Ukraine wants to get its hands on Russian assets – the night at a glance Orcas trapped in floating ice off the Japanese coast – but there is hope

Explosion at a test site of a Russian missile factory

According to media reports, a serious explosion occurred on Wednesday evening at the test site of a Russian weapons factory, 1,000 kilometers east of Moscow. Russia’s state news agency Tass confirmed the incident. The explosion and the column of fire seen on social networks are not the result of an accident, but of the planned test of a rocket engine. The agency reported this, citing local civil protection. This view could not initially be independently verified.

According to reports, the explosion took place on a site belonging to the Votkinsk Machine Building Plant in the Udmurt Republic. The factory produces, among other things, Russian nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles. There were initially no indications that Ukraine was responsible for the explosion. In recent weeks, Ukraine has increasingly used drones to remotely attack Russian oil and gas industry facilities.

Ukraine claims frozen Russian assets

On Thursday evening, Russia again sent numerous combat drones against Ukrainian areas. After midnight there was an air raid siren, including in the Odessa area on the Black Sea. Initially, nothing was known about shocks or damage. The Ukrainian General Staff in Kiev reported 80 Russian attacks on Wednesday. “The operational situation in the east and south of Ukraine remains difficult,” the report on the situation at the front said.

In a video speech, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for the transfer of all frozen Russian assets to his country:

Ukraine is working vigorously with its partners to ensure that a decision is made on Russian assets. This possible source of financing is also becoming increasingly important for the country, which has been suffering from the Russian war of aggression for almost two years, as other financial flows have stagnated. A billion dollar relief package recently failed in the US Senate due to the domestic political dispute between Republicans and Democrats.

Zelenskyj told EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell: “We really need a united and strong decision,” Zelenskyj said. “A decision that proves that together we respect international law and do not take the terrorist state into account.” According to previous information from Zelensky, the amount is estimated at $300 billion.

There are plans in the EU to send Ukraine the proceeds from frozen assets of the Russian Central Bank as a first step. That would also mean several billion euros per year. Expropriation of Russian assets is considered legally more difficult. The Group of Seven Major Democratic Industrial Countries (G7) also wants to use Russian money for Ukraine. The US and Britain are moving ahead with these plans.

Ukraine aid package fails in US Senate

US President Joe Biden’s Democrats have failed in the Senate with a billion-dollar aid package for Ukraine. As expected, a bill that also includes aid to Israel and stricter rules on immigration policy did not receive the necessary majority in a vote in the parliamentary chamber on Wednesday. The Republicans blocked the bill. Former US President Donald Trump, who wants to return to the White House for the Republicans, had previously opposed the agreement.

The release of new US aid to Ukraine is blocked by the domestic political dispute between Democrats and Republicans in Parliament. On Sunday, senators presented a proposal for a $118 billion aid package. It included military aid to Ukraine and Israel, as well as funds to better protect the US southern border against illegal migration. On Monday, however, Republican leadership in the House of Representatives announced that they considered any discussion of the draft a waste of time. The US Senate should also reject it.

IAEA boss Grossi investigates the situation at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant

Meanwhile, Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), revisited the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine, which is occupied by Russian forces. It was his fourth visit to Europe’s largest nuclear facility since Russia’s war of aggression began in February 2022. Grossi did not comment on his findings. It concerned the protection of the plant, nuclear safety, the condition of the reactors and the cooling system, as well as the qualifications of the operational team and other aspects. “Until this conflict ends without a nuclear accident with radiological consequences, we cannot say our job is done,” he said.

Russian troops have occupied the nuclear power plant with six 1,000 megawatt reactors since the beginning of March 2022. The world public is alarmed as the facility has been shot repeatedly. The Russian and Ukrainian parties blamed each other for this. Since September 2022, IAEA observers have been constantly in the shut down factory, but according to their own statements they do not have access everywhere.

That will be important on Thursday

Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) visits the US. Military aid to Ukraine is an important issue in addition to the situation in the Middle East and the upcoming NATO summit in the summer. A meeting is initially planned for Thursday evening with members of Congress from President Joe Biden’s Democratic Party and former President Trump’s Republican Party. Scholz will meet Biden at the White House on Friday. (sda/dpa)