09/20/2022
Ukraine war in the live ticker
+++ 00:45 German gas storage tanks are more than 90 percent full +++
The German gas storage facilities have exceeded a filling level of 90 percent. This emerges from data on the European storage operators in the evening published online became. The federal government is aiming for a filling level of 95 percent from the beginning of November. The interim target of 75 percent was reached earlier than planned in mid-August, as was the 85 percent mark at the beginning of September. The storage capacity is a decisive criterion for Germany to get through the winter without having to cut off gas.
+++ 23:54 Selensky: “Now it depends on the speed” +++
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has again consulted with the leadership of the army and security apparatus. The situation in the liberated areas near Kharkiv in the east is firmly under control, he said in his evening video address. He thanks individual brigades in his army, but also the SBU secret service. He ensures that “the occupiers can’t hold on to anything on Ukrainian soil.” At the same time, the head of state urges quick action: speed is important in stabilizing the liberated regions, in normalizing life there and in advancing the troops.
+++ 23:01 NRW is gearing up for more war refugees in the cold months +++
The North Rhine-Westphalian Ministry of Refugees is preparing for an increased influx of Ukraine war refugees in autumn and winter. So far, no nationwide overload has been recorded, the ministry announced in Düsseldorf. However, individual municipalities have already signaled that they cannot take in any more people. There are currently 4,040 places for refugees from Ukraine in the state shelters. This number is to be increased noticeably in the short term in order to relieve the municipalities, according to the authority. As a result of the ongoing war in Ukraine, more refugees must be expected – also because of the cold season. According to the information, almost 215,000 people from Ukraine have been registered in NRW so far.
+++ 22:13 Ukrainian Defense Minister thanks “German friends” +++
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov thanked Germany for agreeing to deliver more self-propelled howitzers. “The military aid of our German friends is an important part of our common victory over the terrorists,” he wrote on Twitter. In this context, he also recalls other multiple rocket launchers MARS II and the Dingo personnel carrier, which Berlin had promised last week.
+++ 21:56 report: Russian occupiers damage centuries-old stone statues near Izyum +++
Russian troops are said to have severely damaged ancient cultural assets on a mountain near the long-held city of Izyum in the Kharkiv region. The Ukrainian medium “Kyiv Post” shares corresponding pictures on Twitter. On it you can see the so-called stone women of the Polovtsian culture, who are said to have originated between the 9th and 13th centuries. The ntv/RTL verification team confirms the authenticity of the recordings. However, the damage could also have been caused by hostilities. It is not possible to verify whether the Russian attackers deliberately destroyed the building. The Polovts are a nomadic people who were widespread in the Eurasian region, especially in the Middle Ages.
You can read earlier developments relating to the Ukraine war here.