Ukraine war in the live ticker: +++ 00:48 SPD leadership assures Kiev continued support +++

07.03.2023

Ukraine war in the live ticker
+++ 00:48 SPD leadership assures Kiev continued support +++

After their visit to Kiev, SPD party leader Lars Klingbeil and parliamentary group leader Rolf Mützenich pledge continued support to Ukraine. “Our solidary support continues a year after the beginning of the war,” says Klingbeil in the ZDF “heute journal”. This was the main message in talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and other politicians. At the meeting with Zelenskyy, among other things, the delivery of weapons and the Leopard 2 tank as well as bottlenecks in the supply of ammunition were discussed. The SPD is working on the criticism of its earlier Russia policy, Klingbeil continued. “We have dealt with mistakes that have happened to us in recent years, and we then dare to look ahead on the basis of this error analysis.”

+++ 23:54 Czech Republic wants Leopard tanks from Switzerland +++
In addition to Germany, the Czech Republic also wants to buy old Leopard 2 tanks from Switzerland. That’s what the Swiss Defense Minister Viola Amherd says on the SFR television channel. It does not say how many tanks the government in Prague intends to buy. Switzerland is ready to give up a certain number of Leopard tanks after a corresponding decision by Parliament, said Amherd with a view to the inquiries from Germany and the Czech Republic. The Swiss Army has 134 Leopard 2 tanks in service and 96 Leopard 2 tanks in storage. The tanks are regularly tested, but have not been modernized.

+++ 22:59 Ukrainian General Staff sticks to Bakhmut +++

According to President Volodymyr Zelensky, the military leadership of Ukraine does not want to give up the city of Bakhmut in the east of the country, which has been heavily fought over for weeks. He asked the commander of the units in the region and the chief of staff how to proceed there, says Zelenskyj in his evening video message. “Both generals have replied that they will not retreat. Instead, the defense will be strengthened.”

+++ 22:10 Will the Russian army run out of supplies in the spring?+++
The Ukrainian secret service believes that Russia could face difficulties in providing sufficient military equipment for the war in Ukraine in the spring. “Russia has wasted enormous amounts of soldiers, armaments and materials. The Russian economy and production are not able to cover these losses. If the Russian military does not achieve its goals this spring, it will run out of military assets,” Director of Military Intelligence of Ukraine Major General Kyrylo Budanov told US media “U.S. Today”. Budanov continues to suspect that a “decisive battle” will take place in the spring, the last before the war ends.

+++ 21:35 Selenskyj confidant: Army is behind Bakhmut’s defense +++
The Ukrainian presidential adviser Michailo Podoliak sees a broad consensus in the Ukrainian army to “continue to defend” the fiercely contested city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine. The army also agrees on the goal of “wearing down enemy troops and at the same time building new lines of defense if the situation changes,” says President Volodymyr Zelensky’s adviser in Kiev. According to Podoliak, Bakhmut’s defenders have already “achieved their goals”. They would have exhausted Russia’s “most important combat-ready” units and at the same time made it possible to train “tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers in preparation for a counter-offensive”. Even if the army leadership decides at some point to “retreat to more advantageous positions”, the defense of Bakhmut would be a “great strategic success” for the Ukrainian army, Podoliak added. So far, however, the army leadership has not made such a decision.

+++ 20:52 Pistorius visits NATO combat troops in Lithuania +++
“The engagement on the eastern flank is more important than it has been since the end of the Cold War,” said Defense Minister Boris Pistorius during a visit to the NATO combat group’s Bundeswehr contingent in Lithuania. By the end of the Cold War, Germany had formed the eastern flank and NATO guaranteed Germany’s security. “Today we are the ones protecting the eastern flank together with others among others here in Lithuania.” The concerns that the Baltic states, but also Poland, are all too understandable. “Lithuania’s security is also our security, that’s why this engagement is so important”. We are ready to stand together and fight together.

+++ 20:15 Hungary’s foreign minister accuses West of “war psychosis” +++
Hungary’s Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto accuses the West of working itself into a “war psychosis.” “There are people in Brussels who see it as a competition as to who will deliver more arms to Ukraine, Europe or the United States,” the politician explained in parliament in Budapest. The world is “in the 25th hour” to avert an impending world war. Szijjarto is campaigning in the parliament for a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire and peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban maintains good relations with the Kremlin, also in view of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. Budapest is reluctant to support the EU sanctions against Russia.

You can read earlier developments in the Ukraine war here.