04/29/2022
Ukraine war in the live ticker
+++ 00:59 Zelenskyj believes in evacuations from Mariupol with the help of the UN +++
In his evening video address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy once again emphasized the importance of the visit by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. “It was very important that the Secretary General visited Borodyanka in the Kyiv region and saw with his own eyes what the Russian occupiers were doing there. There is no doubt that the Russian army in Ukraine laid the foundations of the world order established after the Second World War trampled underfoot,” said the President. After the conclusion of the talks with Guterres, a total of five rockets were fired at Kyiv. Nevertheless, he believes that evacuations in Mariupol are possible with the help of the UN: “But we also need the Russian side, which approaches the matter without cynicism and actually implements what it says.”
+++ 23:44 Scholz: Putin’s war is directed “against everything that constitutes democracy” +++
Chancellor Olaf Scholz accuses Russian President Vladimir Putin of wanting to destroy democratic forms of government. “After all, Putin’s goal is not only to destroy Ukraine. His war is directed against everything that constitutes democracy: freedom, equality before the law, self-determination, human dignity,” writes Scholz in a guest article for “Welt”. From the Chancellor’s point of view, the democratic countries are more united in the face of this danger than they have been for a long time. “This shows what unites us as democracies: the conviction that law must set limits to power,” writes the SPD politician. Only democracies could solve the problems of the 21st century.
+++ 23:44 Ukraine reports Russian rocket fire on Odessa +++
The southern Ukrainian port of Odessa comes under rocket fire. The air defense shot down three Russian missiles, says local military representative Maxim Marchenko. “We have the sky under control.” A Russian reconnaissance drone had previously been destroyed. In the evening, however, several explosions could be heard in the city, reports among others the “Ukrajinska Prawda”.
+++ 23:05 OSCE ends its observer mission +++
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) announces the official end of its observer mission in Ukraine. Russia gave the organization no choice by voting against an extension of the mandate at the end of March, explained the incumbent OSCE President, Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau, on Thursday. The OSCE Observer Mission in Ukraine was set up after Russia annexed the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea in March 2014. Among other places, the OSCE staff was stationed in eastern Ukraine, where pro-Russian separatists had been fighting the Ukrainian army since 2014. They should monitor compliance with the Minsk agreements and monitor the situation on the ground.
+++ 22:24 Kremlin does not want to negotiate about corridor from steel plant in Mariupol +++
Russia rejects calls for negotiations on a corridor for all those trapped at the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol. “President (Vladimir Putin) has said it very clearly: the civilians can go in any direction, the military must come out and lay down their arms,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the state news agency TASS. They are guaranteed life and medical care. But nothing more. Moscow does not want to grant them a free withdrawal. There is no topic for negotiations, emphasizes Peskow. Earlier, after talks with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv was ready to start immediate negotiations on a humanitarian corridor from the steelworks.
+++ 22:00 Russia bans Canadian government entry +++
The government in Moscow is banning Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and almost 600 other Canadians from entering Russia. This is a response to “hostile measures,” the Foreign Ministry said. Russia has previously imposed these mostly token punishments on leaders of countries that support Ukraine politically and militarily.
+++ 21:40 Biden complains about “disturbing rhetoric from the Kremlin” +++
US President Joe Biden has denied allegations from Moscow that NATO is waging a proxy war against Russia in Ukraine. Biden laments “disturbing rhetoric from the Kremlin”. “We are not attacking Russia,” says the US President. His government is helping Ukraine defend itself against Russian aggression. “Russia is the aggressor.” The world must hold Russia responsible for this.
+++ 21:10 UN chief wants to mediate in evacuation from Mariupol steelworks +++
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres wants to evacuate people at the Azovstal steel plant in captured Mariupol. “At the moment I can only tell you that we are doing everything we can to make this happen,” he said after talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Guterres spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday. Ukrainian troops have entrenched themselves in the plant, and civilians are also on the huge site in the port city. “I trust and believe – as do many relatives of the people who are trapped in Azovstal – that the Secretary General and we can facilitate a successful solution,” says Zelenskyj.
You can read about previous developments here.