6:40 p.m
In Russia, inflation falls to 15.9% in a year
Inflation, which had risen to a 20-year high in Russia, continued to ease in June and still reached 15.9% yoy, according to statistics agency Rosstat. Food prices remained the hardest hit by the acceleration in prices, rising 19.1% yoy in June, notably basic commodities such as sugar (+48%), cereals (+35%), pasta (+28%) and butter (+26%).
18:20
Russian gas: The German Uniper loses “double-digit millions” of euros every day
“Uniper suffers outflows in the order of tens of millions of euros per day. This situation cannot last much longer,” complains Klaus-Dieter Maubach, CEO of the German energy giant. The energy company, which was Russia’s Gazprom’s largest customer before the war in Ukraine, has been severely affected by the reduction in Russian supplies since mid-June.
If nothing is done, Uniper could “lose up to ten billion euros by the end of the year,” fears Dieter Maubach.
17:55
Frozen Russian assets worth almost 7 billion Swiss francs in Switzerland
Russian assets frozen in Switzerland amounted to 6.7 billion Swiss francs (converted to euros), the Swiss Economy Ministry said in a tweet, noting that fifteen properties were also frozen.
17:15
French exports to Russia have fallen sharply
French exports to Russia fell from 500 million euros in April 2021 to 100 million in April 2022, highlighting the consequences of the war in Ukraine, according to a study published by Customs. Before the war, France mainly exported “medium high-tech” products in the fields of aeronautics, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, information technology and automobiles. In 2021, these sales reached 6.3 billion euros.
17:03
Sanctions on Russia will be ‘catastrophic’ for energy, Putin threatens
“Another use of the sanctions policy could lead to even more serious, if not to exaggerate, even catastrophic consequences for the global energy market,” the Russian president warned. “Sanctions against Russia do a lot more damage to the very countries that impose them,” he said again, a phrase he happily repeats when noting the rise in energy prices in Western countries.
17:00
London examines the fuel market
The UK’s competition watchdog (CMA) has launched an in-depth probe into the fuel market, which is seeing prices skyrocket, and fears a widening gap between crude oil prices and those of petrol or diesel exiting refineries.
The reasons for this cost explosion lie in increased demand following the end of health restrictions when certain refining capacity was shut down during the pandemic, but also in the aftermath of the war in Ukraine and sanctions against major exporter Russia of refined products, according to the CMA .
16:38
Contrary to what Russia says, France sees Moscow as “isolated” at the G20.
“Russia was so isolated that Lavrov left the conference at noon after speaking,” French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said. “We expected a meeting with different dividing lines, but […] Russia found itself isolated, its responsibility even being shown by some countries that one would have thought could put things into perspective and support it. »
16:01
According to Russian diplomacy, the West has “failed” to isolate Russia from the G20
“The G7 plan to boycott Russia at the G20 has failed. No one supported Western regimes,” Russian Foreign Minister Maria Zakharova said on Telegram, denying that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov avoided meetings and dismissing the minister’s allegations. Foreign Office, Moscow has no “desire for dialogue”.
15:18
Because of the sanctions, the “Russian McDo” is missing fries
“Vkousno i Tochka,” the chain that acquired McDonald’s restaurants in Russia in June, is facing a growing shortage of French fries amid Western sanctions against Moscow, business news outlet RBK reports. According to the group, the 2021 harvest in Russia of potatoes destined for the production of french fries was poor, leading to shortages and “importing from foreign markets (…) has become impossible due to Western sanctions”. against Moscow as a result of the Russian offensive against Ukraine.
14:53
Harvest has started in Ukraine
In almost all regions of Ukraine, farmers began harvesting early grain and legumes. According to the first figures, 1.1 million tons of grain have been harvested on an area of 417,300 hectares (only 3% of the area).
14:41
The EU sends personal protective equipment to Ukrainian border guards
The European Union has just handed over €977,000 worth of personal protective equipment to the National Border Guard Service of Ukraine. Deliveries are currently underway to cover other service needs including the purchase of additional personal protective equipment, diesel generators, cameras…
14:19
Russian gas transit through Ukraine hits an all-time low
The transit of Russian gas through Ukraine fell to an all-time low of 334 million cubic meters per day in June, according to Ukraine’s gas pipeline operator OGTSOU, who has denounced Moscow’s “gas blackmail”.
He criticizes the Russian company Gazprom “because it only uses a seventh of the capacities of the Ukrainian gas pipelines and does not even use the quotas reserved and paid for in the contract with OGTSOU”.
14:00
Russian gas transit at rock bottom
The transit of Russian gas through Ukraine fell to its lowest historical level in June, at 334 million cubic meters per day, Ukrainian gas pipeline operator OGTSOU announced, denouncing Russia’s “gas blackmail”. He criticizes the Russian company Gazprom “because it only uses a seventh of the capacities of the Ukrainian gas pipelines and does not even use the quotas reserved and paid in the contract with OGTSOU”. However, the operator points out, “alternative routes” would allow sending much larger volumes to Western Europe, completely replacing the transit with the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, which is currently 40% used by Russia.
1:40 p.m
British missiles destroyed
Simultaneously with the announcement of the destruction of a stockpile of Russian ammunition, the Russian army announced that it had destroyed British Harpoon anti-ship missiles. According to the spokesman for the Russian Presidency, this is the result of a strike conducted from the sea.
1:30 p.m
The Russian army is advancing towards Siwersk
In the Donetsk region, the Russian army is advancing on the city of Siwersk. A Ukrainian soldier conjures up “partial successes” for the occupier.
13:15
Ukraine demands the destruction of the ammunition depot
According to reports, the Ukrainian army destroyed a Russian ammunition depot in Nova Kakhovka in the Kherson region near the Black Sea. Local authorities add that “several dozen” Russian soldiers are said to have died in the operation in this occupied city.
12:54
Canada could make an exception to the embargo on Gazprom by returning a gas turbine to it
Canada, at Germany’s request, could make an exception to lift sanctions on Gazprom by returning a gas turbine for the Nord Stream pipeline. With this turbine, Russia could send gas back to the EU and especially to Germany.
Ukraine, for its part, considers this decision “unreasonable and dangerous for the sanctions regime”.
12:43 p.m
Britain’s support for Ukraine will not change even after Boris Johnson’s departure, says Zelensky
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy believes the UK supports Ukraine and that his policies will not change after Prime Minister Boris Johnson resigns. In an interview with CNN, the President of Ukraine believes: “What Johnson did for Ukraine helped us a lot. I consider him a friend of Ukraine, but I think his company has also supported Ukraine in Europe. So I think Britain is on the side of good, on the side of Ukraine.”
12:36
The Belgian embassy reopens in Kyiv
Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said the country would reopen its embassy in Kyiv on July 11 and send a new ambassador, Peter Van De Velde, to represent Belgium in Ukraine.
12:32
Ukraine accuses Russia of “Hunger Games”.
Speaking at a G20 meeting in Bali, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba accused Russia of playing “hunger games” with the world.
According to him, the international community has no right to allow Russia to blackmail the world with high energy prices, hunger and security threats. He added that the Russian naval blockade of Ukrainian ports “has already shredded global food supply chains and is adversely affecting global food security.”
12:27
The executive of the European Union has granted Ukraine a loan of EUR 1.5 billion
The European Investment Bank, the lending arm of the EU, offered Kyiv this €1.5 billion loan. The Commission guarantees EIB loans for operations outside the EU, with provisions generally amounting to 9% of total financing. But in this case, the Commission wants provisions equal to 70% of the total, as it did in a previous €1 billion operation for Ukraine.
12:19
Severodonetsk is ‘on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe’
The situation in occupied Severodonetsk “is on the verge of a humanitarian catastrophe” and the city is being largely looted by Russian troops, according to Ukrainian Lugansk governor Serhai Haidai. He claims that 80% of the city’s homes were destroyed or damaged. Now some people try to come back to get things, but more and more often… they find an empty apartment even if it survived.
In addition, there is no central water, gas or electricity supply. Ditto for sewage treatment plants and pumping stations. It is estimated that there could still be 15,000 civilians in this city.
12:05
7 years in prison for a Russian who criticizes the war
An elected city official in Moscow, Alexei Gorinov, is sentenced to 7 years in prison for denouncing the Russian attack on Ukraine. Judge Olessia Mendeleeva found the 60-year-old guilty of spreading “manifestly false information” about the Russian army “in the performance of his official duties” and of doing so as part of an organized “political hate” group.
11:50
Germany criticizes Russia’s lack of interest
Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock criticizes Russia, which she believes is “not interested” in a dialogue with the G20 after the departure of the head of Russian diplomacy at a meeting. Sergei Lavrov’s departure at a time when she was criticizing Russia for the war he had started “shows all the more clearly that he has no interest in international cooperation or exchanges with other partners” within the G20.
11:40 a.m
“Ukrainians will not give up their country”
In an interview with the American broadcaster CNN, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy affirmed that “the Ukrainians are not ready to give up their country. But he concedes that Russia currently occupies “practically the entire Luhansk region.” He also calls on the West to continue arming his country, that American President Joe Biden is going there to send a message to Russia, and deplores the fact that his country cannot join NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.