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The situation in the Ukraine war continues to deteriorate – militarily, diplomatically and humanitarianly: the news ticker on Tuesday.
- Germany probably supplies tank howitzers: Ukraine should receive weapons from the federal government
- Parts of Ukraine are to be annexed: Russia wants “people’s republics” of Donetsk and Luhansk.
- Russian war of aggression in Ukraine: USA warn of escalation of Ukraine war. You can read everything about the Ukraine conflict in our current news ticker. This is continuously updated.
+++ 3.45 p.m.: According to the UN, 101 people were evacuated from the besieged steelworks in Mariupol. Most of them are now in Zaporizhia, where they are receiving humanitarian aid. “Thanks to the operation, 101 women, men, children and the elderly were finally able to leave the bunkers under the Azovstal Steelworks and see the light of day after two months,” said Osnat Lubrani, United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine. Meanwhile, Russian soldiers are said to have stormed the steelworks.
+++ 2.30 p.m.: Vladimir Putin continues to stoke fears of nuclear war. Now the president’s “doomsday plane” is said to have been sighted over the Russian capital Moscow. This is a machine that would protect Putin even in the event of a nuclear disaster. He could rule Russia from the air.
War in Ukraine: Russian troops probably storm steelworks in Mariupol
+++ 1.45 p.m.: According to media reports, Russian troops have begun to storm the besieged Azovstal steelworks in the fiercely contested Ukrainian port of Mariupol. “They bombed us from the air all night […] and now Azovstal is being stormed,” the newspaper Ukrajinska Pravda quoted the deputy commander of the Ukrainian Azov regiment, Sviatoslav Palamar, as saying on Tuesday. Palamar said two civilians were also killed in the recent Russian attacks.
There was initially no official confirmation from the Russian side. However, the state news agency Ria Novosti, citing a spokesman for the Defense Ministry, reported that Azov fighters entrenched on the factory premises used a ceasefire to return to their firing positions. These would now be attacked with artillery and from the air.
Ukraine War: Nine dead near Donetsk
+++ 1.30 p.m.: According to a report, nine people were killed in Russian attacks in the Donetsk region. This was announced by the responsible governor, Pavlo Kyrylenki, according to the news portal Kyiv Independent.
+++ 12.45 p.m.: Vladimir Putin has signed a decree on retaliatory actions. This applies in particular to economic sanctions. The Office of the President in Moscow said that the decree was a reaction to “unfriendly actions by certain foreign states and international organizations”. Putin had already announced this last week.
For example, the new decree prohibits the export of raw materials and products to certain organizations or individuals. A passage that allows Russian businessmen to disregard their obligations to contractual partners is particularly problematic. According to the Presidential Office, a specific list of sanctions will be drawn up in the coming days.
War in Ukraine: Federal government probably supplies self-propelled howitzers
+++ 12.00 p.m.: The federal government has apparently decided to deliver seven Panzerhaubitz 2000 from Bundeswehr stocks to the Ukraine. This is reported by the daily newspaper Welt – and points out that the decision of the Chancellery and the Ministry of Defense was probably made against the advice of leading military experts in the Bundeswehr. Accordingly, they had noted that only about 40 of the 119 self-propelled howitzers 2000 were currently operational in the Bundeswehr. Whether the howitzers would be of any use to Ukraine at all was also questioned.
Ukraine War: Russia Reportedly Responsible for Death of 220 Children
+++ 11.15 a.m.: Russia is responsible for the deaths of 220 children, according to Ukraine’s Attorney General. More than 406 have also been injured in the Ukraine war so far, as the news portal Kyiv Independent reports. “The figures are likely to be higher as they do not include child casualties in areas where hostilities are still ongoing, as well as in temporarily occupied or recently liberated areas,” the report said
Ukraine war: humanitarian situation in Mariupol a “disaster”
+++ 10.45 a.m.: According to “Doctors Without Borders”, the humanitarian situation in the port city of Mariupol, which has been under siege for weeks, is a “total catastrophe”. This was explained to the newspapers of the Funke media group by the organization’s emergency coordinator in Ukraine, Anja Wolz. “I don’t think we have any idea what we’re going to see there. Butscha, Irpin and Hostomel are just the tip of the iceberg,” says Wolz. There are currently hardly any ways to bring medicines to Mariupol. In addition, there is a lack of medical staff on site to treat the injured.
Ukraine War: Concerns about Russian mobilization in Ukraine are growing
+++ 10.15 a.m.: In Ukraine, there are concerns that Russian attacks will escalate significantly in the coming weeks. On Tuesday, several Ukrainian media picked up a report by the US broadcaster CNN on speculation that Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin could declare a state of war in Russia and order general mobilization in just a few days. Such plans could be made public by Putin on May 9, the “Day of Victory” over Nazi Germany. The head of Ukrainian military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, also spoke of Russian preparations for an open mobilization of soldiers and reservists. There is no evidence for this. So far, Russia has officially only spoken of a “special operation” in Ukraine.
The Kremlin did not initially respond to the latest rumours. In the first few weeks after the attack on the neighboring country on February 24, Moscow commented on the concerns of its own population and emphasized that general mobilization was not planned. Even in the event of such an order, however, the extent would be completely unclear: Russia’s legislation also provides for the possibility of partial mobilization, which would then only affect individual regions of the giant country.
Ukraine war: British secret service with a new prognosis
+++ 10.00 a.m.: The British secret service sees Russia’s army significantly weakened in the Ukraine war. According to the latest Defense Ministry situation report, the ongoing invasion of Ukraine will have a lasting impact on the armed forces. Russia’s defense budget doubled between 2005 and 2018. However, “the modernization of material equipment” did not enable Russia to “dominate Ukraine”. According to British intelligence, the Russian military failed in both strategic and operational execution.
Ukraine war: Pope wants an audience with Putin
+++ 9.30 a.m.: Pope Francis has asked Vladimir Putin for an audience. He wants to meet the Russian president in Moscow, he told the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. However, he fears “that Putin neither can nor wants to have this meeting at the moment,” the Pope continued. A visit to Kyiv, on the other hand, is not planned. “I feel I shouldn’t go. First I have to go to Moscow, first I have to meet Putin,” Francis said in an interview. However, he is only a priest who only does what a priest can do – “if only Putin opened the door”.
+++ 09.15 a.m.: A scandal broke out in international airspace off the island of Rügen: German Air Force Eurofighters pushed a Russian military aircraft away.
Ukraine war: Russia’s plan for Donbass annexation leaks
First report from Tuesday, May 3rd, 8:45 a.m.: Washington DC – If the US has its way, Russia will soon try to incorporate the two self-proclaimed “People’s Republics” of Donetsk and Luhansk in the east of the country in the Ukraine conflict. In doing so, it could resort to a strategy that is strongly reminiscent of the 2014 annexation of Crimea: manipulated referendums on the union of the two separatist regions. This was announced by US Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Michael Carpenter, on Monday (April 3).
The diplomat gave further details on the Russian plans:
- Marked referendums on Donbass annexation are to be held as early as mid-May.
- Russia is planning similar action in the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson, which it already controls militarily. Moscow wants to enforce the use of the ruble as a local currency.
- Fake referendums are “not considered legitimate” – like the referendum on the annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula in 2014.
The US secret service was already correct in its predictions: weeks before the start of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, the US had urgently warned of the danger of Russian forces invading the neighboring country. Washington was thus met with skepticism from Western allies.
This is another reason why OSCE Ambassador Carpenter classified the information about the recent Russian annexation plans as “very credible”. “Unfortunately, we were more right than wrong in disclosing the next steps (of Russia).”
Ukraine War: US State Department Responds to What Happened
Meanwhile, Carpenter was not the only American diplomat to comment on current events in the Ukraine war on Monday. A representative of the US Department of Defense Pentagon also commented on recent developments:
- Russian Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov visited Donbass last week. He stayed there for “several days” but is believed to be back in Russia now.
- Reports that Gerasimov was injured in a Ukrainian attack may be false.
- Although the Ukrainian army bombed a Russian command center in the city of Izyum south of Kharkiv – Gerasimov had probably paid a visit. At the time of the Ukrainian attack, however, he was apparently no longer there.
- Russia is making “minimal” progress in Donbass. Russian soldiers take over individual villages – but then lose control again to the Ukrainian army.
(jf/tu with dpa/AFP)