07.06.2022
Ukraine war in the live ticker
+++ 01:09 Blinken suspects Moscow of grain theft +++
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has accused Russia of stealing grain from Ukraine for its own profit. Blinken calls “credible” reports that Russia is confiscating Ukrainian grain to sell itself. He also accuses the Kremlin of blackmail. The Russian naval blockade of the southern Ukrainian port of Odessa is preventing grain from being shipped from there to its “normal destinations”, Blinken said at a virtual conference held by his ministry. This is a strategy of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who wants to force the rest of the world to “give in” and lift sanctions against Russia, Blinken said.
+++ 00:14 Selenskyj: EU accession of Ukraine decides on the future of Europe +++
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy firmly expects his country to gain EU candidate status within the next few weeks. “I mean, this will not only be a decision for Ukraine, but for the entire European project,” says the head of state in his daily video message. That will also decide whether the EU has a future or not, Zelenskyj said. The EU Commission wants to decide in June how to proceed with Ukraine’s ambitions. The federal government has not yet taken a position on this issue.
+++ 23:19 Moscow reports capture of Sviatohirsk +++
Russian military and Moscow-backed separatists complete capture of Ukrainian city of Svyatohirsk. Svyatogorsk is “virtually liberated,” says the leader of the Donetsk separatist region, Denis Pushilin, on Russian city television. “The cleanse” is going on. In the city is the arch-monastery of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, which was also shot at recently and is one of the most important sanctuaries of Russian Orthodoxy. Moscow Patriarch Kirill, who supports the war of aggression against Ukraine, has long had a reputation for wanting to keep Ukraine’s ancient religious sites for the Russian Orthodox Church under his influence. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov previously said the city’s capture was in its final stages. The last soldiers of the Ukrainian armed forces left behind the military equipment and weapons and fled themselves.
+++ 22:27 UN: 750,000 people are threatened with starvation +++
Because of the Ukraine war, the corona pandemic and climate change, the United Nations’ outlook on the global food crisis has deteriorated further. Accordingly, 20 so-called hunger hotspots are affected, in which the situation could deteriorate between June and September of this year. According to the report, the situation is particularly bad in Ethiopia, Nigeria, South Sudan and Yemen, where the hunger warning level is highest. Since the last report in January, Afghanistan and Somalia have been added to this category. 750,000 people are threatened with starvation. The war in Ukraine has led to further increases in food and energy prices, affecting the economies of all regions. The UN is now calling for preventive measures to be taken to prevent disasters.
+++ 21:53 Moscow is campaigning for a coordinated economic policy of the BRICS countries +++
In view of the Western sanctions against Russia, the government in Moscow is asking the emerging economies (BRICS countries) to coordinate economic policy steps. Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa should work together to stabilize the economic situation, said Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov at a meeting of these countries’ representatives.
+++ 21:24 USA want to confiscate planes from Abramovich +++
US justice has ordered the confiscation of two planes owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich. The US Department of Justice justifies the measure in published court documents with the fact that the machines were used to violate the Russia sanctions imposed because of the Ukraine war. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner and the Gulfstream G650ER business jet flew to Russia in violation of the sanctions requirements. The Justice Department estimates the combined value of the two planes at $400 million. However, the planes are apparently out of reach of the US authorities. According to media reports, the Gulfstream G650ER is said to be in Russia, the Boeing machine possibly in Dubai.
Read more about this here.
You can read earlier developments of the Ukraine war here.