The French broadcaster BFM TV has in Moscow an interview with Pyotr Tolstoy, the vice-president of the Duma. After Paris discussed deploying ground troops in Ukraine, Tolstoy openly made threats in the conversation. “Russia will kill every French soldier who sets foot on Ukrainian soil. Every single one of them,” said the politician. He also accuses France of provoking World War III.
+++ 06:01 Massive air strikes shake the entire Ukraine – Dnipro dam in flames? +++
For the second night in a row, Ukraine is rocked by massive air strikes. “Feel with everything there is – from Iranian drones and inaccurate Ch-22 cruise missiles to aeroballistic Kinzhal missiles,” writes journalist Denis Trubetskoy from Kiev on X. There are reports of impacts in all parts of the country. Among other things, the Dnipro dam near the city of Zaporizhia have been hit and are on fire, reports an OSINT project. An official confirmation is still pending. Ukrainian authorities also speak of seven destroyed and 35 damaged buildings in Zaporizhia. In addition, there are reports of attacks on energy infrastructure in Kharkiv (Entry from 05:37 a.m). The medium Euromaidan Press reports on a blackout in almost the entire city. It can be assumed that the full extent of the violent attacks will only become clear in the next few hours. “Russia’s barbaric attacks on an entire people continue to threaten civilians and violate international law. Ukraine needs our help now,” writes United States Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink on X.
+++ 05:37 Rocket attacks on Kharkiv – power supply partially interrupted +++
Kharkiv was attacked by Russian missiles in the early hours of the morning. According to Mayor Ihor Terekhov, the shelling targeted energy infrastructure and there were fires in some areas. In parts of the city there are problems with the electricity supply and, as a result, with the water supply because pumping stations are cut off from the power grid. Terekhov speaks of 15 explosions so far and calls on citizens to be careful because further attacks could follow.
+++ 04:58 China pleads for an international peace conference +++
China wants an international peace conference in which Russia and Ukraine participate on an equal footing. This is what Chinese Special Representative for Eurasian Affairs Li Hui says. China stands ready with open arms and will accept anything that contributes to de-escalation and negotiations, Li told reporters. China has submitted its proposals to ensure the success of the peace conference that Switzerland plans to host this summer. Switzerland announced in February that it wanted to organize a Ukraine peace conference.
+++ 03:50 Because of the danger of land war: SPD householder Schwarz wants higher defense spending +++
The SPD budget politician Andreas Schwarz, who is responsible for the defense budget, is calling for a significant increase in defense spending. “Russia’s war economy produces so many weapons that it could attack us in a few years – we have to arm ourselves against this possibility,” he tells the “Tagesspiegel”. Schwarz therefore advocated increasing the defense budget, which currently stands at a good 50 billion euros per year, to more than 60 billion euros. In order to deter Russia, it makes sense “to call up our framework contracts now for 100 more Leopard 2 main battle tanks and the self-propelled howitzer 2000,” said Schwarz. Although this costs up to four billion euros, it sends an unmistakable message.
+++ 02:35 Estonia’s Foreign Minister: “If we don’t help Ukraine in its time of need, we will soon be in need ourselves” +++
Estonia does not rule out the use of ground troops in Ukraine – but emphasizes that this is not currently an issue. “There are no negotiations about the deployment of ground troops and the Ukrainians are not asking us to station our soldiers on site,” Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna told the editorial network Germany. Instead of ground troops, the West must supply weapons. “I hope that the realization will prevail that it is much cheaper and safer to provide the Ukrainians with ammunition and weapons so that they can fight, instead of thinking about whether we should invade or not,” he says. “If we don’t help Ukraine in its time of need, we will soon be in need ourselves.”
+++ 01:38 IMF approves $880 million loan for Ukraine +++
The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approves a third review of Ukraine’s loan program, releasing $880 million in budget support. The IMF said this would enable the country to pay out a total of $5.4 billion. Ukraine will receive the funds in the coming days, announced the head of the IMF’s Ukraine mission, Gavin Gray. Ukraine performed well overall in the first year of the IMF program, meeting all but one of the quantitative performance criteria, Gray said.
+++ 00:44 Klingbeil: No negotiations with Putin are currently conceivable +++
SPD chairman Lars Klingbeil currently sees no basis for negotiations with Russian President Putin about an end to the war in Ukraine. “I personally don’t believe that you can sit down at the same table with Vladimir Putin,” says Klingbeil on the ZDF program “Maybrit Illner.” Those who decided on this were the Ukrainians. SPD parliamentary group leader Rolf Mützenich defends Klingbeil after his statements about freezing the conflict. Mützenich ensures that the SPD parliamentary group stands united behind Chancellor Scholz’s Ukraine policy. In his speech in the Bundestag, the parliamentary group leader clearly said that Ukraine would continue to be supported militarily in its defensive fight against Russia, but it must also be possible to talk about the issue of peace, said Klingbeil. “And I’m telling you, that want and that need is there.”
+++ 23:55 Three civilians die in attacks in Kherson and Donetsk +++
According to official reports, at least three people were killed in Russian attacks in the Ukrainian regions of Kherson and Donetsk. In Kherson in the south of the country, a 70-year-old woman was seriously injured by shelling and died a short time later on the way to the hospital, the regional military administration said. In Donetsk in the east, a 60-year-old man and a 66-year-old woman were killed in the small town of Novohrodivka, according to prosecutors. Two other people were injured.
+++ 22:47 EU Commission prepares higher tariffs on Russian grain +++
The EU Commission wants to impose higher tariffs on imports of Russian grain. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced this after talks between EU heads of state and government at a summit in Brussels.
+++ 22:20 Council President Michel: EU wants to accelerate military aid +++
Because of the increasingly difficult situation in Ukraine, the Europeans want to provide Kiev with military aid more quickly. “We are accelerating our military support – ammunition, missiles, air defense systems,” writes EU Council President Charles Michel on Especially due to pressure from the Eastern Europeans, the summit declaration that has now been adopted states for the first time that the Europeans want to support Ukraine not only “for as long as necessary” but also “as intensively as necessary”.
+++ 21:48 Russian court rejects Navalny’s mother’s lawsuit +++
The Russian judiciary has rejected a lawsuit brought by the mother of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, who died in custody, over his prison conditions. A court in Labytnangi in the Arctic Circle has declared that only the person affected can sue against inadequate medical care in prison, says the head of the anti-corruption foundation founded by Navalny, Ivan Zhdanov. Navalny has repeatedly complained against prisons because he is not receiving medical care. “Now that he has been killed, his family’s lawsuit is being rejected with ridicule,” criticizes Zhdanov on the Telegram platform.
+++ 21:15 Weber: We have to take care of our own defense +++
The EPP party and group leader in the EU Parliament, Manfred Weber, is calling for greater defense preparedness in Europe. “We want to secure peace in this European Union and securing peace in this day and age means showing strength,” Weber told broadcaster Phoenix. We need to talk about deterrence again so that no one wastes a thought on attacking Europe. “And even against the background of the American elections, it must be clear to everyone that 330 million Americans will not defend 440 million Europeans in the long term. We now have to take care of our own defense,” summarizes Weber.
+++ 20:17 Military chief supports Macron’s statement about sending troops +++
Following statements by French President Emmanuel Macron about a possible deployment of troops to Ukraine, the French chief of staff also emphasized that the West’s support for Ukraine could go beyond arms deliveries. Putin “built his maneuver on the idea that the West will never go to Ukraine, but only deliver weapons,” said General Thierry Burkhard during a visit to his Swedish colleague in Paris. We have to show Putin “that he cannot achieve his goal with this logic because this idea is not correct,” adds Burkhard. Macron’s intention is to make it clear to Putin that “we are aware of what is going on in Ukraine.”
You can read all previous developments here.