War in Ukraine: Russia will probably start new mobilization – soldiers and tanks wanted
Created: 2022-06-15Updated: 2022-06-15, 3:40 p.m
By: Tobias Utz, Isabel Wetzel, Fee Halberstadt, Daniel Dillmann, Christian Stör
The fighting in Ukraine continues, the country needs more weapons.
Meanwhile, Russia wants to have destroyed NATO weapons: the news ticker on Wednesday, June 15th.
New support:
China stays with Russia
Fear of a "second Mariupol":
More than 500 civilians holed up in the Azot chemical plant.
"Extremely important" speech:
Vladimir Putin wants to speak on Friday (June 17), the Kremlin announced.
Our editorial team depicts the situation surrounding the Ukraine war in this news ticker on the Ukraine conflict.
The conflicting parties in the Ukraine war are partly the source of the information.
Information on the number of victims or the course of the war cannot be directly verified independently.
+++ 3.30 p.m.:
The Russian army is plagued by the personnel situation in the Ukraine war.
Numerous heavy losses had already been accepted.
The Russian government in the Kremlin saw one way of solving this problem as lifting the age limit.
At the end of May, the Duma, the Russian parliament, passed a law abolishing the age limit for military service.
In other words, in the future, any volunteer who has not yet reached the statutory retirement age can join the army.
For men, this is currently 61.5 years.
Appropriately, the justification for the draft law said: “Highly professional specialists are required for the use of high-precision weapons and the operation of weapons and military equipment.
Experience has shown that specialization occurs between the ages of 40 and 45”.
Now more barriers to military service are supposed to fall, so that new Russian soldiers can be recruited for the Ukraine war.
In the latest analysis, the think tank "Institute for the Study of War" refers to telegram groups from Russia, according to which the health requirements for military service are to be significantly lowered.
In addition, a “clean criminal record” should no longer be a requirement for the army.
“Minor offenses” should apparently be tolerated.
This is said to be the case above all in the area of “armoured and motorized infantry units”.
The information cannot be independently verified.
The Telegram posts from Russia also mention that the “age limit for military service should be raised from 40 to 49 years”.
This information is obsolete due to the above-mentioned legislative decision of the Duma.
High-ranking European officials confirmed this morning that Russia is looking for new soldiers and tanks.
A Russian Army tank.
(Archive photo) © Russian Defense Ministry / Imago Images
News on the Ukraine war: China supports Russia
+++ 2.30 p.m .:
China’s head of state Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin have called each other for the second time since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Xi pledged his support to Russia in the talks on Wednesday (June 15).
"China stands ready to continue supporting the Russian side on issues related to core interests and major concerns such as sovereignty and security, and to intensify strategic cooperation between the two countries," Xi Jinping said.
Beijing is also "ready to work with the Russian side to promote bilateral practical cooperation".
Xi Jinping (left) and Vladimir Putin (right) in 2018. (Archive photo) © Kremlin Pool / Zuma Wire / dpa
The conversation apparently also addressed the Ukraine war, which is referred to as the "Ukraine question" in the Chinese Foreign Ministry's statement.
China has "always judged the Ukraine issue and its merits independently of history, and has actively promoted world peace and stability in the global economic order," Xi Jinping said.
"All parties should strive for an appropriate and responsible solution to the Ukraine crisis.
China stands ready to continue playing its due role," it said.
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+++ 2:00 p.m .:
According to their own statements, the Russian military has destroyed an ammunition depot stocked by NATO countries in western Ukraine.
The spokesman for the Russian Ministry of Defense, Igor Konashenkov, said on Wednesday in Moscow that missiles for M777 howitzers, among other things, were destroyed with rockets in the Lviv region.
In the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk, a large number of weapons and military equipment from the United States and European countries that had been handed over to the Ukrainian armed forces were destroyed at railway facilities.
The information cannot be independently verified.
+++ 1.30 p.m .:
Russian troops have apparently shelled settlements in the Kharkiv region.
Seven civilians were injured.
This is reported by the Kyiv Independent news portal with reference to official information.
Attacks were also reported in the Izyum district.
The information cannot be independently verified.
+++ 12.00 p.m .:
According to the Ministry of Defence, the Russian army has destroyed a weapons depot in western Ukraine in which weapons supplied by NATO are said to have been stored.
The depot near the city of Zolochiv in the Lviv region was destroyed with Kalibr cruise missiles, the Moscow Ministry of Defense said on Wednesday.
Ukraine stored "foreign weapons" in it, which it received from NATO countries, mainly M777 self-propelled howitzers.
Only on Tuesday did the Ukrainian head of state Volodymyr Zelenskyj demand accelerated arms deliveries from the West.
Ukraine war: Russia is apparently looking for new soldiers and tanks
+++ 10.45 a.m.:
As Bloomberg reports, Russia may be a few months away from slowing down its “special operation” for a major restructuring.
After depleting much of its military capacity, Russia is looking for manpower and weapons, including old tanks, from the Far East, Bloomberg reports, citing unnamed senior European officials.
Russia may also be forced to announce a mass mobilization to continue its fight, officials said - a possible response to numerous heavy casualties for the Russian army in the Ukraine war.
News on the Ukraine war: fighting in the east continues - 500 civilians in chemical plant
+++ 09.45 a.m .:
In the east of Ukraine, the battles for the city of Sievjerodonetsk and other places in the Luhansk region continue.
"It's getting harder, but our soldiers are stopping the enemy on three sides at once.
They are protecting Sieverodonetsk and not allowing any advance to Lysychansk," Luhansk Oblast Governor Serhiy Haidai said on his Telegram news channel blog on Wednesday.
Russia had again attacked the Azot chemical plant in Seyerodonetsk, Hajday said.
"The enemy is weaker in street fighting, so he opens artillery fire, which destroys our houses," he said.
There is also severe damage in the surrounding villages.
There have also been Russian airstrikes in many places.
The governor initially did not comment on the humanitarian corridor for the evacuation of the Azot chemical plant announced by the Russian side for Wednesday morning.
More than 500 civilians are suspected in the bunkers of the industrial plant.
They should be able to flee to areas controlled by Moscow and pro-Russian troops by the evening.
News about the Ukraine war: Ukraine rejects peace plan before Scholz's visit
Update from Wednesday, June 15, 7 a.m.:
The level of support for Ukraine has been repeatedly criticized.
"We have not done enough to defend Ukraine, to help the Ukrainian people defend their freedom and sovereignty," said Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.
Now NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced on Tuesday evening (June 14) that several member states have promised further heavy weapons, as reported by the Tagesschau.
In addition, the Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych rejected a possible peace plan based on the Minsk agreement and, according to Tagesschau, that was before the visit of Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron and Italy's Prime Minister Mario Draghi.
Arestovych told Bild: "I'm afraid they will try to get a Minsk III.
They will say that we need to end the war that is causing food problems and economic problems, that Russians and Ukrainians are dying, that we need to save Mr Putin's face, that the Russians made mistakes, that we need to forgive them and give them a chance must give to return to world society.”
Meanwhile, hundreds of civilians have holed up in the Azot chemical plant in the heavily shelled city of Sievjerodonetsk.
Russia has announced a humanitarian corridor for the encircled civilians, albeit to the city of Svatove, which is controlled by pro-Russian separatists.
An escape route should be opened this Wednesday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time.
News about the Ukraine war: Russian assaults in eastern Ukraine
+++ 9.30 p.m .:
According to Kiev military information, Russian troops have carried out assaults in several places in eastern Ukraine.
In the city of Sievjerodonetsk, fighting continued for every street, the Ukrainian general staff announced in the evening.
The enemy is regrouping its troops and trying to bring in reinforcements.
Russian assaults were also recorded at Rubishne in Kharkiv Oblast and at Zolote in Luhansk Oblast.
Such an attack was repelled near Berestowe in the Donetsk region, it said.
As is usually the case, the military information could not be independently verified.
Heavy Russian artillery fire was reported on almost all sectors of the front to the east and south.
News about the Ukraine war: Ukraine complains about sluggish arms deliveries
+++ 8.50 p.m .:
Ukraine complains about the lack of arms deliveries.
According to its own statements, the country has only received about ten percent of the weapons it requested from the West.
"No matter how hard Ukraine tries, no matter how professional our army is: without the help of Western partners, we will not be able to win this war," Deputy Defense Minister Anna Maljar said on Ukrainian television.
The sluggish supply of arms had to be accelerated.
"Every day of delay is another day against the lives of the Ukrainian soldiers, our people." There is not much time.
+++ 8:00 p.m .:
Russia has issued entry bans to around 50 other British citizens, including mainly journalists and media representatives.
The Russian Foreign Ministry released 49 names in addition to a long "black list" already including hundreds of Western citizens.
The British journalists are involved in "deliberate dissemination of false and one-sided information about Russia and events in Ukraine and Donbass," the ministry said.
News on the Ukraine war: Concerns about the civilian population in Sievjerodonetsk are growing
+++ 6.30 p.m .:
After the third and last bridge in the city of Sievjerodonetsk over the River Síwerskyi Donets was destroyed, concerns about the civilians remaining in the city are growing.
The situation around the local chemical plant Azot is particularly difficult, said the head of the city's military administration, Olexander Strjuk, on Ukrainian television.
Around 540 to 560 people are said to be staying in bomb shelters on the factory premises.
The area was under constant fire, and street fighting continued.
News about the Ukraine war: Federal government saves Gazprom Germania with billions
+++ 4.30 p.m .:
The federal government wants to support the gas company Gazprom Germania with billions to prevent bankruptcy.
This should ensure security of supply in Germany, the federal government announced on Tuesday in Berlin.
News about the Ukraine war: Dead soldiers exchanged
+++ 4:00 p.m .:
Ukraine and Russia have probably exchanged killed soldiers.
64 bodies of fighters from the Azov steel plant in Mariupol have been handed over, the Ukrainian Ministry for the Reintegration of Pro-Russian Separatist-Controlled Areas said.
How many bodies were handed over to Russia remained unclear.
According to consistent media reports, the exchange took place in the Zaporizhia region.
News on the Ukraine war: Russia announces evacuation corridor from Sievjerodonetsk
+++ 2.30 p.m .:
The Russian military has announced an escape corridor from the besieged city of Sievjerodonetsk.
This should be opened on Wednesday (June 15), announced Michael Mizintsev, Colonel General of the Russian Army.
Russian soldiers and fighters of the separatists loyal to the Kremlin would bring the people to Svatove.
The escape corridor is open between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., Misintsew said.
So far, there has been no statement from the Ukrainian side.
News about the Ukraine war: Heavy fighting for "dead" city
+++ 08.30 a.m .:
According to an analysis by the US think tank “Institute for the Study of War”, Russia’s offensive in the Donbass continues to falter.
Accordingly, the army's attacks near the cities of Popasna, Izyum, Sovyansk and Bakhmut failed.
According to the analysis, one reason for this is that the heavy losses in the Ukraine war are still being absorbed with unprepared volunteer and reserve units.
The information cannot be independently verified.
First report from Tuesday, June 14, 7:00 a.m.:
The fierce fighting in eastern Ukraine continues on Tuesday night.
According to the authorities, the third and final bridge over the Siwerskyj Donets river was also destroyed in the city of Sievjerodonetsk, which has been fought over for weeks.
This means that the city is not completely sealed off, said the governor of the Luhansk region, Serhiy Hajdaj.
However, it is no longer possible to evacuate civilians or bring relief supplies into the city.
Shortly before a possible meeting with the European trio of Scholz, Macron and Draghi, Volodymyr Zelenskyy once again made it clear that retrieving the Crimean Peninsula from Russia was an important war goal for Ukraine.
"Of course we will also liberate our Crimea," said the Ukrainian President.
Russia militarily occupied the Black Sea peninsula in 2014 when Ukraine was weakened after a change of power and was unable to resist.
Then an internationally unrecognized referendum was held and Crimea was annexed to Russia.
Zelenskyj called on the citizens of Ukraine to keep in touch with the Russian-occupied parts of the country, Donetsk and the Kharkiv region.
These areas would also be liberated again.
"Tell them that the Ukrainian army will definitely come!" Zelenskyy said.
In the east, in the Donbass, the army is under pressure and the losses are terrible.
The armed forces urgently need modern artillery from their foreign partners in order to be able to assert themselves.
(dil/fh/tu/iwe/ktho with AFP/dpa)
