Ukraine war in the live ticker: +++ 08:58 Wintershall-Dea boss admits mistakes +++

Wintershall Dea boss Mario Mehren admits that he underestimated Russia’s President Vladimir Putin. “In retrospect, of course, one has to say that we and I didn’t understand at the latest in 2014/2015, after the annexation of Crimea, how dangerous Russia and Putin are.” Even after the annexation of Crimea, he did not think a war of aggression in the middle of Europe was possible. “From today’s perspective, that was a mistake. We greatly underestimated the dangers of Putin’s Russia.” At the same time, Mehren expects the gas storage facilities to be “relatively empty” in the winter of 2023/24. By July this year, Europe had received 75 billion cubic meters of gas. The amount may not be available in 2023.

+++ 08:36 Pope: “We must all be pacifists” +++
Pope Francis offers again the Vatican as a mediator in the Ukraine war. In an interview with the Italian newspaper “La Stampa”, the head of the Roman Catholic Church calls on Russia and Ukraine to end the conflict. When asked if he thinks reconciliation between the two countries is possible, the pope urges everyone not to give up. “But everyone must commit to demilitarizing hearts, starting with their own, and then defusing and disarming violence. We must all be pacifists. Want peace, not just a ceasefire that can only serve to rearmament . Genuine peace that is the fruit of dialogue.”

+++ 08:22 London expects stronger Russian offensives in Donetsk +++
After withdrawing from the area west of the Dnipro River, Russian forces continue to reorganize and appear to be preparing their defense lines. This reports the British Ministry of Defense. Accordingly, Russian units have built new trench systems on the border with Crimea and on the river Siwersky-Donets between the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Some of these locations are as much as 60 kilometers behind the current front line. This indicates that Russian planners are making preparations in case of another major Ukrainian breakthrough. “It is likely that Russia will try to move part of the forces withdrawn from Kherson to strengthen and expand its offensive operations near the city of Bakhmut in Donetsk region,” it said.

+++ 07:58 Despite the blackout: surgeons apparently continue heart surgery +++
The Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure are causing massive power outages in the country. According to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, 10 million Ukrainians were without power on Thursday. “It’s still better without light than with Russians,” writes Zelensky’s former spokeswoman, Julia Mendel, to. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense tweeted a picture of surgeons operating despite the blackout: “No time for power outages,” it said. “Surgeons at the Lviv Pediatric Cardiology Center continued their heart surgeries after the power was cut off due to a Russian missile attack.”

+++ 07:36 Macron in Asia: “This war is also your problem” +++
French President Emmanuel Macron urges Asia-Pacific countries to join “growing consensus” against Russia’s aggressive war in Ukraine. “This war is your problem, too,” Macron said in a speech at the APEC Asia-Pacific Summit in Bangkok. Macron has been invited to the summit meeting as a guest of honour, and France is not a member of APEC. France’s top priority is to contribute to peace in Ukraine and try to “develop a global dynamic to put pressure on Russia,” stressed Macron.

+++ 07:17 Russia: Moscow did not react to pressure on grain agreements +++
According to the agency, the Russian embassy in the United States TASS Back claims that Moscow made the decision to extend the grain deal after outside pressure. According to the Embassy’s press service, the US government officials’ assessments of the extension of the Black Sea Initiative have been taken note of. “We fundamentally reject the thesis that this decision was due to external pressure. Even under the unlawful sanctions imposed on our country, Russia remains a reliable supplier of agricultural products to world markets.”

+++ 06:54 FSB publishes new list of classified information +++
Russia’s FSB secret service is expanding its list of classified information that could jeopardize state security if leaked to “foreign sources.” This is reported by the Russian exile portal “Meduza”. New on the list is information about the transport of military personnel and ongoing military construction work. Back in the fall of 2021, the FSB published a similar list restricting the dissemination of information on issues related to Russia’s space programs and defense.

+++ 06:29 Kyiv: Repel Russian attacks in many towns +++
Fierce fighting continues in eastern Ukraine. As “Kyiv Independent” citing the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the Ukrainian military has repulsed Russian attacks in numerous towns in the past 24 hours – for example near Novoselivske and Stelmakhivka in the Luhansk region, as well as in Bilohorivka, Verkhniokamianske, Spirne, Opytne, Pervomaiske, Wodiane and Novomykhaivka in the Donetsk region.

+++ 06:06 US operational readiness not endangered by aid +++
According to the US Department of Defense, US military support since the end of February has totaled $18.6 billion. In recent months, the Americans have sent out various packages in rapid succession – often from US military stocks. The Pentagon confirms that the Americans’ own operational readiness is not endangered by this. There had previously been rumors that the United States would soon no longer be able to supply some weapons.

+++ 05:37 Schäuble: “We didn’t want to see it” +++
Former Bundestag President and ex-Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble has admitted past mistakes in dealing with Russia. When asked if he was angry with himself, the CDU politician told the “Handelsblatt”: “Of course. We didn’t want to see it. That applies to everyone.” During his time as interior minister, he spoke to his Russian counterpart about how we could fight Islamist terror together. “I could have looked at what Russia was doing in Chechnya. Or listened to the then Polish President Lech Kaczynski.” After Russia’s attack on Georgia, he warned: “Georgia comes first, then Ukraine, then Moldova, then the Baltic states and then Poland. He was right,” said Schäuble. Referring to ex-Chancellor Angela Merkel, Schäuble said it was remarkable “that even now, with regard to Russia, she cannot say that we made mistakes.”

+++ 04:54 one dead in the shelling in the Cherson area +++
Russian forces shelled several towns in the Kherson region. The “Kyiv Independent” reports, citing the Ukrainian Task Force South, that rocket launchers, mortars and heavy artillery were fired at Chernobaiwka, Antonivka and Cherson. A civilian was killed by shrapnel.

+++ 03:25 Banksy publishes video of Ukraine visit +++
Banksy left seven graffiti on destroyed buildings in Ukraine last week. Now the street artist, who keeps his identity hidden, publishes a “making of” video of his action on Instagram. You can see how he cuts and sprays stencils – and apparently also – of course unrecognized – talks to passers-by. The video ends with a statement of solidarity to the people of Ukraine.

+++ 01:19 MH17 verdict: Australia demands extradition from Russia +++
The Australian government is demanding that Russia extradite the men sentenced to life imprisonment for the downing of flight MH17 over Ukraine. The verdict shows that Russia bears responsibility for the downing, said Foreign Minister Penny Wong. Moscow should extradite the three men to face trial for their “heinous crimes.” “We tell Russia: The world knows that you harbor murderers – and that says something about you, Mr. Putin,” Wong told ABC television.

+++ 00:26 Selenskyj praises grain deal +++
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he is satisfied that the grain agreement will be extended. “Despite all the difficulties, despite various manipulations by Russia,” he says in his evening video address. Since the beginning of the agreement, around 450 ships have left the Ukrainian Black Sea ports around Odessa. These would have brought food to countries such as Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Somalia or Sudan. He has also launched a new initiative with international support to bring Ukrainian grain to the countries most affected by hunger, Zelenskyy said.

+++ 23:36 IAEA demands Russian withdrawal from the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant +++
The Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has called on Russia to give up the occupied Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine. According to the third IAEA resolution against Russia since the beginning of the war, Moscow should withdraw its military and civilian personnel immediately and give up its “unfounded claim to ownership” of the nuclear power plant in south-eastern Ukraine. According to diplomats, it is supported by 24 countries. The Board of Governors is also extremely concerned that Ukrainian employees at the plant are being pressured by the Russian side and that arrests have also been made.

+++ 22:55 human rights officer speaks of “appalling” torture in Cherson +++
According to Ukrainian sources, torture was widespread in the recaptured southern Ukrainian city of Cherson during the Russian occupation. In all his trips to “torture chambers in different regions” of the country, he “never before had seen such an extent of torture,” says Ukrainian parliamentary commissioner for human rights, Dmytro Lubynets, in a television program. “It’s just horrific,” he adds.

+++ 22:10 Selenskyj: More than ten million Ukrainians without electricity +++
According to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, millions of people in Ukraine are without electricity. “At the moment, more than ten million Ukrainians are without electricity,” says Zelenskyj in his daily video message. In particular, the Odessa, Kyiv, Vinnytsia and Sumy regions were affected by the power outages, he explains.

+++ 21:45 ISW: Russia is running out of high-precision weapons +++
Experts disagree on how long Russia’s missile reserves will last. On Tuesday, Russia shot down around 100 cruise missiles – it was the largest barrage in nine months of war. “Continued attacks of this magnitude are severely depleting Russia’s reserves of conventional cruise missiles, as the deterioration of Ukraine’s national infrastructure has become a key element of Russia’s strategic approach to the campaign,” comments the UK MoD. The US research group Institute for the Study of War also estimates that Russia’s military “probably deployed a significant portion of its remaining high-precision weapons systems.” The security expert at the University of Bonn, Joachim Weber, comes to a different conclusion in an interview with ntv.

You can read earlier developments in the Ukraine war here.


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