Russia continues its attacks on Ukraine. The USA wants to impose further sanctions against Russia. There is good news from the Ukrainian human rights commissioner. The news at a glance.
According to official reports, five civilians were killed in a Russian drone strike in the northern Ukrainian region of Sumy. The house in the village of Nowa Sloboda was completely destroyed in the attack, the prosecutor's office said. Two combat drones attacked the town, which is almost six kilometers from the Russian border. The authorities are investigating a possible war crime.
The public prosecutor's office also announced that it was investigating another case of a possible shooting of Ukrainian prisoners of war by Russian soldiers. A drone video is said to show how three Ukrainian soldiers are shot after their task near the town of Robotyne in the Zaporizhzhia region. The incident happened on Sunday. The Ukrainian public prosecutor's office recently began investigating two other alleged shootings of Ukrainians near Avdiivka and Wessele in the Donetsk region.
Human Rights Commissioner: Eleven Ukrainian children repatriated
According to information from Kiev, eleven Ukrainian children who were separated from their relatives have returned to Ukraine. There are six girls and five boys between the ages of two and sixteen, Ukrainian human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinets said on Telegram. The children and young people were therefore brought back from the Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine and from Russia. When returning to the government-controlled area, Qatar and the United Nations Children's Fund reportedly mediated. Lubinez emphasized that some of the children are said to have already received Russian passports and Russian guardians.
According to Kiev, almost 20,000 Ukrainian children and young people without relatives have now been abducted to Russian-controlled areas or to Russia. The International Criminal Court in The Hague has issued an international arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Children's Commissioner Maria Lvowa-Belova on allegations of deportation of minors.
Scholz: Germany is firmly on the side of Ukraine – and the Baltics
At the traditional Matthiae meal in Hamburg City Hall, Chancellor Olaf Scholz emphasized NATO's cohesion and defense preparedness. Germany is firmly on the side of the Baltic states, he said to Estonia's Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, who, like him, was invited to the banquet as a guest of honor. “Your security – the security of Estonia and the Baltics – is also our security.”
With its “imperialist, murderous war of aggression” against Ukraine, Russia wants to rewrite the history of Europe and push the borders by force. “For us as democracies, as Europeans, as friends of freedom, there can be no alternative to continuing to support Ukraine. For as long as necessary,” said the Chancellor in front of around 400 representatives from politics, business, science and culture in the large ballroom of the town hall. If Ukraine stops fighting, there will be no more Ukraine. “Therefore, there is still no alternative for Ukraine but to fight.”
As part of the NATO alliance, the German and Estonian navies protected the Baltic Sea. “Our air force regularly ensures security in the Baltic airspace as part of Baltic Air Policing (…) Our soldiers repeatedly train side by side.” With the permanent stationing of a Bundeswehr combat brigade in Lithuania from 2025, Germany is sending a clear signal: “Security in NATO is indivisible. We are ready to defend every square meter of the alliance's territory.”
USA announces “extensive sanctions package” against Russia
The USA wants to impose further sanctions against Russia after the death of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny. It is a “comprehensive sanctions package” that the US government will announce on Friday, announced the communications director of the US National Security Council, John Kirby, in Washington. He initially did not give any details about the new sanctions. The measure is a reaction to both the death of Navalny and the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine that has been going on for two years. The USA has already imposed extensive sanctions on Russia.
Republicans optimistic about Ukraine vote
During a visit to Germany, several Republican members of the US Congress emphasized the need for a US aid package for Ukraine. US Senator Thom Tillis and Congressman Joe Wilson expressed confidence that there would be a vote in the House of Representatives on an aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. “We are confident that we will have more than 300 votes if we come to a vote,” Wilson said at a meeting in Nuremberg of the US Helsinki Commission, which was looking into war crimes in Ukraine. The Republicans have a narrow majority in the chamber with 219 to 213 Democrats.
