08/14/2023
Ukraine war in the live ticker
+++ 22:13 “Ukraine, I’m sorry” – Russian has to go to prison for a year and a half +++
Entrepreneur Dmitry Skurikhin is sentenced to 1.5 years in prison in Russia. His offense was apparently a placard that read, “Ukraine, I’m sorry.” A video circulated on Twitter shows him in court, where, despite government pressure, he sharply criticized the war of aggression against Ukraine: “What does the madness in Ukraine have to do with the idea of defending our interests?” he asks. “Did bombs fall on our cities before the start of the military special operation? That didn’t happen since 1944.” A year ago, Skurikhin protested with slogans such as “Peace for Ukraine,” which he painted on the wall of his shop. As the MDR reported at the time, his lawyer warned him. But for Skurikhin it was clear: “I can’t help it.”
+++ 21:41 Author from Russia: “A fear is spreading” +++
The writer Lena Gorelik laments the massive repression in Russia and a climate of fear. “A fear is spreading that many know, if not from their own lives, then from family history: the fear of saying the wrong thing – or even being silent in the wrong place,” writes the Russian-born author, who is now lives in Munich, in an article for the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”: “Things have shifted in Russia: Sometimes it’s no longer enough to belong to the ‘silent majority’, you have to be for the war. Historical comparisons are tricky, and nevertheless, what is happening in Russia right now is reminiscent of the darkest years of the Soviet Union, of the fear-soaked time of the Great Terror.”
+++ 21:14 SBU pursues group of collaborators in Luhansk +++
Ukraine is launching criminal proceedings against several collaborators who are organizing so-called elections in Russian-occupied Luhansk together with the occupying forces. This reported the Ukrainian security service SBU. Since the suspects live in the Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine, “extensive measures are underway to bring them to justice.” The intelligence service understands that the occupying forces are planning to hold fake elections at local and regional level for Russian representatives in Luhansk in September 2023. According to the SBU, the collaborators face up to 15 years in prison.
+++ 20:46 Chechens loyal to the Kremlin apparently shoot at Russian soldiers +++
At least 11 people, including four Russian soldiers, are said to have been killed in gun battles between President Putin’s forces in occupied southern Ukraine. This reports the “time” citing Ukrainian sources. The firefight broke out on Friday when pro-Kremlin fighters clashed with Russian soldiers in the village of Urzuf, some 25 miles from the Russian-held port city of Mariupol. An aide to the exiled mayor of Mariupol says seven civilians, including two teenage girls, were killed in the fighting. “They started tearing each other’s shoulder straps off and a shootout broke out,” said Petr Andryushchenko. One report said the Chechens opened fire on Russian soldiers and civilians after they had been drinking heavily.
+++ 20:26 Bartsch warns: “Russia has endless possibilities for escalation” +++
Dietmar Bartsch, leader of the parliamentary group in the Bundestag, warns that Russia could escalate the war in Ukraine if Germany were to equip Kiev with Taurus cruise missiles. The possible delivery of the weapon system is therefore the wrong way, says Bartsch in the ntv talk show #beeisenherz. Instead of the delivery of new weapons, the left-wing politician is again demanding more diplomatic efforts for a ceasefire. Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) has not yet committed himself to the issue of the Taurus delivery. The federal government is currently examining Ukraine’s request. Bartsch explains: “I can guess how the test will end. In the end, like with the Leopard 2, it will lead to delivery. In my opinion, that’s really wrong. Russia has endless possibilities for escalation. I see it as conjuring up all of them wrong,” says Bartsch. “For a long time I’ve wanted a European-coordinated peace initiative. More for diplomacy, like African countries are doing, like Brazil, India are doing, like others are trying to do. That must be our goal: an armistice as soon as possible.”
The show runs today at 11:30 p.m. and on Tuesday at 5:15 a.m. and 5:10 p.m. on ntv.
You can read more about the events of the previous day here.