The day of the war at a glance
Russian army prepares attack on Kyiv – USA and EU continue to isolate Russia
03/11/2022, 10:20 p.m
In view of the suffering of the people in Ukraine, the West is once again increasing the pressure on Russia. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj spoke of a “humanitarian catastrophe”: In Kyiv and other cities there is no electricity, no gas, no water. Russia is apparently reorganizing its troops, and the attack on Kyiv could take place soon. Meanwhile, the US and the EU announced new trade sanctions against Russia, and the EU heads of state and government also discussed additional military aid for Ukraine. The 16th day of the war at a glance.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr In a video message, Zelenskyj urgently appealed to the EU to do more for his country. Russia wants to “destroy” Ukraine and is also using “Syrian murderers” to do so, he warned. Russian President Vladimir Putin had previously approved the deployment of 16,000 “volunteer” fighters in Ukraine, mostly from the Middle East. This may be another indication that the invasion is not going the way the Russian President and his generals envisioned. In line with this, Putin is said to have fired eight generals and placed two employees of the FSB secret service under house arrest.
Russian army reports successes
In new attacks on targets in Ukraine, Russia’s armed forces said they destroyed 82 military installations. Among them are four command and control centers of the Ukrainian army, a spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry said, according to the Interfax news agency. This information could not initially be verified independently. According to the spokesman, 3,346 Ukrainian military objects have been destroyed since the war began a good two weeks ago. According to Russian information, the pro-Russian separatists are also continuing their advance in the Donetsk region. They were said to have advanced eleven kilometers from the captured city of Volnovakha in the direction of the Zaporizhia region. There was still no confirmation from the Ukrainian side that Volnowacha was taken. In addition, the central Ukrainian industrial city of Dnipro was attacked for the first time, and at least one person died. According to the rescue workers, the airstrikes hit several civilian buildings, including a kindergarten and a shoe factory.
A kilometer-long convoy of Russian military vehicles in front of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv is dispersing in places, according to the US government. The procedure probably serves to better camouflage the vehicles, said a senior US defense official. He could not say how far Kyiv has already been surrounded. From the northwest, the Russian military is about 15 kilometers from the center. British government experts say Russian troops are likely to attack Kyiv in the coming days.
Russians kidnap mayor of Melitopol
The capital is in a “state of siege,” said presidential adviser Mykhailo Podoliak. Kyiv is “ready to fight” and will “stand firm to the end,” he tweeted. The north-western suburbs of Kiev have been shaken by heavy air raids for days. In the meantime, the Russian army is also approaching the capital from the north-east. Ukrainian soldiers told AFP reporters of fierce fighting for control of the main highway leading to Kyiv near Velyka Dymerka.
In the city of Melitopol, which is occupied by Russian troops, Russian soldiers are said to have kidnapped the city’s mayor, according to Ukrainian sources. Ivan Fedorov was abducted by a group of “ten occupiers” during a visit to the Melitopol crisis center when he wanted to deal with supply issues, the Ukrainian parliament said on Twitter. “He refused to cooperate with the enemy,” it said. The Deputy Head of Ukraine’s Presidential Administration, Kirillo Tymoshenko, posted a video on Telegram of soldiers coming out of a building some distance away, carrying with them a man dressed in black, his head apparently in a black sack. The city is militarily under Russian control, but there are repeated protest marches by the population against the Russian occupiers.
No more evacuations in Mariupol
The situation is particularly dramatic in Mariupol, which has been surrounded by the Russian army for more than ten days. According to local authorities, 1,582 civilians have been killed since the siege, and UN statistics document 560 documented cases so far. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) reported catastrophic conditions for the around 300,000 civilians still trapped in the city. Several attempts to rescue people via agreed escape corridors have already failed.
Russia fuels fears of use of weapons of mass destruction Russia accused Ukraine and the USA of developing biological weapons before the UN Security Council. “The Russian Defense Ministry now has documents confirming that there was a network of at least 30 biological laboratories on the territory of Ukraine,” Russia’s UN Ambassador Vasily Nebensia said at an emergency meeting in New York. These were used for “dangerous experiments” with pathogens that cause anthrax, tularemia, cholera and other deadly diseases. Kyiv was supported by the Pentagon. However, international fact-checkers have already refuted claims about a network of laboratories. The UN also repeatedly asserted that they knew nothing about weapons of mass destruction allegedly produced in Ukraine. The US speaks of “propaganda” and a possible pretext for the Russians to use weapons of mass destruction themselves in the Ukraine war.
Around 2.5 million Ukrainians have left the country
According to the UN refugee agency UNHCR, 2.5 million people have fled Ukraine since the Russian invasion on February 24. Accordingly, more than 1.5 million people from Ukraine were accommodated in Poland, a good 225,000 in Hungary and 176,000 in Slovakia. According to the Federal Police, around 110,000 war refugees have come to Germany so far. In addition to the refugees, 1.85 million people have been displaced within Ukraine, according to UNHCR estimates.
Because of the war, the fear of supply crises and food shortages is growing – even beyond the war zones. Ukraine is the world’s fifth largest wheat supplier. Many countries would have difficulties in supplying themselves with agricultural commodities, said Federal Minister of Agriculture Cem Özdemir after a video conference with his counterparts from the G7 countries. This threatens the supply in parts of the world.
EU imposes export and investment bans
After consultations between the EU heads of state and government in Versailles, France, they agreed on a new package of EU sanctions. In addition to an import ban on luxury goods planned in step with the USA, this also envisages a ban on the import of certain products from the Russian iron and steel industry. This affects a central sector of the Russian economic system and deprives the country of export earnings in the billions, said Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. In addition, a comprehensive ban on new investments in the entire Russian energy sector is planned. The EU also wants to provide an additional half a billion euros for the supply of weapons and equipment to the Ukrainian armed forces. This was announced by EU Council President Charles Michel.
However, the EU heads of state and government have put a damper on Ukraine’s hopes of rapid EU accession. Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his colleagues merely promised Ukraine to further strengthen ties and deepen the partnership in order to support them on their European path.
Youtube blocks war deniers
In Russia, however, the pressure on social networks and media is growing. The Attorney General wants to have the Facebook group Meta banned as an “extremist organization”. The background is a decision by the US company, which also includes services such as Instagram and WhatsApp, to allow calls for violence against Russian troops in Ukraine. Facebook itself has not been accessible in Russia for days. Instagram is now blocked too. The Google video service YouTube is now blocking channels denying Russia’s attack on Ukraine. “Our Community Guidelines prohibit content that denies, downplays, or trivializes well-documented violent events,” said a YouTube spokesperson.