Report: New US arms package for Ukraine

By Karin Hiebaum
International Journalist

US President Joe Biden is expected to sign a new arms package worth at least $100 million for Ukraine. This was reported by ORF news agency, citing four US officials.

The United States has delivered $3.4 billion worth of weapons to Ukraine since Russia invaded, including howitzers, Stinger anti-aircraft systems, anti-tank missiles, ammunition and drones.

50 civilians safe from steel plant

Fifty civilians were brought to safety from the Azov steel plant in Mariupol today. “Today we managed to get 50 women, children and elderly people out of the Azov Steel Plant,” Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk says on Telegram. Tomorrow the operation should continue, she adds, again accusing the Russian army of violating the ceasefire during the evacuation.

The Russian Defense Ministry also speaks of 50 people who left the contested area

“Spiegel”: Russian cyberattacks on German authorities.
Prussian hackers have launched cyberattacks on the websites of German security agencies, ministries and politicians, making them temporarily inaccessible, according to a media report. According to “Spiegel” information, the attacks are directed against the German Federal Police as well as several state police authorities, among others. The Bundestag, the Ministry of Defense and the SPD website are also among the targets of the hacking campaign, the magazine writes, citing an internal authority report.

Vucic: “Serbia will stay on European path”
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has reaffirmed his country’s orientation toward the European Union. “Serbia will remain strictly on the European path,” Vucic said in a televised address. He added that this path will be pursued even more resolutely, contending for Serbia’s place in the European family of nations.

For the first time, more Serbs opposed the country’s EU accession than favored it in an opinion poll. The percentage of those opposed to the EU rose to 44 percent, while that of supporters fell to 35 percent, according to the poll by polling agency Ipsos.

His job is to do the best for the country, Vucic said. In international relations there is no love and no justice, one must take into account one’s own interests, says Vucic.

Guterres travels to Moldova

After his visits to Moscow and Kiev, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will travel to Moldova. The 73-year-old Portuguese wants to meet in Ukraine’s neighboring country on Monday, among others, President Maia Sandu and Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita. On Tuesday, Guterres is scheduled to visit a refugee camp. Moldova, with a population of 2.5 million, has taken in more than 450,000 refugees since the start of the Ukraine war. On Wednesday, the UN chief plans to travel on to Austria.

According to the Russian news agency TASS, a third bus carrying 23 civilians has left the Azov Steel Plant site.

U.S.: Did not assist in attacks on Russian generals

The U.S. government rejects a media report that American intelligence services helped Ukraine take out Russian generals. That is not true, says presidential spokeswoman Jen Psaki. The New York Times has reported that the government in Washington provided Ukraine with details of expected troop movements and Russia’s mobile command posts, among other things.