05/16/2022
Ukraine war in the live ticker
+++ 02:04 General Staff: Russian troops sometimes only 20 percent equipped +++
According to Ukrainian information, the Russian troops have a sometimes disastrous lack of material. on Facebook The General Staff of the Ukrainian Army announces that Russia is recording significant human and material losses. In some cases, Russian troops are said to be only 20 percent equipped. At Pospana, soldiers had therefore teamed up with mercenary troops in order to be able to continue the attack.
+++ 01:03 Ukrainian troops advance to the Russian border near Kharkiv +++
Ukrainian troops report a symbolic success in their counter-offensive in the eastern Kharkiv region: they have at least at one point advanced to the border with Russia. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense released a video showing a dozen soldiers next to a border post in the national colors of blue and yellow. According to the information, they belong to a volunteer brigade from the city of Kharkiv. The Ukrainian military had already reported in the past few days that they were gradually pushing back Russian troops near Kharkiv.
+++ 00:27 Lviv reports Russian hacker attack on administration +++
The city administration of the western Ukrainian city of Lviv has become the target of a cyber attack by suspected Russian hackers. As a result of the attack on Friday, some city services were no longer available, wrote Deputy Mayor Andriy Moskalenko Facebook. Part of it had been restored by Sunday. The attackers also stole internal information from the city administration, which was then published in “hostile” information channels on the Telegram chat service, Moskalenko wrote. Russia is also conducting attacks on the “IT front” and you have to be careful offline and online.
+++ 23:30 Baerbock emphasizes the importance of NATO +++
Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock emphasizes the importance of the transatlantic alliance: “As an alliance, NATO is more relevant and important than ever,” she said at the end of the informal meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Berlin.
+++ 10:09 p.m. Further military aid: EU foreign ministers meet Ukrainian foreign ministers +++
The foreign ministers of the European Union will discuss the Russian war of aggression with the Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in Brussels tomorrow, Monday. The EU states are expected to approve another 500 million euros in military aid for Ukraine. This was suggested by EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Friday on the sidelines of the G7 meeting in Schleswig-Holstein. Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is also expected in Brussels. Kuleba had recently demanded more self-propelled howitzers from the federal government. Berlin has so far pledged seven artillery pieces.
+++ 21:46 governor: Ukraine still controls ten percent of Luhansk +++
Despite heavy Russian attacks, according to the regional governor, the Ukrainian army still controls around ten percent of the eastern Ukrainian region of Luhansk. In particular, the Russians have not been able to capture the outskirts of the cities of Rubishne, Sievjerodonetsk and Lysychansk, Serhiy Hajday said on Sunday. Moscow said last week that pro-Russian separatists, with the help of the Russian army, had advanced to the administrative borders of Luhansk just eleven weeks after the war began. Hajdaj called these statements “fantasy” at the time. In the Donetsk region, also in eastern Ukraine, 3 civilians were killed and 13 others injured in Russian attacks on Sunday, according to the regional administration.
+++ 21:15 “historic day”: Lithuania welcomes Finland’s NATO decision +++
Joyful voices about a possible expansion of the military alliance are being heard from more and more of the 30 NATO member states: Lithuania has now welcomed Finland’s decision to apply for NATO membership. “Historic day,” wrote President Gitanas Nauseda on Twitter. “This will strengthen the security of Finland, the Baltic Sea region and the entire alliance.” Finland can count on the full support and help of Lithuania on the way to full NATO membership, wrote the head of state of the Baltic EU and NATO country.
+++ 20:41 USA expects Sweden and Finland to join NATO soon +++
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken assumes that Sweden and Finland will soon join NATO, despite Turkey’s critical tones. There is broad support for this in NATO and further talks between Turkey and the two Scandinavian countries.
+++ 20:12 Green veteran Ströbele complains about “war rhetoric” in his party +++
Former and long-serving Greens member of the Bundestag Hans-Christian Ströbele has criticized his party’s stance on supplying heavy weapons to Ukraine. “We should really refrain from this war rhetoric. If some want to deliver more and more offensive weapons, then that will lead to an even bigger war,” warns Ströbele in an interview with “Spiegel” according to the preliminary report. “If the Ukrainian army gains territory through the use of heavy weapons, Putin will deploy many more troops and weapons, ultimately perhaps tactical nuclear weapons.”
You can read earlier developments in the Ukraine conflict here.