War in Ukraine: 2000 arrests during protests – BP gives up shares in Rosneft

Suddenly everything is put to the test, including the discussion about the supposedly failed energy transition. Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) has therefore made it clear that extending the service life of coal or nuclear power plants is unsuitable for compensating for supply bottlenecks by cutting Russian deliveries. Nevertheless, his ministry is checking that, he said on Sunday in the ARD “Report from Berlin”. “There are no taboos.” Germany can do without Russian gas for this winter and summer, but the purchasing strategy must be significantly expanded for next winter. “The most important step would then of course be to reduce gas hunger as much as possible,” said Habeck. A plan for this will be presented soon.

The Bundeswehr will be upgraded with 100 million euros. Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced this in his government statement. But that does not mean that conscription will be reintroduced immediately, as Secretary of Defense Christine Lambrecht made clear. Despite the Ukraine crisis, Lamprecht sees no reason to reintroduce compulsory service. “I don’t think that conscription will really help us in the current discussion,” said the SPD politician. “That would be a major reform, and major legal issues would also have to be clarified.” She mentioned the question of whether women should then also be obliged to serve in the Bundeswehr. Conscription for adult men was suspended in Germany in 2011, but not completely abolished. In most other NATO countries, there is no longer compulsory military service.

BP will return its 19.75 percent stake in Russian oil company Rosneft in protest at the war in Ukraine. The company announced this. In addition, the two directors are resigning from the Rosneft board, it is said, including BP boss Bernhard Looney. This applies with immediate effect.

BP is thus ending a 30-year collaboration. “I am deeply shocked and saddened by the development of the situation in Ukraine (…) our immediate priority is to take care of our amazing people in the region (…) and to review how BP is supporting the broader humanitarian effort can,” Looney said in a statement on the decision. According to British media reports, BP gave in under pressure from the government in London.

In the fight against Russian propaganda, the EU wants to ban the Russian state media RT and Sputnik. They would no longer be able to spread lies to justify Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine and sow division in the EU, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in Brussels on Sunday.

From Eindhoven Airport, the Netherlands have flown out the weapons promised to defend Ukraine. The Ministry of Defense in The Hague announced that there were 200 Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, 50 rocket-propelled grenades with 400 rockets, 100 sniper rifles with 30,000 rounds of ammunition and two submersible vehicles. The destination of the flight is an Eastern European country, from where the weapons are transported by truck to Ukraine.

Prime Minister Rutte tweeted: “The entire free and democratic world is more united than ever in support of Ukraine.”
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EU announces new sanctions against Belarus over Ukraine war. This is reported by the AFP news agency, citing EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The airspace for Russian aircraft is now blocked over the entire EU. This also applies to oligarchs’ private machines. In addition, according to a proposal by EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, Ukraine should get weapons and equipment from the EU for 500 million euros. This was confirmed by several diplomats from the German Press Agency. The money is to come from the so-called “European Peace Facility”. It is a new EU financing instrument that can also be used to strengthen the capabilities of armed forces in partner countries.

Apparently, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has little hope that talks with Russia on the Ukrainian-Russian border will bring a positive result. This is reported by the Ukrainian news service “The Kyiv Independent”, citing a new video message from Zelenskyy. “But let them try, so that no citizen of Ukraine will doubt that I, the President, have tried everything to stop the war while there is still a chance, however small,” Zelenskyy said quoted.
https://twitter.com/KyivIndependent/status/1497968395295158276?s=20&t=IA_a-8W8lqb89isDvA7Wkw

According to a senior US Defense Department official, Russian President Vladimir Putin has used two-thirds of the forces assembled to attack Ukraine. This is reported by the US broadcaster CNN. A third of the forces are still standing by outside Ukraine, “which is not insignificant,” the official is quoted as saying. Before the start of the war there was talk of 150,000 soldiers as well as tanks, airplanes, helicopter gunships and other war equipment. According to foreign experts, the Russian advance in Ukraine is encountering unexpectedly strong resistance.

The Czech Republic joins Poland and Sweden’s refusal to play Russia in World Cup qualifiers. The French Football Federation has campaigned to exclude Russia from qualifying. In similar cases, the national teams of warring nations had been banned from major tournaments.
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The US sanctions against Russia have so far excluded the oil and gas sector. This is reported by the AP news agency. According to US President Joe Biden, this should avoid an excessive increase in gas prices. Experts criticize that and warn that this is not only an encouragement for Putin but also an opportunity for him to fund his military.

After the decision to strengthen NATO’s eastern flank, the first states announced that they would send troops to Romania and Slovakia. France and Belgium will send units for a NATO battle group to Romania, both countries announced at the weekend. The EU foreign ministers also wanted to discuss the delivery of “deadly” military equipment to Ukraine on Sunday. France will send 500 soldiers, armored vehicles and ordnance to Romania, according to French Armed Forces Chief of Staff Thierry Burkhard. Belgium is sending 300 troops into the country, who Defense Minister Ludivine Dedonder said should arrive later this week. The French and Belgian units are part of the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF), known as the so-called NATO spearhead. The VJTF is in turn part of the NATO Response Force (NRF). Another battle group will be stationed in Slovakia, as Slovak NATO ambassador Peter Bator said on Saturday. she will be responsible for a “Patriot” anti-aircraft missile system and will include more than a thousand soldiers from Germany, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovenia and the USA.

According to reports from the Reuters and Interfax news agencies, talks between Russia and Ukraine have started. The agencies refer to Information from an adviser to the Ukrainian Ministry of Interior. The delegations are now due to arrive at the venue. It is said to take place on the Ukrainian-Belarusian border near the Prypiat River.

The European news agency association EANA has suspended the membership of the Russian state agency Tass because of the latest Russian media regulation. This was announced by the European Alliance of News Agencies (EANA) in Switzerland. Russian regulation severely restricts media freedom. The EANA board believes that Tass violates the statutes and mission statement of the association because the agency is no longer able to spread unbiased news. Before that it was known that Russia wants to ban its media from using terms such as “attack”, “invasion” and “declaration of war” in reporting on the war against Ukraine. Russia officially describes the invasion of Ukraine as a “military operation” and speaks of a “peacekeeping mission” in the separatist areas in eastern Ukraine.

National basketball player Johannes Voigtmann will leave the top Russian club CSKA Moscow. The club announced this on Sunday. The 29-year-old center will return to his home country in the near future, Moscow said in a statement. “For personal reasons related to the current situation between Russia and Ukraine,” Voigtmann and three other professionals decided to leave the club. The procedure would violate rules and contracts, but nonetheless show the club from the Euroleague understanding of the personal situation of the players.