06/09/2023
Ukraine war in the live ticker
+++ 00:01 “Gate for exports” across the Dnipro is blocked with dam destruction +++
After the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam in Ukraine, parts of the Dnipro River, which is used as an important export route for agricultural products, are impassable. “It is the main artery of river navigation in Ukraine. And the Kakhovka lock was the last Dnipro lock, which let all ships out to the open sea,” explains the State Maritime Administration of Ukraine. Now the gate for Ukrainian exports is blocked. Around 50 ships are stranded in the Kachowka Reservoir, where the water level is falling. Efforts are being made to relocate them upstream from the city of Zaporizhia, the shipping administration said. The river will remain navigable above Zaporizhia. Not downstream, they say.
+++ 22:51 Biden and Sunak reaffirm long-term support for Ukraine +++
The US and UK reaffirm their long-term support for Ukraine. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said at a White House press conference that Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin believed the alliance would tire and give up. “But that’s not the case (…) We’re not going anywhere.” You will be there for Ukraine as long as it is necessary. US President Joe Biden says they are also counting on long-term support to “deter future aggression”. Give Russia-attacked Ukraine what it needs on the battlefield now and help strengthen the military in the long term. He assumes that this support will actually be provided, even if there are some voices in the US Congress “debating whether we should continue to support Ukraine and how long we should support them”.
+++ 22:07 Stoltenberg calls on NATO for “quick” help for the flooded area in Ukraine +++
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is calling on allies to “quickly” provide support to the victims of the floods in Ukraine. Stoltenberg said during a NATO emergency meeting about the partial destruction of the Kakhovka Dam in southern Ukraine that the consequences are dramatic for thousands of people and for the environment, and has called on NATO countries to provide immediate assistance, the military alliance said in a statement . The NATO countries have already expressed their solidarity with Ukraine, it said. “Many of them have already provided essential supplies, including water filters, pumps, generators and emergency shelter equipment.”
+++ 21:32 Memorial boss in court for “army discrediting” +++
The trial against well-known civil rights activist Oleg Orlov for allegedly repeatedly discrediting the Russian army has begun in Moscow. Orlov was allowed to include Nobel Peace Prize winner Dmitry Muratov in his defense team on the first day of the hearing, according to the Memorial Human Rights Center, which Orlov heads. The next hearing was postponed to July 3. The criminal case against Orlov was launched in March after the civil rights activist posted a Facebook post in which he referred to a translation of his article for a French media outlet. In the article he criticized Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Orlov has twice been fined for “discrediting the army.” If convicted again, he faces several years in prison. The civil rights organization Memorial, which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year, is now banned in Russia.
+++ 20:58 Scholz hopes that Sweden will join NATO by July +++
Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz hopes that Sweden will also be able to join the western defense alliance at the NATO summit in Vilnius in July. The summit should send a signal of unity, he said at a meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. The background to this is Turkey’s continued resistance to Swedish accession.
+++ 20:19 Chief Rabbi of Ukraine survives shelling of Cherson “miraculously” +++
Ukraine’s Chief Rabbi Moshe Reuven Azman has come under fire in Kherson. The priest posted a video of the incident on Facebook. It shows Azman speaking in front of the camera about the evacuation of the residents of the partially flooded city. Then an explosion can be heard, the rabbi and his companions lie down on the ground and then run away while the camera keeps rolling. “Miraculously survived,” Azman wrote under the video.
The events of the previous day can be found here.