Dhe Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has reaffirmed his country’s claim to the Russian-occupied Crimea peninsula. At an international conference on the situation in Crimea on Tuesday, he said: “I want you all to know: We will definitely come back!” and dependent region” into a “region of high fences, barbed wire and lawlessness”. Polish President Andrzej Duda made a similar statement. “Crimea is and will continue to be part of Ukraine, just as Gdansk and Lublin are part of Poland.” Duda said Poland will support Ukraine until the “last day of fighting.” The Polish President traveled to Kyiv for the conference on Tuesday for the fifth time since the end of February.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) took part in the conference, in which a total of around 60 countries took part, via video link. Scholz condemned “Russia’s attempts to forcibly annex parts of Ukrainian territory”. The message is clear: “Any sham referendums or other attempts to change the status of parts of Ukrainian territory will never be recognized. And such steps rule out any attempt at negotiation.” Scholz said that Ukraine’s partners were united like never before: “I can assure you: Germany is firmly on Ukraine’s side as long as Ukraine needs our support.”
Stoltenberg warns of decreasing military aid
Scholz also announced new arms deliveries to Ukraine. Kyiv is to receive three more Iris-T anti-aircraft systems, a dozen armored recovery vehicles and 20 pickup truck-mounted rocket launchers. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warned on Tuesday that military support for Ukraine would wane: “I expect our European allies to continue to make progress as well.”
Before Ukraine’s Independence Day on Wednesday, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier expressed his “greatest respect” for the Ukrainians. “I admire the courage and determination with which you, the armed forces and the entire population are opposing the brutal Russian war of aggression,” wrote Steinmeier in a letter on the holiday on which Ukraine commemorates its independence on August 24, 1991 . “You will not let your country, your life, your freedom be taken from you,” added the Federal President.
It is feared that Russia will step up its attacks on Ukraine’s national holiday. In Kyiv, all public gatherings were banned on Wednesday, and a curfew was imposed in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. The United States Embassy called on all American citizens to leave Ukraine immediately. President Zelenskyi announced a decisive response in the event of Russian attacks. An attack on Kyiv will be reacted to in the same way as attacks elsewhere.
Meanwhile, in the Russian-occupied part of southern Ukraine, Russian forces are trying to build a pontoon bridge across the Dnipro. According to British intelligence, they are doing this right next to the Antonivka Bridge, which was badly damaged by Ukrainian attacks. The temporary bridge increases troop transport capacity, but remains a vulnerable target.