The essentials in brief:
- Germany and Russia mutually expel diplomats
- IAEA warns of battles around Zaporizhia nuclear power plant
- Zelenskyj: Full concentration on reconquests
- Spain sends six Leopard tanks to Ukraine
Russia has announced the expulsion of more than 20 German diplomats. An exact number was not given. The spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, spoke on the Zvezda channel of a retaliatory measure for the “renewed mass expulsion of employees of the Russian diplomatic missions in Germany”.
For its part, the Foreign Office in Berlin did not confirm the expulsion of Russian diplomats. It was only said that the federal government and the Russian side had been in contact “in the past few weeks on questions of staffing the respective foreign missions”. The aim was a “reduction of the Russian intelligence presence in Germany”. “Today’s departure of Russian embassy staff is related to this,” it said.
Landing with special permission
This Saturday morning, a Russian government plane flew from Moscow to Berlin with special permission. The Ilyushin Il 96-300 aircraft landed again in the Russian capital at Vnukovo Airport in the afternoon. It is unclear whether the Russian diplomats were on board this plane. The aircraft had a so-called diplomatic clearance, said a spokesman for the Air Force at the request of the German Press Agency. He gave no information about the cargo or passengers.
In February 2022, the EU closed EU airports and airspace to all Russian airlines; in Russia, on the other hand, there is a ban on flights from the EU. Exceptions are possible with special permits. After the start of the Russian military offensive in Ukraine, Berlin and Moscow had already mutually expelled diplomats. France, Italy, Spain and other countries have also declared Russian embassy staff to be undesirables. In some cases, this was based on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in other cases it was about espionage allegations. For its part, Moscow reacted by expelling numerous Western diplomats.
The Zaporizhia nuclear power plant (end of March): Soviet-style pressurized water reactors
“Precarious situation” at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has warned of a nuclear accident due to increasing hostilities around the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine. “I saw clear signs of military preparations in the area when I visited Zaporizhia NPP three weeks ago,” said IAEA Director Rafael Grossi. Since then, the nuclear experts stationed on site have repeatedly registered explosions in the immediate vicinity of the plant, the Argentine added.
He was “deeply concerned” about the current situation. The precarious situation requires further pressure so that the facility is neither shot at nor used as a starting point for attacks. Grossi announced that he would continue to negotiate with the Russians and Ukrainians in this regard.
IAEA chief Rafael Grossi at the end of March at the nuclear power plant
The nuclear power plant was occupied by Russian troops just 14 months after the start of the war of aggression against Ukraine. After the shelling, the plant had to be supplied with diesel generators several times via an emergency power supply. For safety reasons, the power plant has now been put into cold operation and the reactors have been shut down.
Nevertheless, a nuclear accident in the event of a hit cannot be ruled out. Fears have increased over the expected Ukrainian offensive to reclaim its own territories. The Zaporizhia region is considered one of the possible directions of attack.
Zelenskyj: Full concentration on reconquests
Against the background of the expected counter-offensive by Kiev, the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj reported on the creation of new military units. “We are also actively preparing new brigades and units that will prove themselves at the front,” Zelenskyy said in a video address.
His meetings with the General Staff are about providing all means to liberate Ukraine from Russian occupation. “All of us in Ukraine must understand that the main task of the state is to liberate our territories, to bring back our earth and our people from Russian captivity.” The state resources would be used primarily for this, said the head of state. The front has “top priority,” he emphasized.
Head of state Volodymyr Zelenskyy during his video speech on Friday evening
Zelenskyy also thanked the Western partners who are helping Ukraine to defend itself as part of the so-called Ramstein format. “Their determination fully reflects the actual situation and needs on the battlefield,” said Zelenskyy.
On Friday, the western allies discussed further military aid for Ukraine at the US Ramstein Air Force base in Rhineland-Palatinate. Support for Kiev will enable the Ukrainian military “to achieve further successes on the battlefield,” US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also expressed his confidence that Kiev will be able “to liberate even more country”.
Spain sends six Leopard tanks
According to Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares, Spain wants to deliver six Leopard tanks out of a total of ten promised to Ukraine in the coming days. “After that there will be a second package with four more tanks,” Albares told the Funke media group newspapers. These are older Type 2A4 Leopard tanks. “We will support Ukraine for as long as it needs,” Albares said, referring to Russia’s war of aggression. “This includes humanitarian aid, taking in refugees and supplying defensive weapons.”
A Leopard 2A4 tank at the Spanish Armed Forces Museum (stock image)
In the past few weeks, 55 Ukrainians have been trained as crew members and technicians on Leopard main battle tanks in Spain. In total, the country has 347 Leopard tanks. Of these, 108 belong to the older variant 2A4 and 239 to the newer type 2A6, which is called 2E in Spain. So far, however, Spain does not want to hand over any of these newer, more powerful tanks to Ukraine. They are said to be needed for their own national defense.
Resnikov: Was able to present priorities in Ramstein
After the Ukraine Contact Group meeting in Ramstein, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov reaffirmed his country’s desire for Western fighter jets. Resnikov said he was certain that Kiev would receive modern fighter jets “according to NATO standards” from the allies for its air defense.
In Ramstein he was able to present “Ukraine’s priorities” and report on the help his government was expecting. Long-range weapons to attack Russian territory were not currently one of them. There were “enough targets” of the Russian army on Ukrainian territory “so that we can destroy the Russian military potential”.
According to the newspaper “Welt am Sonntag”, Ukraine is trying to get Germany to supply Fuchs armored personnel carriers and Fennek armored reconnaissance vehicles. According to Ukrainian statements, protected vehicles like these are “essential” in the spring offensive planned by Kiev against the Russian invaders, the newspaper reports. According to German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, training of 100 Ukrainian soldiers on Leopard 1 tanks will begin this Saturday. By the middle of the year, Germany will deliver “up to 80” of the tanks to Ukraine.
G7 consider tightening sanctions on Russia
According to diplomats, further restrictions on trade with Russia are being discussed in the group of leading western industrial nations (G7). Accordingly, the USA, among others, is open to banning exports to the country in principle and only making exceptions possible for carefully selected products. This could be, for example, agricultural products and pharmaceuticals.
So far, export bans have only been imposed on selected products in response to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. In the European Union, these include, for example, airplanes, luxury goods and certain computer chips. In principle, exports to Russia are still permitted.
Lula reiterates call for peace talks
Despite criticism from the West, Brazil’s head of state Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has again called on Ukraine to agree to peace negotiations with Moscow. “Just as my government condemns the violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, we support a negotiated political solution to the conflict,” Lula said after meeting Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa in Lisbon. He replied at the joint press conference: “Portugal’s attitude is different. It assumes that any path to peace first requires Ukraine’s right to react to the invasion.”
AfD: No influence on the party by Moscow
The head of the right-wing populist German opposition party Alternative for Germany (AfD), Tino Chrupalla, has rejected a report by the Washington Post that Russia wants to weaken German solidarity with Ukraine by influencing the AfD. He had “never heard of such plans,” Chrupalla told the T-Online portal. He spoke of a “robber’s pistol that serves to discredit the peace movement”.
Party leader Tino Chrupalla at an AfD “peace demo” last Sunday in Cottbus
According to the report, the leadership in Moscow is striving for an alliance between the German right and the camp around the popular left-wing politician Sahra Wagenknecht, who, like the AfD, is committed to the rapid start of peace talks. Wagenknecht assured the Washington Post that there would be no cooperation or alliance with the AfD on their part. She also had no contact whatsoever with representatives of the Russian state, emphasized the former Left Party leader.
jj/se/nob/gri/wa/AR (dpa, afp, rtr)
This article will be continuously updated on the day of its publication. Reports from the combat zones cannot be independently verified.