Ukraine war: It is feared that ammunition could explode in the Chernobyl nuclear ruins. In Mariupol, a building was probably bombed by the Red Cross. News ticker.
- Ukraine conflict*: Ukraine fears danger in Chernobyl (see update from March 30, 11:59 a.m.).
- A Red Cross building was apparently bombed in the embattled port city of Mariupol (see update from March 30, 2:30 p.m.).
- The Russian Defense Ministry said it had met all targets in the Kyiv and Chernihiv regions (see update from March 30, 5.40 p.m.).
- This News ticker about the military fighting in the Ukraine war is continuously updated. More on the background of the Ukraine crisis* here.
Update from March 30, 5:40 p.m.: According to the Defense Ministry in Moscow, Russian troops have completed all “main tasks” near the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv and Chernihiv. Now they are in a planned phase of “regrouping” in these areas in order to increase military activities in priority areas and “above all, to complete the military operation for the complete liberation of Donbass,” the Russian Defense Ministry said.
In the first phase of what Russia calls a “special operation,” the goal was to force Ukrainian forces to rally troops to defend major cities like Kyiv and Chernihiv, the Russian ministry said. In this way, “the enemy” was kept on the battlefield, defeated “without storming the cities” and prevented from sending troops into the Donbass region. The Ministry of Defense pointed out that the areas in eastern Ukraine occupied by pro-Russian separatists are the main focus of Russian activities.
Update from March 30, 4:05 p.m.: According to Mayor Oleksander Markushjin, 200 to 300 civilians died in the Ukraine war in the Ukrainian city of Irpin, northwest of Kyiv, before Ukrainian troops were able to recapture the city from Russian soldiers this week. In addition, around 50 Ukrainian soldiers died in the military operation in Irpin, the Reuters news agency quoted the mayor as saying. According to Markushjin, Russian troops shelled the city with artillery all night long.
Update from March 30, 2:30 p.m.: According to Ukrainian sources, a building of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in the southern Ukrainian port of Mariupol has become the target of Russian airstrikes. “The occupiers deliberately bombed an ICRC building in Mariupol,” Lyudmyla Denisova, the Ukrainian Parliament’s human rights commissioner, wrote in Telegram on Wednesday. There is still no reliable information as to whether people were killed or injured in the attack.
“Enemy aircraft and artillery fired on a building marked with a red cross on a white background, indicating the presence of casualties or civilian or humanitarian cargo,” Denisova said in the statement. The information cannot be independently verified.
Ukraine war: Kyiv does not expect Russian troops to withdraw from the capital
Update from March 30, 2:10 p.m.: The Ukrainian general staff does not expect a large-scale withdrawal of Russian troops from areas near the capital Kyiv. Because of his losses, the enemy had probably only “temporarily given up the goal of blocking Kyiv,” the general staff said on Wednesday afternoon. Instead, Russian troops regrouped and focused on attacks in eastern and southern Ukraine.
A partial withdrawal of Russian units from the town of Brovary, which is east of the metropolis of Kyiv, was confirmed. After negotiations with Ukraine on Tuesday, Russia announced that it would reduce its hostilities near Kyiv and the city of Chernihiv.
Ukraine war: Putin bluff? Shelling report contradicts announcement – Kyiv sees Chernobyl danger
Update from March 30, 1:38 p.m: Contrary to the Kremlin’s announcement of a “radical” reduction in hostilities in the region, the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv apparently continued to be attacked on the night of March 30.
This is reported, among others, by their governor Vyacheslav Tschaus on Telegram, as well as the Ukrainian Internet TV broadcaster Hromadske.tv. “Shells destroyed the market, library and a shopping center shortly after the Russian side said they would scale back attacks,” the channel tweeted.
Update from March 30, 1:31 p.m: The Kremlin is rowing back: Ruble payments for Russian gas are not to apply from Thursday (March 31), but gradually, said its spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Wednesday. For more background see Economic ticker on the Ukraine war Merkur.de*.
Former oligarch Khodorkovsky believes Putin will attack NATO in the Ukraine war
Update from March 30, 1:16 p.m: Mikhail Khodorkovsky was once one of the richest men in Russia. Now the Russian opposition exile shared his assessment of Vladimir Putin: “He will attack NATO countries, one way or another – not necessarily with rockets, but with terrorist attacks, for example,” said the former oligarch in a recent conversation with the weekly newspaper The time.
In Germany one has to understand that Putin and his circle of power are convinced that they are waging a war in Ukraine against the USA – and thus against NATO. “I think he’s thinking: will NATO stick together if I cross the border into Poland or the Baltic States? I can try it!” Khodorkovsky said.
“Personally, I think NATO will not react and, as a result, it will cease to exist. That’s exactly what Putin wants,” said Khodorkovsky, who now lives in London.
Ukraine War News: Selensky site warns of Chernobyl danger
Update from March 30, 11:59 a.m: The Ukrainian side fears that ammunition could explode in the Chernobyl nuclear ruins. That reports Mirror online this Wednesday, citing Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Wereschuk.
She demanded that the UN Security Council take action “immediately” to demilitarize the exclusion zone. It’s about the risk of “a repetition of a nuclear catastrophe,” quotes the Wereshchuk news portal.
Ukraine war: London wants to follow up after Russia’s partial withdrawal
First report from March 30th: Kyiv/London – The British secret service classifies Russia’s troops in the Ukraine war as weakened. The invasion of President Vladimir Putin* does not go according to his plan. The results of the most recent negotiations between Ukraine and Russia arouse skepticism, for example from the Ukraine diplomat Andriy Melnyk. Its President Volodymr Selenskyj* is apparently also waiting.
And the reactions from Germany to the Ukraine war? Minister of Labor Hubertus Heil expects refugees in Germany who will stay longer – because an end to the conflict does not seem in sight. Now there is a report on possible arms deliveries from Great Britain under Prime Minister Boris Johnson* to the mixed situation.
Ukraine war: Johnson fears increasing revenge on Putin
According to information from the Times consider supplying “deadlier weapons” to Ukraine. At a cabinet meeting on March 29, he is said to have warned that Putin could become “unpredictable and vengeful,” the British newspaper cites unnamed insider sources.
“Not only does the Ukrainian army retain control of major cities, it is even forcing the Russians to retreat. With that, our support needs to change,” a source in the British Cabinet said.
Ukraine war: Britain’s government addresses arms deliveries
Johnson is said to be in favor of the US providing Ukraine with anti-ship missiles and more advanced air defense systems. According to the Times, defense sources said the prime minister had not specified what kind of weapons Britain could supply.
Concerns about a further escalation of the conflict should also play a role in the considerations. So far, London has mainly sent anti-tank missiles and other missiles to Ukraine in support. (AFP/dpa/frs) *Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA
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