07/18/2022
Ukraine war in the live ticker
+++ 05:58 Bundeswehr General Mais warns against underestimating the Russian army +++
According to a newspaper report, the top army general, Alfons Mais, warns against a misjudgment of the Russian armed forces. “This is a war of attrition and attrition, which will raise the question of how long Ukraine can hold out. I’m not only talking about material, but also about the personnel,” the lieutenant general told the “Handelsblatt”. Phase one – the attack on Kyiv – had “become a disaster”. Nevertheless, one should not underestimate Russia. “Armies that have sailed close to defeat learn the fastest.”
+++ 03:18 “Image”: Federal government fears regional emergencies in gas supply +++
According to a report in the “Bild” newspaper, the federal government is expecting an emergency in the gas supply in individual federal states. The head of the chancellery, Wolfgang Schmidt, informed the heads of the state chancellery in a switching conference that after the maintenance work on the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, the federal government is assuming that gas supplies from Russia will be cut again, citing pretexts. Without emergencies, the German government believes that Germany can only get through the winter if Russia should deliver more than 40 percent of the agreed amount of natural gas. The government sees this as unrealistic, according to the “Bild” newspaper.
+++ 01:51 Selenskyj criticizes Canada after a phone call with Trudeau +++
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Canada of “violating the sanctions regime” after the decision to send turbines for the Nord Stream 1 Baltic Sea pipeline back to Germany. The Ukrainians would “never accept Canada’s decision,” Zelenskyy said after a phone conversation with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The phone call was the first exchange between Zelenskyy and Trudeau after the government in Ottawa last week gave the go-ahead for the export of the turbines repaired in Canada. If there is a violation of the sanctions against Russia, “it won’t be long before there are more,” Zelensky said. Shortly after the conversation with Trudeau, Zelenskyj was even more forgiving and only wrote on Twitter that the international position on the sanctions must be “based on principles” and that the pressure on Moscow must be increased.
+++ 00:23 Selenskyj names increasing treason as the reason for layoffs +++
In his evening video address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy justified the dismissal of the Attorney General and the head of the security services with the increasing suspicions of treason in favor of Russia by Ukrainian officials. More than 650 cases of possible treason by local officials are currently being investigated by the Ukrainian authorities, Zelenskyy said. The suspected cases are mainly in areas occupied by Russian soldiers or pro-Russian fighters.
+++ 23:05 Lawyer reports arrest of journalist Ovsyannikova +++
Marina Ovzyannikova, the journalist best known for her live protest on Russian state television, has been arrested in Russia. This is announced by her lawyer and her family. There is no information as to where the journalist is currently located. On Friday, Ovzyannikova posted a video and photo on her Telegram channel showing her holding a poster on a Moscow waterfront. The Kremlin can be seen across the river in the background. “Putin is a murderer,” says the poster – and: “His soldiers are fascists.” It is unknown when the pictures were taken.
More about this here.
+++ 22:01 Zelenskyj urges compliance with sanctions against Russia +++
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has demanded that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau strictly comply with sanctions against Russia. Selenskyj announced this on Twitter. He does not comment on the background to this admonition to a country that is one of Ukraine’s strongest supporters. Ukraine had recently criticized Canada for the decision to allow the delivery of a serviced Russian turbine for the Baltic Sea pipeline Nord Stream 1 at the request of Germany. Because of the sanctions, Canada initially refused to return the turbine to Russia – but then decided to hand the unit over to Germany instead.
+++ 21:18 Selenskyj dismisses the head of the secret service and the general prosecutor +++
According to a published decree by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the head of Ukraine’s internal intelligence service (SBU), Ivan Bakanov, and the prosecutor general, Iryna Venediktova, have to vacate their posts. Reasons for the layoffs are not given. Bakanov was appointed head of the SBU in 2019 and is a longtime companion of Zelenskyy. Only yesterday investigators detained the former deputy head of the SBU in Crimea. He is said to have forwarded secret information to Russia.
You can read earlier developments of the Ukraine war here.