Brussels For four weeks Russia has been attacking Ukraine, shooting and bombing. NATO, the EU and the G7 are therefore practicing solidarity with each other and with Kyiv. They agree: Kremlin chief Putin must not win this war.
NATO is threatening Russia with “serious consequences” if it uses chemical weapons, AFP reports.
With several top meetings in Brussels, the western community of states wants to demonstrate unity in the Ukraine war. Four weeks to the day after the Russian attack on the neighboring country, the heads of state and government of the NATO countries met for a special summit on Thursday. After that there were also summit meetings of the group of seven important democratic industrialized countries (G7) and the European Union (EU). Meanwhile, fierce fighting continued in Ukraine.
US President Joe Biden also came to Europe for the deliberations of the heads of state and government. On the orders of President Vladimir Putin, Russia attacked the neighboring country on Thursday night, February 24.
From Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on people around the world to protest against the war. “Come in the name of peace, come with Ukrainian symbols to support Ukraine, freedom and life!” he said in a video address circulated at night.
Stoltenberg warns Russia against using chemical weapons
The main topic at the NATO summit should be further support options for Ukraine, but also efforts to further strengthen NATO’s military defense capabilities. “I think we have to redouble our efforts,” said Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas on aid to Ukraine.
However, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg made it clear on the fringes of the meeting that NATO, despite its military superiority, continues to rule out military intervention in the Ukraine war. “We are doing this because we have a responsibility to ensure that this conflict does not escalate beyond Ukraine,” he said. This would “cause more suffering, more deaths, more destruction”.
At the same time, Stoltenberg warned Russia against the use of chemical weapons in Ukraine. The chemical warfare agents could then also spread to NATO territory, the Norwegian said. He did not say how NATO would react to such a case. He only spoke of “far-reaching and serious consequences”.
Zelenskyj: Ukraine has requested tanks from NATO
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wants more support from NATO. According to him, his country has requested at least 200 tanks from the alliance. “They have more than 20,000 tanks. Ukraine has asked for one percent,” he said in a video link to the NATO summit. Kyiv would also buy them. “We don’t have a clear answer yet,” complained the 44-year-old. The situation is similar with the requested aircraft and missile defense systems. “I ask you to change your assessment and think about security in Europe and in the world,” appealed Zelenskyy.
Increased airstrikes in Ukraine
According to the Ukrainian military, Russia has stepped up its airstrikes in Ukraine. More than 250 missions were registered within 24 hours, according to the morning report of the Ukrainian general staff on Thursday. The day before there were 60 fewer. The main targets continue to be military and civil infrastructure facilities in the Kyiv, Chernihiv and Kharkiv regions. Moscow, on the other hand, claims to only attack military targets.
The Russian Air Force has not managed to establish air superiority in the skies over Ukraine in a month, a US Defense Department official said in Washington. The US and its allies worked to provide the Ukrainians with long-range air defense systems. However, the Ukrainians used their current systems “very effectively”.
On the ground, the fronts hardly changed, the Ukrainian army said it held its positions. In the east and north-west of the capital Kyiv, Russian units have been pushed back. British and US sources in the security apparatus also confirmed counterattacks by the Ukrainians near Kyiv. According to Ukrainian sources, a Russian landing ship was destroyed in the port city of Berdyansk. This could not be verified independently.
According to local police, 294 civilians have been killed in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv since the beginning of the war. 15 of them were children. From the embattled port city of Mariupol in the south, a resident who has since fled reported dramatic conditions. “Hundreds of bodies were lying on the street,” wrote the woman named Olena to the German Press Agency via a messenger service. Dead civilians and soldiers were buried in a mass grave. “The city of Mariupol no longer exists,” wrote the woman who fled the city a few days ago.
Pay for energy with rubles – or boycott it straight away?
At the EU summit in Brussels it was considered likely that a solidarity fund for Ukraine would be decided. Most recently, the EU states had decided to double the funds for equipment deliveries to the Ukrainian armed forces to one billion euros. The United States is providing an even larger amount for weapons.
Kremlin boss Putin put the Europeans under pressure with the announcement that gas would no longer be sold for euros or dollars, but only for rubles. Should customer countries like Germany respond to this, it would support the Russian currency. The strict sanctions against the Russian central bank would be undermined. This intensified the debate about a rapid boycott of Russian energy supplies, even if Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) has so far rejected this.
Biden wants to announce steps with the Europeans on how Europe can become less dependent on gas, oil and coal from Russia with US help. This was announced by his security advisor Jack Sullivan to journalists on the flight to Europe, as reported by the New York Times. The aim is to make oil and gas available in the short term and to find new suppliers in the long term.
Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis said in the European Parliament that the EU Commission is preparing for a possible suspension of deliveries of Russian gas next winter. “We are reviewing scenarios for a partial and full disruption of gas flows from Russia next winter.”
More refugees from Ukraine
According to the UN refugee agency, around 3.7 million people have left Ukraine since the war began. No country has taken in as many Ukraine refugees as neighboring Poland. By Thursday, 246,154 war refugees had been registered in Germany. The Federal Ministry of the Interior announced that around 7,200 people had come within a day. In fact, the number is likely to be higher. As a rule, there are no fixed controls at the internal EU borders; Ukrainians are also allowed to enter the country without a visa.
