Ukraine war live ticker: +++ 01:44 CDU politicians Daniel Günther and Norbert Röttgen put pressure on the SPD over conscription +++

The CDU is putting pressure on its coalition partner, the SPD, to convert the planned voluntary military service into conscription or to add mandatory elements. "This issue has the highest priority at the moment. We need an adequately equipped Bundeswehr – and a Bundeswehr with sufficient personnel," Schleswig-Holstein's Minister-President Daniel Günther told Stern magazine. "If we need an additional 50,000 to 60,000 soldiers, it's clear: the planned voluntary military service is not enough. I support all considerations that are already preparing for the introduction of conscription." CDU foreign policy spokesman Norbert Röttgen is also calling for a change of course within the federal government. While the coalition agreement stipulates that "initially" the recruitment of thousands more soldiers will be based solely on voluntary participation, he told Stern magazine, both this formulation "and the security situation force us to include a Plan B in the law from the outset in case voluntary participation as Plan A doesn't achieve the desired result." Röttgen points to the Russian threat: "We cannot rule out the possibility that Putin will not wait until NATO has completed its preparations, but that he will attack sooner. We must therefore be faster in the first few years. Consequently, there is enormous pressure to act and time pressure." Günther also warns of the Russian threat. "The international security situation has changed significantly in recent years," he says. His CDU in Schleswig-Holstein called for the reinstatement of conscription for women and men a year ago and, in the long term, for the introduction of universal conscription. So far, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius is planning voluntary military service. The SPD ruled out renegotiating the plans over the weekend.

+++ 00:35 Protecting the population: German Red Cross President sees need for investment of over two billion euros +++ In light of the increased threat level, the German Red Cross (DRK) is calling for billions in investments in the protection of citizens in Germany. DRK President Gerda Hasselfeldt told the "Rheinische Post" that at least 0.5 percent of the federal budget must be invested in strengthening civil protection through recognized aid organizations. "That's about 2.4 billion euros annually," Hasselfeldt said. The DRK President recalled the coalition agreement between the CDU/CSU and SPD. The new federal government has set itself the goal of "making civil protection crisis-proof and future-proof." Given the increasing threats, the coalition's demands are "gaining urgency," Hasselfeldt said. The additional funds must be used to ensure the operational capability of aid organizations, promote volunteerism, and strengthen infrastructure and redundancies, the DRK President continued. Hasselfeldt also stated that care and accommodation capacities for crisis or defense situations must be expanded quickly.

+++ 11:39 PM Zelenskyy plans strikes "on everything working for an attack on Ukraine" +++ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy discusses the course of current events on the front lines, the deployment and development of troops, and attacks on Russian military facilities. "I held a meeting of the General Staff today. There were also separate talks with Defense Minister Umerov, Commander-in-Chief Syrsky, and Chief of the General Staff Ignatov. There were intelligence reports and reports from the Security Service of Ukraine," Zelenskyy said in his video address. He emphasized that the primary focus is on attacks on Russian military facilities—"everything there working for an attack on Ukraine."

+++ 9:56 PM Video shows missile defense system explosion after Ukrainian drone strike +++ Soldiers of the Ukrainian Unmanned Systems Forces destroyed a Russian Buk-M3 anti-aircraft missile system with a "full ammunition load" using a drone. A video from the Ministry of Defense shows the strike, which resulted in a massive explosion. The damage is estimated at approximately 45 million euros. The location of the Buk-M3 has not been disclosed. Several such missile defense systems have already been destroyed by the Ukrainians in recent days.

+++ 9:21 p.m. Rutte: "Russia's capabilities are increasing, not decreasing" +++ Russia produces as much ammunition in three months as NATO does in a year, says NATO chief Mark Rutte at the British think tank Chatham House in London. "The capabilities of Putin's war machine are increasing, not decreasing," says Rutte. "Russia is rebuilding its armed forces with Chinese technology and producing more weapons faster than we thought." Rutte concludes: "Russia could be ready to use military force against NATO within five years. Let's not kid ourselves."

+++ 8:53 PM Sybiha calls for "devastating blow" against Russia +++ Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha is calling for "a devastating blow" in sanctions against Russia. At a press conference with his Lithuanian counterpart, Kestutis Budrys, he stated that Russia is responding to global peace efforts and US proposals with increased terror and escalation. One of the most important measures to prevent this are sanctions. "We insist that the EU's 18th sanctions package must not only be strong, but also destructive," Sybiha said. "It must deal a devastating blow to the energy sector, the shadow fleet, the banking sector, and the sanctions evasion systems." The foreign minister hopes for "more will and determination" from the participants of the G7 summit in Canada, which begins this weekend. He urged the countries to reduce the price cap for a barrel of Russian oil to $30. "We very much hope that decisions in this direction will be made and formalized accordingly during the G7 summit in Canada."

+++ 8:20 p.m. Orban: Russians too weak to attack NATO +++ Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban questions Russia's ability to attack NATO countries. In an interview with the French broadcaster LCI , he argues that the Kremlin "is not even capable of defeating Ukraine. The Russians are too weak for that," Orban says. "So they are not capable of seriously attacking NATO either." The Kremlin friend also asserts that a "direct conflict with Russia" or a "threat of war" is not in the interest of Hungary or the EU. For this reason, Ukraine should not join NATO. "Europe must be strengthened in the long term, and there must be a strategic agreement with Russia." Sanctions against Russia would "destroy Hungary and all of Europe."

+++ 7:44 PM BND chief warns: "People in Moscow want to test NATO" +++ The president of the Federal Intelligence Service (BND), Bruno Kahl, warns against underestimating Russian aggression. "We are very certain, and we have intelligence evidence to support this, that Ukraine is just a step on the path to the West," Kahl says in the Table.Today podcast. "There are people in Moscow who no longer believe that Article 5 of NATO works. And they would like to test it." The goal of the Russian rulers, he says, is to expand their sphere of influence to the West.

+++ 7:10 p.m. Russia reportedly cuts payments to conscripts +++ Since the beginning of the year, various Russian regions have reportedly cut lump-sum payments to citizens who sign military service contracts, according to Ukraine's foreign intelligence service . "This indicates a worsening budget crisis in the face of economic pressure and sanctions," the service concluded. "In the Samara region, payments were cut from $45,000 to $26,000; in Yamalo-Nenets from $39,000 to $24,000; in Nizhny Novgorod from $38,000 to $19,000; in Bashkortostan from $20,000 to $12,000; and for contract soldiers from Ufa, they were reduced to $7,000." The service sees this as a sign of "deep financial instability in the regions" and "uncoordinated policies that only exacerbate social tensions."

You can follow all previous developments here.