The United States is meeting in Germany on Tuesday for around 40 allied countries to further arm Ukraine against the Russian invader, who has warned of a “real” risk of World War III. As the war in Ukraine generates unprecedented tensions between Russia and the West, the head of Russian diplomacy Sergei Lavrov has raised the threat of an extension of the conflict which could degenerate into world war.
“The danger is serious, it is real, we cannot underestimate it”, he said, quoted by the Interfax agency, the day after a visit to Ukraine by American officials of foreign affairs and the defense, Antony Blinken and Lloyd Austin. Lloyd Austin meets on Tuesday, at the American base of Ramstein in Germany, the representatives of forty countries to “generate additional capacities for the Ukrainian forces”, according to the head of the Pentagon.
“They can win if they have the right equipment, the right support,” Lloyd Austin said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the Ukrainian victory was only a matter of time.
The main information:
- Meeting between the United States and its allies
- Germany to allow delivery of tanks to Ukraine
- Moscow warns of risk of global conflict
- New US military aid
- Russia hit around 100 targets on Monday
- UN Secretary General visits Moscow
The United States unites its allies
About 40 countries are meeting in Germany on Tuesday, at the invitation of the United States, to strengthen the defense of Ukraine, which, according to the American Minister of Defense Lloyd Austin “can win” against Russia, if given provides the means. At a time when Russia is aiming for full control of southern Ukraine and the Donbass region, this meeting held at the US air base in Ramstein, western Germany, is intended to “generate additional capabilities for Ukrainian forces,” Lloyd Austin said after returning from a visit to kyiv.
Germany to allow delivery of tanks to Ukraine
Germany will authorize the delivery to Ukraine of “Cheetah” type tanks, a government source announced on Tuesday, which constitutes a major turning point in the cautious policy followed so far by Berlin in its military support for kyiv.
The details and in particular the number of tanks, specialized in anti-aircraft defense, must be revealed during the day by the Minister of Defense, Christine Lambrecht, during a meeting on the American military base of Ramstein, in the west. of Germany, according to this source. These vehicles would come from the stocks of the German defense industry.
Lavrov warns of a world war
The head of Russian diplomacy, Sergei Lavrov, warned Westerners on Monday against the “real” danger of a third world war. “The danger is serious, it is real, it cannot be underestimated,” said Serguei Lavrov, quoted by the Interfax agency. Sergei Lavrov has accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of “pretending” to negotiate. “But we continue to conduct negotiations with the team delegated by (Volodymyr Zelensky), and these contacts will continue,” he said.
Explosions in a pro-Russian region of Moldova
The president of Moldova will convene her national security council on Tuesday after a series of explosions in the pro-Russian separatist region of Transdniestria which raised fears of an overflow of the conflict in Ukraine in this small country of Eastern Europe.
Authorities in the region said explosions occurred Tuesday at a radio tower near the border with Ukraine. “Early on April 26, two explosions were heard in the village of Maïak”, declared the interior ministry of this self-proclaimed “republic”, not recognized by the international community. They caused no casualties, but two “powerful” antennas that relayed Russian radio frequencies were taken out of service, the ministry said, posting photos purporting to show the transmitters lying on the ground.
US gives $700 million in military aid to Ukraine
“Thanks to the courage, the wisdom of our defenders, thanks to the courage of all Ukrainians, all Ukrainian women – our state is a true symbol of the struggle for freedom,” the Ukrainian president trumpeted in his Monday evening address. . The United States on Monday announced new military aid for Ukraine of $700 million, bringing its assistance to $3.4 billion. They are now supplying heavy weapons to counter Russian forces concentrating on eastern and southern Ukraine, after failing to capture kyiv. Lloyd Austin said he wanted “to see Russia weakened to such a degree that they can no longer do the same kinds of things as the invasion of Ukraine.”
According to British Defense Minister Ben Wallace, Moscow has so far lost “approximately 15,000 men” in Ukraine, a figure that cannot be verified by independent sources. Moscow has given no assessment since March 25, when it claimed to have lost 1,351 soldiers.
Hundreds of targets hit by Russia on Monday
The Russian military said it struck around 100 targets in Ukraine on Monday, including railway installations in the center of the country. For its part, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense indicated that the Russian army continued to strengthen its anti-aircraft defenses, to reconstitute the losses linked to the previous offensive and to bombard infrastructures.
According to the same source, the Russian army is regrouping its forces in the south and tried to advance towards Zaporozhzhya (east), but suffered losses and failed. Russia is displaying its objective of seizing all of Donbass, a large industrial basin in the east – which pro-Russian separatists have partially controlled since 2014 – and taking full control of southern Ukraine, where the fighting are also daily.
Azovstal factory in Mariupol still shelled
The situation seems blocked in the strategic port of Mariupol, at the southern tip of Donbass, almost entirely controlled by the Russians, but where some 100,000 civilians are still stuck, according to kyiv. Russian forces continue to shell the vast Azovstal metallurgical complex there, where the last Ukrainian fighters are entrenched with, according to them, nearly 1,000 civilians, said Tuesday at dawn on Facebook the Ukrainian military commander of Donetsk, Pavlo Kirilenko.
“The shelling continues constantly, with heavy artillery and aviation,” he said. “We can only rely on our own strength,” he added. In the rest of Donbass, the Ukrainian army said on Monday that it had repelled a series of Russian attacks in the regions of Donetsk and Lugansk, where many localities, such as Roubijné, are daily under bombs. Moscow accused kyiv of preventing civilians from leaving Azovstal. But Ukraine says no agreement on humanitarian corridors that would allow them to be evacuated has been reached with Russia.
Kharkiv partially surrounded by the Russian army
Fighting also continues in the Kharkiv region, in the northeast, with a “partial encirclement” of the second city of the country, according to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense. The bombardments have forced civilians to sleep underground for weeks.
“It was scary the first week, after we got used to it,” Alex, 14, who sleeps with his family in an underground car park, told AFP. “On weekdays, in the morning, I go home to do my homework, then I come back here for lunch, to play games, cards, on the phone,” he said. “Our parents don’t tell us the details of the war” but “we know the war is going on”.
Antonio Guterres expected in Moscow then kyiv
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres is expected in Moscow on Tuesday after visiting Turkey on Monday, a country that is trying to mediate in the conflict. He must then go to kyiv. Russian President Vladimir Putin is also due to speak on the phone Tuesday with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Russian news agency Ria Novosti said, quoting Kremlin spokesman Dimitri Peskov. Ankara is currently trying to arrange a summit in Istanbul between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky, although Turkish officials admit that the prospects for such talks currently remain dim.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said he wants to continue negotiations with Ukraine, but accused President Zelensky of “pretending” to discuss with Moscow. “He’s a good actor (…), if you look carefully and read carefully what he says, you will find a thousand contradictions there”, affirmed Sergei Lavrov. But “we continue to conduct negotiations with the ‘Ukrainian’ team and these contacts will continue,” he added.
London abolishes customs duties on imports of Ukrainian products
The conflict has destroyed all cooperation between Russia and the West, who chain sanctions and expulsions of diplomats. On Monday, Moscow announced the expulsion of 40 German diplomats, in retaliation for a similar measure recently taken by Berlin. And the UK announced the abolition of all tariffs and quotas on imports of Ukrainian goods, to “support Ukraine’s fight against Putin’s brutal and unprovoked invasion”, the secretary said. British International Trade, Anne-Marie Trevelyan.