The day of the war at a glance
Lavrov duped foreign minister – Kremlin wants to deliver more gas to Germany again
07/08/2022 10:01 p.m
According to British information, Russia is currently taking a breather in the Donbass, but says it wants to continue conquering it completely. They also don’t want to give up southern Ukraine. Foreign Minister Lavrov speaks at the G20 summit, but then leaves the room instead of listening to his counterparts. The German Foreign Minister Baerbock speaks of a refusal to talk. When it comes to gas deliveries, the Kremlin gives Germany hope: If the serviced turbine returns from Canada, more gas would flow again. The German importer Uniper is still seeking state aid due to concerns about missing deliveries. The 134th day of the war at a glance.
Ukraine successfully shells Russian positions
According to the Ukrainian military, it has successfully attacked several targets in areas controlled by Russian troops. According to local media reports, a weapons depot detonated on Friday night near Shakhtarsk in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine. Another arsenal is said to have exploded later in the southern Ukrainian region of Cherson near Nowa Kakhovka. According to the Kiev authorities, several dozen Russians were killed. The authorities deployed by Russia, on the other hand, speak of a failed Ukrainian attack on the hydroelectric power station on the Dnipro River.
Russians take a breather, but want to conquer the whole Donbass
After the extensive conquest of the Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine, the British Ministry of Defense expects a regrouping of Russian troops. Russian forces are likely to pause to regroup their units before launching new offensive operations in the Donetsk region, the ministry said on Twitter. Russia will probably concentrate its forces towards the city of Siversk. Russian troops may also attempt to advance towards Sloviansk and Kramatorsk urban areas. Russian Ambassador to Britain Andrei Kelin confirmed that Russia intends to conquer the entire Donbass. In his view, a withdrawal of Russian troops from southern Ukraine is also unlikely. In his eyes, a retreat would lead to provocations and the shooting of people.
Peskov: Russia’s potential is huge
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov underlined his country’s ambitions with the enormous potential it still had militarily. According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, only an “insignificant part” of weapons and ammunition is used, Peskov emphasized. He said: “Russia’s potential is huge.” This should once again illustrate the supposed nonsense of Western arms deliveries. From the Russian point of view, these would only artificially prolong the war, but would not change anything about its outcome.
Moscow local politician has been sentenced to seven years in prison
The Russian leadership is also showing toughness elsewhere. For example, a Moscow local politician was sentenced to seven years in prison after publicly criticizing the Russian offensive in Ukraine. A Moscow court found Alexey Gorinov guilty of “knowingly spreading misinformation” about the Russian army. The 60-year-old acted out of “political hatred,” said judge Olesya Mendeleeva. He and another MP, Yelena Kotyonochkina, “misled” and “terrified” the Russians about the military operation in Ukraine, the judge added. Kotyonochkina has since fled Russia.
Separatists want to carry out the death penalty
An even worse fate awaits three foreigners captured by pro-Russian separatists in the Donetsk region. The internationally unrecognized parliament of the breakaway region is lifting a moratorium on the execution of the death penalty. This suspension of the death penalty would have actually lasted until 2025 due to a new code of criminal procedure that came into force on July 1. Two British and one Moroccan citizen were sentenced to death in June.
Politicians are calling for talks with Russia
Several German politicians are calling for talks with Moscow to continue. “I’m not one of those who say in principle that there shouldn’t be any more talks with important figures in the Russian leadership,” FDP General Secretary Bijan Djir-Sarai told Der Spiegel. Saxony’s Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer emphasized that in order to end Russia’s “barbaric war of aggression, which violates international law” as quickly as possible, attempts at talks with the Kremlin are also indispensable – “on their own strength and with clear messages”. In addition to all “proper, including military, support for Ukraine, the goal must be to work towards at least a temporary ceasefire,” Michael Müller, former mayor of Berlin, told the magazine.
Lavrov dupes G20 summit – Germans speak of disrespect
In any case, an agreement with Russia failed on the big stage of world politics. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov left the meeting of G20 foreign ministers early and missed statements by Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and her Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba. Lavrov had previously spoken to Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and was open to negotiations on grain deliveries. In his speech, Lavrov also accused the West of preventing the transition to a peaceful solution to the conflict in Ukraine. If the EU and the US want Ukraine to win on the battlefield, “then we probably have nothing to discuss with the West,” Lavrov said before leaving the room. SPD foreign politician Michael Roth described the Russian foreign minister’s premature departure from the G20 meeting in Bali as disrespect. Baerbock, who accused Lavrov of refusing to talk, reacted in a similar way. “The fact that the Russian Foreign Minister spent a large part of the negotiations here not in the room but outside of the room underlines that the Russian government is currently not a millimeter willing to talk,” said Baerbock.
Russia wants to supply more gas again
Elsewhere, however, Russia is less confrontational. The country wants to resume gas deliveries via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline and increase the delivery volume as soon as the turbine currently being serviced in Canada has returned. In this context, Kremlin spokesman Peskov once again rejected the accusation that Russia was using its gas as a means of exerting political pressure. It is not a question of imaginary repair work, but of scheduled maintenance. “We completely reject any hints or direct reports that the Russian side is using gas or oil as a weapon for political pressure,” Peskov said.
Uniper is applying for support
Despite this news, the ailing gas importer Uniper applied to the federal government for stabilization measures after the temporary throttling of Russian gas supplies. The proposal also provides for equity components that would lead to a relevant federal stake in Uniper, as the company announced in a mandatory announcement to the stock exchange.
Russia warns of consequences of western sanctions
In addition, Putin’s words cast doubt on the statements made by the Kremlin spokesman. Regarding a possible expansion of Western sanctions against his country, he said: “Continued application of the sanctions policy can lead to even more serious, without exaggerating, even catastrophic consequences on the global energy market.” Once again, Putin spoke of an “economic blitzkrieg” in the West that had failed. Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was similarly clear with regard to the ban on the transit of certain goods from the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad to Russia via the territory of Lithuania. “If the situation does not stabilize in the next few days, Russia will take tough measures against Lithuania and the European Union,” she said.
Ukraine confiscates Russian real estate
Ukrainian authorities continue to sanction Russian companies. They had corporate rights and real estate confiscated from eleven Russian companies. It is about a total value of around 57 million euros, said the secret service SBU in Kyiv. A total of 46 properties are said to have been transferred to the Ukrainian state. The companies include Gazprom, Rosneft and Rosatom. The accusation is that the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, which has been ongoing since February, was financed.
Bundestag and Bundesrat give the go-ahead for joining NATO
After the Bundestag, the Bundesrat also approved the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO. The chamber of states decided not to call the mediation committee on the law that the Bundestag had passed just a few hours earlier. The law is the prerequisite for the acceptance of corresponding protocols by Germany. It was not subject to approval in the state chamber.
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