Ukraine war: Ukraine speaks of destroying Russian missiles in Crimea

International

After more than a year, the fighting in the Ukraine further on. While Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) has announced more continuous deliveries of weapons, Slovakia has now also agreed to supply Ukraine with fighter jets after Poland. Meanwhile, the International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin in what Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called a “historic decision”.

In our news blog you can read all the important news about developments in the Ukraine war.

March 21st

3.25 a.m .: Ukraine speaks of the destruction of Russian missiles in Crimea

According to military intelligence, the Ukrainian military attacked a Russian missile transport on a railway track in northern Crimea, destroying missiles. According to the report, the action will continue the “demilitarization of Russia”. Russia did not comment on the incident.

Moscow transported war equipment to the military ports on the Black Sea overland via the Crimea. The Russian troops in the occupied areas of Cherson and Zaporizhia are also supplied with supplies via the allegedly affected railway line.

March, 20th

9:05 p.m .: Scholz does not expect the war to end soon

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz assumes that the war in Ukraine will take a long time. On Monday evening, the SPD politician said at an event organized by the “Rheinische Post” in Düsseldorf: “We have to be prepared for the fact that it can take a long time. Even when the war is over, everything will not be normal right away.”

According to Scholz, the “efforts to bring the war to an end” must be continued. A prerequisite for a just peace is that Moscow begins to withdraw troops.

5:05 p.m .: US pledges another $350 million in military aid to Ukraine

Die USA and the EU are among the most important supporters of Ukraine in the fight against Russia. The US has now pledged further military aid to Kiev worth 350 million dollars (328 million euros). US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on Monday. The new armament package includes ammunition for Himars multiple rocket launchers, Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, howitzers and anti-tank weapons.

Russia can and must end the war against its smaller neighbor immediately, said the US Secretary of State. “Until Russia does that, we will stand united with Ukraine for as long as it takes.”

Ukrainian soldiers position heavy artillery around Bakhmut.Image: AP / Roman Chop

1:34 p.m .: EU promises Ukraine ammunition

The EU wants to deliver ammunition to Ukraine in time to defend against Russian attacks. This was announced by EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell in Brussels on Monday: “We are providing two billion euros for ammunition.” He expects the foreign and defense ministers of the member countries to approve the package for Ukraine at their so-called jumbo council in the afternoon.

The decision had already been prepared in Brussels on Sunday. The ammunition must be passed on “quickly, cheaply and to the extent necessary”. Several diplomats confirmed to the German Press Agency on Monday, on the sidelines of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, that the EU states intend to supply Ukraine with a million new artillery shells over the next twelve months.

12:36 p.m .: Kremlin fires with serious allegations against USA

On the first day of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Moscow, the Kremlin did not hold back with accusations. According to Russia, the US continues to fuel the conflict in Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov explained this to journalists on Monday: “The United States is sticking to its position aimed at heating up the conflict, creating obstacles for the intensity of the fighting to subside and continuing to supply arms to Ukraine .”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov makes serious accusations against the United States.Image: AP / Alexei Nikolsky

8.09 a.m .: China’s President Xi travels to Moscow – expert warns of feints

Chinese President Xi Jinping is traveling to Moscow for three days on Monday and will, among other things, hold private talks with Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin. According to Russian information, the two states will herald a “new era” in bilateral relations. China is considered an ally of Russia and blames the West for the war in Ukraine.

The Russian and Chinese Presidents at a previous meeting.Image: www.imago-images.de / Ramil Sitdikov

Externally, China emphasizes that it wants to bring peace to Ukraine through Xi’s visit to Moscow. However, many international experts consider this to be implausible. Elizabeth Wishnick, a Chinese foreign policy expert at Montclair State University in the United States, says:

Xi’s visit to Moscow, she said, is primarily intended to show all the support he could possibly give to his strategic partner Russia, other than the aid that sanctions would trigger.

19th March

2:37 p.m .: Putin: Russia was not yet ready for war in 2014

According to Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin, Russia was not prepared for a major war against Ukraine after annexing the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea in 2014. “We didn’t have hypersonic weapons then, but now we have them”Putin said in a statement published on Sunday Interview of Russian state television. So far, Russia has occasionally used the hypersonic weapons. “There are also other modern systems, there was nothing comparable in 2014,” he said, again claiming that Russia wanted to resolve the conflict over Ukraine peacefully at the time.

“We have a lot to do – for example to develop the ground forces,” Putin said when asked about the lessons of the war he began on February 24, 2022 against Ukraine. He also commented on the question of whether the “special military operation” should not have started earlier, because Ukraine does not yet have such Waffen decreed: Putin made it clear that in 2014 Russia was not yet ready for “greater actions” than when it annexed Crimea.

2:36 p.m .: Ukraine accuses Putin of cynicism after visiting Mariupol

The Ukrainian government has sharply condemned the visit of Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin to the Russian-occupied Ukrainian port of Mariupol. “Criminals always return to the crime scene”wrote the adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Mikhailo Podoliak, on Sunday Twitter.

“The murderer of thousands of families in Mariupol came to admire the city’s ruins and their tombs. Cynicism and lack of remorse”, he added. The Ukrainian Defense Ministry said Putin had visited the city, which had been largely destroyed by Russian bombardments, under cover of night “as befits a thief.” The darkness enabled him to protect the city “and its few surviving inhabitants from prying eyes”.

12:13 p.m .: Finland’s President defends possible NATO membership without Sweden

The Finnish President Sauli Niinistö has the looming NATO accession of Finland without Sweden defended. “Should we have refused Turkey’s ratification? That sounds a bit crazy”, said Niinistö after Turkey announced on Friday that it initially only wanted to ratify Finland’s accession, but not Sweden’s. “It would have been a very difficult situation if we had said no to Ankara,” said Niinistö.

Finnish President Sauli Niinistö has defended Finland’s prospect of joining NATO without Sweden.Bild: www.imago-images.de / imago images

Against the background of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, Finland and Sweden jointly applied for membership in the western defense alliance last spring. All NATO members must agree to join. However, Turkey has so far blocked Sweden’s accession. Ankara is demanding the extradition of 120 people who Turkey considers “terrorists” to be extradited. Hungary’s approval of Sweden’s application is still pending. The Hungarian parliament, on the other hand, intends to ratify Finland’s accession on March 27th.

06:26: Putin visits Mariupol for the first time since the beginning of the war

Russian President Vladimir Putin has visited the Russian-held port city of Mariupol for the first time since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. According to information from the Kremlin on Sunday, Putin flew in a helicopter to the city, which had been largely destroyed by Russian bombardments, and undertook on the spot with the Auto a city tour. The Kremlin boss spoke to residents of Mariupol and was informed about the reconstruction work. On Saturday, Putin visited the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea to mark the ninth anniversary of its annexation.

After Vladimir Putin visited Crimea on Saturday, he traveled to the port city of Mariupol, which was captured by Russia.Bild: www.imago-images.de / imago images

Mariupol on the Sea of ​​Azov had been bombarded and besieged by Russia since the beginning of the war in late February 2022. On April 21, Moscow announced the capture of the port city. Some 2,000 Ukrainian fighters then holed up at the sprawling Azovstal Steelworks in Mariupol for almost a month before the government ordered them to surrender to the Russians in May to save them Life to rescue. According to Kiev, 90 percent of the city was destroyed and at least 20,000 People killed.

You can find older news about the war in Ukraine here.

(With material from dpa/AFP)