live blog
Status: 07/21/2022 05:38 a.m
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has accused Europe of a possible gas emergency. The CIA estimates that 15,000 Russian soldiers may have died in the Ukraine war. The developments in the live blog.
5:37 a.m
Economic alliance Mercosur rejects Selenskyj as a speaker at the summit
The South American economic alliance Mercosur has refused to allow Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to give a guest speech at its summit in Paraguay.
There was no consensus among member states, Paraguay’s Deputy Foreign Minister Raúl Cano said at a press conference, the Paraguayan news agency IP reported. “Under these circumstances, there are no prerequisites for being able to speak to the President of Ukraine as Mercosur.”
Paraguayan Foreign Minister Julio Cesar Arriola informed the Ukrainian ambassador. Cano emphasized that the Mercosur member countries Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay make their decisions unanimously.
Selenskyj had asked Paraguay’s head of state Mario Abdo to address a message to the presidents of the member states during the summit, according to a statement by the Paraguayan foreign ministry.
5:14 a.m
Zelenskyj bemoans Europe’s dependence on Russian natural gas
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Europe of a possible gas emergency. The continent should have reduced its dependence on Russian natural gas sooner, Zelenskyy said in his daily video message.
“If our position had been listened to earlier,” we would not have to look for emergency methods to fill the deficit that Russia is artificially creating in the European market.”
3:47 a.m
Nord Stream reports as much gas as before pipeline maintenance
According to preliminary figures from the operating company, gas deliveries via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline are about as large as before their maintenance. A little less than 30 million kilowatt hours per hour have been announced, which means around 700 gigawatt hours per day.
This emerges from preliminary information published on the Nord Stream AG website. The announced quantity is roughly the same as before routine maintenance began, which was scheduled to end Thursday, when the pipeline was running at about 40 percent capacity.
The information is subject to change. The data available so far are preliminary announcements, so-called nominations. Although these are important for network operators to ensure gas transport, they can still be changed, i.e. renominated, until shortly before the actual deliveries.
5:38 a.m
CIA estimates 15,000 Russians killed in action
According to United States calculations, around 15,000 Russian soldiers have died in the war with Ukraine.
“The latest US intelligence estimates are about 15,000 (Russian) soldiers killed and maybe three times as many wounded. So significant casualties,” CIA Director William Burns said at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado. “And the Ukrainians suffered too – probably a little less. But, you know, significant losses.”
Russia keeps military deaths a state secret even in peacetime, and has not consistently updated its official figures during the war. On March 25, it was said that 1,351 Russian soldiers had died. The government in Kyiv said in June that 100 to 200 Ukrainian soldiers are being killed in the fighting every day.
3:00 a.m
Media: Russia stops exporting at oil price cap below production costs
According to the Interfax news agency, if the price cap is below production costs, Russia will no longer bring oil to the world market.
“If these prices you are talking about are below the cost of oil production, then Russia will no longer ensure the supply of this oil to world markets. That means that we simply will not operate at a loss,” Interfax quoted the deputy prime minister as saying Alexander Novak.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is pushing for an upper limit to make it more difficult for the government in Moscow to finance the war in Ukraine. Officials say the price will be set to cover production costs so that Russia can continue to have an export incentive.
5:38 a.m
Coal industry warns of delivery bottlenecks
The Association of Coal Importers (VDKi) warns of logistical problems in view of the increased demand for hard coal and urges a longer-term perspective for the industry.
“Our industry has shrunk sharply since 2016. Between 2016 and 2020 we had a drop in volume of around 50 percent. Logistics have adapted accordingly,” says VDKi Chairman Alexander Bethe of the “Bild” newspaper. Economics Minister Robert Habeck had declared that he would rely more heavily on coal-fired power plants to secure the energy supply “for a transitional period”.
“All we hear from politicians is that we’re the emergency nail. That we’re only needed for one more winter. As if Germany’s energy problem would be solved afterwards,” explains Bethe. However, companies would have no incentive to invest in logistics personnel and equipment now if all of this would no longer be needed in spring 2023. You need a five-year perspective.
According to Bethe, the hard coal industry was not prepared in 2022 to “jump into the breach so much” to secure Germany’s energy supply. But they will “do everything to make our contribution”.