06/23/2023
Ukraine war in the live ticker
+++ 07:25 video shows rocket impact on Chonhar Bridge +++
The Chonhar Bridge, which connects Crimea to the southern Kherson region, was damaged by a rocket early Thursday morning. Russian occupiers reported that Ukraine had attacked the bridge with a “Storm Shadow” missile and published pictures of the crater. The Nexta news agency has now published a video that is supposed to show the moment of the rocket impact. The ntv/RTL verification team has confirmed the authenticity of the video.
+++ 06:34 Ukraine experiences night full of explosions +++
Air raid alarms were sounded in all regions of Ukraine during the night. At 3 a.m. local time, an air alert went off in the city of Kiev and all Ukrainian oblasts. The Air Force warned of the danger of missile attacks via its official Telegram channel. The military administration of Khmelnytskyi region and local media reported on Telegram that explosions could be heard. Russian forces are also said to have fired on nine communities in the Sumy region, the military administration of the Sumy region said on Facebook. Over 147 explosions were reported.
+++ 05:41 Strack-Zimmermann: Arrived in reality with “Air Defender” +++
The Chairwoman of the Defense Committee in the Bundestag, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, describes the large-scale maneuver “Air Defender 2023” as exemplary for the future of NATO. The FDP politician calls for further joint exercises to train how to defend one’s own territory against possible attacks by Russia or other aggressors. The role that Germany played as the initiator of the maneuver was felt to be extremely positive by all partners. “Germany has led according to its geographical location and its economic power and has shown that it has skills that its partners can also fall back on,” says Strack-Zimmermann of the German Press Agency in Berlin. “This should also affect all other branches of the armed forces in the future. We have finally arrived in reality.”
+++ 04:12 Germany is hosting the next conference on the reconstruction of Ukraine +++
After the conclusion of the two-day conference on the reconstruction of Ukraine in London, Germany will take over the baton for next year’s event. Federal Development Minister Svenja Schulze draws a positive conclusion from the meeting in the British capital: “The last two days have impressively shown that we as the international community continue to stand by Ukraine in solidarity,” says the SPD politician, according to a statement. At the meeting on Wednesday, Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expressed their confidence that Ukraine would join the EU.
+++ 02:32 Scholz: Military and financial aid will be supported by the population in the long term +++
Chancellor Olaf Scholz assumes that German military and financial aid for Ukraine will continue to be supported by the population in the long term. In recent months, his government has made sure, among other things, that the war does not lead to a conflict between Russia and NATO, said the SPD politician after consultations with the heads of government of the East German states in Chemnitz, Saxony. “That’s why I believe that we have the support of the citizens of our country, in each of the 16 countries and everywhere in eastern Germany, even for the long time it may take.”
+++ 01:45 Selenskyj: Russia hides bodies of the dam collapse +++
According to the Ukrainian president, Russia has formed special groups to make the victims disappear after the Kakhovka dam collapsed. “The Russian devil wants to collect the corpses with special troops and of course destroy them,” says Volodymyr Zelenskyj in his evening video speech. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military says that the epidemiological situation in the affected areas has drastically worsened due to the spread of hepatitis A.
+++ 23:19 Selenskyj demands Russian withdrawal from the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant +++
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky renewed his terror allegations against Moscow and called for the withdrawal of Russian troops from the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant. “The complete evacuation of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant is necessary,” he says in his daily video message. The world must increase the pressure on Moscow to prevent a nuclear catastrophe. Radioactivity knows no neutrality, he says to those countries that have not yet taken a position in the conflict. Zelenskyi also repeats the accusation that Moscow is planning an attack in the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, which is occupied by Russian troops, which it then cynically “hopes to hide under this or that catastrophe.”
+++ 22:25 EU Commission confirms Kiev’s progress +++
According to the EU Commission, Ukraine has made progress on its way to talks on joining the European Union. The responsible Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi announced in Stockholm that Ukraine has so far fulfilled two of the seven prerequisites for the start of accession negotiations. In addition to reforms in two important organs of the administration of justice, decisive changes have been made in the media sector. On the other five points, Ukraine is on the right track and progress is being implemented on time. Last year, the EU officially made Ukraine, which had been attacked by Russia, a candidate for accession.
+++ 21:45 Irish demonstrate against joining NATO +++
In Ireland, security policy consultations have been disrupted by protests against the militarily neutral country’s possible entry into NATO. During a speech by Foreign Minister Micheal Martin at the University of Cork, demonstrators unfurled a banner reading “NATO wars – millions dead” and chanted “No to NATO”. Martin describes the protests as “undemocratic” and accused the demonstrators of wanting to stop the security talks.
+++ 21:20 Russian oligarch Deripaska is subject to court +++
The Viennese construction group Strabag has won a court dispute with its major Russian shareholder Oleg Deripaska over the dismissal of a member of the supervisory board. The regional court in Klagenfurt dismissed the legal challenge brought by MKAO Rasperia Trading, which is controlled by Deripaska, as the group announced in the evening. In addition, the court confirmed that the construction company Rasperia had rightly been excluded from participation in the general meeting due to the EU sanctions provisions and had denied it the associated voting rights. The Russian oligarch is considered a confidant of President Vladimir Putin. He was put on the EU sanctions list and his assets frozen because of the Ukraine war.
+++ 20:50 Russia puts pressure on Amazon +++
The Russian telecommunications authority Roskomnadzor is demanding that Amazon and eleven other foreign technology companies open a regional representative office in Germany. Their names will be added to a corresponding list, which already includes corporations such as Alphabet, Meta, Apple and Twitter. In 2021, Russia required a total of 13 companies to open an office on Russian soil by the end of the year and otherwise threatened restrictions. In the course of the invasion, Twitter, Facebook and other services were blocked in Russia. However, others such as Wikipedia, YouTube, Telegram, and Zoom remain accessible despite the original threats. There is no statement from Amazon.
+++ 20:15 Kiev: We are slowly advancing on the southern front +++
According to Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar, the Ukrainian army is keeping Russian troops in check on the Eastern Front. These have progressed “not a single meter”, writes Maliar on Telegram. On the southern front, Ukraine is gradually advancing. “We’ve had partial success. We’re pushing back the enemy and leveling the front line.” The information cannot be independently verified. A Russian statement is not available.
You can read about the developments from the previous day here.