The general manager of the Paritätisches Gesamtverband has warned that the voluntary helpers taking in refugees from the Ukraine should not be overwhelmed. “The burden on the volunteers who have taken in refugees from Ukraine is primarily a psychological one, in that one actually suffers,” said Ulrich Schneider of the editorial network Germany. If there is also frustration because there is not progress with the necessary help and because of too much bureaucracy, the burden on the refugees and the helpers alike increases. “After the initial admission, we are now entering a second admission phase. This also means that the limits of voluntary work have been reached,” said Schneider. Instead, functioning networks are needed between voluntary work and professional social work.
+++ 00:39 Kretschmer questions embargo against Russian oil +++
Saxony’s Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer is critical of an import ban on Russian oil. Referring to a planned sixth EU sanctions package against Russia, he said: “I think now is the time to take a closer look: Who is it really harming?” There is a global demand for hard coal, oil and gas. If European countries buy energy elsewhere than in Russia, there will be a shortage and the gap will most likely be filled by Russian sources, according to the CDU politician. Negotiations on the sixth sanctions package – which includes an oil embargo – are currently blocked. Hungary and other EU countries are demanding extensive exemptions from the planned import ban.
+++ 23:47 Selenskyj: Russia is holding Ukrainians in Mariupol +++
According to the will of the Russian besiegers, the Ukrainian soldiers entrenched in the Mariupol steelworks are not allowed to leave the premises. The Russian military has rejected any proposal to withdraw the fighters from the Azovstal plant unhindered, said President Volodymyr Zelensky, according to Ukrajinska Pravda. “The defenders of Mariupol remain there, they continue the resistance on the Azovstal site.” Kyiv continues to use all available diplomatic means to enable the soldiers to be rescued. Russia insists on surrender of Azovstal defenders.
Read more about it here.
+++ 22:58 Head of the Chancellery: Germany without NATO not strong enough for Russia +++
According to the head of the Chancellery, Wolfgang Schmidt, Germany cannot defend itself against Russia without its allies. “But that’s why we’re in a joint NATO alliance. (…) The United States is particularly important for Germany, but also for Europe and for NATO,” Schmidt told Deutsche Welle. “And that’s why we work so closely and well together, because it’s the only way we can survive as an alliance, as an alliance of strong partners in this world.” When asked whether Germany could assume an international leadership position, the head of the Chancellery said the Federal Republic was acting “primarily through the European Union.” That’s what French President Emmanuel Macron and Chancellor Olaf Scholz tried to convey to Russian President Vladimir Putin before the invasion of Ukraine.
+++ 22:06 Czech Republic replaces Russia in the UN Human Rights Council +++
After Russia left the UN Human Rights Council, the Czech Republic moved up to the international body based in Geneva. The UN General Assembly decides this with a clear majority in a secret ballot in New York. In this case, the normally three-year term of office will exceptionally only run until the end of 2023. Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky is very pleased with the decision. Lipavsky told journalists in Prague that his country wanted to build on the legacy of civil rights activist and former Czechoslovak and Czech President Vaclav Havel. As early as Thursday, a special session will deal with human rights violations in the Russian aggression against Ukraine.
+++ 21:47 US banks should list customer transactions with Russia bonds +++
US congressmen have asked JP Morgan Chase and Goldman Sachs to release detailed information about clients who trade Russian bonds, according to an agency report. Senator Elizabeth Warren and MP Katie Porter have requested such lists, reports Bloomberg. Accordingly, information on the volume of the transactions and any profits were also requested. Goldman and JP Morgan declined to comment.
+++ 21:24 Johnson visits NATO interested parties Sweden and Finland +++
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson travels to Sweden and Finland on Wednesday, two countries considering joining NATO in the wake of the Ukraine war. Johnson will discuss general security issues, his spokesman says. A decision from both countries on an application for membership is expected this month. They want security guarantees from Allianz for any transition phase.
+++ 21:01 First Ukrainian President Kravchuk died +++
According to media reports, the first president of independent Ukraine, Leonid Kravchuk, is dead. Kravchuk died at the age of 88 after a long illness, Ukrainian media report, citing the politician’s family. “This is sad news and a great loss,” writes the head of the presidential office, Andriy Yermak, in the news service Telegram. Kravchuk was elected head of state in early December 1991 and a few days later signed an agreement with the then Russian President Boris Yeltsin (1931-2007) and Stanislav Shushkevich from Belarus, declaring the Soviet Union dissolved and founding a new alliance of the three republics became: the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
Read more about it here.
+++ 20:42 air alert in Kyiv: Dutch Foreign Minister in the bomb cellar +++
Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra has to spend time in a bomb cellar because of an air raid during his visit to the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. The 46-year-old evades a scheduled meeting with Mayor Vitali Klitschko on Tuesday night as sirens warn of Russian airstrikes. Hoekstra traveled to Kyiv by train with Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) and held a few appointments with her. According to reports, Baerbock himself is not affected by the protective measure. The minister had previously stated that even after the withdrawal of Russian troops from the Kyiv region, the war in Ukraine would not be over. “A rocket can land anywhere in this country,” she says. Media in the Ukrainian capital reported around 7 p.m. local time (6 p.m. CEST) about an air alert for Kyiv and the surrounding area. However, no explosions were heard, and there is no information about flights.
+++ 20:25 Russia: Attack on Snake Island repelled +++
According to the Defense Ministry in Moscow, Russia is repelling a Ukrainian attempt to retake Snake Island in the Black Sea. Sunday’s push turned into a disaster for Ukraine, which suffered heavy casualties, a ministry spokesman said. The information cannot be independently verified. A Ukrainian presidential aide said today there would be no attempt to take the island. It is far easier to shoot at the Russian troops there.
+++ 20:13 Pentagon: No indication of hypersonic missiles in the attack on Odessa +++
The US Department of Defense has no evidence of the use of hypersonic missiles in the recent Russian attacks on the Ukrainian port city of Odessa. In a telephone exchange with journalists, a high-ranking ministry official said he could not confirm the use of such weapons in Odessa. Airstrikes on Odessa have increased in recent days. According to the Ukrainian military, the Russian air force fired Kinzhal-type hypersonic missiles at the southern Ukrainian port on Tuesday night. The US Department official says there is no evidence of an attack on Odessa by ground forces or from the Black Sea. “Odessa is still firmly under Ukrainian control.” The Ukrainian agency Unian, citing the local military leadership, had reported that at least one person had been killed and five others injured in the night air raids in Odessa.
+++ 20:05 Ukraine stops gas transit in the Luhansk region due to the war +++
Due to the war, Ukraine will stop the transit of Russian gas in the Luhansk region in the east of the country from Wednesday. As a result, up to 32.6 million cubic meters of gas per day were lost – that is almost a third of the maximum amount that can be transported via Ukraine to Europe every day, according to the Ukrainian gas network operator. Due to the Russian occupation, it has become impossible to forward gas to other distribution stations via the Sochranivka point, it is said. The operator referred to a case of “force majeure”. Russia’s energy giant Gazprom, which recently pumped almost 100 million cubic meters of gas through Ukraine to Europe every day, rejected this. Gazprom has received “no confirmation of circumstances of force majeure,” says spokesman Sergey Kupriyanov, according to the Interfax agency. It is technically not possible to divert the deliveries that are now no longer available via other routes. The contractual maximum capacity for Ukrainian gas transit to Europe is 109 million cubic meters per day. However, the main route for Russian gas to Europe is the Baltic Sea pipeline Nord Stream 1.
Read more about it here.
+++ 19:43 44 bodies recovered from the rubble of a bombed building in eastern Ukraine +++
According to the regional government, the bodies of 44 civilians are being recovered from the rubble of a destroyed house in the eastern Ukrainian city of Izyum. The five-storey building was bombed by the Russian army in early March, Kharkiv region governor Oleg Synegubov explained on Telegram. Fighting continues in the area. Residents cleared away the rubble “when there were no bomb attacks,” Synegubov tells local media. Izyum has been under Russian control since early April. The governor did not say who recovered the bodies and under what circumstances.
+++ 19:40 Kiesewetter calls for EU candidate status for Ukraine this year +++
In an interview with RTL/ntv, CDU foreign affairs expert Roderich Kiesewetter warned that the war in Ukraine could still be long and bloody. We must do everything to ensure that Ukraine looks to the future with confidence. “This includes heavy, long-range weapons, but it also includes financial support, infrastructure support and medium-term security guarantees and, this year, candidate status in the European Union,” says Kiesewetter. This is a signal to the Ukrainian people that their fight is worthwhile.
+++ 19:37 US circles: Russia is two weeks behind schedule in Donbass +++
Russia is at least two weeks behind schedule for invading the Donbass region, according to a US insider. This also applies to the south of Ukraine, says a high-ranking US military representative, who does not want to be named.
You can read earlier developments in the Ukraine conflict here.