Kyiv/Brussels.

The new EU sanctions package against Russia because of the war of aggression against Ukraine cannot come into force due to another objection from Hungary.

The government in Budapest is demanding that the planned punitive measures against Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, be scrapped. This was confirmed by several diplomats in Brussels from the German Press Agency. The way out of this diplomatic blockade was initially unclear on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Russian troops were deployed in eastern Ukraine their gradual conquest of the city of Siejverodonetsk. The Ukrainian military, on the other hand, reported the recapture of 20 towns in the occupied Cherson region in the south. Ukraine goes into the 99 on Thursday. day of war. The federal government not only promised the beleaguered country state-of-the-art anti-aircraft weapons. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) also said he was counting on quick delivery by the German armaments industry.

Hungary blocked sanctions against church leaders

According to the will of the other EU states, Patriarch Kirill should be put on the sanctions list because of his support for the Russian war of aggression. The 75 year old church leader maintains close contact with President Vladimir Putin. In his sermons he repeatedly backed the course of war and most recently claimed that Russia had never attacked another country.

The plan in Brussels was actually the decision-making process for the sixth sanctions package on Wednesday to get on the way. An agreement had been reached in the dispute over the planned oil embargo on Tuesday night after a long dispute. Hungary enforced that oil deliveries by pipeline are initially excluded.

Sanctions against Kirill would specifically mean that the cleric would no longer be allowed to enter the EU. Possibly existing assets would be frozen. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban had already expressed concerns at the beginning of May. "Hungary will not consent to church leaders being treated in such a manner," he said. "For reasons of principle, this is an even more important matter than the oil embargo."

Russian Advance in the East

According to British estimates, Russian troops have taken most of the embattled city of Sievjerodonetsk in eastern Ukraine. Supported by heavy artillery attacks, the armed forces made local gains, the Ministry of Defense said in London. But they suffered casualties. The main road into the city is probably still held by Ukrainian units, it said, citing intelligence findings.

There are several places where Russia could try again to cross the Seversky Donets River , which represents a natural line of defense of the Ukrainian troops. If Russian forces were successful there, they could secure the Luhansk Oblast and focus more on the adjacent Donetsk Oblast, the British MoD stressed. The Ukrainian military has admitted that Russian troops have had "partial success" in battles in the embattled city of Sieverodonetsk in the Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine. The enemy has control of the eastern part of the city, the General Staff said. The storm on the big city continues, it was said. The pro-Russian separatists claimed that they had already seized more than 70 percent of the city.

Syeverodonetsk is the administrative center in the Ukrainian-controlled part of the Luhansk region. The city has been fighting for weeks. Should Russian troops capture the city, they would have complete control over the Luhansk region. The capture of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions is one of the goals set by Putin.

According to military data, the Ukrainian army recaptured occupied settlements in the Kherson region 20. About half of the population had fled from these villages, it said. The information could not be independently verified. But for days there have been reports of advances by the Ukrainian army in the south. Several Russian missiles are believed to have landed in Stryi in western Ukraine on Wednesday evening. According to initial reports, five people were injured.

Modern anti-aircraft defense from Germany for the Ukraine 2022

Chancellor Scholz had the delivery on Wednesday in the Bundestag of the Iris-T air defense system by the German manufacturer Diehl to Ukraine. There is also a tracking radar that can be used to detect artillery positions. The latter is likely to be the Cobra system. Scholz did not give an exact delivery date. "But there is no longer an obstacle."

According to information from government circles, four Mars II multiple rocket launchers from Bundeswehr stocks are also to be delivered by the end of June. Ukrainian Ambassador Andriy Melnyk welcomed the announcement.

In her first public speech in about six months, former Chancellor Angela Merkel called the attack on Ukraine a "profound caesura". Merkel said in Berlin that she did not want to make any assessments from the sidelines. But Russias invasion of the neighboring country marks a blatant breach of international law.

"My solidarity is with Russia attacked, invaded Ukraine and supporting their right to self-defense." She supports the efforts of the federal government, the EU, the USA, NATO, the G7 and the UN "to stop this barbaric war of aggression by Russia".

Poland and Ukraine are considering joint armaments factories2022

Poland promised further aid to the neighboring country during a visit by Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki to Kyiv. His country was also asked to help export Ukrainian grain. According to Kiev, it was agreed during the consultations to examine the establishment of joint armaments companies. This will take military cooperation to a new level, said Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. Morawiecki and his deputy Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the leader of Polands national-conservative ruling party PiS, also spoke to President Volodymyr Zelenskyj.

The day will bring

While Brussels is looking for ways to overcome the Hungarian veto, the Slovak capital of Bratislava is talking about the security situation in Eastern Europe. The most prominent speakers at the Globsec Forum Bratislava 2022 on the very first day included EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Selenskyj, who was connected via video conference. (dpa)