Archive: Poland had previously applied for approval in Berlin.Image: PAP / Michael Walczak
International
Also on the Orthodox holidays Russia his attacks in the Ukraine continued. Rockets have three in the eastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhia People killed. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi has strongly condemned the renewed attacks.
Fighting is raging especially in the east of the country around the strategically important city of Bakhmut. Both sides have so far refused to back down in the longest battle of the war so far.
In our news blog you can read all the important news about developments in the Ukraine war.
13. April
5:04 p.m .: Report – Federal government approves Poland fighter jet delivery to Ukraine
According to information from the “Spiegel” approved. Poland had previously in Berlin apply for the approval with a corresponding letter. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) has already said that the federal government wants to decide on the application this Thursday.
Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) said about the green light from Berlin for the Polish advance: “That shows: Up Deutschland is reliable!”
2:14 p.m .: Ukrainian troops in Bakhmut allegedly surrounded by Russia
In the embattled town of Bakhmut, Ukrainian defenders are said to have been surrounded by Russian troops. This was announced by the Russian Ministry of Defense on Thursday in Moscow. Accordingly, airborne troops have reinforced the units of the Russian mercenary force Wagner fighting in Bakhmut. Ukraine should therefore not be able to send reinforcements and also not be able to withdraw its encircled troops.
Russia is said to have massively increased the pressure on the Ukrainian soldiers in Bakhmut. Image: AP / Libkos
The battle for the strategically important city in eastern Ukraine is the longest of the war. A victory therefore has enormous symbolic meaning for both sides.
7.58 a.m .: Whistleblower at US leaks should be identified
According to the US newspaper “Washington Post”, the identity of the person who published the US intelligence documents on the Ukraine war and other confidential military topics has been clarified. Accordingly, it is said to be an unidentified young gun enthusiast who worked at an unnamed military base.
He allegedly took the documents home and shared them with online friends via a server on the Discord platform. According to the report, he has shared several documents every week since the end of last year under the name OG.
John Kirby, spokesman for the US National Security Council, sees the leaked secret documents as a high security risk.Bild: IMAGO/UPI Photo
12. April
10:35 p.m .: The perpetrator in the beheading video is said to be a Wagner mercenary
According to Russian civil rights activist Vladimir Ossechkin, the man who beheaded a suspected Ukrainian prisoner of war in a video is a member of the Russian mercenary group Wagner. Ex-mercenary Andrey Medvedev identified them as such, Ossechkin said in a video on YouTube.
“He listened carefully to it several times and watched it, and he clearly recognizes his former colleagues there, fighters from the Wagner mercenary group.”said Osechkin, whose organization Gulagu.net (No to the Gulag) is known for exposing systematic torture in Russian prisons.
The ex-mercenary Medvedev fled to Norway earlier this year and is currently in prison for illegal entry Sweden in prison.
1:52 p.m .: Selenskyj describes the beheading video as evidence of Russian brutality
A video circulating on social media, which is said to show the beheading of a Ukrainian soldier by Russian fighters, has caused international outrage. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called it evidence of Russia’s brutality on Wednesday. The world must see “how carelessly these beasts kill,” said the Kiev head of state.
The UN mission to monitor human rights in Ukraine also called the pictures “horrific”. In view of the video, the EU Commission has announced that war criminals will be prosecuted. Russia wants to have the video checked for authenticity and has emphasized the possibility of a fake in the person of Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
The one-minute, 40-second clip shows a man in combat fatigues and with his face masked beheading a man lying on the ground wearing a uniform with the insignia of Ukraine, at the request of a Russian-speaking man behind the camera.
7.23 a.m .: Russia is testing a new type of intercontinental missile
Moscow is flexing its muscles: According to the Defense Ministry, the military successfully tested a “intercontinental ballistic missile of a mobile ground-based missile system” on Tuesday. The Kremlin did not provide any information on the exact type of missile that was fired at the Kapustin Yar test site in the border area between Russia and Kazakhstan.
Internationally, there is concern that such missiles could transport nuclear explosives. Vladimir Putin has repeatedly threatened the West with this option. At the end of February he then announced the suspension of Russia’s participation in the US-Russian New Start treaty limiting their respective nuclear weapons stockpiles.
Archive image from a previous Russian missile test in October 2022.Bild: Russian Defense Ministry Press S / Uncredited
11. April
10:37 a.m .: According to the report, the United States doubts the success of the Ukrainian offensive
According to the Washington Post, the American government has doubts about the success of the expected Ukrainian spring offensive. According to the newspaper, this emerges from the leaked secret US documents.
According to the report, the original plans to recapture the Russian-occupied territories are in danger of being “far off the mark,” according to American military experts. Kyiv therefore has great difficulties in increasing its troops and in supplying it with ammunition and equipment.
5:02 a.m .: Pentagon sees US leaks as a “very high” security risk
After secret US documents in the Internet were released, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby has expressed concern. The leak represents “a very high risk to national security,” Kirby said on Monday (local time) in Washington.
According to the “New York Times”, the documents, which have been gradually published on online platforms such as Twitter, Telegram and Discord over the past few days, also contain information on the plans of the USA and NATO in support of a Ukrainian military offensive against Russia in the spring.
According to reports, employees of some US authorities believe that at least parts of the leaked documents are genuine. The South Korean government, in turn, described large parts of it as fake.
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According to the newspaper, the documents, which were distributed via pro-Russian channels, include: Details of weapon shipments, battalion strengths and other sensitive information such as training schedules.
Observers fear the information could prove very valuable to Moscow. They would also show how far US secret services have already infiltrated parts of the Russian military apparatus.
The Russian leadership in the Kremlin considers the leaked US secret documents to be “very interesting”.Image: AP / Alexander Zemlianichenko
You can find older news about the war in Ukraine here.
(with material from dpa and AFP)
