Ukraine live blog: ++ Criticism of Fico after Putin’s visit ++

The Slovakian Prime Minister Fico is criticized for his visit to Kremlin boss Putin. NATO Secretary General Rutte defended Scholz’s Ukraine policy against criticism. The developments in the live blog.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte considers Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj’s sometimes harsh criticism of Chancellor Olaf Scholz to be unjustified. “I have often told Zelenskyj that he should stop criticizing Olaf Scholz because I think that is unfair,” Rutte said in an interview with the dpa news agency. What Scholz has done for Ukraine is impressive. He helped ensure that Germany was second only to the USA in providing military support to Ukraine. This is an achievement for which Kiev can also be grateful.

At the same time, Rutte made it clear that, unlike Scholz, he would also supply Ukraine with Taurus cruise missiles and would not impose any restrictions on their use. “In general, we know that such capabilities are very important for Ukraine,” said the former Dutch prime minister. But it is not up to him to decide what allies should deliver.

Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico received a lot of criticism for visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin. Opposition politicians accused him of betraying his own country with his trip to Moscow – the first by an official representative of the Slovak Republic since Russia invaded Ukraine almost three years ago. According to both sides, the conversation with Putin discussed, among other things, Russian natural gas deliveries to Slovakia, which has been a member of both NATO and the European Union since 2004.

Unlike its southern neighbor Hungary, Slovakia has so far supported without exception all aid to Ukraine decided by the EU as well as all sanctions directed against Russia. In striking contrast, the left-wing populist Fico repeatedly attracts attention through his public criticism of the EU and NATO’s Ukraine policy.

Russia attacked Ukraine again with drone attacks late on Sunday evening. Ukrainian air defense reported swarms of drones flying in from different directions. The targets of the combat drones were initially not apparent due to the constantly changing flight directions. With this tactic, the Russian military is trying to overload the Ukrainian air defense system.

The former Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, Melnyk, will take up this position at the United Nations in the future. According to Russian information, troops have taken over a town in eastern Ukraine. Saturday’s live blog for reading.