02.03.2022
Ukraine war in the live ticker
+++ 01:51 Belarus is sending more troops to the border with Ukraine +++
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko orders more troops to be sent to the border with Ukraine. At a meeting of the Belarusian Security Council, he said, according to the state news agency Belta, that “five tactical battalion groups” are to be deployed in addition to “protecting” the border region in the south. Such units usually consist of hundreds of soldiers with armored vehicles and artillery. However, Lukashenko assures that his country will not take part in the Russian offensive in Ukraine. “That’s not our job,” he affirms.
+++ 01:22 Ukraine: Russian military column destroyed in the south +++
A convoy of Russian military vehicles was destroyed near the city of Bashtanka, according to Ukrainian sources. This was reported by the Chairman of the Dnepropetrovsk Regional Council Mykola Lukashuk at his Facebook -Side. The column is said to have consisted of 800 vehicles and was attacked by Ukrainian Air Force aircraft.
+++ 00:54 air raid on the city of Zhytomyr +++
An airstrike is reported from the Ukrainian city of Zhytomyr. Presumably Russian Kalibr cruise missiles damaged numerous residential buildings, including a hospital, reports the Unian agency. Interior Ministry adviser Anton Gerashchenko said four people had died, citing local authorities. Burning houses and rescue workers can be seen in videos shared on social networks. Schytomyr is around 140 kilometers west of the capital Kyiv.
+++ 00:32 Around 1300 Ukrainian refugees reach Berlin +++
Around 1,300 refugees from Ukraine arrived at Berlin Central Station in several trains in the evening. The trains came from Poland, says a spokesman for the fire brigade. The rbb reports that there were special trains. When asked, a railway spokesman said that these were regular connections. Helpers provide the people at the train station with food and drink. Ukrainian refugees had already arrived in the capital on regular trains during the day.
+++ 00:06 Biden on Putin: Dictators have to pay a price +++
US President Joe Biden sends a clear message to Russian President Vladimir Putin. “When dictators don’t pay a price for their aggression, they cause more chaos,” reads Biden’s speech transcript of the State of the Union address. That is why NATO was founded. Russia’s president thought he could split the West and NATO would not react. “Putin was wrong. We were ready,” Biden said. “Putin’s war was premeditated and unprovoked,” warns Biden. His first State of the Union address is expected at 3 a.m. ET.
+++ 23:42 Turkey: Russian request to travel through straits rejected +++
Turkey has rebuffed Russia’s attempt to bring more warships through the Turkish Straits into the Black Sea. Moscow submitted requests for passage for ships and took them back after the Turkish side had asked them to do so, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in an interview with “Habertürk”. The inquiries were made on February 27th and 28th. Russia made the request for ships, some of which are not registered in the Black Sea. According to international law, Turkey – as guardian of the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits between the Mediterranean and the Black Sea – should prevent warships from warring parties from entering the country.
+++ 22:54 left-wing politician Wagenknecht wants to make an “offer” to Russia +++
In the war between Russia and Ukraine, left-wing politician Sahra Wagenknecht advocates making an offer to the Russian leadership through diplomatic channels. “An end to the bloodshed can only be achieved by making an offer to the Russian leadership,” says Wagenknecht. The “outlines of such an offer” are clear: “An immediate ceasefire, withdrawal of Russian troops, recognition of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, but in return the West’s assurance that it will refrain from deploying the Ukrainian armed forces any further in the future to integrate NATO’s military structures,” explains the left-wing MP.
+++ 22:30 secret service in Kyiv: Moscow is working on a pretext for Belarus to enter the war +++
According to Ukrainian military intelligence, Russia is preparing a provocation to justify the involvement of Belarusian troops in the fighting. The secret service announced on social media that around 300 Belarusian tanks had gathered near the border with Ukraine.
+++ 22:20 Swift: EU excludes seven Russian banks +++
The EU will exclude several Russian banks from the Swift banking communications network. The permanent representatives of the 27 EU states in Brussels will agree on this in the evening, as announced by the current French EU Council Presidency in Brussels. According to diplomatic circles, seven Russian banks will be affected by the measure. The largest Russian bank Sberbank is therefore not one of them. The agreement is to be confirmed by the capitals this evening in a written procedure. The sanctions are then to be published in the EU Official Journal. From that point on they would be in force. The same applies to the punitive measures against the Russian state media RT and Sputnik.
+++ 22:01 Germany buys gas reserve for 1.5 billion euros +++
In response to gas problems in the winter and the Russian attack on Ukraine, the federal government is buying gas for 1.5 billion euros as a reserve for the near future. Government circles confirm a corresponding report by the news portal “The Pioneer”. The portal referred to a letter from the Parliamentary State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Finance, Florian Toncar. The Ministry of Finance gave the go-ahead for a corresponding application from the Ministry of Economic Affairs. The Budget Committee of the Bundestag was not consulted as is usual in comparable cases. The first delivery should therefore take place this Tuesday, according to the Ministry of Finance.
+++ 21:45 Zelenskyj uses secure US satellite phone +++
The Washington government remains in regular contact with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy via a secure satellite phone. The US gave the device to the Ukrainian government last month, before the Russian attack, reports US broadcaster CNN. A US official familiar with the matter said the secure phone would allow Zelenskyy to keep in touch with the US while he was mobile. The Ukrainian president is rotating between several locations in Kyiv protected with a significant security presence, according to CNN. Today, Zelenskyj was already on the phone with US President Joe Biden and then thanked the US for their support.
+++ 21:30 “Russian advertising icon”: Scold for Schwesig +++
During an emergency session of the state parliament of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the CDU, Greens and FDP criticized Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig’s previous Russia policy. Until two weeks ago, Schwesig was a “Russian advertising icon,” said CDU parliamentary group leader Franz-Robert Liskow in Schwerin. He welcomes the fact that Schwesig has now made a U-turn and supports the course of the federal government. Due to illness, Schwesig did not take part in the state parliament session.
+++ 21:15 From 10,000 dollars: Putin has currency controls +++
The Russian Presidential Office announces capital controls for foreign cash from Wednesday. President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree banning the export of foreign currency worth more than the equivalent of $10,000.
You can read about previous developments here.