03/28/2022
Ukraine war on live ticker +++ 01:35 Lauterbach wants to close vaccination gaps among refugees +++
According to Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach, the health care and vaccination situation of Ukraine’s war refugees is causing considerable concern. Lauterbach announces on Bild TV that the conference of health ministers will address the issue on Monday: “Let’s talk about how we can present the health care of people who have fled to us from Ukraine. That also includes vaccines. Let’s examine what role vaccination centers can play a role in this.” According to the minister, there are “huge vaccination gaps” among refugees not only for Corona but also for measles.
+++ 00:59 1100 people are evacuated from contested areas +++
According to Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk, 1,100 people were evacuated from contested areas on Sunday.
+++ 00:35 Ukraine requests UN protection zone for Chernobyl +++
Ukraine is asking the United Nations Security Council to establish a special protection zone for the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. According to Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk, a special UN mission must take over. “In terms of nuclear security, the irresponsible and unprofessional actions of the Russian military pose a serious threat not only to Ukraine but also to hundreds of millions of Europeans,” she said, according to Ukrajinska Pravda.
+++ 00:17 Kiev accuses Russia of “inhumane tactics” in air strikes +++
Several Ukrainian cities were again targeted by Russian air strikes on Sunday night. According to Ukrainian media reports, several heavy explosions shook the capital Kiev, as well as Lutsk, Rivne and Kharkiv. A fuel depot was hit in Lutsk, in northwest Ukraine, at night. Air alerts had already been raised in all regions of the country. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian leadership accuses the Russian military of “inhumane tactics”. These included “partial or total blockade of humanitarian corridors, blockade of besieged cities,” wrote President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s adviser Mykhailo Podoliak on Twitter in the evening.
Here you can read more about it.
+++ 00:17 Ukraine insists on its territorial sovereignty +++ in negotiations
Ukraine wants to insist on its territorial integrity and sovereignty in the next round of peace talks with Russia. That’s what President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video message. Talks are scheduled for next week in Turkey. Effective security guarantees are a must. Ukraine’s goal is peace and a return to normal life in its own country as soon as possible.
+++ 23:55 Scholz rejects tax increase because of the war +++
Chancellor Olaf Scholz rejects tax increases to finance the aftermath of the war in Ukraine while keeping the debt brake. He refers to the semaphore parties’ agreements in his coalition agreement. “We have reached agreement in the three-party coalition on the issues of both the debt brake and the issue of tax increases. And all three will eventually comply with them.”
+++ 23:34 Scholz warns Putin against attacking NATO countries: “Don’t you dare” +++
Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced that NATO countries and Germany will be significantly upgraded to protect against potential attacks from Russia. “We’ve become so strong that no one dares to attack us,” he said in the evening on ARD’s “Anne Will.” This is also the message for Russian President Vladimir Putin: “Don’t you dare.” Scholz emphasizes that all NATO partners in Eastern Europe can count on an obligation to provide assistance and that the US and Germany play a special role in this. “An attack… would be an attack on ourselves,” he said of a possible threat to Poland or Russia’s Baltic states.
Here you can read more about it.
+++ 23:22 Scholz is thinking about buying a new missile shield for Germany +++
According to Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the federal government is considering purchasing a missile defense system. “This is definitely one of the things we advise, and for good reason,” says Scholz at ARD. Earlier, politicians from the traffic light coalition suggested buying an Israeli missile defense system for Germany. The SPD politician is also committed to the two percent of NATO countries.
Here you can read more about it.
+++ 23:10 Scholz on weapons deliveries: “We do everything in our power” +++
Chancellor Olaf Scholz has denied allegations that Germany was too hesitant to hand over arms to Ukraine. “We do everything in our power,” Scholz says in the evening on ARD’s “Anne Will.” Deliveries of anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons by Germany and its partners have already resulted in Ukraine achieving “considerable successes”. Scholz noted that EU states have agreed to make one billion euros available for Ukraine’s arms purchases. “This results in massive support for Ukraine’s military activities,” says the chancellor.
+++ 23:00 Scholz: Neither NATO nor Biden intend to overthrow Putin +++
Chancellor Olaf Scholz emphasized that neither NATO nor US President Joe Biden intends a change of government. “That’s not the point,” he says on ARD. “We are both in complete agreement that ‘regime change’ is not an object or objective of the policies we pursue together,” the SPD politician added to a comment by Biden. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has made it clear that Biden did not mean Putin’s downfall, says Scholz.
+++ 22:46 Scholz: There is a risk of an economic crisis if the import of Russian gas is stopped +++
According to Chancellor Olaf Scholz, an immediate end to Russian gas imports would jeopardize “an incredible number of jobs” in Germany. “We would trigger a major economic crisis if we did that.” Countries like Italy or Eastern Europe couldn’t find an alternative so quickly, he tells ARD about the demand for an energy embargo. However, attempts are being made to become independent from Russian gas imports as quickly as possible, he says.
+++ 22:22 Selenskyj accuses Putin of delaying peace talks +++
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin of delaying peace talks. In an interview with Russian journalists, he once again called for the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukrainian territory. Only then can there be security guarantees for Ukraine, which in turn are the basis for Ukraine’s demanded surrender of NATO. Zelenskyy also renewed his announcement that, ultimately, only Ukrainian citizens could decide on Ukraine’s possible neutral status in a referendum.
You can read about past developments here.