The essentials in brief:
- Russian reservists appeal to Putin
- Selenskyj: Russia is a “synonym for terror”
- Kuleba: Ukraine will not give up Bakhmut
In a new video appeal, Russian reservists in the war zone in eastern Ukraine have complained about abuses in the troops and called on Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin for help. As commander-in-chief of the armed forces, Putin should ensure that the commanders do their job, says a hooded spokesman in the appeal, which was broadcast on the Telegram news channel. Putin should not only inform himself about the situation on paper, but on the spot. The Russian President has so far not visited the troops in the war zone – unlike the Ukrainian head of state Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The group’s spokesman complained in particular about the lack of equipment and lack of leadership by the commanders. These would simply ignore the Presidential Decree and deploy unprepared units in the Assault Squads. “The leadership of our regiment does not engage in dialogue with us, intimidates us and threatens us with imprisonment if we refuse to fight and advance to the first front line.” Due to a lack of reconnaissance support and a lack of communication with other units, reservists would needlessly die and be injured.
“We do not refuse to fulfill the tasks of territorial defense. We refuse to take an unjustified risk – with machine guns against tanks, against mortars and snipers,” emphasizes the hooded spokesman. A dozen people in uniform can be seen on the video – also with no recognizable faces. Other Russian fighters as well as wives, mothers and sisters of soldiers had already complained about abuses in public messages.
Selenskyj: Russia is a “synonym for terror”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has denounced new “brutal terrorist attacks” by Russia on cities and towns in his country. These attacks are happening day and night. “Missiles and artillery, drones and mortars – the evil state uses a variety of weapons with the sole aim of destroying life and leaving nothing human behind,” Zelenskyy said.
Russia has “become synonymous with terror and will be an example of defeat and just punishment for its terror,” the head of state continued. “The Kremlin cannot stop the punishment,” he said.
In his video message on Saturday evening, Zelenskyi also informed about a new decree he had signed, which provides for sanctions against more than 280 companies and 120 people. With the help of gambling businesses, they damaged Ukraine and withdrew funds from the state, which then flowed to Russian structures. Selenskyj did not give any details.
Kuleba: Ukraine will not give up Bakhmut
According to Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine will continue to resolutely defend the city of Bakhmut – despite heavy losses. The longer you defend Bachmut, the greater “the likelihood that other cities will not suffer the same fate,” said Kuleba in an interview with the newspaper “Bild am Sonntag”. This is the unanimous view of the military and political leadership of Ukraine. Kuleba did not want to speculate on the question of how long Bachmut could be held. Because if someone breaks into your own house, you don’t ask yourself how long you can defend yourself against the guy “who is trying to kill you and your family and rob everything from the house”.
Fiercely contested: Bachmut photographed from a satellite (March 6, 2023)
Kuleba also requested more shipments of ammunition. The lack of ammunition is the number one problem in the fight against the Russian occupiers. “Germany could really help more with ammunition. With artillery ammunition,” said the Ukrainian minister. Representatives of the German armaments industry had assured him that they were ready to deliver. So the problem lies with the government in Berlin.
In the interview, Kuleba also made it clear that he does not expect Western fighter jets to be delivered to his country in the near future. Nevertheless, Germany should follow the example of other countries to “train our pilots”. That would be “a clear message of political commitment”.
District council demands space for refugees
The President of the German District Association, Reinhard Sager, has urgently requested more help from the federal and state governments for the accommodation of refugees. “It should be checked whether the federal and state governments can jointly finance accommodation options that are primarily built for disaster or civil protection purposes,” Sager told the editorial network Germany. In the current situation, these could be used to accommodate refugees.
Berlin: Refugee accommodation on Tempelhofer Feld (in December)
“We also need relief through the repatriation of those who are obliged to leave the country. The repatriation offensive announced in the coalition agreement must be initiated immediately,” emphasized Sager. He was referring to the coalition agreement between the SPD, the Greens and the FDP. It says: “Not every person who comes to us can stay. We are launching a repatriation offensive to implement departures more consistently, in particular the deportation of criminals and people who are dangerous.”
In view of the large number of refugees from Ukraine, the municipalities had repeatedly appealed to the federal government to take responsibility. At a summit of the federal, state and local authorities in February, better coordination on the accommodation and care of refugees was agreed. Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) said at the time that there would be further talks around Easter about possible additional financial aid from the federal government to deal with the tasks.
wa/ack (dpa, afp, rtr)
This article will be continuously updated on the day of its publication. Reports from the combat zones cannot be independently verified.
