War Day at a Glance Butscha Shocks the World – Baerbock Takes Action Against Russian Diplomats
04/04/2022 20:51
The horrific images of hundreds of civilians killed in Bucha went around the world. President Volodymyr Zelenskyj sees it for himself and travels to the Kiev suburbs. He speaks of genocide, his minister of the defense of revenge. The atrocities also had consequences for Russia on an international level. Germany immediately expels 40 diplomats and France follows suit a little later.
Sumy region liberated from Russian occupiers
Militarily, the day passed largely without major skirmishes. According to the governor there, no town or village is in the hands of Russian troops in the Sumy region of northern Ukraine. Russian soldiers largely withdrew and left equipment behind on a massive scale, Dmytro Schywyzki said on Ukrainian television. The troops themselves tried to drive out the remaining Russian units.
Evacuation from Mariupol fails again
The humanitarian situation in Mariupol is becoming increasingly tense, among other things, lack of water, food and medicine. Getting civilians out of the hotly contested port city seems next to impossible. The Red Cross had to cancel an evacuation again. That’s not possible for security reasons, said spokesman Jason Straziuso. Relief convoys have already had to turn back several times in recent days because agreed fire intervals were not observed. Russia and Ukraine blame each other for this.
Majority of Putin’s Troops Around Kiev Withdraw
Russia is said to have already withdrawn about two-thirds of its troops from around Kiev. This is a Pentagon assessment. A senior Pentagon official said the rest of the troops were stationed further ahead of the Ukrainian capital. It is unclear if and when they would also move north. “We continue to assume that the troops will be refitted, resupplied and perhaps even reinforced with additional forces before being sent back to Ukraine,” the government official said. The US government suspects they will be sent to Donbass in eastern Ukraine.
The atrocities in Bucha would only confirm an earlier US assessment. “We said before that the Russians would be brutal in this invasion and they proved it.” The US government assumes that Russia is committing war crimes in Ukraine. What is now being seen in Butscha reinforces those fears, he said.
Selenskyj talks about genocide in Bucha
And the Ukrainian president personally traveled to that city. Bucha was occupied by the Russian army from 27 February and remained virtually inaccessible for over a month. The recordings and accounts of the bodies found caused horror around the world. There, Selenskyj reiterated his allegations of genocide against Russia. “Now look what happens every day (…). These are war crimes and will be recognized by the world as genocide.” Ukraine has accused the Russian army of carrying out a “massacre” of civilians in Bucha. Russia suspects a propaganda campaign by the West.
The EU has also now pledged its support to resolve alleged war crimes such as those committed in Bucha. EU judicial authority Eurojust and law enforcement agency Europol are expected to help with the investigation, said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. In this way, the work of an already agreed joint investigation team could be strengthened. This is to collect evidence and solve war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The Ukrainian Defense Minister has threatened Russia with retaliation. “Something bad like that shouldn’t go unpunished,” he said on Monday in Kiev. “Our reconnaissance systematically identifies all intruders and murderers. Everyone! Everyone will get what they ‘deserve’ in their time,” the statement said.
Germany and France are expelling diplomats
For many, Bucha’s gruesome images bring a new dimension to Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine. Pressure to take tougher action against Moscow is mounting – and initial reactions remain at the diplomatic level. For example, the federal government declared 40 Russian diplomats in Germany as “undesirable people”. Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said: “We have selected 40 people that we have assigned to Russian intelligence services.” It is about protecting Germany against Russian espionage, attempts at influence, lies and war propaganda.
France also decided to expel several Russian officials with diplomatic status from the country. According to information from the AFP news agency, 35 people are affected.
No to the energy embargo
Because of the war atrocities in Ukraine, calls for an EU gas embargo on Russia are getting louder. Berlin and Vienna continue to reject this for now. Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner said on Monday on the sidelines of a meeting of euro countries in Luxembourg that Russian natural gas cannot be replaced “in the short term”. Apparently, however, there is a possible freeze on oil or coal imports on the table. EU ambassadors want to launch a new sanctions package this week. Lindner stressed that the EU must continue to increase pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin: “We want to become independent from energy imports as soon as possible.” However, it is currently not possible to interrupt the gas supply.
Habeck and Gazprom Germany
Russian gas continues to flow – and to ensure this, the German state takes control of Gazprom Germania. The Federal Network Agency is now in charge temporarily. Federal Economy Minister Robert Habeck justified the move with unclear legal relationships and a violation of reporting regulations. The objective is to ensure security of supply. Gazprom is still Germany’s biggest gas supplier.
Among other things, Gazprom operates the largest gas storage facility in Germany, which represents a fifth of Germany’s storage capacity. According to Habeck, the parent company surprisingly announced a few days ago that it was withdrawing from Gazprom Germania and its holdings. “It was not communicated who should be the new economic and legal owner of this holding,” said Habeck. This is, in itself, a violation of the obligation to report under the Foreign Trade and Payments Ordinance. In addition, the acquirer ordered the liquidation of Gazprom Germania, which is illegal as long as the acquisition is not approved. “A liquidation would result in the end of Gazprom Germania’s legal existence.” The Ministry of Economic Affairs then issued the order.
Steinmeier’s sad record
The sad realization of Russia’s indifference to the war of aggression against Ukraine has now also reached Frank-Walter Steinmeier. For the first time, the federal president admitted mistakes in his policy towards Russia. Steinmeier said maintaining the Nord Stream 2 pipeline was clearly a mistake. “We clung to bridges that Russia no longer believed in and that our partners warned us about.” The 66-year-old had come under fire in recent days for failing to comment on his own misjudgments, especially during his time as foreign minister.
Now he has said responsibility for the war rests with Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin. “We shouldn’t assume that for ourselves. But that doesn’t mean we don’t have to think about things we’ve made mistakes.”
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