Kyiv needs hundreds of tanks and guns for a victory Amnesty collects evidence of cluster bomb attack in Kharkiv Zelenskyj calls for modern air defense systems The news about the war in Ukraine in the star ticker.
Ukraine is urging additional and faster arms shipments from the west amid heavy fighting in the east of the country. After Russian rocket attacks on Monday night, President Volodymyr Zelenskyj again asked for modern air defense systems. According to a media report, the Ukraine is hoping that the forthcoming visit by Chancellor Olaf Scholz to Kyiv will result in the immediate delivery of German tanks.
Amnesty International has found that Russia committed war crimes in attacks on Kharkiv. Accordingly, cluster bombs and cluster munitions were used.
8:48 p.m .: Selenskyj warns Scholz about a “balancing act” between Ukraine and relations with Russia
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on the German government to take a clearer stance on supporting his country and warned against a “balancing act” between Kyiv and Moscow. In an interview with the ZDF “heute journal”, which was conducted in the presidential palace in Kyiv, Selenskyj accused Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) of still showing too much consideration for Russia.
Even if relations between the German and Ukrainian governments are “by no means bad”, Selenskyj demanded from Scholz “the certainty that Germany will support Ukraine”. Scholz and his government would have to make a decision: “There must be no balancing act between Ukraine and Ukraine relations with Russia,” Zelensky said.
The war can only be ended by Russia, he said. To do this, the situation in Ukraine must be strengthened in such a way that the losses for the Russian people are noticeable. No compromises are currently possible. Zelenskyy said that Germany began supporting Ukraine militarily later than other countries. “That’s a fact.”. The USA, Slovakia, Poland, Great Britain “were the first to deliver, Bulgaria and Romania also helped”, as did the Baltic states.
7 p.m.: Lambrecht defends German support for Ukraine
Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht has defended German support for Ukraine against Russian war of aggression. With a view to the joint reaction of NATO and with the EU partners, the SPD politician said at a German-American event in Berlin: “In the moment of danger we stand together. And we are capable of extraordinary action.” Support Ukraine with weapons, money and supplies. Together they strengthen NATO’s vulnerable eastern flank in order to make the entire alliance more secure. Germany also helps a lot.
The federal government was very quick to hand over material from the Bundeswehr, “what we could,” emphasized Lambrecht. However, the limits were quickly reached after the Bundeswehr had been saved in recent years.
6.43 p.m .: Scholz is silent on a possible trip to Kyiv
Chancellor Olaf Scholz is silent on the reports of a joint trip to Kyiv with French President Emmanuel Macron and Italy’s Prime Minister Mario Draghi in the next few days. “I think the government spokesman has already said everything we can now say on these issues,” said the SPD politician after a meeting with East German prime ministers on the island of Riems near Greifswald when asked about his visit plans for Ukraine. The spokesman for the federal government have so far neither confirmed nor denied the reports that the three heads of state and government are due to visit Kyiv in the next few days.
6:15 p.m.: Kyiv: Volunteers from 55 countries are fighting on the Ukrainian side
According to information from Kyiv, volunteers from around 55 countries – including Germany – are now fighting Russian troops in Ukraine. “We can confirm that we have German legionnaires, but cannot comment on any numbers,” said a spokesman for the International Legion at the request of the German Press Agency. At the beginning of June, the Legion, which was set up as a state agency, also confirmed the death of a German for the first time, who had died in the fighting during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The Legion had previously announced that Americans and British volunteers in particular were deployed, followed by Poles and Canadians. There are also fighters from Brazil, Australia, South Korea and the Baltic EU states, as well as from northern European countries, including Finland in particular.
5.41 p.m .: Four villages evacuated after air raids in northern Ukraine
After air strikes on the northern Ukrainian city of Pryluky, four surrounding towns have been evacuated. “The enemy fired three rockets at Pryluky,” wrote Chernihiv Region Governor Vyacheslav Chaus via Telegram. The evacuation was ordered because of the risk of fire, said the head of the region’s civil defense, Sergei Boldyrev, according to the Suspilne news website.
Pryluky is 150 kilometers east of Kyiv and has a military airfield. The officials did not initially provide more detailed information about the damage caused. The extent of the destruction is still being examined, Tschaus explained.
5:34 p.m .: Svyatohirsk: Mayor defected to pro-Russian separatists
After the capture of the Ukrainian city of Svyatohirsk (Svjatogorsk) by pro-Russian forces, the city’s mayor defected to the separatists. Vladimir Bandura hid his true attitude and, like many citizens of the city, was waiting for “liberation”, said the leader of the Donetsk People’s Republic, which Russia recognized as a state, Denis Puschilin. The Ukrainian armed forces lost control of the small town last week. Ukrainian media labeled Bandura a “traitor”. Officials had also defected in other regions.
5:19 p.m .: Kyiv: More bodies discovered in pit near Bucha
According to the police, the bodies of seven other civilians were found near the Kiev suburb of Bucha. They were “tortured by the Russians and then cowardly executed with a shot in the head,” said Kyiv police chief Andriy Nebytov on Facebook. Several of the victims, who were discovered in a pit near the village of Myrozke, had their hands and knees tied.
The authorities are now working on “identifying the victims,” Nebytow explained. Myrozke is around ten kilometers from Bucha and 35 kilometers from Kyiv. At the end of April, three bodies with their hands tied were discovered in a pit.
4.15 p.m .: Habeck warns in Brandenburg to commit to sanctions against Russia
At an appearance in Brandenburg, Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) called for a clear commitment to the sanctions against Russia in the energy sector. “If we allow a war of aggression in Europe that violates international law to be successful, then we will also allow the next war,” warned Habeck in a speech at the East German Economic Forum in Bad Saarow.
“That’s why the sanctions are justified,” stressed Habeck. Saying this has nothing to do with ignoring the interests of the East. He pointed out that it is precisely many Eastern European states that are pushing for a hard line in the face of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.
2:37 p.m .: Ukraine: Russians control over 70 percent of Sievjerodonetsk
In the embattled Donbass, Russian troops have taken most of the important city of Sieverodonetsk, according to Ukrainian sources. “Unfortunately, as of today, Russia controls more than 70 percent, but not the entire city,” said the governor of the Luhansk region, Serhiy Hajdaj, on the TV channel Belsat. There are hard fights for every house. With the capture of the administrative center of Sievjerodonetsk, the pro-Russian separatists, with Moscow’s help, had almost completely controlled the Luhansk region and achieved an important war goal.
2:35 p.m .: Macron calls for strengthening the European defense industry
French President Emmanuel Macron has called for a strengthening of the European defense industry in view of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. Spending a lot of money to then buy armaments elsewhere is not a good idea, said Macron in Paris at the opening of a trade fair for defense and security technology in Paris. “A European strategy is good for our economy, our jobs and our sovereignty.” Europe must invest in its defense and give it a strong foundation. More cooperation and standardization between European armaments companies are needed in order to become more competitive with the USA.
2.30 p.m .: The Bundeswehr receives a command in Berlin as a reaction to the Ukraine war
In response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Bundeswehr was given a command center based in Berlin. “Until now, territorial management tasks were spread across many areas,” said Federal Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD). They would now be bundled in a “territorial command of the Bundeswehr” in the capital on October 1.
The leadership command should therefore perform the tasks “as a ‘deployment command’ for national relocations in accordance with NATO plans for national and alliance defense”. It also organizes “the transfer of Allied forces through Germany in close coordination with the NATO commands”.
2:06 p.m.: Ukrainian police: 12,000 civilians killed in war so far
According to Ukrainian sources, more than 12,000 civilians died in the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. Most of the victims were killed by explosions, said Ukrainian police chief Ihor Klymenko in an interview published by the Interfax-Ukraine agency. 75 percent of those killed are men, two percent are children and the rest are women. “These are civilians, these people had no connection with the military or law enforcement agencies,” Klymenko stressed. 1200 victims have not yet been identified.
1.40 p.m .: G7 science ministers pledge support to Ukraine
The science ministers of the G7 countries have pledged their support to Ukraine. The Russian war of aggression had once again been sharply condemned, said Federal Research Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger (FDP) on the sidelines of a meeting with her colleagues from the G7 countries in Frankfurt am Main. The Ukrainian Science Minister Serhiy Shkarlet was also involved. “We promised him our full solidarity in protecting the people who flee to us, in maintaining educational prospects in Ukraine and also in the construction afterwards.”
1:21 p.m .: After war criticism: Putin dismisses well-known lawyer from civil service
After she criticized Russia’s war against Ukraine, Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin fired a prominent lawyer from the civil service. By decree, Putin revoked Natalya Poklonskaya from her post as deputy head of Rossotrudnichestvo – an organization affiliated with the Russian Foreign Ministry, which, among other things, campaigns for Russia’s interests in other ex-Soviet states.
12.49 p.m .: Morawiecki expects 40 million combat-ready Poles
According to Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, Poland’s citizens are ready to resist a Russian attack. “If Russia ever thinks about attacking Poland, Russia, the Kremlin needs to know that there are 40 million Poles in Poland who are ready to take up arms to defend their homeland,” Morawiecki said the inauguration of a sports shooting range in Myszkow, Silesia. Since the start of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, there has been a sharp increase in the demand for shooting training in Poland.
12:27 p.m.: Kyiv needs hundreds of tanks and guns for a victory
Ukraine has specified demands for a comprehensive supply of arms, which the government in Kyiv believes it needs for a victory in the war against Russia. “1000 155mm caliber howitzers, 300 multiple rocket launcher systems, 500 tanks, 2000 armored vehicles, 1000 drones,” writes Presidential Advisor Mykhailo Podoliak on Twitter. Kyiv is expecting a decision on this from the meeting of NATO defense ministers next Wednesday in Brussels.
11:59 a.m .: Zelenskyj’s advisor wants to “fight until Russia loses”
Notwithstanding the difficult situation in the East, Ukraine continues to define a defeat of Russia as its clear goal. “We will fight until Russia loses,” says Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podoliak in an interview published by the opposition Belarusian online newspaper Zerkalo. The minimum goal formulated by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is still a withdrawal of Russian troops to the February 23 lines – one day before the start of the war.
“The maximum goal: territorial integrity in Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders, a defeat of Russia and its transformation,” says Podolyak. Otherwise, Russia will constantly try to resume the war with new intensity, he said. “The war will last as long as it takes Ukraine to show that Russia must withdraw from our territory.”
11.04 a.m .: According to the Ukrainian commander-in-chief, the front is more than 2400 kilometers long
According to its own statements, the Ukrainian army now has a front of around 2450 kilometers to defend against ongoing Russian attacks. “Active combat operations are being conducted along 1,105 kilometers of this,” Commander-in-Chief Valery Salushny wrote on Facebook after a conversation with US General Mark Milley.
The situation around the city of Sievjerodonetsk in the Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine is particularly difficult. The enemy deployed seven battalion groups there and had a tenfold superiority in fire. “Every meter of Ukrainian soil there is soaked in blood – not just ours, but also that of the occupiers,” Zalushnyj said.
On some sections of the front, Ukrainian units have also counterattacked. Recently there have been reports of Ukrainian land gains on the border of the southern Ukrainian regions of Mykolaiv and Cherson. Russia invaded Ukraine at the end of February.
10.02 a.m .: According to London, river crossings will play a central role in the Ukraine war
According to British intelligence services, river crossings are likely to play a crucial role in the coming phase of the Ukraine war. A central part of the Russian front line in the Donbass region lies west of the Seversky Donets River, according to an update from the British Ministry of Defense.
Therefore, in order to make further progress in the Donbass, Russia must either carry out complicated flank attacks or undertake river crossings. So far, the Russians have often not been able to successfully master large-scale river crossings under fire. The Ukrainians, on the other hand, had repeatedly managed to destroy bridges before retreating.
9:35 a.m.: Ukrainian army pushed back from center of Sevierodonetsk
After weeks of fierce fighting, the Ukrainian army says it has been pushed back from the center of the strategically important city of Sievjerodonetsk in the Donbass region. The Russian army, with the support of its artillery, “partially” managed to push back the Ukrainian soldiers in the city center, the Ukrainian general staff said on the online service Facebook on Monday.
The governor of the Luhansk region, Serhiy Hajdaj, also reported a “partial” success of the Russian troops on Monday night. Russian forces continued to “destroy” Sieverodonetsk, Hajday said on Facebook.
8.47 a.m .: Ex-Russian prime minister warns of Ukraine’s defeat
Former Russian Prime Minister and now exile opposition leader Mikhail Kasyanov has warned of the devastating consequences for peace in Europe if Ukraine, which had been attacked by Russia, lost the war. “If Ukraine falls, the Baltic states will be next,” Kasyanov warned in a video interview with the AFP news agency. He appealed to the West not to make any concessions to Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin.
Kasyanov emphasized that he “categorically” rejects French President Emmanuel Macron’s assessment that Putin should not be “humiliated”. He is also extremely critical of demands that Ukraine cede areas to Russia in favor of a peace settlement with Moscow. “What did Putin do to deserve this?” Kasyanov asked. “I think that’s wrong and I hope the West won’t go down that path.”
4.47 a.m .: Since the beginning of the war, Russia has probably earned 93 billion euros from energy exports
According to one analysis, Russia made 93 billion euros in revenues from fossil fuel exports in the first hundred days of its war against Ukraine. The EU is still by far the largest buyer of Russian gas and oil, according to the report released on Monday by the Finland-based Center for Research on Energy and clean Air (CREA).
The EU accounted for 61 percent of Russia’s fossil exports between February 24 and June 3, according to CREA. This corresponds to 57 billion euros. Among the individual countries, China was the most important customer with 12.6 billion euros, followed by Germany with 12.1 billion and Italy with 7.8 billion euros.
Russia’s revenues come primarily from the sale of crude oil at €46 billion, followed by gas in pipelines at €24 billion. The rest of the revenue comes from the sale of petroleum products, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and eventually coal.
4.32 a.m .: Peace researchers expect growing nuclear weapons arsenals
According to estimates by peace researchers, the number of nuclear weapons in the world could soon be increasing again after decades of decline. Despite a slight reduction in the global total number of nuclear warheads to an estimated 12,705, the Stockholm-based peace research institute Sipri expects this number to increase again over the next decade.
“There are clear signs that the declines that have characterized global nuclear arsenals since the end of the Cold War have ended,” said Sipri expert Hans M. Kristensen. His colleague Matt Korda warned that without immediate and concrete disarmament steps by the nine nuclear-armed states, the global inventory of nuclear weapons could soon increase again for the first time since the Cold War.
4.30 a.m .: Melnyk: Scholz should promise tanks when visiting Kyiv
The Ukrainian Ambassador Andriy Melnyk expects Chancellor Olaf Scholz to promise the delivery of German tanks to Ukraine when he visits Kyiv. “Unfortunately, without German heavy weapons, we will not be able to break Russia’s massive military superiority and save the lives of soldiers and civilians,” Melnyk told the German Press Agency. “The Ukrainians expect that Chancellor Olaf Scholz will announce a new aid package for German armaments during his visit to Kyiv, which should definitely include Leopard 1 main battle tanks and Marder infantry fighting vehicles that can be delivered immediately.”
According to media reports, Scholz plans to travel to Kyiv this month with French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi. Officially, the visit was neither confirmed nor denied.
4:00 a.m.: German armaments for 350 million euros in Ukraine
In the first three months of the Ukraine war, the federal government approved the delivery of weapons and other armaments worth 350.1 million euros to the country attacked by Russia. This emerges from a response from the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection to a request from the Left MP Sevim Dagdelen, which is available to the German Press Agency.
From the first day of the war, February 24, to June 1, the government gave the go-ahead for the delivery of weapons of war for 219.8 million euros and other armaments such as helmets and protective vests for 85.2 million euros. In addition, there are weapons and equipment for the Bundeswehr for 45.1 million euros, which were approved in a simplified procedure from April 1st. There is no breakdown into weapons of war and other armaments for this.
State Secretary Udo Philipp points out in the letter to Dagdelen that it is mostly used material from the Bundeswehr and that its “current value” has been calculated – not the sometimes significantly higher new value.
2.23: Amnesty collects evidence of cluster bomb attack in Kharkiv
The human rights organization Amnesty International has accused the Russian armed forces of numerous war crimes in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. According to Amnesty on Monday, it has evidence that Russian troops used cluster bombs and cluster mines in at least seven attacks on the country’s second largest city. These weapons are banned by international treaties.
Amnesty investigated a total of 41 attacks that killed at least 62 people and injured at least 196. Organization members spoke to 160 people in Kharkiv in April and May, including survivors of attacks, victims’ families and witnesses. Cluster munitions release dozens of smaller explosive devices into the air that spread over an area of hundreds of square meters, indiscriminately killing and injuring people.
2:00 a.m.: Hackers hijack Russian state television websites
Unknown hackers placed a message against the war in Ukraine on Russian state television websites. On the streaming portal “Smotrim.ru”, for example, on Sunday evening next to photos of destruction in Ukraine there was “Putin destroys Russians and Ukrainians! Stop the war!”, as numerous Internet users reported on the Internet.
Russian state television later admitted to a hacker attack on “Smotrim” and the website of the news program “Vesti”. As a result, “unauthorized content with extremist calls” was displayed for less than an hour.
0.44 a.m .: The nuclear authority is again in contact with the nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia
According to Ukrainian information, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has regained contact with Europe’s largest nuclear power plant in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhia. The connection between the data servers in Zaporizhia and the IAEA has been “restored”, the Ukrainian atomic energy agency Energoatom announced on Saturday evening in the messenger service Telegram. The IAEA later confirmed the information on Twitter.
0.31 a.m .: Selenskyj calls for modern air defense systems
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has again asked the West to supply modern air defense systems. Since the Russian invasion in February, Ukrainian cities have been hit by more than 2,600 enemy missiles, Zelenskyy said in his daily video address on Sunday. “These are lives that could have been saved, tragedies that could have been prevented – if Ukraine had been heard.” The country asked for modern air defense systems before the war, which could have been delivered years ago, Zelensky said.
