Day 393 since the beginning of the war: Ukrainian President Selenskyj warns of a war that will last for years. EU Commission chief von der Leyen wants to find abducted children. All information in the news blog.
The most important things at a glance
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Medvedev threatens to send troops to Kiev and Lviv
6.44 a.m.: Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev does not rule out Russian troops advancing to Kiev or Lviv. “Nothing can be ruled out here. If you have to go to Kiev, then you have to go to Kiev, if to Lviv, you have to go to Lviv to destroy this infection,” he was quoted as saying by the Ria Novosti news agency.
The night: Selenskyj calls for modern fighter jets
5.30 a.m.: The Ukrainian President thanks the EU via video for the support so far, but asks what the delivery of modern fighter jets is all about. Russian rockets hit Odessa again. Russia is also to carry out a cleanup operation in the Kherson region, Kiev claims. Read the most important events from the night here.
Von der Leyen wants to find abducted children
1.23 am: EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wants to join international forces to find the Ukrainian children kidnapped by Russia. “We want to exert international pressure together to take all possible measures to determine the whereabouts of the children,” von der Leyen said on Thursday at the EU summit in Brussels. Among other things, she would like to work with UN organizations and organize a conference.
We know of 16,200 deported children, of whom only 300 have returned so far. Von der Leyen spoke of a “cruel memory of the darkest times in our history” and described the kidnapping of the children as a war crime.
Prigozhin is said to be planning the withdrawal of his mercenaries
12:20 a.m.: Yevgeny Prigozhin, the powerful founder of the Wagner mercenary group, is said to be considering withdrawing his troops from Ukraine. According to a report by the business service Bloomberg, one reason is the significant cuts in personnel and ammunition by the Russian military. Bloomberg relies on insider information. There have been reports for some time that there is a crisis in the relationship between the military leadership and the mercenary boss. In an interview on his Telegram channel on Thursday, he was more forgiving and praised Russian soldiers. According to the American “Institute for the Study of War,” he apparently fears that he could be denied support from his troops in Bakhmut. However, the businessman, also known as “Putin’s cook,” had previously threatened to withdraw from Bachmut – probably to put pressure on the Kremlin.
In addition, the important battle for Bachmut was fought to a very large extent by Wagner soldiers – with high losses. Apparently he can no longer compensate for this by recruiting from prisons. According to Bloomberg information, Prigozhin wants to focus more on Africa, where his mercenaries are also deployed.
Von der Leyen: Child kidnapping justifies Putin arrest warrant
10:17 p.m.: According to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the Russian kidnapping of tens of thousands of Ukrainian children justifies the arrest warrant of the International Criminal Court against Russian President Vladimir Putin. We know of 16,200 kidnapped children, of whom only 200 have returned so far. “This brings back terrible memories of the darkest time in history,” says von der Leyen, referring to the Nazi era. Russia denies allegations of child abduction.
Selenskyj warns: War could last for years
8 p.m: The war could last for years if Europe doesn’t deliver weapons more quickly and sanctions against Russia are extended, warns Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “If Europe waits, evil has time to regroup and prepare for years of war,” he said, clearly frustrated, in a video conference with the EU summit.
