The day of the war at a glance
Netherlands pledges more weapons to Kyiv – Russia is stepping up the pace of naturalizations
07/11/2022, 9:30 p.m
Ukraine is planning an offensive of its own and at the same time fears another from the Russians. Commitments for more weapons come from the Netherlands. A German colonel a. Regardless of Western aid, D. doubts Ukraine’s clout. Meanwhile, Russia is paving the way for more naturalizations of Ukrainians – which is a thorn in Ukraine’s side. In addition, maintenance work on Nord Stream 1 has been underway since the morning, and no more gas is flowing through the pipeline. The 137th day of the war at a glance.
Ukraine fears an even more violent offensive
After a rocket attack on the town of Chasiv Yar in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk, the number of dead recovered from a destroyed house has risen to more than 30. The Ukrainian civil defense spoke of a total of 31 bodies found. After this and other deadly rocket attacks in the Donbass region, Ukraine fears even more violent offensives from the Russian side. After a pause in the attacks by Russian ground forces, there are “indications” that “enemy units” are preparing to step up their attacks in the direction of the cities of Kramatorsk and Bakhmut, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Army said. At the same time, the Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Resnikov commented on his own plans for a major offensive to recapture areas in the south.
Meanwhile, the pro-Russian mayor of a village occupied by Russian troops in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region has been killed in an attack on his car. Yevgeny Yunakov, from the village of Velikiy Burluk in north-eastern Ukraine, died after a car bomb exploded, the state news agency Tass reported. According to Tass, the recently established pro-Russian “military civil administration” in the region described the explosion as a “terrorist attack” perpetrated by Ukrainian authorities.
Gun commitments from the Netherlands
After reports of Ukrainian plans to recapture the occupied coastal areas in the south with a force worth millions, the Ukrainians were able to register further promises of weapons during a visit by Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte. “It is important that we help here now and ensure that Ukraine can defend itself,” Rutte told Dutch TV channel NOS in the Ukrainian capital. “It doesn’t stop.” According to the Netherlands, the Netherlands has so far delivered arms worth almost 173 million euros to Ukraine, including self-propelled howitzers.
In an interview with ntv, retired Colonel Ralph Thiele sees the Ukrainians far behind the Russians when it comes to weapon systems. “If you look at the development of Ukraine in the south, you have to see this fundamental mismatch of Russian guns, which have about 1,000 artillery pieces more than the Ukrainians.” The Ukrainian philosopher Vakhtang Kebuladze, on the other hand, sees speculation about Ukrainian inferiority in an interview with ntv.de as the beginning of a “malicious circular argument”. It is true that Ukraine needs weapons to stop the Russians.
Putin sets the course for naturalization of Ukrainians
In the future, people throughout Ukraine should be able to obtain Russian citizenship in a simplified procedure. Four and a half months after the start of the Russian war of aggression against the neighboring country, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree that provides for an extension of the regulation that previously only applied to eastern Ukraine. The issue of Russian passports is also explosive because Russia’s military doctrine justifies deployments when it comes to the supposed protection of its own nationals.
The government in Kyiv condemned Moscow’s announced easier access to Russian citizenship for all Ukrainians. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called the move “another encroachment on Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, incompatible with the norms and principles of international law.”
Gas flow from Nord Stream 1 is disrupted
Germany looks spellbound in the direction of Lubmin on the West Pomeranian Baltic Sea coast. No natural gas has flowed through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline since Monday morning due to routine maintenance work. A spokesman for Nord Stream AG said the gas flow had been shut down for the long-term maintenance work since 6 a.m. According to the operator, such work has taken between ten and 14 days in recent years. However, they also partially deviated from the set deadline. However, there are fears that Putin will not allow the Baltic Sea pipeline to be restarted once maintenance is complete.
German government counters Ukraine in the turbine dispute
In view of Ukraine’s protest against the planned delivery of the serviced Russian Nord Stream 1 turbine from Canada, the federal government has pointed out that this does not fall under EU sanctions. A government spokeswoman said they had taken note of Ukraine’s criticism. However, the EU sanctions do not affect gas transit. This is also for good reason. A decisive criterion for the sanctions against Russia is that they should not harm the EU and Germany more than Russia.
Less gas is also arriving in Austria
The Austrian energy group OMV also received significantly less gas from Russia after the start of maintenance work on the Nord Stream pipeline – even if the country Austrian media reports according to which it is mainly supplied via a different line system. An OMV spokesman announced that the group had to expect a drop of 70 percent compared to the quantity ordered. In the past few weeks, OMV had received considerably less gas than it had ordered from Russia. Nevertheless, according to the regulatory authority E-Control, the quantities purchased on other markets are sufficient to ensure security of supply in Austria at the moment.
Lindner with fire letter scolding Lambrecht
Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner has demanded a fundamental reform of the Bundeswehr’s procurement apparatus from his cabinet colleague Christine Lambrecht. In a kind of fire letter that the FDP politician sent directly to Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Defense Minister Lambrecht on July 3, he called for “profound and rapid reforms” in the purchase of armaments and indirectly made further budget increases for the troops dependent. This was reported by the “Spiegel”, which has the two-page letter.
Accordingly, Lindner warns in the letter that Lambrecht must make breakdown-prone purchases from the Bundeswehr more efficient in a hurry. The “extraordinary financial effort” must now “be accompanied by reforms that are at least as powerful as they are courageous”. More money and rapid reforms are “two sides of the same coin,” they say.
Donetsk diplomatic mission to be opened in Moscow
A diplomatic representation of the self-proclaimed People’s Republic of Donetsk is to be opened in Moscow tomorrow, Tuesday. The ceremony will take place in the presence of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. A few days before the start of the war, Russia had recognized the self-proclaimed People’s Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine as independent; Since 2014, parts of both regions have been controlled by pro-Russian separatists. Meanwhile, the Russian army has completely captured Luhansk and is increasing its attacks on targets in the Donetsk region.
Other important articles on the Ukraine war:
You can read all further developments in our live ticker on the Ukraine war.