Russia ready for talks with Ukraine +++ Sharp criticism of Olaf Scholz +++ Baltic states end electricity imports from Russia +++ Developments in the Ukraine war in star-Ticker.
Day 89 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine: Fighting in eastern Ukraine continues with undiminished intensity. According to Ukrainian sources, at least eight people were killed by Russian fire. During the night there were air raids and attacks in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Avdiivka and other Ukrainian cities and regions.
Meanwhile, Ukraine and Poland want to take the first step towards Ukraine’s integration into the EU. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that Ukraine wants to introduce joint customs control with Poland, which is “the beginning of our integration into the common customs space of the European Union”. In Poland, Ukrainians were given “de facto and de jure the same opportunities” as Polish citizens. Similarly, Selenskyj wants to introduce a law in Ukraine.
8:23 a.m .: Ukrainian military warns of activities on the Belarusian border
The former Soviet republic of Belarus, which has not yet actively participated in the Russian-Ukrainian war, is assembling forces at the border, according to information from Kyiv. “The Belarusian armed forces are conducting increased reconnaissance and have set up additional units in the border area,” the Ukrainian general staff said in its situation report on Monday. Accordingly, the danger of rocket and air attacks on Ukraine from Belarusian territory remains.
The Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko did not take part with his own troops in the war against Ukraine that Russia started at the end of February. However, Russian troops were allowed to use the country as a staging area for the attack. Kyiv therefore does not see Minsk as neutral and fears that Belarusian soldiers could potentially intervene in the conflict on the part of Russia. Lukashenko, who is meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi on Monday, has always denied such intentions.
8.08 a.m .: Lambrecht “optimistic” about the agreement on the Bundeswehr special fund
Federal Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) is confident that agreement on the Bundeswehr special fund will be reached quickly. “At the moment I have the feeling that everyone (…) really wants to pull together and equip the Bundeswehr as they urgently need it,” she said in the ARD “Morgenmagazin”. She is “very optimistic” that there will be an agreement before the summer break.
The background is a dispute over the structure of the special fund for the Bundeswehr between the coalition and the Union. The main issue is how NATO’s goal of spending two percent of gross national product on defense should be anchored in law.
7.23 a.m .: Selenskyj admits high losses in eastern Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj has put the daily losses of his own troops on the front in eastern Ukraine at 50 to 100 soldiers. “Today between 50 and 100 people can die on the front in the east of our country, which is the hardest for us,” said Zelenskyj at a joint press conference with Poland’s President Andrzej Duda on Sunday, according to the RBK-Ukraina news agency. “They protect our freedom and independence, which is talked about all over the world.” With the high losses, he justified the rejection of a petition to allow men of military age to leave Ukraine.
Most recently, the Ukrainian President disclosed his own losses in mid-April. At that time he spoke of a total of around 3,000 Ukrainian soldiers who had died since the Russian attack on February 24. However, the President’s Office has refused to provide precise figures. Presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovich explained that this was a war secret.
5.11 a.m .: Putin’s adviser: Russia ready for talks
According to a Putin adviser, Russia is ready to resume talks with Kyiv. However, he sees Ukraine under pressure, Vladimir Medinski said on Sunday evening on Belarusian state television. Medinsky also did not rule out a meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy. But this requires “serious preparation”, such as documents that the presidents can then sign. There was initially no reaction to the statements from the Ukrainian side. Ukraine suspended negotiations to end the war on Tuesday.
4.30 a.m .: Kiesewetter accuses Scholz of playing for time when it comes to weapon deliveries
The CDU politician Kiesewetter has denounced the government course in the delivery of heavy weapons to Ukraine. He accused Chancellor Scholz (SPD) of hesitation and a game for time on Sunday evening. CDU leader Friedrich Merz had previously criticized the government. Kiesewetter said on Sunday evening on “Anne Will” (read more about the talk on Sunday here): “German industry made it clear on February 28 that it could very quickly train around 100 leopards and around 100 martens.” To date, however, there has been no order. When asked why, Kiesewetter said, “I’m afraid the Chancellor doesn’t want Ukraine to win this war. Wins in the sense that Russian troops are driven out of the country.”
2.27 a.m .: Baltic states stop importing electricity from Russia
The Baltic states have stopped importing electricity from Russia because of the Ukraine war. “This is an important step on our way to energy independence,” Lithuanian Energy Minister Dainius Kreivys told AFP on Sunday. “By refusing to import Russian energy resources, we are refusing to finance the aggressor,” the minister said.
On Friday, the Nord Pool energy exchange sent a message to the Russian energy supplier InterRao that it was barred from trading in the Baltic States due to international sanctions. Latvia imported its last Russian electricity in early May, while Lithuania and Estonia stopped purchasing electricity on Sunday. Russian electricity accounted for 17 percent of Lithuania’s electricity imports last year.
1.35 a.m .: Mayor appointed by Russia injured in explosion
The Moscow-appointed mayor of the southern Ukrainian city of Enerhodar was wounded in an explosion. He has confirmation that pro-Russian mayor Andrei “Shevchik and his bodyguards were injured in the explosion,” Dmytro Orlov, Ukraine’s elected mayor of Enerhodar, told Telegram on Sunday. They are in the hospital “with injuries of varying severity.” Otherwise no one was injured.
Enerhodar is located near Zaporizhia and is the site of the largest nuclear power plant in Europe. Russian troops took control there at the end of February. Located on the opposite bank of the Dnipro River, Zaporizhia is still held by Ukraine.
Russian news agency Ria Novosti, citing a source in the emergency services, reported that Shevchik was in intensive care. According to security circles, the explosion is said to have been triggered by an “improvised explosive device”, as the news agency further reported.
Teaser image: Picture Alliance/Sergei Bobylev
1.19 a.m .: SPD threatens Union in the dispute over Bundeswehr special funds to go it alone
In the dispute over the passing of the special fund for the Bundeswehr, the SPD parliamentary group leader in the Bundestag, Rolf Mützenich, threatened the Union with going it alone by the traffic light coalition. If the CDU and CSU opposed each other in the Bundestag with a view to the necessary two-thirds majority for an amendment to the Basic Law, then there were “other ways than the military constitution” to provide the hundred billion euros, said Mützenich of the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” (FAZ, Monday edition) .
“If Germany is in an emergency situation, Article 115 allows borrowing with a simple majority,” said Mützenich. At the same time, he again warned opposition leader Friedrich Merz (CDU) against “tactical games” in the vote.
The SPD parliamentary group leader said that the coalition still had to agree with the Union on how NATO’s goal of spending two percent of gross national product on defense should be anchored. “NATO leaves open what needs to be planned in the national budgets to achieve this goal.” The defense budget of 50 billion euros and the additional 100 billion euros should be used to reach the target for NATO.