Day 393 since the beginning of the war: The NATO Secretary General warns of Russian plans for a war of attrition. Putin uses water as a weapon. All information in the news blog.
The most important things at a glance
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Von der Leyen wants to find abducted children
1.23 am: EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wants to join international forces to find the Ukrainian children kidnapped by Russia. “We want to exert international pressure together to take all possible measures to determine the whereabouts of the children,” von der Leyen said on Thursday at the EU summit in Brussels. Among other things, she would like to work with UN organizations and organize a conference.
We know of 16,200 deported children, of whom only 300 have returned so far. Von der Leyen spoke of a “cruel memory of the darkest times in our history” and described the kidnapping of the children as a war crime. The arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin is therefore fully justified.
Prigozhin is said to be planning the withdrawal of his mercenaries
12:20 a.m.: Yevgeny Prigozhin, the powerful founder of the Wagner mercenary group, is said to be considering withdrawing his troops from Ukraine. According to a report by the business service Bloomberg, one reason is the significant cuts in personnel and ammunition by the Russian military. Bloomberg refers to reports from insiders. There have been reports for some time that there is a crisis in the relationship between the military leadership and the mercenary boss.
In addition, the important battle for Bachmut was fought to a very large extent by Wagner soldiers – with high losses. Apparently he can no longer compensate for this by recruiting from prisons. However, the entrepreneur, who has long been described as Putin’s chef, had previously threatened to withdraw from Bakhmut – probably to put pressure on the Kremlin. According to Bloomberg information, Prigozhin wants to focus more on Africa, where his mercenaries are also deployed.
Von der Leyen: Child kidnapping justifies Putin arrest warrant
10:17 p.m.: According to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the Russian kidnapping of tens of thousands of Ukrainian children justifies the arrest warrant of the International Criminal Court against Russian President Vladimir Putin. We know of 16,200 kidnapped children, of whom only 200 have returned so far. “This brings back terrible memories of the darkest time in history,” says von der Leyen, referring to the Nazi era. Russia denies allegations of child abduction.
Selenskyj warns: War could last for years
8 p.m: The war could last for years if Europe doesn’t deliver weapons more quickly and sanctions against Russia are extended, warns Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “If Europe waits, evil has time to regroup and prepare for years of war,” he said, clearly frustrated, in a video conference with the EU summit.
The Ukrainian government has long complained that Europe is hesitant to deliver arms. European countries have promised Ukraine dozens of main battle tanks and armored personnel carriers, and ammunition deliveries are also to be accelerated. But Ukraine had recently increased the pressure on Europe to also deliver fighter jets.
Zelenskyi again called on the heads of state and government of the EU countries to deliver modern fighter jets to his country. Zelenskyy said he was grateful to Poland and Slovakia for the decision to provide Soviet MiG-29 fighter jets. “This will significantly strengthen the defense of our airspace. But we need modern aircraft.”
Slovakia: Four MiG-29 fighter jets arrived in Ukraine
2:25 p.m: Slovakia has delivered the first four of a total of 13 MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine. This was announced by Slovakian Defense Minister Naro Jad on Twitter on Thursday. “May they save many lives and help Ukraine defend its country and infrastructure from Putin’s aggression,” the minister said.
In addition to Slovakia, Poland has also announced plans to deliver MiG-29 jets. In the western alliance, they are the only states that want to provide fighter jets to Ukraine. Germany and the USA have repeatedly spoken out against fighter jet deliveries.
