03/27/2023
Ukraine war in the live ticker
+++ 03:13 Berlin sees reconstruction as a task for generations +++
At the start of the “Reconstruction Ukraine” platform, State Secretary for Development Jochen Flasbarth spoke of a “task for generations”. The federal government’s coordinator for international aid told the Tagesspiegel: “But we shouldn’t let that worry us. If we do it right, Ukraine will generate income again and shoulder part of this huge task itself.” An open, European country is also attractive for investors. With the launch of the platform this Monday, the federal government wants to strengthen its commitment to the reconstruction of Ukraine. The aim is to better network state and private or regional organizations and initiatives.
+++ 02:14 military chief calls for the evacuation of Avdiivka +++
The head of the Ukrainian military administration in Avdiivka is calling on the city’s residents to evacuate. “You have to go, you have to pack your things, especially with your children,” writes the head of the city’s military administration, Vitaly Barabash, on Telegram. “I’m sorry to say this, but Avdiivka is becoming more and more like a place from post-apocalyptic movies.” The evacuation of the employees of utility companies who remained in the city has begun and cell phone reception will soon be switched off “because there are informers from the Russian occupying forces in the city.” According to Ukrainian sources, Russia shot at two high-rise buildings in Avdiivka on Sunday. According to official figures, about 2,000 civilians still live in Avdiivka in the Donetsk region, about 90 kilometers south-west of the embattled Bakhmut.
+++ 00:51 Lithuania calls for new sanctions against Russia and Belarus +++
In the face of Russia’s plans to station nuclear weapons in Belarus, Lithuania is demanding tightening sanctions against both countries. A new sanctions package, which is already being negotiated in Brussels, is to be expanded, the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry said. Belarus is increasingly losing its sovereignty and becoming more and more involved in Russia’s military plans, which poses an additional risk for the Baltic Sea region. Lithuania borders both Belarus and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, where nuclear weapons are already stationed, according to Western states.
+++ 23:49 Selenskyj asks compatriots for more support for soldiers +++
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is calling on the people in his country to give more support to the soldiers in the war against Russia. “It is wrong and unfair when our soldiers, who come back from the front, have the feeling that the war is already over for many in the rear,” says Zelenskyj in his evening video address. What is meant above all are people who live far away from the combat zones, “and who are mentally far away from the trenches”. Then he appealed to his compatriots: “Dear Ukrainians, please support our soldiers whenever you can.”
+++ 22:53 For Roth, concern about the use of nuclear weapons is “largely unfounded” +++
The chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Bundestag, Michael Roth, sees an attempt at intimidation in the announcement by Russian President Vladimir Putin that tactical nuclear weapons will be stationed in Belarus. The SPD politician explains in the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” that he considers the concern about the use of nuclear weapons to be “largely unfounded” because China has made it clear that it will not tolerate their use. The vice-chairman of the Union faction, Johann Wadephul, speaks of an “unsuitable attempt to intimidate the West”. “This does not increase the potential threat,” says the CDU politician, referring to the deterrence provided by NATO and China’s red lines. “In this respect, this is a measure taken by Putin, with which he wants to cover up his own failures.”
+++ 21:48 Municipal services leave the destroyed place of Avdiivka +++
On orders from the Ukrainian army, the employees of all municipal services have had to leave the small town of Avdiivka in the east of the country, which was badly damaged by Russian attacks. “Unfortunately, Avdiivka is increasingly turning into a site from post-apocalyptic films,” says military chief Vitaly Barabash, according to the Ukrainian agency Unian. Due to the constant attacks, the city had become a lunar landscape. Therefore, it was decided to evacuate the municipal services employees who had been maintaining the city’s viability. “I strongly recommend leaving the city, because the Russian rockets and grenades spare nothing and nobody,” says Barabash. Avdiivka had around 32,000 inhabitants before the war.
+++ 21:09 Makeiev: “We already have one foot in the EU” +++
Ukrainian Ambassador Oleksii Makeiev sees Ukraine on the best path to EU membership. “We already have one foot in the European Union,” he told the Rheinische Post newspaper. “We have accession candidate status. Ukrainian citizens and those seeking protection have freedom of travel, access to the labor market, Ukrainian products can be imported into the European Union duty-free, and there are no problems for German industry, farmers or employers. Our parliament has a reform program with 300 laws adopted, which are compatible with European law. It all goes towards the full integration of Ukraine.”
+++ 20:29 Kiev: 50 Russian attacks repelled in one day +++
According to their own account, the Ukrainian troops repelled around 50 attacks by Russian units on various front sections in the east of the country on Sunday. According to the General Staff in Kiev, the main focus of the attacks was around the towns of Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Marijinsk. The advances were repelled “with professional and coordinated actions”. The Russian units suffered heavy losses again. The information cannot be independently verified. The Russian military has been trying for weeks to break through the largely rigid front lines in eastern Ukraine.
You can read earlier developments in the Ukraine war here.