In Kiev, Ukrainian President Zelenskyj thanks the Vice Chancellor for German help. The focus is on anti-aircraft defense. The news at a glance.
Kiev - After Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck's visit, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj called for Germany's continued support in the defensive war against Russia. "We appreciate Germany's leadership role, which not only helps us in Ukraine to protect lives, but also all of Europe itself - to preserve the very Europe that knows how to live peacefully, knows the law and knows how to take care of people," Zelensky said in his daily video address.
The conference on the reconstruction of Ukraine planned for June in Berlin will focus primarily on bilateral projects in the defense and energy industries, he announced. The NATO-Ukraine Council is meeting today at Kiev's request.
Zelensky said he discussed the situation at the front and the needs of the Ukrainian army, particularly in terms of anti-aircraft defense, with Habeck. In a separate entry on Telegram, he also praised the federal government's decision to send another Patriot anti-aircraft system.
Meanwhile, on the sidelines of an EU summit, Chancellor Olaf Scholz called for the delivery of another six Patriots from other NATO countries. Ukraine is suffering heavily from Russian attacks with drones, missiles and glide bombs.
“Scraping together” air defense around the world
In view of the devastating Russian air strikes on Ukraine, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is also emphatically calling for more Western military aid. “All over the world we have to scrape together the air defense we have,” said the Green politician in the ZDF “heute-journal”. How this could work is currently being debated at the foreign ministers' meeting of the Group of Seven important Western industrial nations on the Italian island of Capri.
Lithuania's President: US aid package and anti-aircraft defense needed
There was rhetorical support from Vilnius: Lithuania's President Gitanas Nauseda said that the example of the joint defense against the Iranian attack on Israel must be transferred to Ukraine's air defense system. “A European air defense coalition could be a game changer,” he wrote on the X (formerly Twitter) platform. Nauseda appealed to the US Congress to finally pass another aid package for Kiev. “History judges us by what we do. Now is the moment for the United States to do the right thing.”
In the USA, the House of Representatives is expected to vote on Saturday on the long-delayed aid package for Kiev worth 61 billion US dollars (57 billion euros). Former President Donald Trump called on Europeans to provide greater support to Ukraine in its defense against the aggressor Russia. “Why doesn’t Europe give more money to help Ukraine?” wrote the Republican, who is hoping to get back into the White House, on the Truth Social platform he co-founded. “Why can’t Europe raise the same money as the United States of America to help a country in desperate need?”
At the same time, Trump emphasized that the “survival of Ukraine” was also important for the USA - an unusually clear commitment from the 77-year-old. Trump wrote: “We all agree that the survival and strength of Ukraine should be much more important to Europe than to us, but it is important to us too!”
Report about another drone at a nuclear power plant in Ukraine
During the night there was another air alert in many regions of Ukraine. Explosions were reported in the city of Pavlohrad in the central Ukrainian industrial region of Dnipropetrovsk, among others. At the same time, Russia is also complaining about attacks by the Ukrainian military. There was a rocket alarm in the Belgorod border area during the night.
At the occupied Ukrainian nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia, the Russian management of the plant has reported another incident with a combat drone. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) observers stationed on site were informed of an attempted drone attack, according to an IAEA situation report. The observers themselves heard an explosion, but were not allowed to go to the scene of the alleged incident.
This will be important today
The NATO-Ukraine Council meets today. At the crisis meeting with the NATO defense ministers, President Zelenskyj wants to promote additional military support for the defensive campaign against Russia. For his country, it's about whether it can hold the front line and protect the remaining energy infrastructure. In recent weeks, Russia has increased military pressure on Ukraine and, among other things, destroyed almost all thermal power plants with air strikes. dpa