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War in Eastern Europe: Ukraine warns of Russia's artillery superiority and increased attacks

2022-06-20T02:28:48.909Z


According to President Zelenskyy, Ukraine is preparing for increasing attacks. His foreign minister laments the imbalance in the “artillery war”. And: Habeck speaks of "arm wrestling" with the Kremlin boss. The overview.


Enlarge image

Ukrainian soldiers seek shelter from rocket attacks in the city of Lysychansk in the east of the country


Photo: ARIS MESSINIS / AFP

What has happened in the past few hours

In Ukraine, the fighting, especially in the Donbass, continues with full intensity.

The towns around the embattled city of

Sieverodonetsk

continue to be under intense fire.

Ukrainian forces said on Sunday they had pushed back the Russians around Sieverodonetsk.

The British Ministry of Defense said both Russia and Ukraine had continued heavy

bombardment

around Sieverodonetsk - "with little change on the front line".

Russia's defense ministry said on Sunday it had launched rocket attacks at a meeting of senior Ukrainian military officials, killing "more than 50 generals and officers."

In addition, a building in which weapons supplied by the West were stored, including ten howitzers and around 20 armored vehicles,

was destroyed by Russian shelling in the city of

Mikolajiv .

The information could not be independently verified.

That says Kyiv

According to Ukrainian President

Volodymyr Zelenskyy

, Russia will step up its attacks this week.

The background to this is the deliberations on Ukraine's application for membership of the European Union.

"This week we should expect Russia to intensify its hostile activities," Zelenskyy said in his video address on Sunday evening.

"We are ready."

Last Friday, the EU Commission spoke out in favor of officially nominating Ukraine and Moldova as candidates for accession to the European Union.

The 27 EU countries will discuss this recommendation in Brussels on Thursday and Friday.

They are expected to support Ukraine's request despite concerns from some member states.

The accession process could drag on for several years.

The Ukrainian Foreign Minister

Dmytro Kuleba

was in Anne Will's TV studio on Sunday evening.

Among other things, he said that the war with Russia was now an “artillery war”.

The Russian troops would outnumber artillery by 15:1.

"We cannot win the war with such an imbalance," said Kuleba.

Ukraine urgently needs weapons such as artillery systems, anti-aircraft devices and missile systems.

The sooner the guns come, the greater the help - and the fewer people would die.

Kuleba said that Ukraine would continue fighting Russia even if Western arms supplies stopped.

"If we don't get weapons, fine, we'll fight with shovels, but we'll defend ourselves because this war is a war for our existence." You can read more about Kuleba's statements here.

International reactions

Shortly before the EU summit in Brussels, EU Commission President

Ursula von der Leyen

expressed her conviction that Ukraine would be granted candidate status.

"I'm firmly assuming that we'll get a positive answer, get support, the course has now been set," she said on Sunday evening on the TV show "Anne Will".

"Of course, this is a historic decision that the European Council must now make, but the preparations are good," she said.

"I am confident."

Von der Leyen emphasized that her authority's decision on Ukraine's candidate status was based on the data, facts and preparatory work that the country had done over the past eight years.

But she also said: "We want to see more reforms." This applies, for example, to more rule of law and the fight against corruption.

Economic Reactions

Federal Economics Minister

Robert Habeck

once again emphasized the difficult situation for Germany in view of the shrinking gas flows from Russia.

"I don't want to beat around the bush: it's a tense, serious situation," said the Green politician on Sunday evening on ZDF's "heute journal".

"It was always clear that we were heavily dependent on gas."

Habeck was also confident that the supply could be secured for the coming winter.

It is crucial that the gas storage tanks are 90 percent full by winter, as required by law.

It is currently 57 percent.

The difference must be made up through purchases and thrift.

If the memory is full, this is enough for about two and a half months - without any further sources.

However, it is planned that Germany will continue to import gas from abroad in the winter;

even if no more flows from Russia.

It was "a kind of arm wrestling" in which Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin initially had an advantage.

"But that doesn't mean we can't get the stronger arm through effort," Habeck said.

The

CEO

of the Essen-based energy group

RWE

, Markus Krebber, expects gas and electricity prices to remain high for years after Russia attacked Ukraine.

"It will probably take three to five years," he told the "Süddeutsche Zeitung" about the energy bottlenecks in Germany.

"Because it takes time before new capacities are created and other countries can supply additional energy." Krebber welcomed Economics Minister Habeck's plans to start up coal-fired power plants again in order to save natural gas.

"Everywhere where you can switch to other energy sources, this should happen."

What is still happening today

  • The

    foreign ministers of the European Union

    are discussing further support for Ukraine in Luxembourg.

    Military aid to the country could also become an issue

  • In addition, a summit meeting and economic forum

    of the states of the so-called

    Three Seas Initiative

    begins

    .

    The two-day meeting in the Latvian capital Riga will focus on the war in Ukraine and support for the country attacked by Russia.

    The group, founded by Poland and Croatia in 2015, includes twelve EU countries in Central and Eastern Europe between the Baltic, Adriatic and Black Seas.

    Among others, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier

    is expected today

    at the meeting of the heads of state and government of the countries in the initiative

aar/dpa/Reuters

Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2022-06-20

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