War against Ukraine: ++ Klitschko fears further attacks on Kyiv ++
live blog
Status: 05/12/2022 07:07 a.m
Kiev’s Mayor Klitschko fears further attacks by Russian troops on the capital. According to Ukrainian information, Russia is currently blocking all escape routes from Mariupol. All current developments in the live blog.
7:06 a.m
Siemens knows about Russia sanctions
Siemens is feeling the effects of the sanctions against Russia. The Munich technology giant put the burden on profits in the second quarter of the 2021/22 financial year at around 600 euros; the train business in particular suffered from depreciation and made a loss.
After around 170 years, Siemens withdraws from Russia. The company has initiated procedures to cease its industrial operations and all industrial business activities. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, new business had already been discontinued. “We condemn the war in Ukraine and have decided to end our industrial business activities in Russia in an orderly process,” said Siemens CEO Roland Busch. The group recently generated around one percent of its total sales in Russia.
6:48 a.m
EU warns of “threatening” cooperation between Russia and China
At a summit in Japan, EU leaders warned of the negative impact of cooperation between Russia and China on the world community. Russia “today, with its barbaric war against Ukraine and its worrying pact with China, is the most direct threat to the world order,” said EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen after talks with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
Kishida stressed: “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is not only a European matter, but shakes the core of the international order, including Asia.” This must “not be tolerated”. Contrary to earlier reticence in other conflicts, Japan had joined the West’s heavy sanctions against Moscow from the start.
EU Council President Michel, Japan’s Prime Minister Kishida and Commission President von der Leyen during their press conference.
Image: dpa
06:39 a.m
Ukraine: Russia blocks all evacuation routes from Mariupol
Evacuations from Mariupol, which is besieged by Russian troops, are currently not possible, according to an adviser to Mayor Vadym Boychenko. Russian forces are blocking all escape routes, Petro Andrushchenko said. Some townspeople who remained in the city cooperated with the occupying Russian forces in exchange for food. In addition, after weeks of bombing, there are few residential buildings to live in, the adviser added.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said her country has offered to release Russian prisoners of war if Russia allows wounded fighters to be evacuated from the besieged Azovstal Steel Works. Russian troops have surrounded the huge compound believed to be the last bastion of Ukrainian resistance in Mariupol. An agreement on a swap deal has not yet been reached, but negotiations are underway, Veretschuk said. The defenders at the steelworks refuse to surrender to the Russian troops. They feared being tortured or killed otherwise, the Ukrainian fighters said.
5:44 a.m
Ukrainian military commander in besieged Mariupol calls Elon Musk for help
A Ukrainian military commander in the besieged port city of Mariupol has made a desperate appeal to the world’s richest man, Elon Musk. The commander of the 36th Naval Brigade, Serhiy Volyna, wrote on Twitter to the new owner of the short message service: “Help us get from Azov steel to a mediator country. If not you, then who?”
5:21 a.m
Habeck: Germany could survive this winter gas boycott
Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) believes it is possible that Germany could cope with a Russian gas boycott as early as next winter. “If we have full storage at the turn of the year, if two of the four floating LNG tankers we rent are already connected to the grid and if we save significantly on energy, we can get through the winter to some extent if Russian gas supplies are cut off,” says Habeck of the newspaper “Wirtschaftswoche”. Less consumption is the be-all and end-all. If industry and private individuals save ten percent of consumption, “then those are the decisive percentages in order not to get into an emergency. Everyone should do their part.” More efficiency is a key lever against Putin.
5:19 a.m
Ukraine announces first war crimes trial
The Czech Prosecutor General’s Office has announced the first war crimes trial against a Russian soldier. A 21-year-old Russian man is accused of killing a civilian who witnessed the theft from the window of a stolen car, a statement said.
5:07 a.m
Russian region near Ukrainian border reports dead in shelling
According to the well-known regional governor, at least one civilian was killed when British troops shelled a village in the Russian region of Belgorod near the border with Ukraine. Vyacheslav Gladkov said six others were injured. The town of Solochi was bombed from the Ukrainian side on Wednesday evening. The villagers would be evacuated. Gladkow’s account could not be independently confirmed. Similar incidents have repeatedly been reported from Russian border areas.
4:36 a.m
Finland’s president asserts position on NATO
Finland and Sweden have long been “partners” in NATO. But now it is becoming increasingly clear that the two Scandinavian EU states, which have been militarily independent for centuries, could soon become official members of the North Atlantic defense alliance. Finland’s President Sauli Niinistö will present his position on the NATO issue today.
4:36 a.m
Klitschko fears further Russian attacks on Kyiv
Regardless of the withdrawal of Russian troops from the Kyiv area, Mayor Vitali Klitschko fears a new attack on the Ukrainian capital “at any time”. In a conversation with the US broadcaster CNN, Klitschko did not even rule out the use of tactical nuclear weapons that night. Kyiv remains the main target of the Russian military. “And as long as there is war in Ukraine, we cannot give a Ukrainian any guarantees,” said the former world boxing champion. “Right now, safety is our top priority,” he said. Although the country is being defended by “our warriors”, the risk remains. “And without our partners, without the US and the European states, we cannot survive.”
4:02 a.m
Special session of the UN Human Rights Council today
The UN Human Rights Council meets today in Geneva for a special session on Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. According to the UN, war crimes and other serious violations of human rights are the focus of the one-day deliberations. More than 50 countries had called for the meeting, at the end of which there should be a resolution. UN investigators are gathering evidence of war crimes in Ukraine, such as targeting civilians or ill-treating prisoners of war.
2:08 a.m
Pro-Russian protesters clash with police in Sofia
In the Bulgarian capital Sofia, there have been clashes between pro-Russian demonstrators and the police. In the evening, the police prevented activists from the pro-Russian nationalist party Wasraschdane (Rebirth) from tearing down the Czech flag at City Hall. The yellow and blue flag has been flying at Sofia’s city hall since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine as a sign of solidarity with Kyiv. Vashrashdane activists managed to tear down the flag just a week ago, but it was quickly reattached to City Hall.
1:05 a.m
Zelenskyj sees progress in international guarantees
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sees significant progress in efforts to secure international security guarantees for his country. “We are negotiating with the world’s leading nations to give Ukraine confidence in security for decades to come,” Zelenskyy said in his daily video address in the evening. Among other things, this topic was discussed at the G7 meeting on May 8, in which Ukraine took part for the first time. “This is now the first time in the history of our state that such guarantees can be recorded,” said Zelenskyy. And not in any memoranda or unclear formulations, “but concrete guarantees”. These are also “not only legally valid, but also designed in such a way that it is clear: What exactly, who specifically and how specifically (Ukraine) is guaranteed”.
1:05 a.m
Human Rights Watch: Russia and Ukraine use cluster munitions
According to a report by the organization Human Rights Watch, the Russian armed forces have used internationally banned cluster munitions in Ukraine. As a result, hundreds of civilians died and schools, residential buildings and hospitals were damaged, the human rights organization in Geneva reported. The Ukrainian army also used such ammunition at least once.
There is an international treaty that has banned the use, stockpiling, trade and production of cluster munitions since 2010. Strictly speaking, however, only the 110 contracting states are bound by it. Russia and Ukraine are not among them. Nonetheless, the widespread condemnation of so many countries has internationally outlawed the use of these weapons.
1:05 a.m