The night of the war at a glance
Cherson contested again – France wants to get people from Mariupol
03/26/2022, 06:50 am
While the Ukrainians have launched an offensive to recapture the strategically important city of Cherson, according to US sources, there is a ray of hope for the people of embattled Mariupol. France wants to evacuate residents with Turkey and Greece.
Heavy struggle for the city of Cherson
Ukrainian forces are fighting to recapture the important southern city of Kherson from the Russians, according to a US Defense Department official. The Russian military no longer has such tight control over the city as before, which is why Cherson is now classified as a “contested area” again.
Kherson, at the beginning of the Dnipro Estuary Delta, is a strategically important port city, the official said. Should the Ukrainians manage to recapture the city, it would complicate the Russian attack on the nearby embattled city of Mykolaiv. It would also make a possible ground offensive in the direction of the port city of Odessa significantly more difficult.
France wants to get people from Mariupol
France wants to launch a humanitarian action with Turkey and Greece to rescue people from the hard-fought eastern Ukrainian port of Mariupol at short notice. When planning the international rescue operation for the citizens of Mariupol, there are already concrete talks with the mayor and coordination with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said French President Emmanuel Macron in Brussels. An agreement is now also necessary with Russia, whose troops have been besieging the city for weeks. Selenskyj described the situation in Mariupol as “absolutely tragic”. Russian military did not allow humanitarian aid to the residents. “They use the residents of Mariupol for their propagandists at best,” he said in a video address on Friday evening. So far this week it has been possible to get a little more than 26,000 civilians out of the heavily contested city.
Ukraine’s Prime Minister is asking for help today and later
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Schmyhal has asked all mayors worldwide for humanitarian aid for his country. At the same time, he appealed to all international partners to support the subsequent reconstruction of his country. “Right now Russia is destroying our towns and villages like the Nazis did 80 years ago,” Schmyhal said. “Support Ukrainian cities with humanitarian aid and funds for reconstruction.”
Schmyhal had estimated the damage to the Ukrainian economy from the war at almost 515 billion euros in mid-March. According to official Ukrainian calculations, the damage to the infrastructure alone amounted to around 108 billion euros. The figures could not initially be checked independently.
Zelenskyy: Russia wastes billions on lies and propaganda
According to Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, the Russian leadership has spent tens of billions of dollars on propaganda. “You all know very well what a huge state propaganda system Russia has built up,” said Zelenskyj in a video message on Saturday night. “Probably no one in the world has ever spent such enormous sums on lies.” However, Moscow did not take into account that this does not guarantee a result.
Ukraine: Russian attack on Kyiv still possible
The Ukrainian military still believes that a large-scale attack by Russian troops on Kyiv is possible. To this end, the enemy is continuing to pull together strong forces, said Ukraine’s army chief of staff Olexander Grusewitsch. In addition, according to the findings of the reconnaissance in the Caucasus Republic of Dagestan, special units are being prepared for this mission. This information could not be independently verified. Recently, Ukrainian troops had managed to recapture several positions and towns in the Kyiv area.
Ukrainian Air Force Headquarters hit by rockets
The headquarters of the Ukrainian Air Force in Vinnytsia in the west of the country was fired at by several Russian cruise missiles on Friday. Some of the six rockets were shot down as they approached, the rest hit the building, the Air Force leadership said on its Facebook page. There was “considerable damage” to the infrastructure. No information was given about possible victims of the attack.
Great Britain imposes further sanctions in the Ukraine war
The British government has sanctioned a further 65 individuals and companies in Russia in connection with the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Among them is the Russian armaments company Kronstadt, which produces the armed Orion drone and other unmanned aerial vehicles, according to an update from the British Ministry of Defense published on Saturday night.
That’s going to be important today
- On the second day of his visit to Poland, US President Biden will give a speech in Warsaw on Saturday on the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.
- Demonstrations against the war are planned across Germany on Saturday.
You can read all the other developments of the day in our live ticker on the Ukraine war.