Barley warns of Ukraine’s hasty EU accession Romania overwhelmed by Ukrainian grain exports The news about Russia’s war in Ukraine in the stern ticker.
Day 115 of the Ukraine war: After President Selenskyj emphasized the value of his country for the European Union in the debate on Ukraine’s suitability for Europe yesterday evening, renewed fierce fighting broke out in the east of the country at night. According to the Ukrainian general staff, every street in the easternmost city of the front line, Sieverodonetsk in the Luhansk region, was fought over on Friday evening. The city and its surroundings are under heavy artillery fire.
9:25 p.m .: Moscow – Almost two million Ukrainians brought to Russia
According to the Moscow military, almost two million people have been brought to Russia from the contested areas of Ukraine. A Defense Ministry representative put the total number of Ukrainians at 1.936 million, including 307,000 children. Today alone, 29,730 people were evacuated to Russia, including 3,500 children, said Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev. According to Moscow, the people from the combat zones and from the separatist areas of Donetsk and Luhansk are being taken to safety in Russia. Ukraine has accused Russia of not allowing people to flee to areas controlled by the Kiev government. From Ukraine’s point of view, Russia is deporting its citizens.
8:52 p.m.: Russian missiles destroy Ukrainian oil tanks near Dnipro
Russian troops have used a missile attack to destroy oil tanks near the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro. The regional administration reported three rockets hit the depot in the Novomokovsk district. “There is a strong fire,” wrote the governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region Valentyn Resnichenko on Telegram. Three people were taken to hospital with burns. Russian missiles struck a factory that processes gas near the city of Izyum in eastern Ukraine. There was also a big fire there, as the governor of the Kharkiv region, Oleh Synyehubov, announced. In addition to the factory, houses were also hit. No information was given about the victims in this case.
7.49 p.m .: Russian troops gain territory near Sievjerodonetsk
The Russian army has gained territory near the heavily contested administrative center of Sievjerodonetsk, but has still not been able to capture the former city itself. “As a result of the shelling and storming, the enemy achieved partial success in the village of Metyolkine and is trying to establish itself there,” the Ukrainian General Staff said in its situation report. Metyolkine is located south-east of Sievjerodonetsk. Chechen ruler Ramzan Kadyrov had previously stated that Russian forces had taken the town. Thousands of Chechens are fighting in the Russian armed forces in Ukraine.
6.48 p.m .: Scholz calls for Russia to give in in the dispute over grain exports
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) has asked Russia to give in in the dispute over Ukrainian grain exports. “You have to hope for the world that an agreement will be reached,” he said in an interview with the German Press Agency, with a view to ongoing negotiations about an export corridor across the Black Sea. “Russia must enable safe transport and at the same time give credible assurances that it will not use such a corridor for an invasion,” said Scholz. “It can’t be that the grain ships leave the Ukrainian ports and the Russian warships head for the ports.”
5.14pm Local Authorities – Civilians killed by Ukrainian attacks in Donetsk
According to local authorities, civilians have been killed and injured by Ukrainian attacks in the separatist city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine. “Five people were killed and 12 injured in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) as a result of the bombardment by the Ukrainian armed forces,” the region’s authorities said in the online service Telegram. Donetsk is the capital of the self-proclaimed Donetsk Republic in eastern Ukraine. The region has been partially controlled by pro-Russian separatists since 2014. Since the start of the Russian military operation in Ukraine on February 24, it has been the scene of bitter fighting.
4.44 p.m .: Union puts pressure on Scholz to deliver heavy weapons
The Union continues to put pressure on Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) because of his hesitation in delivering heavy weapons to Ukraine. On the occasion of Scholz’s government statement planned for Wednesday in the Bundestag, the CDU and CSU want to submit an application that, according to media reports, specifically calls for the immediate delivery of Marder armored personnel carriers as well as recovery and armored personnel carriers. “Otherwise there will soon be no more Ukraine,” warned parliamentary group leader Johann Wadephul.
The aim is to deliver armored weapon systems for Ukraine “that will be available quickly,” Wadephul told the Tagesspiegel. He criticized that Germany was “falling short of all expectations” with regard to the delivery of heavy weapons and was also not meeting the requirements of the joint decision by Ampel and Union on this in April. “That’s why we can’t spare the chancellor having to have this discussion again in the Bundestag,” said the CDU politician.
1:48 p.m .: Ukrainians say goodbye to killed activists with a funeral service
Hundreds of Ukrainians bid farewell to a democracy activist killed in the war in Kyiv. The funeral of the 24-year-old Roman Ratuschny took place in the Sankt-Michaels-Kloster. Ratuschny had played an important role in the pro-European revolution of 2013-14. He was killed on June 9 near the city of Izyum in eastern Ukraine’s Kharkiv region in battles with Russian troops.
Ratuschny – a student at the time – was one of the first demonstrators on the Maidan in the winter of 2013/2014. He later became involved in the fight against corruption. After the start of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine last February 24, he joined the army.
1:05 p.m .: Zelenskyj to another front visit in southern Ukraine
According to official information, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has visited another frontline region – Mykolaiv in the south of the country. A video on his Telegram channel shows Zelensky inspecting ruins in the city and handing out medals after a briefing.
He took part in a meeting on important issues in the region. “We discussed the state of the economy, the restoration of the water supply and the situation in agriculture. Particular attention was paid to threats to land and sea,” reads the description of the video.
1:02 p.m .: According to the head of the Federal Network Agency, Russia wants to drive up gas prices
The head of the Federal Network Agency, Klaus Müller, sees a clear strategy in Russia’s throttling of gas supplies. Müller tells the German Press Agency: “For days now, Russia has been delivering significantly less gas to Germany and Europe. That should unsettle us and drive up prices. That’s why the federal government is organizing additional liquid gas and the gas storage law is working. Save gas and store it for the winter is now the need of the hour.”
The Federal Network Agency once again describes the gas supply situation in Germany as “tense”. According to a report, the gas supply is stable at the moment. Security of supply in Germany is currently guaranteed.
12.15 p.m .: According to the governor, the battle for Sievjerodonetsk is increasingly being fought in the villages
According to Ukrainian sources, the battle for the strategically important city of Sievjerodonetsk in eastern Ukraine is increasingly being fought in the surrounding villages. “The fiercest fighting is currently taking place near Sievjerodonetsk,” reports Luhansk regional governor Serhiy Hajday on Telegram. Russian troops and their separatist allies have so far failed in their attempts to capture the villages.
According to him, the city of Sievjerodonetsk is still not under full Russian control. Meanwhile, for the people in neighboring Lyssychansk, the situation is becoming increasingly dangerous: since the Russian troops are unable to advance, “they simply bombard the city from the air,” explains the governor.
11.18 a.m .: BKA is investigating hundreds of tips on Russian war crimes in Ukraine
According to the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), it is investigating several hundred tips on Russian war crimes in Ukraine. “So far we have received a three-digit number of tips,” says BKA President Holger Münch of “Welt am Sonntag”. Not only the perpetrators of war crimes are being investigated, but also those responsible militarily and politically.
There are also considerations about sending German investigators to Ukraine in the future, says Münch: “Basically, I can imagine that the BKA will also be active on the ground.” However, this would first require an international mandate. Safety issues would also have to be considered.
10.15 a.m .: Scholz assures Ukraine of further help
Chancellor Olaf Scholz has promised Ukraine further help in the fight against Russia. The SPD politician says in a video message: “We will continue to provide financial resources. We will help with reconstruction. We will continue to supply weapons that are urgently needed to defend Ukraine’s independence.”
According to the federal government, a video by Scholz on a central topic is to appear weekly under the name “Kanzler compact”.
The Chancellor said that it is now a matter of combining solidarity with a perspective. “Because many are fighting for freedom and democracy in Ukraine, they want to know that this will lead to Europe.”
10:08 am London: Difficult situation for Ukrainian civilians in Sieverodonetsk
According to British intelligence experts, civilians in the heavily contested Ukrainian city of Sievjerodonetsk have to make very difficult decisions. On the one hand, with the bridges destroyed, there are hardly any ways to get out of the city apart from the humanitarian corridors unilaterally issued by Russia and its allies. On the other hand, in previous cases in Ukraine and also in Syria, Moscow has abused such corridors as a means of gaining advantages on the battlefield and forcibly relocating people, according to a statement by the British Defense Ministry.
Russia’s proposed route would take people towards the town of Svatove, further into Russian-held territory, British experts said.
9.11 a.m .: Ukraine wants to resume negotiations with Russia in August
The Ukrainian chief negotiator David Arakhamiya does not want to resume peace negotiations with Moscow until the end of August after counterattacks have been carried out. By the end of August, Ukraine will have a better negotiating position, he says in an interview with Voice of America. “I think we will conduct an operation with counterattacks in different places,” explains Arachamija without giving details.
6.50 a.m .: Ukraine reports the sinking of a Russian tugboat
The Russian Black Sea Fleet tugboat hit by Ukrainian missiles has sunk, according to Ukrainian authorities. The tug “Vasily Bech” was damaged by Ukrainian missiles in the morning. “Later it became known that he had sunk,” said Odessa’s military governor, Maxym Marchenko, in a video speech on his Telegram channel on Thursday evening. There is no confirmation from Russian or independent sources for the sinking.
The Ukrainian Navy had already reported the shelling on Friday. According to the report, the ship, which was commissioned in 2017 and equipped with a “Tor” air defense system, was hit by Harpoon missiles and badly damaged. Denmark had delivered the anti-ship missiles to Ukraine. The smuggler was therefore with military equipment on the way to the strategically important “snake island”, which has been occupied by Russian troops since the end of February.
6.21 a.m .: Russian media present US soldiers captured in Ukraine
Russian media have shown two US soldiers who are fighting in the Ukrainian army and who have been captured by troops loyal to Moscow. In an interview with the Kremlin-affiliated newspaper Izvestia, one of the men explained that he believed Western “propaganda” about the “bad Russians” and that’s why he went to war. “The Western media doesn’t tell us how incompetent and corrupt the Ukrainian army is,” he says.
5.05 a.m .: Poland calls for further sanctions against Russia before the EU ministerial meeting
Poland is demanding further punitive measures against Russia in order to persuade Moscow to give in in the Ukraine war. “It’s about expanding the sanctions. From our point of view, a seventh package of sanctions must be launched as soon as possible. We have to keep up the pressure,” said Polish Foreign Ministry spokesman Lukasz Jasina, the “Welt am Sonntag”. the meeting of EU foreign ministers on Monday in Luxembourg. “We are going ahead with this, we enjoy the support of our Baltic partners and hope that the other Europeans will also agree to tougher sanctions against Russia.”
5 a.m.: Romania overwhelmed with Ukrainian grain exports
The Russian war of aggression in Ukraine has confronted neighboring EU country Romania with the difficult task of serving as an alternative route for the export of Ukrainian grain. Because of the inadequate transport infrastructure, Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis recently described this problem as a “logistical challenge of epic proportions”.
Florin Goidea, general director of the largest Romanian Black Sea port of Constanta, did not see a quick solution in an interview with the German Press Agency.
1.03 a.m .: Katarina Barley: “There should be no hasty accessions”
Following the EU Commission’s recommendation to officially nominate Ukraine and Moldova as candidates for EU membership, Deputy President of the European Parliament Katarina Barley warns against lowering the admission criteria. “There must be no hasty accessions. Anyone who is once in the EU cannot be excluded,” said the SPD politician to the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung” (NOZ/Saturday). You can currently see that in Hungary, which is systematically undermining the rule of law.
In view of the Russian war of aggression, the granting of candidate status to Ukraine is rightly accommodating the country. “Candidate status would be an important signal to Moscow that the EU will not be intimidated when it comes to defending our values,” Barley said.
12:09 a.m .: High-ranking general estimates material losses of the Ukrainian army
According to a senior general, the Ukrainian army has suffered heavy material losses since the start of the Russian war of aggression. “To date, as a result of active combat, we have an estimated 30 to 40, sometimes up to 50 percent equipment losses,” Brigadier General Volodymyr Karpenko told the US magazine “National Defense”. “An estimated 1300 infantry fighting vehicles, 400 tanks and 700 artillery systems were lost.”
Fighting in the war is currently concentrated in eastern Ukraine’s Donbass region.
