03/09/2023
Ukraine war in the live ticker
+++ 00:32 Ukraine sees power problems overcome +++
Ukraine believes that the difficulties with the power supply have been overcome for the time being – unless new Russian attacks damage the system. In the past 25 days there has been no power shortage and no deficit is in sight, says the head of the utility Ukrenerho, Volodymyr Kudryzkyj, on Ukrainian television. “The hardest winter in our history is over,” he said in Kiev. “The electricity system is now able to meet existing consumption and that is a very good sign for all of us.” Kudryzkyj attributes the improved situation to successful repairs to the power grid and the completed maintenance of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants. Because of the spring flood, hydroelectric power plants are also delivering more electricity. Higher temperatures mean lower consumption.
+++ 22:15 USA does not believe in major land gains by Russia even if Bakhmut falls +++
According to US Intelligence Director Avril Haines, Russia is unlikely to capture more territory this year. At a Senate hearing, she states that the military will likely not be able to sustain its current level of combat even if Bakhmut may be captured. After major setbacks and high battlefield losses, “we don’t expect the Russian military to recover enough this year to make major territorial gains,” she told a Senate hearing. Still, Russian President Vladimir Putin “calculates most likely that time is working in his favor,” according to Haines. Putin likely believes that prolonging the war with temporary lulls in fighting “is the best way to secure Russia’s strategic interests in Ukraine, even if it takes years,” she says. “Unless Russia initiates mandatory mobilization and detects significant shipments of munitions from third parties, it will become increasingly difficult for the country to maintain even the current level of offensive operations,” Haines said.
+++ 21:57 US intelligence still believes in China’s cooperation with Russia +++
According to US intelligence services, China will continue to cooperate with Russia despite international criticism of the invasion of Ukraine. According to a report by the intelligence services for a Senate committee dealing with global threats to the United States, China wants to try to challenge the United States. However, public support for Russia will be limited.
+++ 21:42 Stoltenberg: NATO countries have already supported Ukraine with 150 billion euros +++
NATO member states have provided 150 billion euros in aid to Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion, says NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. According to Stoltenberg, this sum includes 65 billion euros in military aid for Kiev. Ahead of his meeting with European Union defense ministers, Stoltenberg stressed the need for the Alliance to increase ammunition production. He adds that during the meeting, the allies want to agree on new ammunition stockpile standards to replenish their own stocks and support Ukraine. “NATO Allies have signed contracts … with the defense industry to ramp up production in response to long-term demand signals, and several NATO Allies have also undertaken joint projects or procurement of different types of ammunition, but also ammunition storage.” it says in the transcript of Stoltenberg’s statement.
+++ 21:20 Russian authorities ban 13-year-old after criticism of the war contact with the father +++
In Russia, a 13-year-old girl has been denied contact with her father, who is under house arrest, over criticism of the military offensive in Ukraine, according to a human rights group. Maria Moskaljewa, who is housed in a “rehabilitation center” for young people, is “not allowed to telephone her father,” explains the organization OVD-Info. According to the human rights activists, the Russian authorities first targeted the family after an incident in April 2022: As the independent news website Medusa reports, the girl from the Tula region south of the Russian capital Moscow had made a pro-Ukrainian drawing in art class at the time and written on it “No to war” and “Glory to Ukraine”. Her single father, Alexey Moskalyev, was then sentenced to pay 32,000 rubles (equivalent to around 400 euros) because he had criticized the Russian offensive in comments on the online networks. Moskalev is now being accused again of having “discredited” the army in posts on online networks. In early March, according to the Russian state news agency Rua Novosti, he was placed under house arrest and his daughter was taken to the youth center. An online petition in support of the father and daughter had received 65,000 signatures as of Wednesday.
+++ 20:55 Duda ready to deliver all Polish MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine +++
According to President Andrzej Duda, Poland is ready to hand over its Soviet MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine as part of an international coalition. “We are ready to deliver these planes and I am sure that Ukraine would be ready to use them immediately,” Duda told US broadcaster CNN. It is important for the future to train more Ukrainian pilots on US F-16 fighter jets, said Duda during his visit to Abu Dhabi in the Persian Gulf. The discussion about the Polish MiG-29s came up shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine last year. According to Polish military experts, the country on NATO’s eastern border still has around 30 machines of this type in use. Many come from old GDR stocks.
+++ 20:21 EU wants to deliver more ammunition to Ukraine, but does not know where it should come from +++
In the Russian war of aggression, the European Union has promised Ukraine more ammunition – but it is unclear where this will come from. “We will act quickly to meet Ukraine’s ammunition needs,” promised Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson after a meeting of European defense ministers with Ukrainian Minister Oleksiy Resnikov in Stockholm. The EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell speaks of a “basic agreement on a procedure”. But there are still a number of “unanswered questions,” he admits. Earlier at the defense ministers’ meeting, Resnikov demanded one million missiles worth four billion euros so that Ukraine could continue to defend itself against the Russian attack. Borrell proposes that the EU countries provide Ukraine with ammunition from their stockpiles worth one billion euros as a first step. However, the European stocks are largely empty.
You can read earlier developments in the Ukraine war here.