08/21/2022
Ukraine war in the live ticker
+++ 07:26 According to the federal government, the Russian economy can shrink by up to 15 percent in 2022 +++
The federal government considers the sanctions imposed because of the Ukraine war to be effective and expects an economic slump of up to 15 percent in Russia this year. This emerges from a response from the Federal Ministry of Economics to the Left MP Sören Pellmann. Pellmann doubts the rating. The ministry’s response said: “The sanctions are hitting the Russian economy hard and will continue to have an impact. Serious calculations are predicting a recession in Russia, which means a reduction in Russia’s gross domestic product in a range of 6 to 15 percent for the year 2022. ” The Council of the EU assumes that Russia’s gross domestic product will fall by “more than eleven percent”. After the Russian attack on Ukraine, Germany and the other EU countries jointly agreed on six sanctions packages, including a coal and an oil embargo.
+++ 06:50 Ukraine imposed a curfew for Kharkiv on the national holiday +++
On the Ukrainian national holiday on August 24, the country’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, is to have a full-day curfew. “Stay at home and heed the warnings,” writes the governor of the Synehub region on the Telegram messenger service. The city in the north-east of the country normally only has a night-time curfew.
+++ 06:10 attack on right-wing extremists Dugin fails – his daughter dies +++
According to unconfirmed reports, Alexander Dugin’s daughter is said to have been killed in a car bomb attack in Moscow. Dugin is considered one of the fathers of Neo-Eurasism, the belief that Russia must once again become a great empire stretching from Vladivostok to Western Europe. He is considered to be well networked with European right-wing extremists and, as early as 2014, certified that Russian President Vladimir Putin was far too hesitant about annexing Crimea. His daughter, Darya Platonova, is said to be in no way inferior to her father politically and ideologically and to make similar demands. According to initial estimates, the attack was aimed at Dugin himself. However, he changed his mind at short notice and did not drive the car.
+++ 05:37 governor: four children in Woznesensk injured +++
Four children were also injured in the shelling of a residential area in the southern Ukrainian city of Voznesensk, not far from the country’s second largest nuclear power plant. This was announced by the governor of the Mykolayiv region, Vitaly Kim, via the Telegram messenger service. Overall, the number of injured rose to fourteen, according to the Ukrainian military.
+++ 05:00 Russians and Ukrainians arrested at Albanian military factory +++
Two Russian and one Ukrainian citizen have been arrested near a military production site in Albania, a member of NATO. The Albanian Ministry of Defense said soldiers prevented the three people from entering the factory. Two soldiers were injured. Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said the three were suspected of espionage. The two arrested men and a woman tried to photograph the area. A Russian citizen would have defended himself against the arrest with a kind of spray.
+++ 04:15 Scholz and Habeck travel to Canada +++
Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck embark on a three-day trip to Canada. In the G7 country they want to talk about closer cooperation on energy issues. In addition to a possible purchase of LNG gas, the focus should be on the delivery of green hydrogen to Germany in the medium term. A bilateral agreement should be signed for this purpose.
+++ 03:07 Kretschmer insists on fracking in Germany +++
Saxony’s Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer is calling for German fracking gas to be promoted as a substitute for Russian natural gas. “I’ve always been critical of dependency on other countries. That’s why Germany now has to weigh up everything we have in our country in terms of resources,” the CDU politician told the “Tagesspiegel”. “For the gas power plant, it doesn’t matter whether we use LNG gas from the USA, pipeline gas from Russia or fracking gas from Germany. Only the price differs enormously.” He rejects an opening of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. The offer by Russian President Vladimir Putin to use them to transport gas to Germany is “a poisoned offer”.
+++ 02:03 Ukraine expects increased attacks +++
The Ukrainian government expects increased Russian attacks ahead of the August 24 celebrations of Ukraine’s Independence Day. “We must all be aware that this week Russia could try to do something particularly ugly, something particularly evil,” said President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his evening video address. Ukrainians should not allow Moscow to spread despondency and fear around the 31st anniversary of independence from Soviet rule. August 24th also marks the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine 6 months ago.
+++ 01:12 climate economist proposes direct payments because of gas prices +++
The director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and climate economist, Ottmar Edenhofer, criticizes the planned reduction in VAT on gas as not effective. This is “the wrong way, because it lowers the price of gas and thus counteracts the urgently needed saving of gas,” says Edenhofer of the Funke media group. “Direct payments make much more sense.” Above all, people with low incomes should now be relieved of high gas prices, says the climate economist. The lower middle class will feel significant strains.
+++ 00:20 Zelenskyj appeals to Ukrainians after six months of war +++
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on his compatriots to unite in view of the almost half-year fight against the Russian invasion. “We have to fight for Ukraine’s victory, there is still a lot to do, we have to stand up and endure a lot, unfortunately also a lot of pain,” said Zelenskyj in a video message distributed on Saturday evening.
+++ 23:30 Turkey sees no Russian violations of sanctions +++
Despite a warning from the United States, Turkey sees no violation of Western sanctions aimed at Russia in the Ukraine war. Turkey has extensive economic and political ties with Russia and Ukraine, according to the Turkish Ministry of Finance. The government in Ankara will not allow the sanctions to be violated. US Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo had previously said Russia was trying to circumvent Western sanctions over Turkey.
+++ 22:16 Energy price forecast: many millions of Britons may have to freeze in winter +++
Millions of Britons could face a frigid winter. A new forecast assumes that electricity and gas prices will triple in the coming year. According to the consulting firm Auxilione, the state price cap for electricity and gas for an average household will be raised to around 7,000 euros by April. The cap for the annual energy bill is currently around 2350 euros and is already considerably higher than last autumn. How much the energy bill may rise from October is to be announced in the coming week. Millions of households will probably only be able to heat to a limited extent in winter because they cannot afford the high costs. The health service provider NHS Confederations has warned of health risks for large parts of the population and called on the government to act.
+++ 21:36 Russia: Ukrainian artillery hits nuclear power plant +++
According to the occupying authorities, the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, which was occupied by Russian troops, was again subjected to artillery fire by Ukrainian forces. According to a statement from the Russian military administration in the city of Enerhodar, where Europe’s largest nuclear power plant is located, no critical objects were hit. The NATO ammunition was fired from the opposite bank of the Dnipro River and hit the site of the nuclear power plant – in the immediate vicinity of an administrative building. Four bullets were registered.
You can read earlier developments relating to the Ukraine war here.