02/27/2024
Ukraine war in the live ticker
+++ 06:48 Russia imports sanctioned goods worth hundreds of millions of euros +++
From January to September last year alone, Russia imported sanctioned “sensitive” goods from Europe worth 450 million euros, including weapons technology, as the ISW reports, citing Bloomberg. A quarter of it came directly from the EU, the rest via countries such as Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Serbia, China or ex-Soviet republics. For example, a Russian drone manufacturer purchased so-called dual-use technology from the USA and Taiwan through international intermediaries and former representatives of Western companies in Russkand.
+++ 06:22 Western officials reject Navalny deal +++
According to two Western officials familiar with the matter, discussions about a prisoner exchange took place before Navalny’s death, but no offer was made to the Kremlin. This is what the portal reports Politico. The US and Germany were only in early discussions about some kind of deal, according to an official. According to the second official, not even an informal offer has been sent to Moscow. Navalny’s team announced yesterday that the Kremlin critic should have been released in the next few days – in exchange for the so-called Tiergarten murderer who was imprisoned in Germany.
+++ 05:40 Report: Moscow circumvents oil embargo with ghost ships +++
The West’s oil embargo is intended to prevent Russia from financing its war against Ukraine with export profits. But Moscow still manages to circumvent the bans with so-called ghost ships. This not only brings money into the Kremlin’s war chest, but the dilapidated, uninsured tankers also pose a danger to shipping and the environment. Ghost ships are freighters that do not come from G7 or EU countries and are not insured for transport, according to a report by the private Kyiv School of Economics (KSE). In the latest attempt to crack down on the practice of ghost ships, the United States just blacklisted 14 tankers owned by the Russian state-owned shipping company Sovcomflot.
+++ 04:59 Zelensky fears collapse of the grain corridor +++
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warns of consequences for grain transport through the Black Sea if US military aid fails to arrive. “I think the route will be closed… because to defend it you also need ammunition, air defense and other systems,” Zelenskyy told CNN. According to him, around 30 million tons of grain and other agricultural products have been exported through the maritime corridor. According to the United Nations (UN), there have been dozens of attacks on Ukrainian grain production and export facilities since the war began two years ago.
+++ 03:50 Kiev calls on Ukrainians who have fled to defend their homeland +++
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba calls on his refugee compatriots to return and help defend their homeland. “We respect everyone’s individual decision, but we also call on all Ukrainians who have fled the country since the start of the all-out invasion to consider returning to their homeland,” Kuleba said in an interview with the Irish Times “. Some people would not have this choice for health or other personal reasons. “But those who have a choice, we invite you to return and help Ukraine fight and survive with your direct personal contribution,” he explains.
+++ 02:35 Czech Republic’s ammunition pact already has 15 participants +++
Around 15 countries have expressed interest in the Czech ammunition initiative. “A number of states have joined the initiative in the middle of the negotiations, or my colleagues have told me that they will discuss the initiative quickly,” said Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala following a meeting in Paris. “I think that the action will have broad support in this way, I estimate that it will be 15 states,” he adds. The Czech Republic is leading the initiative to raise money for a rapid purchase of artillery ammunition from third countries for Ukraine.
+++ 01:23 Netherlands gives 100 million euros for ammunition pact +++
The Netherlands wants to contribute 100 million euros to a Czech initiative to buy ammunition for Ukraine. This is what Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte says after a meeting in Paris called by French President Emmanuel Macron to strengthen support for Ukraine. The Czech Republic is leading the initiative to raise money for a rapid purchase of artillery ammunition from third countries for Ukraine.
+++ 00:25 Traffic light discipline: Mützenich wants to see the Taurus dispute over +++
After the Chancellor’s clear no to the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles, SPD parliamentary group leader Rolf Mützenich is calling on the FDP and the Greens to end the coalition dispute over the course to Ukraine. “Some in the coalition are not thinking about the end. We are living in difficult times, a lot of things are wavering. The fact that some people now think they have to look for personal gains in territory is of no use to anyone. Everyone has to pull themselves together now,” says Mützenich the “star”. Mützenich is clearly on the side of the Chancellor in the Taurus decision. “I want to create the space for the Chancellor to weigh up decisions and ultimately make them. Some in the coalition are trying to narrow this space. Unfortunately, the handling of the Ukraine war has also been used for this purpose. That the Chancellor does not give in to this constant pressure , is important.”
+++ 23:26 Macron does not rule out sending Western soldiers to Ukraine +++
French President Emmanuel Macron does not rule out sending Western soldiers to Ukraine. “There is currently no consensus on this. But nothing must be excluded in order to achieve the goal,” said Macron at the end of an international Ukraine conference in Paris in the evening. The goal is that Russia is not allowed to win. In the afternoon, the populist Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico claimed that individual Western countries were considering sending their soldiers to Ukraine. “Several NATO and EU member states are considering sending their soldiers to the territory of Ukraine on a bilateral level,” Fico said after a cabinet meeting in Bratislava. Such agreements would be agreed “probably soon,” he added. (See entry at 3:54 p.m.)
+++ 22:26 Commander-in-Chief Syrskyj is said to be working on two versions of the war plan +++
Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky is currently developing two versions of a war plan in the event Kiev receives US aid and in the event there is no agreement in the Republican-led House of Representatives. That’s what President Volodymyr Zelenskyj says in one go Interview with CNN. According to him, without US help this year, Ukraine will have difficulties not only in preparing for a new offensive, but also in defending itself along the current front line. One version of the Syrsky plan assumes that if Washington provides help, Ukraine will be able to push back Russian troops. If not, she will concentrate on defense, said the president.
+++ 21:58 Zelenskyj: Only a third of the artillery ammunition promised by the EU was delivered +++
According to President Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine has so far received less than a third of the million artillery shells promised by the EU. “Of the one million shells that the European Union promised us, not 50 percent arrived, but unfortunately only 30 percent,” says Zelensky in Kiev. The EU promised last year to deliver one million artillery shells to Kiev by the end of March. However, in January, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell had to admit that member states had only delivered 330,000 rounds of ammunition by then. By the end of March there should be a total of around 500,000 shots.
You can read all previous developments here.