Day 382 since the beginning of the war: Turkey expects an extension of the grain deal. Switzerland destroys missiles instead of delivering them. All information in the news blog.
The most important things at a glance
The night at a glance
7.48 a.m.: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posthumously honored a sniper killed in the Russian war of aggression with the title “Hero of Ukraine”. In the strategically important city of Bakhmut, Ukrainian units are still fighting Russian attackers. Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko praised Germany’s military support for Ukraine in the war against Russia – and at the same time called for more speed in further arms deliveries. Read the overview of the events of the night here.
Sipri: Ukraine is becoming the third-largest arms importer
7:42 a.m.: As a result of the Russian war of aggression, Ukraine has become one of the world’s largest importers of armaments within a year. Few heavy weapons have been imported from abroad since the former Soviet republic gained independence in 1991, but last year military aid from the US and Europe made Ukraine the third-largest arms importer. This emerges from a report published by the peace research institute Sipri in Stockholm on Monday. Only Qatar and India are ahead of Ukraine.
In the period 2018-2022, Ukraine ranks 14th with a share of 2.0 percent in the volume of global arms imports. Its main suppliers were the USA, Poland and Germany. The supplies were vital to efforts to halt the Russian offensive, Sipri wrote. Russia, on the other hand, relied almost exclusively on weapons it had manufactured itself, but also procured unmanned aerial vehicles and flying bombs from Iran.
According to the report, in the course of the Ukraine war and the strongly perceived threat from Russia, European arms imports rose by 47 percent over the past two five-year periods – those of European NATO countries by as much as 65 percent. Globally, however, the volume of arms deliveries between countries fell by 5.1 percent. The USA remain the absolute industry leader, Germany one of the five largest suppliers.
Ex-NATO commander thinks Ukrainian army is best in Europe
07.09: Former French NATO commander Michel Yakovleff has described the Ukrainian army as the best army in Europe. As the Ukrainian news portal “Rubryka” reports, a good year after the start of the war, according to Yakovleff, the Russian armed forces are only able to defend themselves. “Suddenly it turned out that the Russian army was a team that everyone thought was playing in the Champions League, but it seemed to come from the third tier,” said the ex-French general in an interview. Ukraine, on the other hand, has shown itself to be more resilient than expected: “In my opinion, the Ukrainian army is the best army in Europe today.”
Klitschko: Were close to an evacuation from Kiev in the winter
2 O ‘clock: The mayor of the Ukrainian capital praises the German Iris-T air defense system. The mayor of Kiev, Vitali Klitschko, says he has considered evacuating the Ukrainian capital because of the massive Russian airstrikes on the infrastructure in winter. “In January we were pretty close to calling on the population to evacuate,” Klitschko told the editorial network Germany. “The worst blackout lasted 14 hours. There was no electricity, no water, no heating.”
The infrastructure of the city with its almost three million inhabitants was only saved from collapse by “a lot of strength and energy”, Klitschko told the RND. The employees of the municipal companies would have worked around the clock. About the German air defense system Iris-T, Klitschko said: The defense system saved “thousands” of human lives during the air raids on Kiev. “Our military are excited about Iris-T. Every shot is a hit, nothing misses.”
Zelenskyy: Russia lost more than 1,000 soldiers in Bakhmut in one week
9:32 p.m.: According to Ukraine, the Russian military continues to suffer very high losses in the battle for the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. In less than a week, more than 1,100 Russians died fighting Ukrainian troops near Bakhmut, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address. In addition, 1,500 Russian soldiers were so badly injured that they were no longer operational. There has been fierce fighting over Bachmut for months.
