Russian war of aggression
Ukraine no longer wants to transmit Russian gas from 2025 – nine people shot dead in occupied territories
A gas supply pipe on a wall with numerous bullet holes
© Sebastian Gollnow / DPA
The war of attrition on the front in eastern Ukraine continues. Meanwhile, Russian authorities are investigating the violent deaths of Ukrainian civilians. And combat drones bombard the country from the air. That’s the situation.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj called talks with more than 60 countries about a peace solution for his country an important signal. “No matter what happens in the world, the main thing is agreement on the real power of international law,” said Zelensky, commenting on the meeting in Malta. “Because this is unity for the sake of justice for Ukraine and all countries and peoples that could be subject to aggression,” he said in his video message in Kiev.
Ukraine has been fending off a Russian invasion for more than 20 months. The Ukrainian military counts the 614th day of the war on Monday.
States discuss Zelensky’s peace formula
Over the weekend, senior representatives from 66 states and international organizations discussed the proposals in Malta, which Zelenskyj calls his peace formula. In addition to the core demand for a withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine, this also includes the release of all prisoners of war, a tribunal for war criminals and security guarantees for the country.
Before Malta, such meetings took place in Copenhagen and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. Ukraine is trying to find understanding among important emerging and developing countries beyond its Western supporters. That is why, according to the Kiev presidential office, nuclear safety and the secure supply of food and energy were discussed. Russia was not invited.
Fierce fighting along the entire front
Fierce fighting continued on the almost 1,000-kilometer-long front in the east and south of Ukraine, as the General Staff in Kiev reported. On Sunday alone, 40 Russian attacks were repelled. “The operational situation in the east and south of Ukraine remains difficult,” the evening report said.
As in previous days, a focus of Russian attacks was the city of Avdiivka. As a Ukrainian frontline city, it is located close to Donetsk, which is controlled by Russia and is the center of the Donbass industrial region. Ukrainian troops there repelled ten Russian attacks, it was said.
However, the Russian army continues to try to encircle Avdiivka and is accepting high losses in men and material in order to do so. According to estimates by the Ukrainian military, 4,000 Russian soldiers have been killed there in the past few days. Even if Avdiivka had to be evacuated, it would still fulfill the same function as the city of Bakhmut before, said retired Ukrainian major Oleksiy Hetman on television: the Russian army was wearing itself out there. Bakhmut was conquered by Russia in May after months of fighting.
Nine Ukrainians shot dead in occupied territory
According to authorities, nine civilians were found shot dead in the city of Volnovakha in eastern Ukraine, which was occupied by Russian troops. Russia’s State Investigative Committee also became involved in the spectacular case. The committee officially announced that two of the dead were children. The dead were found with gunshot wounds in a private house. The suspected perpetrator was a Russian soldier, an independent Russian Telegram channel reported. Four dead are a family with a father, mother and two children; the others were guests in the house.
The Ukrainian Parliament’s ombudsman for human rights, Dmytro Lubinets, also took up this information: The occupiers had extinguished the life of an entire family that was celebrating a birthday and did not want to hand over their home to the occupiers, he wrote on Telegram. According to him, the suspected shooter came from the Russian republic of Chechnya. Volnovakha is located in the Donetsk region and has been occupied by Russian troops since March 2022.
Ukraine will no longer transmit Russian gas from 2025
Ukraine will no longer send Russian natural gas to the West from 2025. The head of the Ukrainian state energy company Naftogaz, Olexiy Chernyshov, said this in an interview with the US international broadcaster Radio Liberty. The transit contract with the Russian company Gazprom will expire at the end of 2024. Ukraine would also withdraw earlier, especially since Gazprom was not paying for the transit as agreed, said Chernyshov.
Ukraine is already only sticking to transit because several European countries are still dependent on Russian gas. The company boss said that Ukraine had increased its own gas production. Next winter you will therefore have the chance to cover your needs from your own reserves for the first time.