02/26/2023
Ukraine war in the live ticker
+++ 04:24 Minsk: Belarus has an additional 1.5 million potential soldiers +++
According to the state news agency Belta, there are more than a million volunteer soldiers outside the military in Belarus. If the country were to “proclaim martial law and switch the economy to war mode,” up to 1.5 million people could be called up, the agency quoted Alexander Wolfowitsch, State Secretary of the Security Council. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko earlier this month ordered the formation of a new so-called territorial defense force made up of volunteers. According to the president, the volunteers and professional soldiers should only fight in the event of an attack.
+++ 02:51 Faeser warns of Russian acts of sabotage in Germany +++
In view of the ongoing Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser warns of the high risk of Russian disinformation, espionage and sabotage. “The cyber security situation has worsened as a result of the war. The attacks by pro-Russian hackers have increased,” Faeser told the newspapers of the Funke media group. The danger from state-controlled espionage and sabotage activities also remains high.
+++ 01:48 Czech Republic’s new president compares Putin to Hitler+++
Czech President-elect Petr Pavel draws parallels between the actions of Russian President Putin today and Hitler’s expansionist policy towards what was then Czechoslovakia. “Back then, before the Second World War, Hitler behaved exactly as Putin is behaving now in relation to Ukraine,” said the ex-general, according to the CTK agency, at the end of a pro-Ukraine demonstration in Prague. The 61-year-old explains that Hitler abused the German minority in the Sudeten regions of Czechoslovakia to stir up emotions and incite violence.
+++ 00:37 Bundeswehr Association expects ten-year conflict with Moscow +++
The head of the Bundeswehr Association, Andre Wüstner, expects that the conflict with Russia could last another decade for NATO and Germany. “It would be naïve to believe that the war will be over this year,” says Wüstner of “Bild am Sonntag”. “Putin will not deviate from his war goals for the time being. He will continue to try to destabilize Europe. Domestically, he is preparing the Russian population for a long-term systemic conflict with the West. We are experiencing a decade of war in Europe. NATO and Germany must strategically Align Decade to Threat.” Wüstner therefore urges the Bundeswehr to be equipped and upgraded more quickly.
+++ 23:24 EU imposes sanctions on the Wagner group +++
The European Union imposes sanctions on the Russian mercenary group Wagner. The EU announced that eleven individuals and seven organizations with connections to the Wagner Group had been placed on the sanctions list. The group’s activities endanger international peace and security because it does not operate within a legal framework.
+++ 22:05 Zelenskyj welcomes new EU sanctions +++
Ukrainian President Selenskyj describes the tenth package of EU sanctions as an important step. “It is powerful, directed against the terrorist state’s military industry and financial sector and against the propagandists who have drowned Russian society in lies and are trying to spread their lies around the world,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly video message.
You can read earlier developments in the Ukraine war here.