9.15 a.m .: According to the media report, Scholz initially opposed further heavy arms deliveries to Ukraine
According to a report by “Welt”, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) turned down requests from Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Schmyhal for more military support during his visit to Berlin. It was specifically about the delivery of state-of-the-art Leopard 2 tanks by the industry, the newspaper reported, citing information from Ukrainian government circles. The background is an offer from the armaments group Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) on April 8 for a direct delivery to the Ukraine.
08:47: Putin visits military maneuvers in eastern Russia
Russian President Vladimir Putin has traveled to Russia’s Far East for a large-scale military exercise with Chinese participation. Putin will meet Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu and Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov at the Sergeyevsky military compound, his spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, according to Russian news agencies. In addition to Russian troops, soldiers from several allied countries, including China, are involved in the “Vostok 2022” maneuver.
8:08 a.m .: Ukrainian citizens receive media award M100
For their courage and steadfastness against the Russian invasion, the Ukrainian people will be awarded this year’s M100 media prize. “No people in the world has demonstrated the value of freedom so passionately in recent months,” said the M100 Advisory Board in Potsdam. Representing his compatriots, Wladimir Klitschko as “Voice from Kyiv” is to accept the award on September 15 in the Orangery Palace in Potsdam.
The justification for the Potsdam Media International initiative stated that the country was fighting “a heroic fight for its values” and had been defending them “day after day” for months. The organizers announced the US Ambassador Amy Gutmann and the former EU Council President Donald Tusk as laudators. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) is to give the main political speech at the award ceremony.
7:47 a.m .: More than 400,000 people turned their backs on Russia in the first half of the year
According to the Russian statistical authority, 419,000 people left Russia in the first half of the year. That is more than twice as many as in the same period last year, as reported by the RBC news agency. This is the first time in recent Russian history that more people have emigrated than immigrated (322,000 people).
The statistics agency Rosstat did not provide any information on the nationality of the migrants. Russia has traditionally been a country of immigration for citizens of other Soviet republics. This year, however, the migration movement went in the opposite direction. 369,000 left in this direction and only 295,000 entered. Almost 80,000 people chose Ukraine as their destination country.
7.10 a.m .: Gazprom sees fault for delivery stop via Nord Stream 1 at Siemens Energy
The Russian gas pipeline Nord Stream 1 will only resume deliveries to Germany after Siemens Energy has repaired the faulty plant, according to Gazprom’s deputy chairman of the board. “You should ask Siemens, they have to repair the system first,” said the deputy head of the Russian state-owned company, Vitaly Markelov, when asked on the fringes of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok when the pipeline would be able to pump gas again.
7:03 a.m.: Ukrainian attack on Russian ammunition depot in Kherson
The Ukrainian military says it has destroyed four Russian ammunition depots in the Kherson region. The southern command of the Ukrainian armed forces said bridges across the Dnieper were also under fire. After little was initially known about the course of the Ukrainian counter-offensive in southern Ukraine, the authorities recently reported progress in the north of the Cherson region.
7:01 a.m .: Moscow imposes further entry bans on US citizens
In response to US sanctions, Russia has banned 25 US citizens from entering the country, including Hollywood stars Ben Stiller and Sean Penn. The Russian Foreign Ministry said this was Moscow’s response to the “unending” US sanctions against Russian citizens. Russia has already banned more than a thousand US citizens from entering the country.
6:50 a.m .: The left plans demos against energy and security policies
After the start of its so-called hot autumn in Leipzig, the left announced further protests against the energy and social policies of the federal government. In the next few days there will be further demonstrations in various cities – and next Monday again in Leipzig, said Linken boss Martin Schirdewan at a rally in the trade fair city on Monday evening.
6:28 a.m .: IAEA expert team announces test report on Zaporizhia nuclear power plant
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) plans to present a report on the situation in Ukraine today. According to a statement by the UN agency, this will include nuclear safety. As announced, four experts left the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant on Monday. Two others remained at the Russian-held facility.
05:39: Russia apparently buys ammunition from North Korea
Russia apparently gets artillery ammunition and grenades from North Korea because of Western sanctions. This is reported by the Times newspaper, citing information recently released by the US Secret Service. The buying shows that sanctions are beginning to take hold and are limiting Russia’s ability to sustain its invasion of Ukraine, the paper quoted two US officials as saying. Ukraine has launched a counter-offensive in several places, having previously destroyed Russian ammunition dumps.
4:46 a.m .: High energy prices give Russia billions in revenue
According to one analysis, Russia’s revenues from fossil energy exports in the first six months of the Ukraine war significantly exceeded the costs of the invasion. As reported by the Finland-based Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), revenues during the period amounted to the equivalent of 158 billion euros. On the other hand, the war costs are estimated at one hundred billion euros.
The analysis records the exports of oil, gas and coal between February 24 and August 24 of this year, while data from shipping and pipeline transport was evaluated. These showed that the EU was the largest buyer of the supplies with 85 billion euros, followed by China with 35 billion euros. Within the EU, Germany was ahead with a volume of 19 billion euros, making it the second largest buyer of Russian fossil fuels in the world, right behind China. CREA analyst Lauri Myllyvirta said Russia was “still making record profits” from fossil fuels despite falling export volumes.
4:13 a.m .: Selenskyj again warns of a disaster in Zaporizhia
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the occupied Zaporizhia nuclear power plant is “only one step away from a radiation catastrophe” due to the renewed interruption in the power supply for the second time. Russian shelling is responsible, he says. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had said the emergency power line had been cut to extinguish a fire. “The shelling of the power plant shows that the terrorist state doesn’t care what the IAEA will say and what the international community will decide,” Zelensky said, referring to Russia.
1:34 a.m .: Head of the Munich Security Conference dampens hopes of a diplomatic solution for Ukraine
The chairman of the Munich Security Conference, Christoph Heusgen, currently sees no chance of a diplomatic solution to the Ukraine war. “Russia has no interest in negotiations. That’s why the situation will be pretty much the same in six months as it is now,” he said on Monday evening in Geneva at an event organized by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and the Geneva Center for Security Policy. Russia is also not sticking to agreements, added Chancellor Angela Merkel’s long-standing foreign policy adviser: “The best thing we can do at the moment is to support Ukraine. Ukraine defends international law and it defends freedom in Europe.”