Ukraine war in Newsblog | Russia and China apparently want to hold military maneuvers

Day 390 since the war began: Ukraine has attacked targets in Crimea with drones. And Xi is visiting Moscow. All information in the news blog.

5:59 p.m.: According to a media report, Russia and China want to hold joint maneuvers of their air and naval forces on a regular basis. The Interfax news agency reports that the cooperation and trust between the respective military forces should be deepened, citing a joint statement after the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping. The document underlines that relations between Russia and China are not a “military-political alliance”.

5:58 p.m.: Russia burns its fighters so quickly that new recruits are needed. The Kremlin is apparently relying on the perfidious caste system in prison. Read more here.

5:47 p.m.: Alexander F. fought for the separatists in Donbass and for Russia against Ukraine. He was the first German to be taken prisoner in Ukraine in 2022 – t-online and ZDF “Frontal” met him. Read more here.

5:38 p.m.: Against the background of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock expressed her disappointment at the visit of China’s head of state and party leader Xi Jinping to Moscow. The visit would have been “an opportunity for China to live up to its responsibility and role as a permanent member of the Security Council,” said the Green politician on the fringes of the Green Party’s parliamentary group retreat in Weimar.

However, she noted that in statements by both governments on their websites, “the fact that we experienced a war of aggression in the world last year has not even been mentioned in other words, as it is otherwise called, but as if the entire last year had not existed”.

China has a special responsibility as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, Baerbock said. “It’s not just a privilege that you can veto it. The primary task for the permanent members of the Security Council is to serve world peace.” It was therefore a sign of hope that the Chinese announced at the Munich Security Conference in February that they wanted to present a peace plan. Unfortunately, instead, a position paper was created that did not name the attacker and the victim “and therefore, in my view, cannot make any real contribution to peace.”

With regard to Xi’s visit to Moscow, Baerbock said both governments had described their deep friendship on their websites. The Chinese side had also made it clear to Russia what a wonderful year 2022 was, also economically. This is regrettable because “China, as a permanent member of the Security Council, actually has a special responsibility for peace in the world.”

5:31 p.m.: China’s President Xi is visiting Moscow. There he praised the “constructive talks” with Kremlin boss Putin. Read more about it here.

1:19 p.m.: The US is apparently working to deliver Abrams tanks to Ukraine faster than expected. This emerges from a report by the US news channel MSNBC. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told the broadcaster Tuesday, “We’re working on it. There are some changes that can be made to the process to speed it up.”