The Ukraine update: what happened last night
New explosive documents with US military secrets surfaced
According to media reports, new documents containing US military secrets about Ukraine, China and the Middle East have surfaced online. According to a report by the New York Times, the more than 100 classified documents published on Friday (local time) on Twitter, among other things, contained information about Ukraine’s air defense capabilities. The documents appeared to come from the US military and intelligence agencies, the Wall Street Journal wrote. The Pentagon is investigating the matter, a spokeswoman for the US Department of Defense told the WSJ. The same applies to the foreign intelligence service CIA.
The Pentagon made the same statement on Thursday, when it became known about a similar release of secret documents on Ukraine’s preparations for a military offensive against Russia. According to The New York Times, a US intelligence official described the revelations as a “nightmare” for the “Five Eyes.” The term describes the intelligence cooperation of five countries: USA, Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.
The New York Times reported that national security circles are wondering how much classified information has leaked out after the revelations and are making every effort to find the leak. In addition to information on Ukraine, the recently released documents also contained classified data relating to China, the military situation in the Indo-Pacific, the Middle East and terrorism, it said.
Kremlin on secret documents: No doubt about US role in Ukraine
After a media report about alleged documents on US military aid in the war in Ukraine, Moscow once again sees Washington’s role in the conflict as confirmed. “We have not the slightest doubt that the US and NATO are directly or indirectly involved in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told CNN on Friday. The New York Times had previously reported on US and NATO plans to strengthen the Ukrainian military ahead of a planned offensive against the Russian occupiers. It is unclear whether the documents are genuine. Ukraine called them fake.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on CNN that the involvement of the US and NATO in the conflict continued to increase. “We keep an eye on the process. Yes, and of course it complicates everything, but it can’t affect the final outcome of the special operation,” he said. The Kremlin officially calls the war against Ukraine a special operation.
Russia had always blamed the US for the pro-Western revolution in Ukraine in 2014. The West, on the other hand, repeatedly emphasizes that Ukraine is completely independent in its decisions to strive for membership in the EU and NATO. Russia began aggressive war against Ukraine on February 24 last year.
Such documents would now once again support the Russian thesis that the USA was deliberately fomenting discord between Moscow and Kiev in order to escalate the situation. Moscow has long accused Washington of wanting to use the conflict over Ukraine to weaken Russia and destabilize Europe. Kiev, on the other hand, sees the documents as an invention by Russian secret services, which wanted to use them to disrupt the Ukrainian counter-offensive.
Zelenskyy: No alternative to de-occupation of Crimea
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj has described the liberation of the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea from Russian occupation as the only alternative. “The world should know: respect and order will not return to international relations until the Ukrainian flag returns to Crimea,” Zelenskyy said in a message tweeted on Friday evening. On the other hand, repression, murder, war and evil are currently spreading under the Russian flag, said Zelenskyj in a video also published in the evening.
“The de-occupation of Crimea is without alternative not only for Ukraine but for the whole world. I am sure of that,” said Zelenskyy in the video of a meeting with Muslim military personnel, including representatives of the Crimean Tatars. The occasion was the breaking of the fast in Ramadan.
Just as Ukraine values the territorial integrity of other states, the country also demands respect for its sovereignty, said Zelensky, referring to a proposal by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva that Kiev could give up Crimea for a peace deal with Moscow. “All of our East, South, all of our communities, all of our people deserve to live and live freely,” Zelensky said.
Many Crimean Tatars left the peninsula for fear of political persecution. Numerous members of the Muslim minority are in Russian custody. Crimea also has a large community of Tatars who have come to terms with the Russian authorities. Zelenskyi stressed that the world will only live in peace and tranquility again when the aggressor Russia is defeated and Crimea returns to Ukraine.
Blinken rules out talks between Kyiv and Moscow
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is currently ruling out ceasefire talks between Ukraine and Russia. “For some, the idea of a ceasefire may be tempting – and I understand that. But if this amounts to practically ratifying Russia’s seizure of significant Ukrainian territories, then this would not be a just and lasting peace,” Blinken told the Funke media group’s newspapers and the French newspaper Ouest-France (Saturday).
Russia could regroup its troops and attack again after a certain time, the minister justified his opinion. “Russia must get to the point where it is ready to engage in constructive negotiations.” The goal must be a just and lasting peace. The Russian leadership recently made it clear that it currently sees no basis for negotiations.
What will be important on Saturday
In many German cities, initiatives with a view to the war in Ukraine are calling for Easter marches. In the east of Ukraine, the Kiev troops are still trying to fend off the Russian attacks. The focus of the fighting continues to be in the Donetsk region and above all in the city of Bakhmut, where the Russian troops say they are continuing to advance.
