07/28/2022
Ukraine war in the live ticker
+++ 06:07 report: Ukrainians refuse to cooperate in occupied territories +++
The Ukrainian population reportedly refuses to cooperate with Russian troops and officials in occupied territories. This is reported by the American think tank Institute for the Study of War citing several Ukrainian reports. That’s why the Kremlin is forced to send additional Russians to cities like Mariupol to clear rubble, reopen shops or set up an administration. According to the reports, the Russian troops are also said to be partially withholding food and other humanitarian aid from the Ukrainian population in order to force them to cooperate.
+++ 05:22 Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Management skeptical about longer nuclear power plant runtimes +++
The President of the Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Management (BASE), Wolfram König, is skeptical about longer running times for the three remaining nuclear power plants Neckarwestheim 2, Emsland and Isar 2 or a return to nuclear energy. “Longer terms, stretching operations or re-entry – how much more nuclear power can it be?” he tells the editorial network Germany. “In the current debate, a central aspect is missing: The most important benchmark when dealing with the high-risk technology of nuclear power is and remains safety. Here, for example, numerous questions arise about the lack of periodic safety checks of the reactors that are still in operation. And also the long-unsolved final disposal of the highly radioactive nuclear waste – at least around 27,000 cubic meters – remains.”
+++ 03:56 development organization fears cuts due to Ukraine aid +++
The development organization One warns against cutting funding for the rest of the global development cooperation in view of the Ukraine war. According to an analysis by the organization, the costs for caring for refugees from Ukraine this year are about half as high as the German funds for development cooperation in the whole of last year. Of course, Germany must help the people from Ukraine. “What must not happen, however, is that Germany mobilizes this aid at the expense of the countries that are most affected by poverty, hunger or preventable diseases,” warns One speaker Hannah Lang. “Aid to Ukraine and the fight against poverty in the world – we must not play one off against the other.”
+++ 2:08 US report: 75,000 Russians killed or injured in war +++
According to US figures, the Russian side has lost more than 75,000 dead or wounded in the war against Ukraine. This is reported by the broadcaster CNN, citing members of the US House of Representatives. “We were informed that more than 75,000 Russians were either killed or injured, which is enormous,” the broadcaster quoted Democratic MP Elissa Slotkin, who previously attended a secret US government briefing. The US foreign intelligence agency CIA recently estimated that 15,000 people have died on the Russian side. There is no current information from the official authorities in Russia on the number of deaths.
+++ 01:32 Consumer protection boss Ramona Pop quickly calls for new help due to the gas crisis +++
The new head of consumer protection, Ramona Pop, is immediately pushing for new aid packages from the traffic light coalition because of the impending gas crisis. The Chancellor has announced that the higher gas prices will be passed on to consumers from September or October, but only held out the prospect of possible help for next year, says Pop, who has headed the Federal Association of Consumer Centers (vzbv) since the beginning of July, the “Funke Mediengruppe”. . “There’s a big gap in justice, that’s not how it works.” The federal government must finally communicate clearly what to expect from consumers. “Discussions in which jobs are played off against cold apartments are extremely dangerous and send the wrong signal. We need solidarity, also when it comes to saving energy.”
+++ 00:19 Ukraine observes “massive” Russian troop deployment +++
According to a senior adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Russia is undertaking a “massive redeployment” of troops towards the three southern regions of Kherson, Melitopol and Zaporizhia. Advisor Oleksy Arestovych also confirms earlier statements by pro-Russian forces that the country’s second largest power plant is in Russian hands.
+++ 23:39 Selenskyj wants to deliver more Ukrainian electricity to the EU +++
In view of the energy crisis in Europe, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has offered the EU support with electricity from his country. “We are preparing to increase our electricity exports to consumers in the European Union,” said the head of state in his evening video message. “Our export not only allows us to earn foreign exchange, but also allows our partners to resist Russian energy pressure,” he said, referring to Russia’s significantly reduced gas supplies. “Step by step, we are making Ukraine one of the guarantors of European energy security, precisely through our domestic electricity production,” said Zelenskyy. A large part of the energy produced in Ukraine is not used because production has come to a standstill because of the war.
+++ 22:47 Kyiv, Odessa, Kharkiv: Separatist leader wants to “liberate Russian cities” +++
The head of the pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region has called on Russia to seize most of Ukraine. “Today is the time to liberate Russian cities founded by Russians: Kyiv, Chernihiv, Poltava, Odessa, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Zaporizhia, Lutsk,” writes separatist leader Denis Puschilin on Telegram on the anniversary of the liberation of the Belarusian city of Brest from the National Socialists. The cities identified by Pushilin as “Russian” cover almost the entire territory of Ukraine.
+++ 22:03 NASA: Russia is working with the ISS until 2028 +++
According to the US space agency NASA, Russia will continue to participate in the International Space Station (ISS) until at least 2028. This was learned from the Russian colleagues, senior NASA manager Kathy Lueders told Reuters. “At the working level, there is no sign that anything has changed,” she continues. Roskosmos boss Yuri Borisov said on Tuesday that Russia had terminated its cooperation with NASA and would withdraw from the ISS after 2024.
+++ 21:20 Russian economy shrinks by 4 percent in the second quarter +++
According to the Ministry of Economic Affairs in Moscow, Russia’s gross domestic product shrank by four percent in the second quarter compared to the same period last year. In the first quarter, GDP grew by 3.5 percent. In June, the decline accelerated to minus 4.9 percent compared to the previous year after minus 4.3 percent in May.
You can read earlier developments of the Ukraine war here.