Ukraine war in the live ticker: +++ 03:23 Elon Musk activates the Starlink satellite service in Ukraine +++

Tech billionaire Elon Musk supports Ukraine with his satellite internet service Starlink. “Starlink service is now active in Ukraine. More terminals on the way,” Musk tweeted. He is thus complying with a request from the Ukrainian Minister for Digitization, Deputy Prime Minister Mychajlo Fedorov. The latter had contacted Musk directly via Twitter. In response to Musk’s response, Fedorov thanked the American on Twitter and “everyone” who supports Ukraine.

+++ 02:39 gas pipeline near Kharkiv explodes +++
In the course of heavy fighting around the city of Kharkiv at night, a gas pipeline bursts into flames after an explosion. According to the Ukrainian agency Unian, the line was blown up by Russian troops. This cannot be verified independently.

+++ 01:55 Poland: Baltic states and Poland maybe Putin’s next target +++
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki warns of Russian attacks on NATO’s eastern flank. “The next target could be the Baltic States, Poland, Finland or other countries on the eastern flank. Putin wants to restore the Russian Empire. That should worry us all,” Morawiecki told the Funke media group and the French newspaper Ouest-France “. However, he does not believe that the war in Ukraine will spread to Europe today. NATO is the strongest military alliance the world has ever seen. “We should stick together, significantly increase defense spending, then we’ll be safe.” His country is ready to take in hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees

+++ 01:31 Ukrainian ambassador calls German arms deliveries historical +++
The Ukrainian ambassador in Berlin recognizes the German government’s decision to supply arms to Ukraine as a historic step. “We are glad that Germany has finally completed this 180 degree turnaround,” said Ambassador Andriy Melnyk of the dpa. “I’ve always told my German friends and the federal government that they won’t be able to endure the horrific images of the war in Ukraine for long without reacting and changing course.” For a long time he was “not taken seriously” with his warnings. “Finally the Germans woke up and started to do the right thing.”

+++ 01:01 Ukrainian army reports heavy fighting +++
According to media reports, the Ukrainian armed forces are still being subjected to heavy attacks by the Russian army “from all directions” in many places. However, according to a widespread statement by the Ukrainian army, the enemy is being met with “resolute resistance”. According to this account, among other things, a heavy Russian attack near Kharkiv was repelled. On the other hand, near Cherson in the south, Russian units succeeded in advancing after bitter fighting. Heavy fighting was also raging in the Luhansk region. Fighting also continued in the outskirts of the capital Kiev.

+++ 00:18 Macron warns Lukashenko against stationing Russian nuclear weapons +++
French President Emmanuel Macron has warned Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko against allowing Russia to station nuclear weapons on Belarusian soil. The Elysée Palace announced this after a phone call between the two statesmen. In it, Macron asked Lukashenko to have Russian troops withdraw from his soil as soon as possible.

+++ 23:43 Russia blocks airspace for EU countries +++
Russia has closed its airspace to aircraft from a number of EU countries. According to a statement from the Russian aviation authority, machines from Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania and Slovenia are no longer allowed to fly to Russia, according to the Tass agency. This is a reaction to corresponding steps by these states.

Germany is also preparing to close its airspace to Russian aircraft. In the evening, German aircraft returned from Russian airspace, apparently in anticipation of a closure. Lufthansa said “due to the current and emerging regulatory situation” flights to Russia would be suspended for seven days.

+++ 23:09 Western allies exclude Russian banks from Swift +++
A group of Western countries have decided to exclude Russian banks from the Swift financial transfer system. The said government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit. All Russian banks already sanctioned by the international community and other Russian banks “if necessary” would be excluded from Swift.

+++ 22:59 UN Security Council meets on Sunday +++
The UN Security Council is scheduled to hold an emergency meeting on Sunday for the fourth time in a week over Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine. The meeting of the most powerful UN body has a formal purpose: the council will vote on whether to refer a resolution targeting Moscow’s invasion, blocked by Russia on Friday, to the United Nations General Assembly. In this so-called procedural vote, 9 of the 15 members have to agree – there are no vetoes, which is why the assumption is considered safe.

+++ 22:33 Kiev expects heavy air raids +++
The Ukrainian newspaper “Kyiv Independent” calls on the citizens of the capital to go to the nearest shelter immediately. Heavy air raids were expected.

+++ 22:26 Germany blocks airspace for Russian machines +++
The federal government is preparing to block German airspace for Russian aircraft. Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing supports the closure and has ordered everything to be prepared for it, his ministry announced. “It is very likely that the other EU countries will also close their airspace,” says an EU diplomat.

+++ 22:02 Lufthansa avoids Russian airspace +++
Against the background of the Ukraine war, Lufthansa initially no longer flies to or via Russia. Due to “the current and emerging regulatory situation”, this applies for seven days, the group announced. Flights to Russia are therefore suspended. “Flights that are in Russian airspace will leave it again shortly.” Several German Russia flights had previously been reversed.

+++ 21:54 Klitschko: The night will be difficult +++
According to the Mayor of Kiev, Vitali Klitschko, the situation in the Ukrainian capital is “complicated and tense”. “The night will be difficult,” he writes on the Telegram news channel. “The enemy has not entered the city, but sabotage groups are operating in Kiev.” The military and law enforcement agencies would “neutralize saboteurs”.

+++ 21:46 Selenskyj accuses Russia of “genocide” +++
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy wrote on Twitter that the UN Security Council must classify Russia’s actions as “genocide”. In addition, Russia should be deprived of voting rights in the UN Security Council. Selenskyj had previously spoken to UN Secretary-General António Guterres. Putin justified his attack on Ukraine with a “genocide” allegedly committed in the Donbass.

+++ 21:32 Youtube restricts Russian state media +++
YouTube has noticeably restricted several Russian state media on the video platform. “We are pausing the monetization of a number of channels on YouTube, including several Russian channels related to the recent sanctions,” said a spokesman for the service. The restrictions primarily affect the Russian foreign television program RT, which was called “Russia Today” until 2009. RT is accused, among other things, of targeted disinformation such as the dissemination of conspiracy theories and justifying the war of aggression against Ukraine.

+++ 21:29 NGO: Already more than 3000 arrests at demonstrations in Russia +++
According to civil rights activists, more than 3,000 people have already been arrested in Russia during protests against the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Since Thursday there have been at least 3,052 arrests at anti-war demonstrations, the non-governmental organization OVD-info explains. Despite a strict ban on demonstrations, people in Russia have been taking to the streets to protest the invasion for days.

+++ 21:11 According to US information, the Russians have fired more than 250 rockets +++
Russian forces have fired more than 250 missiles at targets in Ukraine as of Saturday afternoon (CET), according to a senior US Defense Department official. It was mostly short-range missiles, the Pentagon representative said in a briefing for journalists. The Russian armed forces now have “more than 50 percent” of their combined combat troops on Ukrainian territory. Russia has gathered more than 150,000 troops around Ukraine. (More on that below, 8:21 p.m.)

You can read about previous developments here.