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“The day will come when we will liberate Mariupol,” Zelensky said in his daily video address on Thursday. Military observers expect a Ukrainian offensive this spring. Armed aid from the West continues unabated – including fighter jets from Poland.
In his speech, Zelensky recalled the Russian air raid a year ago on the theater in the then heavily disputed port city of Mariupol, where many civilians had found shelter at the time. “Russian bombs destroyed the theater in Mariupol,” said the 45-year-old. To this day it is not clear how many people died. “Hundreds? One thousand?” Zelensky asked. Moscow denies responsibility for the attack, claiming the theater was blown up by the nationalist Ukrainian Azov regiment.
The president of Ukraine called the theater bombing one of Russia’s many war crimes. “The day will come when a tribunal will be established to restore justice to our people,” he promised. According to him, the Ukrainian judiciary is working to clarify matters. The country’s diplomats forged partnerships with foreign countries to bring the crimes to an international criminal court.
The UN has now also made a template available for this. According to a UN Human Rights Council investigative committee, Russian troops committed numerous war crimes during the war in Ukraine. These include deliberate killings, attacks on civilians, unlawful detention, rape and forced deportations of children, the Geneva report said on Thursday. In addition, waves of attacks by Russian forces on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and the use of torture could constitute crimes against humanity.
According to President Andrzej Duda, Poland wants to hand over four MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine in the coming days. More MiG-29s are currently being maintained and prepared for a later handover, Duda said in Warsaw on Thursday after a meeting with Czech President Petr Pavel. The country’s leadership made a corresponding decision and the government subsequently passed a resolution.
Duda went on to say that the Polish Air Force currently has about a dozen MiG-29s, acquired from East Germany’s stockpiles in the early 1990s. “They are used as working MiGs for our air defense at all times.” The machines handed over to Ukraine are to be replaced with modern fighter jets, which Poland has ordered from South Korea and the US.
The Baltic states of Estonia and Lithuania will also continue to provide Ukraine with military aid in the fight against Russia. The Estonian government on Thursday decided to provide semi-automatic rifles, sniper rifles, sights, binoculars, ammunition, individual and special equipment, patrol boats and thermal imaging cameras. Lithuania’s new aid package includes 155mm ammunition, vehicles and troop rations, Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas wrote on Twitter.
China called on Ukraine and Russia to start peace talks as soon as possible. China hopes all sides exercise restraint, resume peace talks as soon as possible and move back towards a political solution, Foreign Minister Qin Gang said in a phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba on Thursday, according to China’s Xinhua News Bureau. In the conflict, China supports Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Prominent Russian opposition figure Yevgeny Roisman was sentenced to 14 days in prison in Yekaterinburg for allegedly spreading extremist symbolism. The judge found Roisman guilty of an administrative violation, the Russian news agency Interfax reported on Thursday. Roisman allegedly shared a video of the sentencing of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny on the Russian social network VKontakte (vk.com), which showed the emblem of his anti-corruption fund (FBK), which is considered extremist in Russia. Roisman himself denies the accusation.
Blick provides live information about current developments in Ukraine.
Blick provides live information about current developments in Ukraine.
In addition, a regional politician was fined on Thursday for satirically protesting noodles during a speech by Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin. The deputy of the regional parliament in the Volga region of Samara, Mikhail Abdalkin, had to pay the equivalent of 1,850 euros, the Internet portal “Protokol.Samara” reported.
Finnish President Sauli Niinistö will meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul on Friday to discuss his country’s NATO membership. Finland expects Erdogan to announce his approval for Finland’s accession to NATO after months of delay. Russia has criticized Finland and Sweden’s attempts to join NATO.
In Ukraine, meanwhile, fighting continues, especially in the east of the country. Russia is still striving to capture the city of Bakhmut to have a result of its winter offensive. Ukraine, however, stubbornly defends the city, which is now completely in ruins.
(SDA)
Source: Blick
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
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