Ambassador
Embassy of Austria in Kyiv
Joined November 2011
- Tweets4.1K
- Following1.7K
- Followers1.1K
- Likes471
robert mueller retweeted
Overnight, Kyiv was rocked by a massive barrage again. At least one resident was reportedly killed and more injured, including medical personnel.
Civilian infrastructure was shattered, and basic services disrupted. This pattern of civilian harm must be brought to an end.
robert mueller retweeted
☝️I welcome the findings of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, which qualify Russia’s attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure as war crimes and the widespread deprivation of essential services as crimes against humanity. The report also documents human trafficking for the recruitment of foreign nationals into the Russian armed forces, involving men from 29 countries. These findings must strengthen international pressure on Russia and contribute to bringing those responsible to justice. Documentation of crimes must be followed by effective legal accountability.
robert mueller retweeted
Overnight, Russia has attacked Ukrainian cities and communities with 16 ballistic missiles and over 280 drones.
In Kyiv, a strike hit a university campus, nearby residential buildings, a park, and the area around a metro station. Since the evening of October 27, one person was killed and at least 15 were injured in Kyiv.
In Kharkiv, two people were killed and at least four were injured by Russian attacks. In Dnipro region, three civilians were wounded overnight. Russia also struck other Ukrainian regions, targeting energy facilities, logistics and civilian infrastructure.
As Russia is escalating its terror, Ukraine needs timely air defence supplies and real pressure on Russia to stop its war. Artificial delays in delivering interceptors for Patriot and NASAMS systems are helping Russia carry out its terror campaign. Ukraine must not be left alone to protect lives.
robert mueller retweeted
Ambassador @robertmueller3 took part in the 2026 National Unity Radio Dictation, joining Ukrainians and friends of 🇺🇦 inside and outside the country in testing their knowledge of the 🇺🇦language.
The initiative celebrates the beauty and richness of the 🇺🇦 language
#радіодиктант
robert mueller retweeted
Russian ballistic missiles struck the grounds of a university in Kyiv and the area around it – effectively the campus, Kyoto Park, the area near a metro station, and residential buildings. The exact number of casualties is not yet known. But tragically, there are victims. There are people injured. Rescue operations are underway. There is extensive damage, and there are also reports that people may be trapped under the rubble. All emergency services are at the scene and doing their work – saving lives. The missiles hit very crowded areas, and there is not a single military facility nearby. This was a strike directly on the city, on its infrastructure. Unfortunately, there may be more strikes coming. The attack with “shaheds” is also continuing – against Kyiv and our other cities and communities.
And it is precisely under such circumstances, when the threat is constant, when strikes can come at any moment and target cities and villages directly, that artificial delays in providing air defense to Ukraine help terror. It is important that political agreements be implemented promptly at the team level. It is important that our partners understand that Ukraine needs the proper tools to destroy Russian ballistic missile launchers. This would be the most effective way to save lives. It is important that the world sees that Russia is showing nothing but a desire to kill and continue waging war. Ukraine must not be left to face this alone, and it is solely Russia’s fault that the war is still going on and people are still dying. Please take care of yourselves. All partners should stand with Ukraine – with the protection of lives.
Many thanks and thanks also to UNHCR for the excellent mutual cooperation in support of the people of Ukraine.
Happy National Day, Austria! 🇦🇹
🙏Thank you to the people and Government of Austria for your steadfast support. Through @MFA_Austria’s generous contributions, UNHCR is reaching war-affected families across Ukraine with emergency shelter and protection when it is needed most.
robert mueller retweeted
Miksi Putin haluaa niin kiivaasti Donetskin, jota Venäjän armeija ei ole onnistunut valloittamaan vuosien sodankäynnistä huolimatta?
Kyse on paljon suuremmasta asiasta kuin yhdestä maakunnasta Ukrainan itäosassa.
Putin ei aloittanut sotaa vain saadakseen haltuunsa lisää ukrainalaista maa-aluetta, vaan palauttaakseen Ukrainan Venäjän vaikutuspiiriin ja estääkseen sen kehittymisen itsenäiseksi, länteen integroituneeksi valtioksi. Tämä on ollut Venäjän strategisen ajattelun ytimessä jo pitkään.
Donetsk on tässä kokonaisuudessa poikkeuksellisen tärkeä useasta syystä.
Ensinnäkin alue on ollut historiallisesti yksi Ukrainan taloudellisista ja teollisista keskuksista. Donbasin hiilikaivokset, terästeollisuus, konepajat ja energiantuotanto olivat aikanaan keskeinen osa Neuvostoliiton teollista perustaa.
Vaikka sota on tuhonnut valtavasti alueen tuotantokapasiteettia, Donetskin taloudellista ja historiallista merkitystä ei pidä vähätellä. Venäjän näkökulmasta sen hallinta merkitsisi samalla Ukrainan taloudellisen perustan heikentämistä.
Vielä tärkeämpi on kuitenkin sotilaallinen ulottuvuus. Ukrainan hallussa olevat Slovjansk ja Kramatorsk ovat osa vuosien aikana rakennettua puolustusvyöhykettä, joka suojaa Ukrainan sisäosia Venäjän etenemiseltä. Kyse ei ole vain kahdesta kaupungista, vaan kokonaisesta puolustusjärjestelmästä, jonka rakentamiseen Ukraina on käyttänyt yli vuosikymmenen.
Jos Ukraina luovuttaisi nämä alueet ilman taistelua, Venäjä saisi haltuunsa strategisesti arvokkaita asemia, joiden valloittaminen sotilaallisesti voisi vaatia vielä vuosien taisteluita ja valtavia tappioita.
Samalla Ukraina menettäisi yhden tärkeimmistä puolustuslinjoistaan, eikä vastaavan rakentaminen lännemmäksi olisi yksinkertaista. Tämä voisi avata Venäjälle huomattavasti paremmat lähtökohdat myöhempään hyökkäykseen syvemmälle Ukrainaan.
Donetsk on myös osa Venäjän omaa turvallisuusmaantiedettä. Alueen hallinta kasvattaisi Venäjän hallitsemien alueiden syvyyttä ja suojaisi sen Itä-Ukrainaan rakentamia sotilaallisia huoltoyhteyksiä. Laajemmassa kokonaisuudessa Donbas liittyy myös Etelä-Ukrainan miehitettyihin alueisiin ja Krimille johtavaan maayhteyteen.
Taloudellisten ja sotilaallisten kysymysten lisäksi Donetskilla on Putinille valtava poliittinen ja symbolinen merkitys. Kreml on vuodesta 2014 lähtien rakentanut kertomusta Donbasin venäjänkielisen väestön suojelemisesta ja alueen kuulumisesta niin sanottuun venäläiseen maailmaan.
Vuonna 2022 Venäjä julisti koko Donetskin alueen liitetyksi itseensä, vaikka ei sitä kokonaan hallinnut. Koko alueen haltuunotto antaisi Putinille mahdollisuuden esittää sodan lopputulos historiallisena saavutuksena.
Venäjän vaatimukset eivät silti rajoitu Donetskiin. Kreml on vaatinut myös Ukrainan Nato-jäsenyyden torjumista ja sen sotilaallisen toimintavapauden rajoittamista. Yhdessä alueluovutusten kanssa nämä tavoitteet voisivat jättää Ukrainan tilanteeseen, jossa sen taloudellinen perusta, puolustuskyky ja mahdollisuudet päättää omasta tulevaisuudestaan olisivat nykyistä huomattavasti heikommat.
Tässä mielessä Putin voi saavuttaa neuvottelupöydässä jotain, mitä hän ei ole kyennyt saavuttamaan taistelukentällä.
Siksi mielestäni olisi virhe tulkita Donetskin vaatimista vain Putinin tarpeeksi saada sodalle jonkinlainen "kunniallinen päätös".
Putin voi olla valmis lopettamaan sodan ilman, että hän luopuu alkuperäisistä tavoitteistaan. Siksi Donetskin kysymys on paljon suurempi kuin miltä se kartalla näyttää.
robert mueller retweeted
Cities are homes, not battlefields 🏠
🇦🇹 delivered a joint statement on behalf of a cross-regional group of over 45 States at #1C, calling for stronger protection of civilians from explosive weapons in populated areas & the adherence to int’l humanitarian law.
robert mueller retweeted
As expected, talks on ending Russia's war against Ukraine have shifted to talks on a new division of Europe.
In his statement on 22 October, Putin said that future negotiations should determine guarantees for Russia as well as the broader rules of European security. According to him, it was Witkoff who proposed widening the agenda.
Europeans are not yet being invited to the conversation about European security. Peskov specified that representatives of Ukraine, Russia and the US will meet in Abu Dhabi. He acknowledged that European countries cannot be left out going forward, but tied their participation to the position they take (whether they behave themselves).
Some Russian experts have a quite concrete picture of what the coming talks should cover. Valdai Club expert Stanislav Tkachenko speaks openly of a return to the demands of December 2021: limiting NATO's military presence to pre-enlargement levels, removing new bases and military facilities from the Baltic states and Eastern Europe, and halting further enlargement. To this he adds recognition of territorial seizures, the lifting of sanctions and the return of frozen assets. His reasoning is that Moscow regards the European Union as a losing party as well, and therefore expects concessions from it too. Tkachenko even suggests new claims on Odesa, Mykolaiv and Kharkiv, arguing that Putin's references to "historical territories" leave room for them.
At the same time, it is possible to negotiate and continue the war.
Dmitri Trenin, president of the Russian International Affairs Council, believes that freezing hostilities along the current front line does not suit Russia. Talking to the US is nevertheless worthwhile, since it is already producing some results. He notes that Moscow has agreed to discuss, first and foremost, the future post-war security system. The fighting itself, he predicts, may continue into 2027. He links the concrete terms of any agreement to the situation on the battlefield: talks can happen now, while decisions will depend on military outcomes.
Explanations for the case that negotiations once again lead nowhere are also already being prepared. Fyodor Lukyanov interprets the new Ukrainian proposals as Zelensky's attempt to ease pressure from Trump. He suggests that Kyiv may walk away from agreements already reached, with the Europeans backing it. For that reason, in his view, Witkoff's arrival with new ideas does not yet mean anything.
Meanwhile, Moscow is finding reasons to celebrate even before any deal. Duma deputy Oleg Matveychev considers it a success in itself that the US talks to Russia as an equal and discusses a wide range of global issues with it. A concrete outcome of the meeting is not even necessary for this assessment. He takes the comparison of a possible Putin–Trump–Xi meeting with "Yalta-2" as recognition of Russia's special status: it is once again among the states that shape the future order.
Practical gains are added to the symbolic success. Duma deputy Leonid Slutsky calls the meeting with Witkoff a diplomatic "master class" by Putin and points to sanctions relief and the diesel deal with the US. For him, this is already evidence of a successful restoration of relations with Washington. He envisions further negotiations taking Russia's interests fully into account.
Trump is also seen as a partner for exerting influence on Ukraine and Europe. Political commentator Gevorg Mirzayan suggests that Moscow and Washington are discussing a coordinated policy towards them. In his view, Trump wants to show voters a foreign-policy success, bring the Europeans back into greater obedience, and establish energy cooperation with Russia.
The rush ahead of the US elections is also viewed as an opportunity for Russia. Boris Mezhuev openly calls Trump an ally on the question of a settlement. He believes the US president needs a peace plan he can present to voters, even if it has not yet been signed. Russia can help him secure such a political result while advancing its own demands.
And yet there are still some in Moscow who remain dissatisfied, such as Dugin, Malofeev and Karaganov, united by a shared mental disorder: a passion for using nuclear weapons. In their latest interviews and publications, they openly call on Putin to use nuclear weapons against Ukraine and Europe.
robert mueller retweeted
Die Weltlage hat sich in den letzten Jahren massiv verändert, insbesondere hybride Bedrohungen nehmen zu. Davor kann sich kein Land Europas allein schützen.
Deshalb müssen wir in der EU bei der Verteidigung noch enger zusammenarbeiten. Das sehen auch die Österreicherinnen und Österreicher so. Eine überwiegende Mehrheit im Land befürwortet eine europäische Verteidigungsunion.
Gerade die jüngere Generation sieht darin einen wesentlichen Schlüssel, um Österreichs Freiheit und Sicherheit für die Zukunft abzusichern.
Gemeinsame Beschaffung und gemeinsame Planung sind kein Widerspruch zu unserer Neutralität – sie sind die Basis, damit sich Europa in Zukunft eigenständig verteidigen kann.
Verteidigungsfähigkeit ist die Voraussetzung für Frieden. Wer Frieden will, muss ihn schützen können.
krone.at/4345483
robert mueller retweeted
⚡️️️️️️️Kyiv denies reports that Trump, Musk have restored Starlink speeds in Ukraine.
"Overall, nothing has changed anywhere," a Ukrainian official told the Kyiv Independent on Oct. 22. Starlink's speed cap remains in effect.
kyivindependent.com/kyiv-den…
robert mueller retweeted
Herzliche Gratulation an den Internationalen Strafgerichtshof zum Sacharow-Preis!
Der Internationale Strafgerichtshof steht für ein zentrales Versprechen: Schwerste Verbrechen dürfen nicht ungestraft bleiben. Gerade wenn das Völkerrecht unter Druck steht, braucht es einen starken und unabhängigen Gerichtshof. Österreich steht fest an der Seite des IStGH. Denn Gerechtigkeit darf keine Frage von Macht oder Stärke sein.
robert mueller retweeted
It’s now officially confirmed.
Tonight, russia struck Kyiv’s historic centre with an Iskander ballistic missile carrying a cluster warhead.
58 submunitions explode in mid-air, designed to inflict maximum casualties across a 400 × 400 metre area.
“This strike had no military purpose. The goal was to destroy part of the old city and injure as many people as possible,” said a Ukrainian presidential adviser.
No military objective. Just terror.
robert mueller retweeted
An attack impacting an open market in #Lozova, the #Kharkiv Region, reportedly killed two and injured over 30 civilians. Market stalls and homes were destroyed or damaged.
Aid workers are on-site, providing psychosocial and legal counselling and mobilizing further response.
ALT Photo: NGO Right to Protection
ALT Photo: NGO Right to Protection
ALT Photo: NGO Right to Protection
ALT Photo: NGO Right to Protection
robert mueller retweeted
The verified record of Russia's crimes in Ukraine: case files, UN statements, fact-checks, sanctions, the cost of the war, and a calendar of where Ukraine is on the agenda. Every figure has a source, a date and a tier. Open data, 6 languages. ukraine-evidence.org/?src=x
robert mueller retweeted
Residents of #Kyiv continue to suffer from repeated attacks.
Overnight, many had to run to shelters and comfort their children as homes were shaken by loud explosions.
Some saw their homes damaged.
Civilians & civilian infrastructure must be protected. #NotATarget
If the use of cluster munition also in Kyiv is confirmed it must be considered a new Russian escalation and one that will harm and kill even more civilians in a densely populated area.
There were reports on efforts to deal with the aftermath of Russian attacks on our cities and communities.
Overnight, Russia used, among other weapons, three ballistic missiles with cluster warheads against Kyiv. These missiles are designed to detonate in the air as they approach their targets, spreading damage across an area 400 meters in diameter.
One of them struck Pechersk, Kyiv's historic center, hitting the area between the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra and the Holy Presentation Monastery.
Monastery buildings, homes, shops, cafés, and other civilian infrastructure were damaged.
This is another extraordinarily revealing strike – revealing because it was no accident. The choice of weapon was deliberate, the choice of target area was deliberate, and so was the intent to inflict as much loss and damage on civilians as possible. There was no military target nearby, not even in theory, and the weapon was designed to cause widespread destruction. Russia has not changed the way it wages this war, and it is taking no steps that would signal a genuine desire to end it.
Throughout the day, air raid alerts have continued in Kyiv and many other cities. So have the strikes. In Kharkiv, a regular commuter train was hit. Dnipro, Marhanets, Mykolaiv, and Kherson, as well as cities and villages in the Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, and Rivne regions, came under attack.
Russia keeps targeting our energy infrastructure. Since October 11, there have been more than 170 strikes on critical energy facilities, even though we are shooting down a significant number of “shaheds” and some of the missiles. I thank all our friends around the world who are helping us restore our energy system.
Our intelligence services report that Russia has set priorities for further terror against Ukrainians in the coming weeks. Russia is clearly taking advantage of the slowdown in air defense supplies from our partners. It is equally clear that when some partners ease the pressure on Russia, it only reinforces Putin's belief that his goals are within reach. We need different signals and different steps – stronger ones.
I have instructed the Ministry of Defense, together with the military command and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to brief our partners on every aspect of the real situation and the threats we face, based on intelligence data. It is important to speed up deliveries of defense packages that have already been approved. I thank all the leaders and countries that are helping!
robert mueller retweeted
Tänään Pietarissa kävi jälleen ilmi, kuinka vaikeaa Venäjän kanssa neuvottelu on.
Kremlin mukaan Oslossa valmistelluissa ehdotuksissa ei ollut juuri mitään hyödyllistä. Samaan hengenvetoon Moskova kuitenkin ilmoittaa olevansa valmis uusiin neuvotteluihin ja puhuu jopa sodan lähestymisestä loppuaan.
Tässä on melkoinen ristiriita, mutta samalla hyvin tuttu venäläinen neuvotteluasetelma.
Venäjä ilmoittaa haluavansa neuvotella, mutta ei kerro, mistä se olisi itse valmis tinkimään. Sen sijaan se pitää omat vaatimuksensa voimassa ja pyrkii siirtämään keskustelua kohti sodanjälkeistä eurooppalaista turvallisuusjärjestystä.
Tähän liittyvät myös puheet Venäjälle annettavista turvallisuustakuista, joita pidän suoraan sanottuna täysin nurinkurisina. Mikä on se sotilaallinen uhka, jolta Venäjä pitäisi nyt erityisesti turvata? Venäjähän on itse aloittanut Euroopan suurimman hyökkäyssodan vuosikymmeniin.
Venäjän aiempien vaatimusten perusteella tällaisilla takuilla voidaan tarkoittaa käytännössä sitä, että Moskova saisi sanella, mitkä maat voivat liittyä Natoon ja millaisia puolustusjärjestelyjä sen naapurit saavat tehdä. Edes Yhdysvaltain presidentti ei voi luvata tällaisia asioita muiden Nato-maiden tai itsenäisten eurooppalaisten valtioiden puolesta.
Ei Euroopan turvallisuutta voida rakentaa antamalla hyökkääjälle oikeus määrätä, miten muut maat saavat puolustautua. Keskinäisestä asevalvonnasta ja sotilaallisten riskien vähentämisestä voidaan toki neuvotella, mutta Venäjän etupiirivaatimuksia ei pidä naamioida turvallisuustakuiksi.
Samaan aikaan Zelenskyi on ilmoittanut Ukrainan olevan valmis jäädyttämään sodan nykyisille rintamalinjoille. Se on Ukrainalta huomattava käytännön kompromissi, vaikka alueiden oikeudellisesta luovuttamisesta Venäjälle ei olekaan kyse.
Ukraina kertoo, mihin se on valmis suostumaan, mutta Venäjä kertoo edelleen, mihin se ei aio suostua.
Trumpin neuvottelutaktiikan kannalta tämä on erittäin paljastavaa. Yhdysvallat on jo höllentänyt Venäjään kohdistuvaa pakotepainetta ja sopinut dieselyhteistyöstä. Silti Moskovasta ei kuulu merkkejä vastaavista poliittisista myönnytyksistä.
Venäjän näkökulmasta neuvottelujen jatkuminen voi olla hyödyllistä jo itsessään. Se pitää Washingtonin kiinnostuneena taloudellisesta yhteistyöstä, antaa aikaa sotilaallisten tavoitteiden edistämiseen ja mahdollisuuden odottaa, kääntyykö Trumpin kärsimättömyys jälleen Ukrainaa vastaan.
Nyt kysymys kuuluu, kuinka monta kertaa Trump on valmis palkitsemaan Putinin halukkuudesta keskustella ilman, että tämä suostuu muuttamaan mitään olennaista.
Pidän Stubbin ja Støren eilistä diplomaattista työtä tärkeänä. He onnistuivat palauttamaan amerikkalaiset, ukrainalaiset ja eurooppalaiset yhteisen valmistelun ääreen. Mutta yhden onnistuneen neuvottelupäivän ei pidä antaa hämärtää kokonaiskuvaa.
Moskova haluaa keskustella rauhasta ja Euroopan tulevaisuudesta, mutta ainakin julkisesti sen omat vaatimukset pysyvät ennallaan.
Rauhanneuvotteluissa ei ole olennaista, kuinka monta kertaa Putin suostuu tapaamaan amerikkalaiset, vaan mitä hän on valmis tekemään sodan lopettamiseksi.
robert mueller retweeted
Today, we had important talks with our American partners and with our other partners from Europe. Steve Witkoff was also here with us in Oslo, and Jared Kushner joined us online.
Ukraine immediately supported American proposal for an energy ceasefire. But Russia responded by continuing its attacks. We offered different options. We are ready not to hit sensitive parts of Russia’s energy sector if Russia stops hitting ours. Putin said no. But we’re working to find a solution.
We have some clear ideas on how to get to peace. And we are united with our European partners in this effort, and we want the Americans to take these ideas to the Russians. One of the important ideas is to move to a potential trilateral meeting of the leaders to address the issues that only the leaders can do.
Steve is going to Russia tomorrow. Let’s see what Putin has to say.
Thank you to everyone who stands with Ukraine and stands for peace.
From a joint press conference with Jonas Gahr Støre and Alex Stubb.