On Saturday evening, Russia again attacked Ukraine with missiles. At least eight people died. Despite the current escalation, Federal Foreign Minister Wadeful believes now is a good time for negotiations.
Despite Russia’s ongoing attacks on Ukraine, Federal Foreign Minister Johann Wadeful is convinced that now is a good time for negotiations on the conflict. “Now we have to make a very serious attempt,” he told the Tagesspiegel newspaper.
The recent attacks by Russia and Iran around the NATO summit were, of course, not an accident, but were intended to demonstrate perceived strength, says Wadeful. The Foreign Secretary suspects a “military phenomenon”, namely “the last gasp before the start of negotiations.”
However, the financial commitments made at the summit send a clear signal to Russian President Vladimir Putin that Ukraine has staying power and that Russia must now negotiate.
Kyiv is under fire again
It was only on Saturday evening that Ukraine was again subjected to Russian rocket fire in several places. At least eight dead and many injured.
At least eleven people were injured in the attacks on the capital Kyiv, officials said. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky told online service X that there was a child among the victims. Even before the first siren sounded, “civilian infrastructure” was hit, including residential buildings and office buildings.
According to Zelensky, Russia used 12 missiles against Ukraine overnight, including six ballistic ones, and 121 drones. Most of the drones and some of the missiles were shot down, but the ballistic missiles reached their targets.
Parties to the conflict as a source
In the current situation, information provided by parties to the conflict or observers about the war cannot be directly verified by an independent body.
At least five people died in Sumy
Russian troops have killed at least five people by dropping glide bombs on the city of Sumy in northeastern Ukraine. A bus stop was damaged, said the head of the Sumy military department Oleg Grigorov.
According to him, the number of wounded has increased to 30, including five who were seriously injured, he wrote on Telegram. According to Sumy mayor Artem Kobsar, a 13-year-old girl was among the dead. Local authorities warned of further attacks.
At least two people were killed and 12 others were injured in the attacks in Odessa in the south of the country, according to Ukrainian data. The head of the regional administration, Oleg Kiper, said that a Russian missile hit the building. Authorities said the Russian attack in Slavyansk in the east of the country also killed a person, AFP reported.
Ukraine attacks ships in the Sea of Azov
The Russian Defense Ministry said the Russian attacks were aimed at drone production facilities in Kyiv, as well as the ports of Izmail and Chernomorsk in the Odessa region.
Ukraine, in turn, said it attacked more than two dozen Russian tankers and other ships in the Sea of Azov. The General Staff of Ukraine reported that 21 tankers used to transport oil and petroleum products, as well as four tugboats, two cargo ships and a dredger, were damaged. Russia reported attacks on four ships, resulting in one death.
Zelensky calls for quickly obtaining a Patriot license
In light of the attacks on his country, Zelensky renewed his call for his country’s allies to provide more military equipment to counter the Russian invasion. He directly called on the United States to fulfill its promise to provide Ukraine with a license for the production of the Patriot air defense system as soon as possible. “Several weeks should not pass between the announcement of the aid package for Ukraine and its implementation,” Zelensky said in his evening video speech.
The Patriot system plays an important role in protecting Ukrainian cities and infrastructure, especially from ballistic missiles. NATO countries have provided Ukraine with several Patriot systems and still supply it with missiles. However, recently Ukrainian reserves have been depleted.
US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday during a meeting with Zelensky on the sidelines of a NATO summit in the Turkish capital Ankara that his country would give Ukraine “the right to produce Patriots.” Zelensky said on Thursday that technical details still need clarification.