03/04/2023
Ukraine war in the live ticker
+++ 06:10 Rheinmetall is negotiating a tank factory in the Ukraine +++
The German armaments group Rheinmetall is negotiating the construction of a tank factory on Ukrainian soil. “A Rheinmetall plant can be built in Ukraine for around 200 million euros,” said Rheinmetall boss Armin Papperger of the “Rheinische Post”. It could produce up to 400 Panther-type main battle tanks annually. The talks with the Ukrainian government are “promising”. Papperger hopes for a decision “within the next two months” and was convinced that the plant could be protected against Russian air attacks: “An anti-aircraft protection would not be difficult.”
A Leopard 2A6 demonstrates its smoke gun on a Bundeswehr training area.
(Photo: IMAGO/Panama Pictures)
+++ 03:40 Two Ukrainian units report withdrawal from Bakhmut +++
According to the Ukrainian Internet channel Espreso TV, the commander of a Ukrainian army unit in Bakhmut reports that parts of some units have been ordered to move to safer positions and describes the situation as “a slaughterhouse on both sides”. The leader of a Ukrainian drone unit says in a video posted on social media that his unit has been ordered to withdraw immediately.
+++ 02:21 President of the European Parliament in Kiev +++
The President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, has arrived in the Ukrainian capital Kiev for a visit. “It’s nice to be back in Ukraine,” she tweeted in both English and Ukrainian. “With these brave people who inspired the world; with the heroes who won’t capitulate; with those who sacrificed everything for our values; with Europeans whose home is in our European Union.” She adds a Ukrainian and an EU flag to her embassy. There is no information about Metsola’s program in Kiev. The Maltese politician had already visited Ukraine in April last year.
+++ 01:18 Biden and Scholz agree: Moscow should bear the costs of the war +++
US President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz want to make Russia pay for the war. The US President’s Office announced after the meeting in the White House that the two politicians had reaffirmed this during their conversation. In addition, Biden and Scholz had “reaffirmed their strong bilateral relations”. They also stressed the importance of maintaining global solidarity with the Ukrainian people. The chancellor had flown to Washington to have a private talk with Biden about further developments in Ukraine.
+++ 23:38 NATO Commander-in-Chief: the extent of the war is unbelievable +++
After the Russian attack on Ukraine, NATO has to adjust to a new reality, according to its commander-in-chief in Europe. The extent of this war is unbelievable, says General Christopher Cavoli as the guest of honor at the traditional Matthiae meal in Hamburg City Hall. Russia has so far lost more than 2,000 large battle tanks. More than 200,000 Russian soldiers and over 1,800 officers were killed or wounded. On average, the Russian army fires more than 23,000 artillery shells per day. When the going gets tough for NATO, “hard power” must be an argument. “If the other comes with a tank, you should also have a tank,” says Cavoli.
+++ 21:59 OSCE wants to mediate in peace negotiations +++
According to its Secretary General, Helga Maria Schmid, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is ready to support peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. In Hamburg, Schmid quoted Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who, with a view to a Chinese peace plan, had called for talks not only with Moscow, but above all with Kiev under the umbrella of the United Nations. “I can only agree with that and add that the OSCE will also make its contribution at this point,” says the Secretary General, the guest of honor at the traditional Matthiae meal in Hamburg City Hall.
+++ 21:22 Zelenskyj: Russia will have to answer for the war +++
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the Russian state and military leadership will one day have to answer for the war of aggression against Ukraine. This was the central topic of an international conference in Lviv, in which representatives of the EU and other European institutions also took part, says Zelenskyj in his video speech every evening. The central theme was “the responsibility of Russia and its leadership – personal responsibility – for aggression and terror against our country and our people,” stressed Zelenskyy. “And when they are held accountable, justice will be restored.”
+++ 20:48 secret service video on attacks in Bryansk raises questions +++
A video produced by Russia’s FSB secret service about an alleged attack by Ukrainians on Russian civilians in the Bryansk border region raises questions. The video of several sequences, published by the state news agency Tass, among others, does not match the reports previously published by the authorities on the alleged attack by a Ukrainian sabotage squad on Russian territory on Thursday with two dead. So far it has been reported that a car driver was shot dead by the attackers when he tried to turn his car in front of a checkpoint. A ten-year-old boy in the car was also injured in the shelling. The images now published show the dead man at the wheel of the Lada Niva. From the outside, however, the vehicle shows no bullet marks. In addition, the car allegedly filmed at the scene of the crime is once half in the ditch and once on the road. In addition, the FSB presented another Lada with the second dead civilian at the wheel. The car was completely shot up, only it did not appear in the reports about the attacks beforehand.
+++ 20:21 donation fund from the Ukrainian comedian claims to have purchased 100 armored vehicles +++
In Ukraine, the fund of the well-known comedian and TV presenter Serhiy Prytula claims to have purchased over 100 used armored vehicles to support the army in the fight against Russia. “The first part – 24 vehicles – is already in Ukraine,” says a press release. The 41-year-old shows himself in a video with the armored but unarmed tracked vehicles of eight different types in the background. It is said that these were acquired and prepared in Great Britain. According to its own statements, the fund had raised the equivalent of 5.8 million euros within a day and a half after a call for donations in November. The same organization had previously collected money for three Bayraktar (German: standard bearer) combat drones. The name of the action: “People’s Bayraktar”.
You can read earlier developments in the Ukraine war here.