- 11:51 am: Putin critic Karpova wants to ‘keep talking loud’
- 10:30 am: ➤ UK: Russia is running out of land-based missiles – possible fatal consequences for civilians
- 9:35 am: Climate officer: currently no exchange with Russia on climate protection is possible
- 08:03: Habeck: Nord Stream 2 cancellation – terse words for Putin
- 5:16 am: Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann for direct deliveries of heavy weapons to Kyiv
- 2:00 am: Grain exports from Ukraine: joint surveillance planned in Turkey
➤ Putin critic Karpova wants to “keep making noise”
Russia’s stockpile of ground-attack missiles is running low, according to the UK Ministry of Defense’s daily report on the war in Ukraine. For this reason, the Russian military is increasingly using anti-aircraft missiles in ground operations. Specifically, Great Britain assumes that the S-300 and S-400 systems will be used.
These types of missiles are designed to hit targets in the air – other missiles or aircraft. When deployed on the ground, there is a high probability that targets will not be hit accurately and civilians could be killed or injured. In addition, weapon systems crews are not trained for ground attacks.
In the report, the British Ministry of Defense refers to statements made by Vitaly Kim, governor of Ukraine’s southern Mykolaiv region. Kim spoke of seven Russian anti-aircraft missile strikes on Thursday. (tr)
+++
The situation in summary:
Since February 24, Russia has been waging a war of aggression against Ukraine from the air and from the ground. Earlier, President Vladimir Putin had questioned Ukraine’s right to exist as an independent state and recognized the so-called People’s Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine.
Since then, the Ukrainian army has been fighting the invaders to the best of their ability. Thousands of dead are reported on both sides, but the exact numbers of soldiers and civilians have not been independently verified. The fact is: the humanitarian situation in Ukraine is getting worse every day. According to the UN, more than 9.5 million people have fled Ukraine (as of July 19), mainly women and children, because men between the ages of 18 and 60 cannot leave the country.
Map of the military situation in Ukraine. (Notice: This infographic will be updated regularly)
© AFP
The EU and the US reacted with sanctions. They are also supplying weapons to Ukraine, and Germany is also supporting the country with arms deliveries. Ukraine is also expected to receive Gepard-class tanks from Germany. So far, it has been ruled out that NATO will actively intervene in the war.
On the first weekend of April, images of the dead bodies of many civilians in the small town of Bucha, near Kyiv, caused international outrage. Ukraine talks about serious war crimes and genocide and blames Russian troops for it. Despite numerous indications, Moscow denies having participated in the civilian deaths. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed that negotiations with Russia must continue. A long-prepared large-scale Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine has been underway since April 18.
The other reports as of July 22:
K
Putin critic Nadezhda Karpova wants to continue commenting on the war in Ukraine despite the ominous consequences in her Russian homeland. “I’m not afraid,” the former national footballer told Munich’s Merkur/tz newspaper: “I wouldn’t be able to sleep peacefully if I didn’t continue to take a clear stand against the war.” Karpova promised, “I’ll keep talking out loud.”
The 27-year-old, who plays for Espanyol Barcelona, spoke in an interview with the BBC in June. “All the news about the Russian army’s genocide in Ukraine breaks my heart,” she said now, “I couldn’t keep quiet anymore. I just wanted to scream. This feeling of injustice consumed me inside.” She hadn’t thought of possible consequences for her personally.
However, she will not travel to Russia this summer, Karpova said, although many of her countrymen are also against the war. “But they are just afraid. Putin has done everything and will continue to do everything to silence them,” she said. (AFP)
+++
Climate officer: currently no exchange with Russia on climate protection is possible
The Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ special representative for international climate policy, Jennifer Morgan, currently sees no possibility of involving Russia in international climate protection negotiations. “At the moment, a constructive exchange with Russia is not possible,” Morgan told the newspapers of the Funke media group on Friday. “Until we have peace in Ukraine, it will remain so.” Perhaps by accelerating the energy transition, Russia is realizing for itself that the future is not a fossil, she added.
Russia is the country with the fourth highest emissions in the world. Resolutions at the United Nations world climate conferences must be taken unanimously.
Morgan reiterated the need to maintain Germany’s climate goals despite the war in Ukraine. “Climate neutrality by 2045, elimination of coal by 2030. That applies,” the climate official said. War diverts attention from fighting the climate crisis. But it’s not an either/or issue, emphasized Morgan, who is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ first special representative for international climate protection. (AFP)
+++
Habeck: Nord Stream 2 cancellation – terse words for Putin
Federal Economy Minister Robert Habeck warned against resuming Russian gas supplies through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline as a sign of reliability. Russian President Vladimir Putin repeatedly uses the availability of gas strategically to divide Germany and Europe, the green politician said Thursday evening in the ZDF “heute journal”. “We have to accept that Putin is using this gas lever against us,” warned Habeck. Germany must therefore find alternatives and be frugal.
Despite fears to the contrary in Germany, Russia has resumed gas supplies through the Nord Stream 1 Baltic Sea pipeline after maintenance on Thursday. However, as before the 10-day freeze, flow was limited to around 40% of capacity. Russia justifies this with the lack of a turbine, which in the meantime was held in Canada due to sanctions, but was later released. It is unclear where the turbine currently stands.
Habeck called the turbine an “advanced argument” and a “fancy game” by Russia. The company Gazprom has enough turbines. This turbine is not required. Even before Nord Stream 1 was serviced, the line could have run at 100%, Habeck said.
Habeck was vehemently opposed to the idea of putting the Baltic Sea’s Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline into operation. Putin also referred to this completed line, which has not yet been approved for operation and is subject to US sanctions. Habeck said the live broadcast would not change anything and increase dependence on Russian gas. Putin would then have achieved his goal of breaking sanctions. “That would be raising the white flag in Germany and Europe. We must not do that under any circumstances.”
The economy minister also stressed cohesion in Germany despite high energy prices and inflation. “We are a strong country,” Habeck said. There is a strong interaction between people, companies, civil society and politics. “Putin will see how strong we are,” Habeck said. (dpa)
+++
Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann for direct deliveries of heavy weapons to Kyiv
FDP Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann’s defense policy is committed to direct deliveries of heavy weapons from Germany to Ukraine based on the experience of ring exchanges with third countries. “The idea of exchanging rings makes sense, but it’s not going as we imagined,” Strack-Zimmermann said of the “Rheinische Post” (Friday). “We must also have the courage to admit that things are not working as we imagined and we must, if necessary, hand it over directly to Ukraine,” stressed the chairman of the Defense Committee in the Bundestag.
The exchange of rings means that Eastern European allies deliver Soviet-designed weapons to Ukraine and receive weapons from Germany in return. Soviet-made weapons are easier for Ukrainian soldiers to use than Western-made equipment, which is new to them. In early July, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) in the Bundestag announced more arms deliveries to Ukraine as part of the so-called exchange of rings for the coming weeks. (dpa)
Updated on 07/22/2022 07:29
In an exclusive interview with the AFP news agency, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko warned of a nuclear escalation in relation to the conflict in Ukraine. He called on the West, Ukraine and Russia to end the conflict to avoid an imminent “nuclear war”.
+++
Grain exports from Ukraine: joint surveillance planned in Turkey
The export of millions of tons of grain from war-torn Ukraine must be jointly monitored by the warring parties under the leadership of the UN. An agreement to end the Russian blockade of grains in the Black Sea, which has not yet been signed, provides for a joint control center in Istanbul, to be administered by the United Nations and made up of representatives from Russia, Ukraine and Turkey. The German Press Agency (dpa) learned this in diplomatic circles in New York. The exact coordinates of the humanitarian corridor by sea between Ukraine and the Bosphorus will also be determined at this headquarters in the Turkish metropolis.
According to the information, the parties also agreed that ships bound for Ukraine would first be searched in Istanbul to ensure they were not carrying weapons or the like. There must be another search in Turkey if the ships from Ukraine want to leave the Black Sea again. This is to ensure that only grains are on board. Ships in the humanitarian corridor and ports involved must not be attacked. The agreement is initially valid for four months.
According to the information, implementation – and therefore the export of food from Ukraine – could take weeks. Western diplomats noted that it was still possible that Moscow could use false grounds for not implementing the agreements. The agreement is scheduled to be signed in Istanbul on Friday at 15:30 (CEST). (dpa)
With material from dpa and AFP
The tickers of the last few days to read: