07/23/2022
Ukraine war in the live ticker
+++ 02:29 Fitch downgrades Ukraine’s rating to “CCC” +++
The rating agency Fitch pushes its rating for Ukraine’s creditworthiness even deeper into the junk zone. Fitch announced that the credit rating would be downgraded by two notches to “C” from the previous “CCC”. This is the lowest rating for risky investments. In the case of C categories, a partial or even complete payment default can be assumed. Earlier, Ukraine had asked for a suspension of debt service and an extension of payment terms.
+++ 01:11 Lithuania allows goods transport by train to and from Kaliningrad again +++
Lithuania lifts the ban on transporting sanctioned goods in and out of Kaliningrad, Russia, by rail. “It is possible that some goods will be transported today,” Mantas Dubauskas, spokesman for the state railway company, told the Russian news agency RIA. The state-owned Russian news agency Tass quoted a Kaliningrad government official as saying that 60 wagons of cement would soon be shipped to the exclave. The European Union said last week that the transit ban would only affect road traffic, not rail traffic. Therefore, the Baltic state of Lithuania should allow Russia to transport concrete, wood and alcohol to the exclave via EU territory. Kaliningrad Oblast borders NATO and EU member states Lithuania and Poland and relies on transit rail and road transport through Lithuania for most goods.
+++ 00:34 Baerbock does not completely rule out the continued operation of nuclear power plants +++
Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock does not rule out extending the service life of the three remaining German nuclear power plants, even if she herself remains skeptical. In an interview with “Bild-TV”, the Green politician says: “We are now in an emergency situation where we have to look at everything again.” At the same time, she warns against the frivolous continued use of nuclear power beyond 2022: “It was not without reason that we in Germany got out of nuclear power.” In such difficult decision-making processes, it is always important that every step is based on facts. That is why Economics Minister Robert Habeck is currently examining the situation in a second stress test. “We’re waiting for the results.” Based on the facts that are now known to her, she considers the continued operation of the German nuclear reactors “not the right step”. The challenge is the gas supply. “And that’s why nuclear power isn’t the answer.”
+++ 23:38 Selenskyj advisor: more than 1000 Russians in Cherson surrounded +++
According to information from Kyiv, Ukrainian troops are encircling more than 1,000 Russian soldiers in the occupied southern Ukrainian region of Cherson. The Russians found themselves in a “tactical encirclement” not far from the Vysokopillya settlement, says President Volodymyr Zelensky’s adviser, Oleksiy Arestovych. On Thursday they had unsuccessfully attempted a breakthrough. Arestovych’s statements cannot be checked independently. So far, there has been no confirmation from the Russian side.
+++ 23:03 Zelenskyj: Ukraine can now export 20 million tons of grain +++
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he is satisfied with the decision to export millions of tons of grain from his country. The individual points of the document signed in Istanbul correspond “totally with the interests of Ukraine,” says Zelenskyj in his evening video address. “Now we can not only resume the work of our Black Sea ports, but also maintain the necessary protection for them.” According to Zelensky, Ukraine can now export a total of 20 million tons of grain from last year’s harvest. Inventories worth around 10 billion US dollars were stored.
+++ 22:26 Baerbock rejects conscription even in times of war +++
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock clearly rejects conscription in Germany, also in view of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine. She does not believe that it makes sense for security – also with a view to the highly specialized times – to oblige people for the Bundeswehr or an alternative service who may not want it at all, said the Green politician at a question and answer session with citizens in Munich. “Especially not when we are in a situation where an incredible number of people – younger, but also older – say: We want to volunteer.”
+++ 22:16 Controversial performance by a Russian opera singer in Regensburg accompanied by protests +++
The Russian opera star Anna Netrebko performed at the Regensburg Castle Festival. It was the first of the singer’s four planned concerts in Germany. The guest performances are controversial because, according to critics, Netrebko does not distance himself clearly enough from Russian President Vladimir Putin. However, she had spoken out publicly against the Ukraine war. A small group of demonstrators have gathered in front of the entrance to Thurn und Taxis Castle to protest against the singer’s performance and against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Signs read, among other things, “Anna, how about a benefit concert in Ukraine?” and “Not in NY, not in Stuttgart, why here?”.
(Photo: picture alliance/dpa)
+++ 21:57 Russian judiciary is investigating against members of the opposition because of a tweet about dead soldiers +++
The authorities in Russia are investigating an opposition politician from Novosibirsk in Siberia who has criticized the lavish funerals for the soldiers killed in Ukraine. City councilor Helga Pirogova wrote on Twitter that she wanted to “revive” the dead, “beat them and send them back to their graves.” She later deleted the tweet, calling it “too emotional.” The Russian investigative committee is now accusing her of “publicly disseminating misinformation about the deployment of the armed forces”. You face three years imprisonment. The 33-year-old is four months pregnant, according to her supporters.
+++ 21:28 Zelenskyj: No armistice without return of land +++
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sees a ceasefire without the return of the Russian-occupied territories as critical. “Freezing the conflict will only give the Russian Federation a break,” Zelenskyi quoted the Wall Street Journal as saying. That would only make the war last longer. Diplomatic concessions to Moscow could stabilize the markets somewhat, but they were only a “breathing space” and would “prove to be a boomerang” in the future. More urgently than a ceasefire, Ukraine needs air defense systems with which it could prevent rocket attacks on the civilian population.
You can read earlier developments of the Ukraine war here.