The day of the war at a glance
Kirill sees Putin as God’s messenger – Ukraine calls on Kremlin troops to mutiny
10/07/2022, 8:20 p.m
Kremlin boss Putin receives pompous birthday greetings from his vassals, US President Biden uses the Bible to condemn a Russian nuclear strike. An ex-US general sees Crimea liberated in the summer of 2023, and Kyiv is encouraging Russian soldiers to defect. The 225th day of the war at a glance.
Armageddon: Biden reaches for the Old Testament
US President Joe Biden warned of the danger of “Armageddon” in the face of Russian threats of a possible use of nuclear weapons in the Ukraine conflict. The risk of a nuclear catastrophe is as high as it was at the time of President John F. Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, Biden said in New York. Russian President Vladimir Putin “does not joke” when he threatens to use tactical nuclear, biological or chemical weapons “because his army is, you might say, quite underperforming,” Biden said. The word “Armageddon” used by the US President in this context is a biblical designation for the last decisive battle at the end of the world.
Since the start of the Ukraine war, Putin has repeatedly threatened to use nuclear weapons. According to experts, these would most likely be attacks with tactical nuclear weapons. Their explosive power is less than that of strategic nuclear weapons. However, Biden warned that a tactical nuclear attack still carries the risk of a wildfire.
Kirill and Kadyrov congratulate
The Kremlin boss received numerous congratulations on his 70th birthday during the day. Greetings were sent by Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov and representatives of the Ukrainian regions annexed by Moscow. “God placed you in power to carry out a mission of special importance and great responsibility for the fate of the country and its people,” Kirill proclaimed. “Putin changed Russia’s position in the world and turned it into a nation to be reckoned with,” Kadyrov said.
Kyiv calls for war refusal
Meanwhile, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov called on Russian soldiers fighting in his country to surrender and in return promised them protection. Ukraine guarantees “life, security and justice for all those who immediately refuse to fight,” Reznikov said in a video in Russian. “You can still save Russia from tragedy and the Russian army from humiliation.”
Recently, the Ukrainian armed forces had been able to recapture considerable areas from Russia. “Since October 1, more than 500 square kilometers of land and dozens of towns have been liberated in the Kherson region alone,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Former US general sees Ukrainian victory march by the end of the year
Retired US General Ben Hodges believes Ukraine will retake Russia’s annexed Crimea in the coming year. “I predict that the Ukrainians will push the Russians back to the February 23 line by the end of the year,” he told British TV channel Channel 4. “They will liberate Crimea by the middle of next year.” Hodges, who was commander in chief of US land forces in Europe between 2014 and 2017, justified his forecast with Russian weaknesses: “The Russian logistics system is getting weaker every week. The Ukrainians are getting better every week.”
After losing several thousand square kilometers on various fronts in recent weeks, the pro-Russian separatists reported the capture of three villages in eastern Ukraine. Otradivka, Vessela Dolyna and Saitseve lie south of the Ukrainian-held town of Bakhmut, which the Russian army has been trying to capture for months without success.
Russian and Belarusian smuggling of migrants suspected
According to the Lithuanian border guard, Belarusian security forces helped a group of migrants illegally cross the border into neighboring EU country Lithuania. To this end, several armed officers are said to have accompanied people to the border fence newly built by Lithuania in the wake of the migration crisis in late summer 2021 and damaged the barrier, as the border guard announced on Facebook. A video released by the authorities in Vilnius is intended to document the incident. The recordings were made on the Lithuanian-Belarusian border. There, Belarusian officials cut through the barbed wire and broke down a gate in the fence through which the migrants could enter Lithuanian territory.
Bavaria’s Minister of the Interior, Joachim Herrmann, justified the intensified manhunt for illegally entering migrants at the borders with Austria and the Czech Republic with a threat from Russia. The question also arises to what extent people are being smuggled in by the Russian and Belarusian side – “perhaps with a completely different background,” Herrmann said on Deutschlandfunk. “We need strict controls there too. We have to know who is coming to our country and clarify the identity of these people.”
Criticism of defense shield: Poland blames German solo effort
Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki addressed the energy crisis with a direct message to Germany. “My message to Germany is: be united, show solidarity with everyone else,” said the Pole on the sidelines of an EU summit in Prague. In difficult times, everyone must agree on a common denominator and not on the denominator that is only suitable for one country. The background is the package of up to 200 billion euros by 2024, with which Germany wants to cushion the high energy prices. Scholz had described the planned measures as “double boom”. However, several EU leaders have criticized the package.
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