After a heavy rocket hit a residential building in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to celebrate a victory from the Second World War.
As Ukraine mourns the dead of rocket terror in Kramatorsk, Putin commemorates the 80th anniversary of the Red Army's victory in the Battle of Stalingrad against the Wehrmacht. To do this, the 70-year-old travels to the city of Volgograd, which is currently called Stalingrad again for a short time according to the place-name signs because of the anniversary. In Ukraine, however, the salvage work continued after the rocket hit Kramatorsk. By Thursday morning, three bodies had been recovered from the rubble. The number of injured rose to 21.
Unfazed by the violence and destruction caused by his war against Ukraine, Putin is likely to claim once again that he sees his attack on the neighboring country almost a year ago as a continuation of the fight against Nazism. Only in January did he again accuse the leadership in Kyiv of worshiping the Ukrainian nationalist leader Stepan Bandera (1909-1959), who helped Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler at the time, as a hero today. "Therefore we have every reason to describe the current Ukrainian rulers as neo-Nazi," Putin said at a meeting with veterans in St. Petersburg.
Battle of Stalingrad is historically significant
Critics accuse Putin of misusing the commemoration of the Soviet Union's victory over Hitler's Germany in World War II, which is sacred to many Russians, for his propaganda about the invasion of Ukraine. According to the Kremlin, Putin is meeting with representatives of patriotic and youth organizations on the Volga. A bust of Stalin was also unveiled in Volgograd to commemorate the Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin (1879-1953) who led the country to victory.
The Battle of Stalingrad with hundreds of thousands of dead within 200 days is considered one of the heaviest and most decisive defeats of the German Wehrmacht and thus a turning point in the Second World War. The city was almost completely destroyed in the bitter fighting. On November 19, 1942, the Red Army counterattacked, during which the 6th Army of the German Wehrmacht was surrounded. On February 2, 1943, the last German units were taken prisoner of war. The city has been called Volgograd since 1961.
In the Battle of Stalingrad, many Ukrainians fought in the Red Army alongside Russian soldiers against Hitler's troops. Today the two ex-Soviet republics are fighting each other. After the rocket hit a residential building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk in the Donetsk region, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy again urgently called for help from the West against the Russian attacks. "The only way to stop Russian terrorism is to defeat it. With tanks. Fighter jets. Long-range missiles," he wrote on Twitter.
In the war that began on February 24, Russia has repeatedly attacked Ukraine with rocket attacks, most recently aimed primarily at the country's energy infrastructure. Again and again, simple houses are hit, which is why many civilians die as a result of Putin's war. According to the United Nations, more than 7,000 people have died in Ukraine as a result of Putin's war.
Zelenskyj reports on successes ahead of the summit with the EU
Before an EU-Ukraine summit this Friday, Zelenskyi reported on the "successes" of the work of Ukrainian law enforcement agencies in his nightly video message. For example, a police department that is said to have covered a prostitute ring was caught. There was violence against girls, said Selenskyj. There are first arrests. According to the authorities, the officials are said to have collected one million euros in "protection money" every month.
Selenskyj had recently announced that he would take action against corruption, abuse of office and other criminal behavior in the civil service. He said senior officials in the Customs Service had been fired. In addition, the SBU secret service, investigators and prosecutors have carried out dozens of raids in different regions of the country to collect evidence for criminal proceedings. "Justice will be established."
The EU Commission is also calling for further efforts in the fight against criminal abuse of power. Before next year's presidential election, Zelenskyy is likely to want to limit the damage for himself, because after almost four years in power, many voters still believe that too little has happened in this field.
EU chief diplomat does not rule out fighter jet deliveries
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell is not ruling out the possibility that fighter jets will be delivered to Ukraine, despite the current reluctance of countries such as Germany and the United States. The delivery of tanks was also initially highly controversial, said the Spaniard in the run-up to an EU-Ukraine summit in Kyiv. In the end, however, an agreement was reached on the subject and the "red line" was crossed. So far, there have been warnings of escalation risks for all arms deliveries, he said.
What will be important on Thursday
In the east of Ukraine, the Russian troops are trying to advance further and are currently mainly conquering towns in the Donetsk region. In addition to the Donetsk region, Kremlin chief Putin also occupied the regions of Luhansk, Cherson and Zaporizhia and declared them to be Russian state territory. No country recognizes that. The aim of his war is to bring the four illegally annexed territories under Russian control.
