Ukraine war in Newsblog | Ukraine evacuates Kupyansk

Day 374 since the beginning of the war: Kiev has Kupjansk partially evacuated. Olaf Scholz praises the cooperation between Germany and the United States. All information in the news blog.

12:11 a.m.: After the Russian attack on Ukraine, NATO has to adjust to a new reality, according to its commander-in-chief in Europe. The extent of this war is unbelievable, said General Christopher Cavoli on Friday as the guest of honor at the traditional Matthiae meal in Hamburg City Hall. Russia has so far lost more than 2,000 large battle tanks. More than 200,000 Russian soldiers and over 1,800 officers were killed or wounded. On average, the Russian army fires more than 23,000 artillery shells per day.

When the going gets tough for NATO, “hard power” must be an argument. “If the other comes with a tank, you should also have a tank,” Cavoli said. One lesson learned from the Cold War, however, is that weapon precision is what counts. In addition, the production capacity of the defense industry is important. A war is won by those who can produce the fastest.

12:01 a.m.: US President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz want to make Russia pay for the war in Ukraine. The US President’s Office announced after the meeting in the White House that the two politicians had reaffirmed this during their conversation. In addition, Biden and Scholz had “reaffirmed their strong bilateral relations”. They also stressed the importance of maintaining global solidarity with the Ukrainian people. The chancellor had flown to Washington to have a private talk with Biden about further developments in Ukraine.

9:49 p.m.: Families with children and people with reduced mobility have to leave the city of Kupyansk near Bakhmut. This was ordered by the Kharkiv regional administration on Thursday. The evacuation order is due to the “unstable security situation,” Kharkiv’s military administration said.

The evacuees would be housed in shelters and provided with food, medical and humanitarian assistance. Kupyansk is about 130 kilometers from the embattled city of Bakhmut, but is regularly shelled by Russian artillery.

8:51 p.m.: At the start of his meeting with US President Joe Biden, Chancellor Olaf Scholz assured Ukraine of continued support in defending against the Russian attackers. The joint support of Ukraine in the past year was very important, said Scholz on Friday in the White House at a brief press meeting at the beginning of the conversation. “Now it is very important to send the message that we will continue this for as long as necessary.”

7.35 p.m.: The US is providing new military aid worth US$400 million (around €377 million) to Ukraine to defend against Russia’s war of aggression. The package primarily includes ammunition, for example for the Himars multiple rocket launchers and howitzers supplied by the United States, the US State Department said on Friday. Ammunition for Bradley armored personnel carriers is also included. According to the latest Pentagon figures, US military aid to Ukraine since the beginning of the war has totaled more than $32 billion, not including the new package.

The United States is considered Ukraine’s most important ally in the defense against the Russian invasion. On Friday, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) wanted to exchange views on the war in Ukraine at a working meeting with US President Joe Biden in Washington. The two are also likely to look ahead to the future strategy of the western allies in Ukraine.

At the end of January, after much back and forth and parallel to the German commitment to supply Leopard tanks to Kiev, the US government also announced that it would deliver 31 M1 Abrams main battle tanks to Ukraine. It is expected that their deployment will take some time. Most recently, there had been conflicting accounts from the White House and the Chancellery as to how the pledge of main battle tanks to Ukraine came about.