In her first public speech since leaving office in December, former German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Russia is waging a “barbaric war of aggression” in Ukraine.
Speaking to 200 people at the farewell ceremony for the outgoing head of a prominent trade union, Merkel said the invasion constitutes blatant breach of international law and ”a profound break” in the history of Europe after the end of World War II.
”My solidarity is with Ukraine, which was attacked and invaded by Russia, and with supporting its right to self-defense,” Merkel said. “Never should we take peace and freedom for granted.”
Merkel said that now that she no longer holds office, she will not make political assessments from “the sidelines.” She did, however, say that she supports the current efforts by the West — including her successor, Olaf Scholz — to find an end to the conflict.
Merkel said that the consequences of the war would be far-reaching, including in terms of human rights.
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”Bucha is representative of this horror,” she said, referring to the atrocities committed against civilians in the Kyiv suburb.
Merkel said she found a small ray of hope in the tremendous support being given to Ukrainians in neighboring countries such as Poland and Moldova.
Around 800 people are hiding in several bomb shelters underneath the Azot chemical factory in Severodonetsk, which has been targeted by Russian missile attacks, said Serhiy Hayday, the head of Luhansk region military administration.
Hayday told CNN Thursday that local residents have sought shelter in the Soviet-era bomb shelters under the factory.
“There are locals there, who were asked to leave the city,” Hayday said. “But they refused. There are also children there, but not many of them.”
In a separate update on Thursday, regional Ukrainian officials said the Russians have again fired on Azot factory and “hit one of the administrative buildings and a warehouse where methanol was stored,” although it’s unclear how much methanol remained there.
The Ukrainians still maintain control of the Severodonetsk industrial zone, the statement said, one of the remaining parts of the city Russia has not taken.
“Most” of Severodonetsk, one of the last cities to hold out in Luhansk, has been taken by Russia,
