Germany's defense minister unveils more help for Ukraine's fight against Russia's invasion
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius vowed Tuesday to keep supporting Ukraine’s efforts to win its war against Russia, pledging further military aid worth 1.3 billion euros ($1.4 billion). The new support is to include further Iris-T SLM anti-aircraft missile systems as well as anti-tank mines and 155-millimeter artillery shells, German news agency dpa reported. “We are talking about 20,000 additional shells,” Pistorius said at a joint news conference with his Ukrainian counterpart, Rustem Umerov, in Kyiv, according to dpa. Andrii Yermak, the head of the Ukrainian president’s office, said it was “a great aid package.” Pistorius's unannounced trip to the Ukrainian capital came a day after U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin traveled to Ukraine and pledged American support “for the long haul,” including an additional $100 million in weapons from U.S. stockpiles. The visits appeared to be part of an international political effort to keep the war in the public mind as other issues clamor for attention, including the Israel-Hamas conflict. European Council President Charles Michel also arrived in Kyiv on Tuesday, which is the 10th anniversary of what Ukraine calls its Revolution of Dignity. That uprising brought momentous change for Ukraine, pushing it closer to the West and bringing confrontation with Moscow. Pistorius paid tribute to the demonstrators who were killed during the pro-European protests 10 years ago, dpa reported. “Courageous people of all ages took to the streets for freedom, for rapprochement with Europe, and paid for it with their lives,” Pistorius said. He put down red roses at a makeshift memorial to those killed. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, in a video message, saluted the Ukrainian desire for freedom and its application to join the 27-nation European Union. “The future of Ukraine is in the European Union,” she said. “The future that the Maidan fought for has finally just begun,” she said in a reference to central Kyiv's Independence Square. For Moscow, the Ukrainian revolt was fomented by Western interests, and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Tuesday reaffirmed the Kremlin’s view that it was “a coup, a forceful coup financed from abroad.” Ukraine’s current fight to push out the Kremlin’s forces has lasted almost 21 months. A recent Ukrainian counteroffensive apparently has yielded no major changes on the battlefield, and another tough winter of attritional warfare lies ahead. The U.K. defense ministry said Russia could target Ukraine’s power grid again, just like last winter when Moscow sought to wear down local resistance by denying civilians home heating and running water. “Russia has now refrained from launching its premier air-launched cruise missiles from its heavy bomber fleet for nearly two months, likely allowing it to build up a substantial stock of these weapons,” the ministry in London said Tuesday. Germany is the second biggest single provider of military and financial support to Ukraine after the United States, and German officials said Pistorius aimed to assess the effectiveness of its aid as well as take stock of the fighting during his visit. Pistorius said he wanted to “express our solidarity, our deep solidarity and admiration for the courageous, brave and costly fight that is being waged here.” Meanwhile, two Russian missiles struck a hospital in the eastern Donetsk region, wounding six people and possibly leaving more buried under rubble, Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said Tuesday. Russian forces attacked Ukraine overnight with 10 Shahed-type drones, four S-300 missiles and one Iskander-K cruise missile, Ukraine’s air force said Tuesday. Nine Shahed drones and the Iskander-K missile were successfully intercepted on Monday night, it said. No casualties were immediately reported. At least five Ukrainian civilians were killed and 10 others were injured in southeastern regions of the country over the previous 24 hours, the presidential office said Tuesday. Civilians have been victims of Russia's barrages on an almost daily basis. At least 10,000 Ukrainian civilians, including more than 560 children, have been killed and more than 18,500 have been injured since Russia’s full-scale invasion, the U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine said Tuesday. In other developments, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu claimed that Ukrainian efforts to cross the Dnieper River on the southern front line have failed. He told top Russian military brass that Moscow’s forces “are steadily holding positions along the entire line of contact and are gradually improving their positions.” Ukraine’s military claimed last week its troops had secured multiple bridgeheads on the river’s eastern bank in the Kherson region. That would be a small but potentially significant strategic advance amid fighting that has largely come to a standstill. ___ Associated Press reporters Yuras Karmanau in Tallinn, Estonia, and Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin contributed to this report. ___ Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine Read More Poland set to get more than 5 billion euros in EU money after commission approves recovery plan NATO head says violence in Kosovo unacceptable while calling for constructive dialogue with Serbia Slovakia's new government led by populist Robert Fico wins a mandatory confidence vote Ukrainian troops beat back attacks near Bakhmut as Putin’s forces make desperate push Ukrainians who fled their country for Israel find themselves yet again living with war 10 years later, a war-weary Ukraine reflects on events that began its collision course with Russia
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Authorities in Greece have issued fresh evacuation orders for parts of Corfu as wildfires erupted on the island. Fires in Rhodes have already forced 19,000 people to leave their homes as holidaymakers said they walked for miles in scorching heat to reach safety. "The smoke was coming. So we all set off on foot. I walked 12 miles (19 km) in this heat yesterday. It took me four hours," British tourist Chris Freestone told the Reuters News Agency. Sea evacuations have now begun from a beach in Corfu to transport individuals fleeing from the fires on the island. Around 59 people were evacuated from Nissaki Beach on the northwest coast, the Greek Coast Guard has said. The evacuation was carried out using six coast guard vessels and nine private vessels. People in Santa, Megoula, Porta, Palia Perithia and Sinies were told to evacuate to Kasiopi due to the raging fires. The Greek government’s Emergency Communication Service has said: “In Rhodes, the Civil Protection forces continue to fight the flames non-stop. Since the first light of day, 10 aircraft, and 8 helicopters, of which 2 are coordinating, have taken off and are operating consecutively. “Regarding the ground forces, there are 266 firefighters, 16 groups of infantry departments, 49 firefighting water vehicles, as well as hundreds of volunteers who support the efforts of the firefighters.” As the wildfires rage on, here is everything you need to know about how a wildfire evacuation protocol works What is a wildfire? The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) describe a wildfire as: “Any unplanned and uncontrolled wildland fire that, regardless of ignition source, may require suppression response or other action according to agency policy.” How long does a wildfire last? The National Operational Guidance (NOG) has said a wildfire will burn over a period of time in areas that provide the space over which the fire can move. The NOG said the behaviour of the wildfire is dependent on a number of variables, these include: “its movement across the landscape” which “brings instability within the fire environment caused by changes to the available fuel” as well as “its combustibility and arrangement, the shape of the topography and the effects of weather.” According to the Guinness World Records, the longest wildfire was the Chinchaga Fire in 1950 which grew out of control and ended five months later on 31 October in Alberta - in that time, it burned approximately 1.2 million hectares (3 million acres) of boreal forest. When should you evacuate? According to Readyforwildfire.org, people should leave as soon as an evacuation is recommended by emergency services. Make sure you leave as soon as you receive the news and do not wait for authorities to come to you or to be ordered directly by authorities to leave. “Evacuating the forest fire area early also helps firefighters keep roads clear of congestion, and lets them move more freely to do their job. In an intense wildfire, they will not have time to knock on every door. If you are advised to leave, don’t hesitate,” readyforwildfire.org has said on its website. Here are some steps you can take: Emergency services will know exactly which areas will need to be evacuated and which escape routes you can take, so be on high alert. Be sure to follow the orders authorities give you. Always stay informed, you can do this by checking the latest on your phone, on social media, radio or television. Officials may direct you to a temporary assembly point, where you will be transferred to a safe location. Readyforwildfire.org has said on its website that people should not return to their homes until fire officials determine it is safe. “Notification that it is safe to return home will be given as soon as possible considering safety and accessibility,” it added. Does the UK government help if you’re affected by a crisis abroad? The official government website has said the help the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) can give may be limited. It said before you travel you should: Make sure you are covered by travel insurance. Find out if your holiday is financially protected and what your flights are during your holiday. There has been a Crisis Management Unit set up to respond to the situation in Rhodes. They can be contacted at +30 210 368 1730 / +30 210 3681259 / +30 210 3681350. However, people have been advised to contact their airline or travel operator who can assist with a return to the UK. The government website has also said during hot temperatures, people should take extra caution and follow NHS guidelines on how to cope during hot weather. What have airlines said? Jet2 and Tui have cancelled all flights to Rhodes. The Jet2 planes were scheduled to depart full of tourists bound for the Greek island. But the planes were empty and will be used to evacuate holidaymakers fleeing the blaze. On Sunday (23 July), Jet 2 put out a statement on Twitter and said they are “keeping the situation under constant review”. In its full statement, the airline said: “The situation in Rhodes continues to evolve quickly and our absolute priority is the health, safety and well-being of customers and colleagues in the affected areas. We can confirm that: Our in-resort teams are working hard to comply with the guidance of local authorities, and we are continuing to bring more customer helpers and local authorities colleagues to the area.” The airline said it will continue to ask customers in affected areas to follow the advice of the local authorities, as well as “staff in their hotels” It said it was “contacting customers as quickly as possible. The statement continued: “Due to these extraordinary circumstances, we have cancelled all flights and holidays that are due to depart to Rodes up to and including Sunday 30th July. We believe this is the right thing to do for everything, and we will be contacting affected customers with regard to their refund or rebooking options. “We will fly those aircraft to Rhodes with no customers on board so that we can continue to bring customers back to the UK on their scheduled flights.” TUI has also put out a statement and said their teams are “working hard with local authorities in Greece to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all our customers currently on holiday in Rhodes and impacted by the wildfires.” Read More Greece wildfires: Holiday and travel advice as Jet2 and Tui flights cancelled amid extreme weather UK airlines still selling tickets to Rhodes despite wildfire inferno Greece fires – live: Corfu evacuations begin as tourists fleeing Rhodes inferno spend second night in airport How long will the wildfires last in Greece? Where are the fires in Corfu and Rhodes? Map reveals Greece wildfires Michael Gove going on holiday to Greek island currently being evacuated
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