06/30/2023
Ukraine war in the live ticker
+++ 00:55 Selenskyj wants to start EU accession negotiations this year +++
The Ukrainian President Selenskyj renewed the call for an early concrete prospect of EU accession for his country. “Ukraine has an impact on the strength of Europe. That’s a fact,” said Zelenskyy in his evening video address. “And this year is the time to use these and other facts to strengthen unity in Europe – starting with the start of negotiations for Ukraine’s EU membership.” The EU officially declared Ukraine as a candidate for membership last year. So far, Kiev has met two of the seven requirements for starting accession negotiations.
+++ 00:09 Thunberg: “Ecocide” is a form of Russian warfare +++
During a visit to Kiev, climate activist Greta Thunberg denounced the environmental damage caused by the Russian war of aggression – and the lack of international attention to the issue. “Ecocide” and “environmental destruction” are “a form of warfare,” says the Swede. She is part of a delegation examining the environmental impact of the war in Ukraine. The environment and thus people’s livelihoods and homes are “deliberately” targeted, the 20-year-old says at a press conference. Thunberg criticizes the lack of international interest in the topic. “I don’t think the world’s response to this environmental degradation is sufficient,” Thunberg said.
+++ 23:16 Latvia worried about Wagner fighters in Belarus +++
After Prigozhin’s move to Belarus, Latvia sees the danger of “infiltration” of the European Union by fighters from the Wagner group. The EU’s external border must therefore be better protected, said Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins at the EU summit in Brussels. “We have to keep a close eye on everything that’s happening in Belarus,” says Karins. The fact that an unknown number of trained fighters are stationed there could pose a threat. “The threat would likely not be a frontal military one, but an attempt to infiltrate Europe for unknown purposes. That means we need to pay special attention to the borders and make sure we can control that.”
+++ 22:20 Russian banker falls from the 11th floor of her Moscow apartment +++
According to media reports, top Russian banker Kristina Baikova fell out of the window of her apartment in Moscow and died at the scene of the accident. The fall from the 11th floor therefore happened on June 23rd. The police are currently conducting an investigation, reports about “The Insiders”. Baikova, 28, worked as a vice-president at Loko Bank and is the latest victim in a string of violent deaths in Russia’s oligarchs and leaders under mysterious circumstances.
+++ 21:55 Brussels is holding back on security guarantees for Kiev +++
The EU offers further assistance to Ukraine after the destruction of the Kakhovka dam. According to a statement by the heads of state and government adopted at the EU summit in Brussels in the evening, the European Union and its member states are ready to provide support in addition to the civil protection aid already in place. The destruction of the dam has devastating humanitarian, ecological, agricultural and economic consequences and also threatens the safety of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant. Instead of the “security guarantees” demanded by Kiev, the 27 member states can only agree on a vague declaration of intent for “future security commitments”.
+++ 21:25 Belarusian opposition: Prigozhin cannot trust Lukashenko – and vice versa +++
The Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tichanovskaya assumes that the Belarusian ruler Lukashenko only mediated the uprising of the Wagner mercenaries in Russia out of selfishness. Lukashenko didn’t intervene to save Kremlin boss Putin’s face or to save Prigozhin “or to prevent a civil war in Russia,” says Tichanovskaya in Brussels. Rather, Lukashenko only cares about his personal survival – because he knows that he will be next when the power apparatus in Russia goes haywire, says Tichanovskaya. “Prigozhin and Lukashenko are not allies. They cannot trust each other,” says Tichanovskaya. Both could betray each other at any time.
+++ 20:45 oligarch gives up Russian citizenship +++
Already the sixth Russian billionaire renounces his citizenship. According to Forbes magazine, businessman Igor Makarov returns his passport. Makarov holds a Cypriot passport, which he received in exchange for investments in 2008-2012. In recent years, the businessman has lived in three countries: Cyprus, the United States and Italy. After the war began, Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand imposed sanctions on him. According to Forbes, Makarov is worth $2.2 billion. This puts him in fifth place among the richest Cypriots.
You can read about the developments from the previous day here.