Rheinmetall founds joint venture in Ukraine
3:22 p.m.: The Rheinmetall Group is implementing its plans to set up joint ventures to support Ukraine. Rheinmetall has set up a joint venture with the Ukrainian state-owned company Ukroboronprom to repair and build tanks, the “Handelsblatt” reported on Friday. “The contracts have been signed,” said CEO Armin Papperger.
The cooperation includes the maintenance and repair of armored vehicles in Ukraine, in parallel the construction of tanks is being prepared. “Ukraine benefits from a comprehensive transfer of technology and a short-term delivery of military equipment from Germany,” Papperger told the newspaper. Rheinmetall will hold a 51 percent majority in the new company. Other munitions and air defense joint ventures would soon follow. The Rheinmetall boss only emphasized at the general meeting earlier this week that the group was ready to form joint ventures in Ukraine.
Wagner boss: Russian army flees from Bachmut
3:03 p.m.: The head of the Russian mercenary group Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has accused the Russian army of “fleeing” from their positions near the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. The Russian defense lines there are “cracking apart” while the Russian general staff “plays down” the situation, Prigozhin said in a video on Friday. The battles for Bakhmut have been going on for months, and the Wagner mercenaries played a central role in this battle on the Russian side.
Moscow reports repelling Ukrainian attacks at Soledar
2:44 p.m.: According to the Russian military, they repelled attacks by the Ukrainians near the town of Soledar north of Bakhmut. “All attacks by the Ukrainian military were repelled. The Russian armed forces did not allow a front breakthrough,” said Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov in Moscow on Friday. The Ukrainians attacked there along the entire 95-kilometer front line, he said. More than 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers and around 40 tanks were involved in the attacks.
Russian troops took the city of Soledar in Donetsk region in January after heavy fighting. It is the only noteworthy success of Moscow’s winter campaign this year in its now 14-month war of aggression against Ukraine. Soledar is about ten kilometers northeast of Bachmut.
Zelenskyj travels to Rome on Saturday
12:35 p.m.: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will travel to Western Europe again at the weekend. President Sergio Mattarella will receive him in Rome on Saturday, as confirmed by the Presidential Palace on Friday. This is Zelenskyy’s first visit to Rome since the start of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine in February 2022. The politician may travel to Germany at the weekend. But that is not confirmed.
It was expected that Zelenskyy would also meet Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Pope Francis in Rome. Details were not initially available on Friday. Since taking office in autumn 2022, the ultra-right politician has always spoken out vehemently in favor of supporting Ukraine in the war against Russia. In February she traveled to Kiev.
