Updated on 06/18/2022 23:41
- After his trip to Ukraine, Olaf Scholz made serious accusations against Vladimir Putin.
- The Federal Chancellor guarantees support for the attacked country.
- For civilians in Seyerodonetsk, the situation is becoming increasingly critical.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz is convinced that Russian President Vladimir Putin has taken “terrible blame” for the attack on Ukraine. In an interview with the German Press Agency published on Saturday, the SPD politician said of his trip to the attacked country that it was “something different when you see the destruction with your own eyes and feel for yourself that people really died in one place.” . is that in the cars that are there in ruins there were families who wanted to flee and were brutally shot”.
Scholz visited Ukraine on Thursday. He traveled with French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and Romanian President Klaus Iohannis. He stopped in Irpin, among other places, where nearly 300 civilians, some of whom were executed, were found after the withdrawal of Russian troops in late March.
Ukraine sinks Russian ship
Ukraine is gearing up for a longer defensive war and does not intend further negotiations with Russia until the end of August – after Ukrainian counterattacks. The situation for the civilians who are still resisting in the city of Sieverodonetsk is becoming increasingly difficult. There are almost no exits from the city.
Russia reportedly lost another ship in its Black Sea fleet to attacks by the Ukrainian military. The tugboat “Vasily Bech” was damaged by Ukrainian missiles. “It later became known that he sank,” Odessa’s military governor Maxym Marchenko said in a video speech on his Telegram channel.
Captured US soldiers paraded in Russian media
There is no confirmation from Russian or independent sources. According to Ukrainian sources, the ship, which was commissioned in 2017 and equipped with a Tor air defense system, was hit by Harpoon missiles. Denmark supplied the anti-ship missiles to Ukraine.
Two US soldiers, who were fighting in the Ukrainian army and captured by troops loyal to Moscow, were portrayed in Russian media. One of the men justified himself in an interview with the Kremlin-affiliated newspaper Izvestia, which the outlet showed on its Telegram channel on Friday. “Western media doesn’t tell us how incompetent and corrupt the Ukrainian army is,” he said.
Debate on EU prospects for Ukraine
The second prisoner appeared on the Kremlin’s RT channel. He only sent a greeting to his mother and spoke of the hope of being able to return home.
Scholz stressed in the dpa interview that the EU has been supporting Ukraine “very unitedly and resolutely” since the beginning of the war. Of course, the road to the EU will not be easy, but many requirements have to be met. “This applies to the rule of law and democracy, but also all the other rules we give each other in Europe,” Scholz said. For Ukraine, it is about “future perspectives – the hope of a European and democratic perspective for the citizens of Ukraine”. At the next EU summit, they want to “reach an amicable decision”.
On Friday, the EU Commission spoke out in favor of the official nomination of Ukraine and Moldova as candidates for membership of the European Union. Next are the heads of state and government.
Sieverodonetsk: street fighting and surrounded civilians
European Parliament Vice President Katarina Barley warned against moving too fast on Ukraine’s path to the European Union. “There should be no hasty accessions. Anyone who has been to the EU cannot be excluded,” the SPD politician told the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung.
Read too: All current information about the war in Ukraine on the live ticker
Street fighting continued in the hotly contested eastern Ukrainian city of Sieverodonetsk. The city and its surroundings are under heavy artillery fire, the Ukrainian General Staff said. It is impossible to bring civilians hiding in bunkers under the Azot chemical plant to safety, said Luhansk Governor Serhiy Hajday.
The British Defense Ministry estimates that with bridges destroyed, civilians have few routes out of the city beyond humanitarian corridors unilaterally issued by Russia and its allies. On the other hand, in previous cases in Ukraine and also in Syria, Moscow has abused these corridors as a way to gain battlefield advantages and forcibly relocate people. Ukrainian soldiers and hundreds of civilians are said to be holding out at the chemical plant.
Scholz: Ukraine needs heavy artillery and ammunition
According to Chancellor Scholz, Ukraine currently needs heavy artillery and ammunition “with greater urgency” for its defense against Russia. “It’s also about protection against air rocket attacks,” Scholz told dpa. The meeting with Zelenskyy in Kyiv was about, among other things, “how Europe can now continue to help its country”. It was a “trustworthy, cooperative conversation.”
Politicians and economists have introduced bonuses for consumers as an incentive to save energy in the face of severe shortages in Russia’s gas supply. These should apply to families who use gas sparingly. Scholz told dpa when asked if he was considering measures that could also be used to force energy savings on private homes: “I am not in favor of discussing individual measures before an overall concept is available.”
Federal Network Agency head Klaus Müller sees a clear strategy in throttling Russia’s gas deliveries: “Russia has been delivering significantly less gas to Germany and Europe for days. “. (mt/dpa)
Updated on 06/18/2022 at 15:39
Ukrainian chief negotiator David Arakhamiya does not want to resume peace talks with Moscow until late August, after counterattacks have been carried out. (Image source: IMAGO / Westlight)