03/10/2023
Ukraine war in the live ticker
+++ 09:22 Belarus wants to cap inflation at seven percent +++
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has instructed his country’s government to limit inflation to an annual rate of 7 percent. This is reported by the state news agency Belta. The government should use all means at its disposal to prevent inflation from rising above this mark.
+++ 08:59 London: intervals between Moscow’s rocket attacks will probably be longer +++
According to British intelligence experts, the frequency of Russian rocket attacks on Ukraine is likely to decrease. This emerges from the daily intelligence update from the Ministry of Defense in London. According to this, Moscow is running out of rockets. There is evidence that Thursday’s latest spate of rocket attacks used a variety of missiles, some of which were misappropriated. Russia must now accumulate a critical mass of newly manufactured missiles directly from the industry before it has the means to launch a strike large enough to overwhelm Ukraine’s air defenses, the statement said.
+++ 08:25 Ukrainian anti-corruption authority is investigating the planned sale of Schaeffler’s Russian subsidiary +++
The Ukrainian anti-corruption authority NAZK is to investigate the Austrian businessman Siegfried Wolf and the Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska. The reports the “mirror” and refers to the information provided by a spokeswoman. The authority is currently investigating whether Wolf was acting as a straw man for Deripaska when it bought the Russian business of the Franconian automotive supplier Schaeffler. A purchase agreement for the Russian Schaeffler subsidiary was signed in December with the company PromAvtoKonsalt, and a transfer of the shares to Siegfried Wolf has already been initiated. Schaeffler has confirmed the sales plan to the “Spiegel”. One of the reasons for the investigations by the Ukrainian anti-corruption authority is a loan of the equivalent of 300,000 euros that PromAvtoKonsalt received in December from a Russian company owned by the Dutch company Optitech Distribution Holding.
+++ 07:57 Pope: Conflict is driven by imperial interests, not only by Russia +++
The war in Ukraine is fueled by the interests of several “empires” and not just those of Russia, Pope Francis tells Italian-Swiss broadcaster RSI. Pope Francis also says he is ready to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to help bring peace.
+++ 07:20 ISW: Wagner mercenaries seem to be taking a “tactical break” +++
The Wagner mercenary group could take a “tactical break” in Bachmut, according to the US-based Institute for War Studies (ISW) in its latest update. The ISW assumes that Wagner will wait until sufficient reinforcements from conventional Russian troops have arrived before withdrawing from the battle. “The arrival of a larger number of conventional Russian troops in the area may indicate that Russian forces intend to offset the possible peak of Wagner’s offensive operations at Bakhmut with new conventional troops,” the ISW said.
+++ 06:37 Zelenskyj on Russian attack wave: Ukraine will “not be in chains” +++
After the Russian attack with rockets and drones, the Ukrainian President emphasized his country’s will to fight. “We have already shown what Ukraine is capable of,” says Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “And no matter how insidious Russia’s actions are, our state and people will not be in chains.”
+++ 05:59 What is important today: Biden receives von der Leyen in the White House +++
Fighting for the strategically important city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region continues in eastern Ukraine. President Selenskyj wants to keep Bakhmut as a fortress to prevent the Russians from penetrating further inland.
US President Joe Biden receives EU Commission President von der Leyen in the White House today for talks on support for Ukraine, which has been attacked by Russia.
French Head of State Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also want to discuss strengthening cooperation on arms deliveries to Ukraine and the training of Ukrainian soldiers with members of both governments at a joint summit in Paris this morning.
+++ 03:30 Von Notz insists on comprehensive information on pipeline sabotage +++
Before a special session of the parliamentary control committee on the Nord Stream explosions, its chairman Konstantin von Notz urges comprehensive information. “There is a fundamental need for information,” says the Green politician to the “Tagesspiegel”. “We MPs are expecting a report from the Attorney General and want to be comprehensively updated by the federal government.” The Parliamentary Oversight Committee is holding a special session today. It is responsible for controlling the federal intelligence services. The federal government must inform the committee about the activities of the intelligence services and about events of particular importance.
+++ 01:41 Selenskyj calls for new sanctions against Russia +++
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy calls for further sanctions against Moscow after Russia’s new missile attacks on energy infrastructure. There must be more pressure on Russia, says Zelenskyj in his video message every evening. He also criticized the fact that the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, which was occupied by Russia, was again temporarily cut off from the power grid due to a rocket attack. “This is a critical situation,” he says. Russia can therefore no longer be a reliable partner in the nuclear sphere. “This means the faster Russia’s nuclear industry is targeted by sanctions, the safer the world will be.”
+++ 22:29 Slovakia wants to deliver MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine +++
Slovakia, together with Poland, wants to provide Ukraine with Soviet MiG-29 fighter jets. Defense Minister Jaroslav Nad announced this on Facebook. Nad referred to a meeting with Poland’s Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak on Wednesday in Stockholm. He adds: “I confirm that Poland has officially agreed that we will jointly deliver the MiGs to Ukraine.” Nad does not name a specific timetable. Poland’s President Andrej Duda had previously declared his country’s readiness in principle.
+++ 21:53 Merz: Must protect freedom, peace and tolerance +++
CDU leader Friedrich Merz calls for people to work more passionately for democracy and freedom – especially with regard to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Of course, in politics you have to wrestle, argue and discuss issues. “But please let us never lose sight of the fact that it is also – and above all – about protecting peace, freedom, openness, liberality, tolerance in our country and throughout Europe from all these challenges that we are facing today exposed,” said Merz at a regional conference for party members and interested parties in Pforzheim. “When, if not now? And who, if not us?” calls Merz.
+++ 20:58 Scholz currently sees no willingness to negotiate with Putin +++
According to a media report, Chancellor Olaf Scholz does not expect the war in Ukraine to end quickly. He sees “unfortunately no willingness at the moment” on the part of Russian President Vladimir Putin for negotiations,” the partner newspapers of the Neue Berliner Redaktionsgesellschaft quote the chancellor as saying. But he remains “in talks with Russia.” Ukraine, in turn, must “decide for itself what terms it is willing to accept for peace”.
+++ 20:27 High number of casualties in operations: Paramedics rescue injured people from Bachmut under continuous fire +++
Russian troops advance further around Bakhmut and encircle the embattled city. For the paramedics, their rescue missions become a deadly trap, as the evacuation routes are under constant Russian fire. The casualties among the rescue workers are high.
You can read earlier developments in the Ukraine war here.