05:51: Zelenskyj accuses Russia of “genocide” in the Donbass
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Moscow of “genocide” in eastern Ukraine, while the Russian army intensified its attacks around the city of Severodonetsk. In the Donbass, Russia is pursuing “an obvious policy of genocide,” Zelensky said in his daily televised speech on Friday night. The city of Kharkiv in northern Ukraine was once more the target of attacks on Thursday, nine people died.
The Russian offensive might make the Donbass region “uninhabitable,” Zelensky said. He accused Moscow of wanting to reduce Ukrainian cities to rubble. “All of this, including the kidnapping of our people and the mass killing of civilians, is a blatant genocidal policy being pursued by Russia.”
At the end of February, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the war once morest Ukraine under the pretext of ending the alleged “genocide” of the Russian-speaking population in the eastern regions of Luhansk and Donetsk.
5:24 a.m.: 115 Russian National Guardsmen refuse to go to war
In the Russian North Caucasus, 115 national guards have refused to be deployed in the war once morest Ukraine. This earned them a dismissal, which was declared lawful by a military court in Nalchik. According to the information, the national guardsmen from the Kabardino-Balkaria republic had refused to obey orders and had returned to their barracks.
04:05: Selnskyi calls for more support from the western world
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy calls on the West to stop toying with Russia. Rather, tougher sanctions should be imposed on Moscow to end the “senseless war” in Ukraine. “Ukraine will always be an independent state and it will not be broken. The only question is what price our people will have to pay for their freedom and what price Russia will pay for this war once morest us,” Zelenskyy said in a late speech Thursday evening. The catastrophic development might still be stopped if the world treated the war as if it were confronted with the same situation as Ukraine.
2:45 a.m.: USA: No talks regarding easing sanctions
According to the White House, there are currently no talks of easing sanctions once morest Russia to allow grain exports. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi on Thursday discussed ways to alleviate the international food crisis. Of the The Kremlin made it clear that this would only be possible if the West lifted its sanctions.
12:50 a.m.: Ukrainian refugees are very interested in integration courses
Refugees from the Ukraine are obviously very interested in integration courses for language and culture education. This is determined by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF). According to the office, more than 80,000 participation rights have already been granted within a few weeks, as “Die Welt” reports in advance. “We have well-trained participants who learn with great enthusiasm,” says Benjamin Beckmann, head of the BAMF integration course department, the newspaper. According to Beckmann, 95 percent of Ukraine refugees can start their integration course directly with the normal language course.
12:30 a.m .: Selenskyi calls for further EU sanctions once morest Russia
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is disappointed with the disagreement within the EU over further sanctions once morest Russia. “How many more weeks will the European Union be trying to agree on a sixth package,” Zelensky said in his evening televised speech. He is grateful to the nations that are campaigning for new sanctions: “But where do the people blocking this sixth package get their power from? Why are they allowed to exercise this power?” The EU is currently discussing a sixth round of punitive measures, including an embargo on Russian oil imports. Unanimity is required for such a move, but Hungary rejects the idea for now.
12:15 a.m .: Melnyk disappointed with Scholz’s performance in Davos
The Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany, Andriy Melnyk, accuses Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) of lacking leadership and disregarding Ukrainian interests. According to a preliminary report, Melnyk told the “Bild” that Kyiv had hoped to hear from Scholz’s speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos which very specific steps the traffic light wanted to take to massively support Ukraine. “Unfortunately, that was a non-negotiable report, especially with regard to the immediate delivery of heavy weapons from Germany to suffocate the massive Russian offensive in the Donbass,” said the ambassador. There were also no encouraging signals to the Ukrainians on the subject of EU membership.
