handle the aging weapons without special training. So they can be used faster.
Also read: All current information on the war in Ukraine in the live ticker
However, it remains unclear whether and when German industry will deliver heavy weapons. From a list of 210 offers worth 307 million euros from the end of March, there is only one offer that might be classified in this category: 12 mortars, caliber 120 millimeters. You will look in vain for the battle tanks, heavy artillery or air defense systems demanded by Ukraine.
Not only in the traffic light coalition, but also among Eastern European allies, patience is dwindling. Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced that he wanted to talk to Scholz. The “ambiguous attitude of Germany” is not helpful.
US gives more money and closes ports
US President Biden meanwhile announced that he would supply Ukraine with further weapons and ammunition worth up to 800 million dollars (around 736 million euros). The support will be sent “directly to the front lines of freedom”. In addition, another $500 million in economic aid should flow. With the new pledge, the United States has already promised or delivered arms worth more than $3.3 billion to Ukraine since the start of the war. The US government also wants to block its ports for Russian ships.
According to new figures from the UN Organization for Migration (IOM), more than 7.7 million people are fleeing in Ukraine. This corresponds to 17 percent of the population before the start of the war, as reported by the IOM. (best/dpa)
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Updated on 04/21/2022 15:43
A harrowing video emerged on Wednesday that purportedly showed a little girl in a bunker under the Mariupol Steelworks. Four-year-old Alice asks to be evacuated. The Ukrainian city has been fiercely contested for weeks.
Teaser picture: © Alexei Alexandrov / AP / dpa
