Uncredited/AP/dpa/ArchiveWagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin: “We will kill everyone who is on the battlefield and take no more prisoners.”
Ukraine has advanced to the other bank of the Dnipro while the Russians are again shelling the city of Wuhledar. All the latest news about the war against Ukraine in the Newsticker.
London: Moscow accelerates “Russification” of occupied territories
9.20 a.m .: According to British assessments, Russia is pushing ahead with the “Russification” of the occupied territories in Ukraine. The Ministry of Defense in London said on Monday, citing intelligence information , that the population was being forced to accept Russian passports . “Residents in the Kherson region have been warned that those who have not accepted a Russian passport by June 1, 2023 will be ‘deported’ and their belongings confiscated,” it said. The bureaucratic integration should help to present the invasion as a success, especially in view of the Russian presidential election in 2024.
Russia had declared the partially occupied Ukrainian regions of Zaporizhia, Cherson, Donetsk and Luhansk to be annexed following sham referendums.
Wagner boss threatens: “We will simply destroy everyone on the battlefield”
9:05 a.m .: The head of the Russian Wagner mercenary force, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has threatened not to take any more prisoners during the fighting and to kill all Ukrainian soldiers. “We will simply destroy everyone on the battlefield,” Prigozhin said on Sunday on the Telegram channel of his press service. He justified this with an allegedly intercepted radio message from the Ukrainians, in which they were discussing the shooting of injured Wagner mercenaries.
Prigozhin accused Kiev of violating international law. As soon as one side has taken prisoners of war, it is responsible for their care and security, said the 61-year-old. Since he is sticking to it, he will not make any more prisoners of war in the future. “We will kill everyone who is on the battlefield and take no more prisoners,” said the entrepreneur close to the Kremlin.
Swiss ambassador defends no transfer of ammunition
Monday, April 24, 4:01 a.m.: The Swiss ambassador in Berlin, Paul René Seger, defended Bern’s no to the transfer of Swiss-made ammunition to Ukraine. Switzerland has decided not to use military force, he told the Augsburger Allgemeine (Monday). “That also means that we don’t support wars.”
He referred to the neutrality requirement, which is of central importance in Switzerland: “It’s part of our DNA.” It is comparable to the passage on the reunification requirement in the German Basic Law.
Seger was amazed at the “extent of criticism that rains down on us”. “The impression is given that Switzerland is partly to blame if Putin wins the war. But 12,000 rounds will not affect or even decide the war,” he said.
Germany wants to export Swiss ammunition for the Gepard anti-aircraft tank to Ukraine. However, Switzerland must agree to the ammunition being passed on because Germany undertook when ordering it not to pass it on to warring parties. The federal government has already delivered 34 Gepard tanks to the Ukraine, but with 60,000 rounds it is not enough ammunition.
During his visit to Berlin last week, Swiss President Alain Berset reiterated his strict no to the transfer of ammunition. “You can’t demand that we break our own laws,” said Berset after a meeting with Chancellor Olaf Scholz ( SPD ). Swiss neutrality laws meant that the government could not provide military support to either side in a conflict.
USA denies Russian journalists trip to the UN – Lavrov rages
6:59 p.m .: Moscow has sharply criticized the US for its decision to issue visas to Russian journalists for their planned trip to the UN Security Council meeting. “We will not forget, we will not forgive,” Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Sunday before his departure for New York . He spoke of a “cowardly” decision by Washington.
In the midst of its military offensive in Ukraine, Russia took over the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council in April, which was sharply criticized by Kiev. Lavrov will chair several sessions of the highest UN body at the UN headquarters in New York. According to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Riabkov, the United States had “not issued visas” to journalists who wanted to accompany Lavrov on his trip to the United States, despite “multiple contacts in the past few days”.
This is a “scandalous and absolutely unacceptable method,” Riabkov said. Russia will find ways “to respond so that Americans will remember for a long time that this is not possible,” he added, according to Russian news agencies. A diplomatic source, quoted by RIA Novosti news agency, announced that US journalists would face “inconveniences and inconveniences” in Russia .
The announcements came three weeks after US journalist Evan Gershkovich was arrested in Russia. The Russian authorities have accused the 31-year-old Wall Street Journal reporter of espionage, which he categorically denies. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison.
“Scorched Earth Tactics”: Russians target Wuhledar again
4:35 p.m .: According to the Ukrainian military, Russian troops are again preparing to storm the city of Wuhledar. The town in the southwest of Donetsk Oblast has repeatedly come under heavy fire in the past few days, regional military spokesman Oleksiy Dmitrashkovsky said on Ukrainian state television on Sunday. On Saturday alone, the city was attacked six times by the Russian air force.
“The enemy is pursuing scorched earth tactics,” Dmitrashkovsky said. “This is to ensure our defenders don’t find positions to defend themselves.”
Uncredited/Ukrainian Armed Forces/AP/dpaTanks on the front lines near the small mining town of Wuhledar on Ukraine’s eastern front line.
A tank-reinforced Russian elite unit of marines suffered heavy casualties attempting to take the Wuhledar area in a three-week offensive in February.
Ukraine advances to another bank of the Dnipro: “Diversion number one”
11:29 a.m .: According to analyzes by western experts in the partially liberated Cherson region, the Ukrainian troops have now also advanced to the bank of the Dnipro river previously controlled by Russian occupiers. Military expert Mike Martin wrote on Twitter : “Distraction number one”.
According to the US Institute for War Studies (ISW), published geodata and texts by Russian military bloggers show that the Ukrainian armed forces have taken positions on the left or east bank in the Kherson region. However, the extent and goals of these Ukrainian successes, which have been registered for the first time, are unclear.
The new development would indicate a loss of control by Russian units in the region. Accordingly, the Russian occupiers could only concentrate on cities.
Citing Russian bloggers, who also repeatedly criticize their own military, the ISW experts already see solid supply lines to the positions of the Ukrainian armed forces.
Ukraine had always declared that it would liberate all areas occupied by Russian troops. If the region were conquered from the Cherson region, the path would be clear for the Ukrainian army to the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which was annexed by Russia.
Successful test: Lithuania away from the Russian power grid for the first time
10:01 a.m .: For the first time, Lithuania operated its power grid alone and completely independently of Russia. For the isolated operation of the grid, the Baltic EU and NATO country interrupted all connections to the Russian power grid for ten hours on Saturday. The test was successful, said the Lithuanian network operator Litgrid on Saturday evening. The test decoupling went unnoticed by the electricity consumer and served to prepare for the planned synchronization of the grid with Western Europe.
According to its own statements, Lithuania stopped its energy imports from Russia completely last year. However, like Estonia and Latvia, it is still part of a common, synchronously switched power grid with Russia and Belarus – the so-called BRELL ring system, which dates back to Soviet times. This means that the Baltic states are more or less connected to the grid of Russia and Belarus and are still dependent on Moscow to maintain the stability of their electricity systems – this is considered a security risk in Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius.
The Baltic States had already taken steps in recent years to synchronize the region’s power grid with the rest of continental Europe by 2025. However, Lithuania wants to achieve this goal ahead of schedule and faster than planned – and is therefore conducting the test on its own. Estonia and Latvia did not take part – the network operators of the two countries stated that they were not yet technically ready for this.
Ukraine wants tenfold military aid
Sunday, April 23, 2023, 5 a.m.: In its fight against the Russian invasion, Ukraine wants to demand significantly more from its western allies. In the war against the Russian invasion, Ukraine is demanding a tenfold increase in western military aid and tougher sanctions. “We are grateful to our allies for their military assistance. But that’s not enough,” Deputy Foreign Minister Andriy Melnyk wrote on Twitter on Saturday. “Ukraine needs ten times more to end Russian aggression this year.” So far, all allies together have provided $55 billion (50 billion euros). But it takes ten times that, emphasized the diplomat, who had been ambassador to Germany for a long time.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for tougher sanctions and enforcement of the existing sanctions against Russia. “The tougher the sanctions against Russia and against the entire Russian war economy, the sooner the war will end,” he said in his daily video message. On the other hand, Russia repeatedly claims that the sanctions are ineffective and will neither end the war nor destroy the economy of the resource superpower.
Wagner boss: son of Kremlin spokesman Peskov fought in Ukraine
7:20 p.m .: The son of Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov fought in the Russian war against Ukraine, according to the Wagner private army alongside their mercenaries. Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin announced on Saturday that Peskov himself had contacted him about the war effort. He therefore advised the confidante of Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin not to send his son to the regular troops of the Defense Ministry. The Wagner boss repeatedly criticizes the poor equipment and inadequate training and leadership of the soldiers.
After three weeks of training, Peskov’s son served under a false name as an artilleryman in the contested Luhansk region, said Prigozhin, who praised the deployment as exemplary. The children of most representatives of the Russian elite shied away from the war effort. “The parents hide them,” complained the 61-year-old. The sons would be sent to the university, where they would be released from service with the gun. On the other hand, the children of workers would die in the war.
Prigozhin provided no evidence of the use of Peskov’s son, who had lived in Britain for a long time and was subject to Western sanctions. Peskow, who usually reacts quickly, did not react to the news, which was also picked up by the state media. Prigozhin said that Peskov tried to talk his son out of going to war.
Nobody in the troops knew about the action. “Only I knew about it and the head of the cadre service,” said Prigozhin. “He showed courage and heroism – just like everyone else.” Now Peskow’s son is on vacation after six months of service. The Wagner boss repeatedly advertises that he treats, equips and pays his fighters better than the regular Russian army does its soldiers.
Alexei Nikolsky/Pool Sputnik Kremlin/AP/dpaKremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov at a video conference in the Moscow Kremlin.
Spain sends first six Leopard tanks to Ukraine
4:40 p.m .: On Saturday, Spain shipped the first six of a total of ten Leopard battle tanks promised for Ukraine. The television showed how the older Type 2A4 tanks were driven onto a ship in Santander, northern Spain. In addition, 20 light armored transport vehicles were loaded. Spain’s Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares had previously announced that the first Leopard tanks would be delivered soon.
The tanks had been out of service for a long time and had been mothballed in a warehouse near Zaragoza since 2012. They were extensively overhauled and tested for use in the Ukraine. In the past few weeks, 55 Ukrainians have been trained as crew members and technicians on the Leopard tanks in Spain . Another four tanks are to be delivered at a later date.
In total, the country has 347 Leopard tanks. Of these, 108 belong to the older variant 2A4 and 239 to the newer type 2A6, which is called 2E in Spain. So far, however, Spain does not want to hand over any of these newer, more powerful tanks to Ukraine. They would be needed for their own national defense.
Source: FOCUS
