Ukraine signs a security agreement with the Netherlands and is happy to receive more weapons. Meanwhile, Moscow is attacking Berlin after a phone call that appears to have been intercepted. The news at a glance.
Ukraine, attacked by Russia, has signed a security agreement with the Netherlands. “The document provides for two billion euros in military aid from the Netherlands this year,” President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Telegram on Friday. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte traveled to the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv to sign the agreement.
With the contract, the leadership in The Hague promises Kiev further support in the short term with anti-aircraft defense, artillery, armored vehicles and long-range weapons. Ukraine will continue to be supported by the Netherlands in its quest to join the European Union and NATO, it is said. Similar to other previous agreements with Germany, Great Britain, France, Italy, Denmark and Canada, the contract was concluded for ten years.
On the sidelines of the signing, Zelenskyj and Rutte visited several residential buildings damaged by Russian shelling and the regional administration building, which was hit by a missile strike in March 2022.
Zelensky thanks the Netherlands for new arms aid
The Ukrainian president then also thanked the new arms package in his daily video message. “Today there is a new package of military assistance from the Netherlands for our soldiers,” Zelensky said. The Ukrainian president made the video recording in the megacity of Kharkiv, which has been badly affected by Russia’s war of aggression.
Zelensky once again emphasized the importance of anti-aircraft defenses for protecting the country. With its participation in the coalition of states supplying Kiev with F-16 fighter jets, the Netherlands is making an important contribution to securing the skies over Ukraine, he said.
For March, Zelensky promised his compatriots further arms packages and new security agreements with other countries. He did not give any details. Ukraine is dependent on Western support in its two-year-long defensive battle against the Russian invasion.
Dead and injured in Russian drone strikes
Authorities say at least two people have died and eight others have been injured in a new Russian drone attack on the Ukrainian Black Sea city of Odessa. Part of a nine-story apartment building was destroyed in the attack – a total of 18 apartments, according to authorities. The governor of the Odessa region, Oleh Kiper, said this morning that a three-year-old child and a pregnant woman were among the injured. More people could still be under the rubble.
Photos and videos from the authorities showed severe destruction and a field of rubble. Helpers were on duty. One person also died in a drone attack in the Kharkiv region in eastern Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the attack and expressed his condolences to the families.
Kiev: Russian military puts pressure on new front line
Because Western aid has now dwindled, Ukraine is increasingly on the defensive. According to the Ukrainian military, Russia is keeping the pressure high, especially west and southwest of the industrial city of Donetsk. In the Avdiivka area, 20 attacks were repelled, and in the Novopavlivka area the Russian military tried to break through the defense lines 25 times, the Ukrainian General Staff said in its situation report. Just a few weeks ago, the Ukrainian military had to evacuate the fortress area around Avdiivka, which had been fought over for months. Now the next line of defense behind them is under pressure.
The General Staff reports attacks on the towns of Berdychi, Orlivka and Tonenke, where the Ukrainian military wanted to dig in after withdrawing from Avdiivka. Further south, after the Russian conquest of Maryinka, the Ukrainian defenders in the settlements of Krasnohorivka, Heorhiyivka and Novomykhailivka found themselves in trouble.
