DThe Ukrainian government withdrew accreditation from the Iranian ambassador in Kyiv for supplying combat drones to Russia. As a result, he can no longer meet his obligations in the host country and, following diplomatic practice, will probably have to return to Tehran.
“In addition, the number of diplomatic staff at the Iranian embassy in Kyiv will be significantly reduced,” the Ukrainian foreign ministry said in a statement on Friday. Just hours earlier, a person had died in a drone attack in the port city of Odessa.
At the end of August, US intelligence reported that Russia had bought Iranian drones to use in its war of aggression against Ukraine. Neither Moscow nor Tehran have officially confirmed the purchase. In the past few weeks, however, several Iranian-made drones have been shot down by the Ukrainians over the battlefields.
The Iranian arms shipments are “a hostile act that is causing serious damage to relations between Ukraine and Iran,” Ukraine’s foreign ministry said. The Ukrainian air force shot down an Iranian-made Shahed 136 drone over the sea, the Ukrainian military said. The military later said four more Iranian drones had been shot down in the south of the country.
All developments in the live ticker:
12:48 p.m. – Russia fires Deputy Defense Minister
Exactly seven months after the start of the war against Ukraine, Deputy Defense Minister Dmitry Bulgakov has been removed from office in Russia. Officially, the Ministry of Defense justified the step in a statement with Bulgakov’s transfer “to another post”. His successor is to be Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev, who previously headed the national center for defense management. In the future he will be responsible in particular for the logistics of the army.
12:26 p.m. – Green leader Nouripour criticizes the left in the debate about the Ukraine war
Green Party leader Omid Nouripour has criticized the attitude of parts of the left towards Russia and cast doubt on its anchoring in democracy. “When I hear so many voices, not just from Ms. Wagenknecht, I really feel different. There are parts of the left that saw the solidarity of democracy at this point hard. And we won’t be allowed to let that get away,” said Nouripour in Rostock at the state party conference of the Greens in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The question arises as to whether relevant parts of the Left Party have understood what Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine means.
11:03 am – The current situation in Ukraine
Source: Infographic WORLD
11:01 a.m. – Russian deserters can get protection in Germany
The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (Bamf) refers to the possibility of protection for Russian deserters in Germany: “Deserters who are threatened by severe repression usually receive international protection in Germany,” said a representative of the agency to the “RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland”. “. That also applies to Russia. “The decision-making practice of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees has already been adjusted accordingly.” The granting of asylum remains a case-by-case decision, which also includes a security check, it said.
10:24 a.m. – Eastern Commissioner assumes a permanent Russian gas stop
The Federal Government Commissioner for Eastern Europe, Carsten Schneider (SPD), does not expect Russian gas to flow to Germany again in the future. Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has decided to turn off the gas tap, said Schneider in Suhl at a state party conference of the Thuringian SPD. “And it won’t come back, don’t fool yourself,” Schneider said to his party’s delegates.
The situation will lead to further increases in energy costs and further burdens on people in Germany. “The state will take part, but the state will not be able to do everything,” said Schneider. It is important that the remaining costs are borne by people with high incomes or wealth.
09:58 – Belarusian opposition hopes for victory of Ukraine
Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tichanovskaya sees her country’s fate closely linked to that of Ukraine. “There will be no free Belarus without a free Ukraine,” Tichanovskaya said on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. Russian President Vladimir Putin does not consider Belarus and Ukraine to be independent and sovereign states. As long as I am in power, there will be security threats to the western borders of both countries.
09:53 – Sham referendums in occupied Ukrainian regions continue
Despite fierce international protests, the second day of mock referendums on joining Russia has begun in Moscow-held Ukrainian territories. Russian state media again showed pictures of citizens at the ballot box. The illegal votes in the eastern Ukrainian regions of Luhansk and Donetsk and in Zaporizhia and Cherson in the south are scheduled for five days up to and including next Tuesday.
9:15 a.m. – SPD domestic politician considers refugee flows to be Putin’s war strategy
In the view of the domestic policy spokesman for the SPD parliamentary group, Sebastian Hartmann, the current challenges posed by flight and irregular migration cannot be overcome without a new vote at European level. “Bombing people, women and children to flee, that has long been part of Russian hybrid warfare – just like disinformation – we have to keep reminding ourselves of that,” Hartmann told the German Press Agency.
He added: “President Vladimir Putin did that in Syria, then the flights agreed with Moscow came to Belarus, and that’s also a factor in his war of aggression in Ukraine.”
In addition to around one million war refugees from Ukraine who have been taken in by Germany, more people are now coming from other parts of the world. “For some time, unauthorized entries have been increasing, currently there are 400 to 500 people per day who are identified by the federal police,” said Hartmann. That is around 50 percent more than a year ago.
Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) had said that the number of asylum applications was around 138,000 since the beginning of the year, around 18 percent higher than in the same period last year. Since Germany also has to ensure the care of the Ukraine refugees at the same time, she has stepped up the manhunt on the border with the Czech Republic and extended the controls on the Bavarian border with Austria.
The number of people who come to Greece via Turkey and fly to Germany from there is also growing. There are also “24 countries whose citizens are allowed to enter Serbia without a visa and who require a visa in the EU,” said Hartmann. These included people from Bangladesh and India who came to the EU from there. The SPD politician said: “On the one hand, the federal government must talk to Greece and Serbia at EU level, since these developments can only be dealt with at European level.”
9am – Russians shell dams over Ukrainian advance, according to UK
According to the British Ministry of Defence, Russia is apparently trying to stop the ongoing advance of the Ukrainian armed forces by shelling dams. According to the ministry’s daily situation report, Russian soldiers recently fired on a dam on the Siverskyi Donets river in north-eastern Ukraine with short-range missiles or similar weapons. A similar attack on another dam had already taken place a few days earlier. Russian commanders, increasingly alarmed by their recent operational setbacks, are believed to be attempting to destroy the floodgates to flood Ukrainian military crossing points. However, the attacks on the dams are unlikely to have significantly disrupted Ukrainian military operations.
08:23 – Harry Styles and other stars raise funds for Ukraine
British pop stars Harry Styles and Ed Sheeran, US basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal and other celebrities have donated personal items to raise money for Ukraine. The WHO Foundation, which collects donations for the World Health Organization, activated the Human Kind internet portal on Saturday and started a raffle. The foundation wants to raise the equivalent of a good 55 million euros to support the work of the WHO in Ukraine and its neighboring countries.
04:02 – US government wants more economic penalties against Russia
The US government is ready to impose additional economic penalties on Russia if Moscow decides to annex more parts of Ukraine. This is what White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told journalists. US President Joe Biden said Russia’s referendums were an excuse to annex parts of Ukraine. “The United States will never recognize Ukrainian territory as anything other than a part of Ukraine,” the statement said.
“Change of power” is the WELT podcast with Dagmar Rosenfeld and Robin Alexander. Every Wednesday. To subscribe to, among others Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, deezer or by RSS feed.