The essentials in brief:
- Russian bomb hits the city of Belgorod
- Zelenskyj demands an early invitation to join NATO
- Bundeswehr ends Patriot mission in Poland and Slovakia
- Henkel sells business activities in Russia
- EU Commission insists on Russian reparations
A heavy explosion shook the Russian city of Belgorod not far from the border with Ukraine. “A huge crater with a radius of 20 meters has formed at the intersection of one of the main roads,” said the governor of the Belgorod region Vyacheslav Gladkov. Two women were injured. The Defense Ministry in Moscow later admitted that a Russian warplane dropped a bomb over the city. The incident will be investigated.
Zelenskyj demands an early invitation to join NATO
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on NATO to clear the way for his country’s admission to the Western military alliance at its July summit. Neither in Ukraine nor in Europe would the majority of the population understand if Kiev did not receive a “well-deserved invitation,” the head of state said.
Selenskyj had previously received NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Kiev for the first time since the Russian war of aggression began almost 14 months ago. The meeting was not just about defending Ukraine, but about “defending the entire rule-based international order and protecting life,” said the President. Hardly anyone is currently contributing more to Euro-Atlantic security than the Ukrainian soldiers. Kiev therefore “did everything to ensure that our request was fulfilled”.
Federal Defense Minister Boris Pistorius rejected a quick decision on Ukraine’s NATO membership. “That will be decided in due course. The door is open a crack, but this is not the time to decide now,” Pistorius said on Second German Television (ZDF). This is not a question that “one decides just out of solidarity”, but “with a cool head and a warm heart”.
In any case, Zelenskyy will meet Stoltenberg again in July. The Ukrainian President has accepted the invitation to the NATO summit in Vilnius, the NATO Secretary General said on the sidelines of the so-called Ramstein meeting with NATO allies. At the same time, Stoltenberg recalled that all NATO members had agreed in principle that Ukraine should one day become a member of the western military alliance. However, he avoided the question of when accession could take place.
Ukraine Contact Group meets again
The so-called Ukraine Contact Group is meeting again this Friday at the US Ramstein Air Force Base in Rhineland-Palatinate to discuss further military aid for the country attacked by Russia. It is already the eleventh meeting of the group, which is made up of defense ministers from countries that support Ukraine. The first meeting in the Ramstein format took place almost a year ago. As with previous meetings, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will chair the debate.
The Federal Ministry of Defense and also NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg have indicated that Ukraine’s air defense will be the focus of the meeting. The leadership in Kiev has long been demanding the delivery of modern fighter jets and long-range weapons.
Bundeswehr plans end of Patriot mission in Eastern Europe
The Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems stationed in Poland and Slovakia are scheduled to be withdrawn later this year. Both NATO partners are informed about these plans, a spokesman for the Federal Ministry of Defense told the Funke media group. According to the current status, the assignment in Poland should end in June, and the assignment in Slovakia at the end of the year.
The chair of the defense committee, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann (FDP), told the Funke newspapers that a deduction was important in order to maintain flexibility with the existing device. The current situation allows this. The Ministry of Defense had previously informed the members of the Bundestag in a report that the weapon systems would have to undergo extensive industrial conversion from 2024 so that they could continue to be used in the future.
A Bundeswehr Patriot air defense system stationed in south-eastern Poland (archive image)
After the Russian attack on Ukraine, the Bundeswehr stationed two Patriot systems in Slovakia last year. In January, three more systems were moved to Poland. The ground-based Patriot system is mobile, the launch pads can be mounted on trucks. A Patriot battery can keep an eye on up to 50 targets and fight five flying objects at the same time.
Henkel sells business activities in Russia
The German consumer goods group Henkel has found a buyer for its Russian business. Henkel announced in Düsseldorf that the activities would be sold to a consortium of local financial investors. The price is the equivalent of around 600 million euros. The consortium included Augment Investments, Kismet Capital Group and Elbrus Services. “All buyers have established and long-standing business relationships in Western countries and are not subject to EU or US sanctions.” The Russian authorities have already approved the transaction.
Henkel is represented in almost 80 countries
After Russia’s attack on Ukraine, Henkel decided in April 2022 to withdraw from the country. The manufacturer of products such as Persil detergent and Pritt glue stick has been active in Russia for more than 30 years and most recently operated eleven production sites there.
Putin changes governor of Krasnoyarsk
Russian President Vladimir Putin has dismissed the governor of the Krasnoyarsk region in Siberia, Alexander Uss. According to media reports, the 68-year-old will later move to the upper house of the Russian Parliament (Federation Council) as a senator. His son Artjom Uss recently made international headlines: The businessman was placed under house arrest in Italy at the end of March for allegedly circumventing Western sanctions against Russia as a result of the Ukraine war. However, he then fled and reappeared in Moscow. It is believed that the Russian secret services helped him.
EU Commission Vice insists on Russian reparations
The EU Commission has reiterated calls to hold Russia accountable for war damage in Ukraine. “As the aggressor state, Russia is obliged under international law to pay reparations to Ukraine,” Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis told the “Handelsblatt”. The Commission is therefore having a legal examination of the extent to which it is possible to confiscate frozen Russian assets – “including the central bank reserves”.
At the same time, Dombrovskis criticized the fact that the EU states had acted too hesitantly in sanctioning the Russian energy sector in 2022. Otherwise, stronger effects would already have been seen. The deputy commissioner is nonetheless confident that the punitive measures will have an effect: “Russia’s financial situation will deteriorate every month. That will reduce the Kremlin’s ability to wage war.”
wa/mak/djo/jj (dpa, afp, rtr)
This article will be continuously updated on the day of its publication. Reports from the combat zones cannot be independently verified.