Ukraine live blog: ++ Russia fires intercontinental ballistic missile ++

According to Ukrainian information, Russia has used an intercontinental ballistic missile for the first time since the beginning of the war. President Zelensky wants a diplomatic solution for Crimea. All developments in the live blog.

Russia says it has intercepted two Storm Shadow cruise missiles fired by Ukraine. This was announced by the Ministry of Defense in Moscow. It would be the first use of these British-supplied weapons over Russia since the start of the war.

Yesterday, British media reported that Ukraine had fired the weapons at Russia for the first time.

The aid organization Handicap International, which provides assistance to people with disabilities, condemns the US supply of anti-personnel mines to Ukraine. This violates not only the Biden administration’s own guidelines, but also universal standards, the organization said. Experience showed that the largest number of victims came from the civilian population. According to the aid organization’s Landmine Monitor 2024, at least 5,757 people fell victim to mines and unexploded bombs last year.

“The use of landmines in Ukraine has already left a devastating legacy of human suffering, hindering post-conflict reconstruction and endangering future generations,” it said. “We call on Ukraine to take into account the long-term high human and moral costs associated with landmines and to comply with standards that prioritize the protection of civilians in armed conflict.”

According to Ukraine, Russia has fired an intercontinental ballistic missile for the first time since the start of the war. The Ukrainian military said it was launched from the southern Astrakhan region on the Caspian Sea. The Kremlin declined to comment. ICBMs can carry both conventional and nuclear warheads and can strike targets thousands of kilometers away.

According to Ukrainian information, seven Ch-101 cruise missiles equipped with stealth technology were also used. According to air defense, six of them were intercepted. A Russian hypersonic missile of the “Kinshal” type also hit the Dnipropetrovsk region, reports the Ukrinform agency. The missile was therefore fired by a Mig-31 fighter jet.

According to military governor Serhiy Lyssak, an industrial plant in the regional capital Dnipro was hit and two fires broke out in the city. The mayor of Dnipro wrote that a center for people with disabilities was also damaged.

During her time in office, former Chancellor Angela Merkel tried to thwart Ukraine’s desire to quickly join NATO because she already feared a military response from Russia. The 70-year-old reports this in her memoirs, which will be published on Tuesday, from which Die Zeit has published an excerpt in advance.

About the crucial NATO summit in 2008, when it came to a plan for candidate status for Ukraine and Georgia, she writes: “I understood the desire of the Central and Eastern European countries to become members of NATO as quickly as possible.” But: “Accepting a new member should not only bring more security to him, but also to NATO.”

Merkel saw risks regarding the contractually guaranteed presence of the Russian Black Sea Fleet on the Ukrainian Crimean peninsula. “Such a combination with Russian military structures has never occurred before in any of the NATO membership candidates.”

Air raid and rocket alarms were sounded across the country in Ukraine early this morning. A Russian hypersonic missile of the “Kinshal” type hit the Dnipropetrovsk region, the Ukrinform agency reported. The missile was fired from a Mig-31 fighter jet. No further details were initially provided.

Shortly afterwards, Ukrainian air defense warned on the Telegram platform of the possible entry of several Ch-101 cruise missiles. These missiles, equipped with stealth technology, were probably fired by Tu-95 strategic bombers near the city of Engels in the Saratov region of southern Russia. No further information was initially available.

Ukraine apparently attacked Russia’s Kursk counteroffensive headquarters with British cruise missiles, according to a report by the Washington-based Institute for War Studies. Accordingly, the Russian-North Korean headquarters was “successfully” attacked with Storm Shadow cruise missiles and combat drones. After the US decision to allow Ukraine to use long-range weapons against targets on Russian territory, there was also speculation about the use of similar weapon systems from Great Britain.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj continues to rely on diplomatic means to regain the Crimean peninsula that was annexed by Russia. “I have already said that we are ready to take back Crimea through diplomatic means,” the president told US broadcaster Fox News. A military reconquest of Crimea would involve too high a loss of life that his country could not accept. In addition, there is no guarantee of military success.

At the same time, Zelensky made it clear that Ukraine would not cede any occupied territories to Russia. “We cannot legally recognize any occupied territory of Ukraine as Russian.” The Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea was annexed by Russia in 2014.

Faced with pressure from advancing Russian troops, Ukrainian authorities are continuing the forced evacuation of the Donetsk region in the east of the country. According to the agency, there are currently almost 324,000 civilians in the parts of the region controlled by the Ukrainian military, the regional military administration said. The heavily contested hotspots of Pokrovsk and Kurakhove are located in the Donetsk region. Russian troops have recently gained ground there, and the Ukrainian military leadership fears further setbacks.

Ukrainian authorities have made public new cases of possible executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war by Russian soldiers. The USA announces further military aid to Ukraine. Wednesday’s developments to read.