Ukraine war – Selenskyj advisor confident of victory: “We can win this war”
Created: 06/23/2022, 04:57
By: Sandra Kathe, Karolin Schäfer, Katja Thorwarth, Daniel Dillmann
“Russia is blockading the Black Sea ports.
Millions of tons of grain from Ukraine cannot be exported.
A food crisis is imminent.
Famine
:
Russia blocks ports in Ukraine conflict, paving the way for a food crisis.
Ukraine and EU:
Chancellor Olaf Scholz calls for EU reform amid Ukraine war.
NATO pledges further support.
Aid from the west
:
Germany is supplying more weapon systems to Ukraine in the war with Russia.
Update from Wednesday, June 22, 7:00 a.m .:
After almost four months of war in Ukraine, the economic advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj, Alexander Rodnyansky, firmly believes that his country will win against the Russian aggressor.
"We can win the war," he said on Tuesday evening on the ARD program Maischberger.
He hopes that a counter-offensive can begin at the end of August.
Aid from abroad would help a lot, would also arrive, but it would take a while before the weapons could be used.
You can't make a lasting peace with Russia anyway, said the Selenskyj adviser.
"One must not indulge in this illusion." Russia under President Putin is not interested in peace with Europe, it is about revanchism, about imperialism - "and it will stay that way".
A Panzerhaubitze 2000 from the German armaments company Krauss-Maffei Wegmann drives onto a low-loader.
The first self-propelled howitzers have arrived in Ukraine.
© Peter Endig/dpa
After almost four months of war, his country is still not war-weary.
However, there are massive problems with supplies, one is even more dependent on the West.
Ukraine war: first weapons arrived from Germany – “extensive, but correct”
+++ 9.45 p.m .:
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) has described the decision on German arms deliveries to Ukraine as far-reaching but correct.
"It's necessary now," said Scholz at the traditional asparagus tour of the Seeheimer Kreis of the SPD parliamentary group.
The opinion was unanimous in the SPD parliamentary group, but was also supported by citizens.
Visits to Ukraine during the war: Politics show solidarity
View photo gallery
Four months after the beginning of the war, the first heavy weapons from Germany had arrived in the Ukraine in the form of seven 2000 self-propelled howitzers.
Russia must end the war and Ukraine must be free, Scholz said in the evening.
“Everything we do is aimed at that.” The Russian invasion marks a “turning point,” the Chancellor said in the Bundestag at the end of February.
At the same time, he initiated a massive rearmament of the Bundeswehr.
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Russia blocks grain exports - "Putin uses food as a weapon"
+++ 8:25 p.m .: Ways
are currently being feverishly sought to export millions of tons of grain from Ukraine.
Because of the Russian blocked ports in the Black Sea, many people are threatened with starvation.
US President Joe Biden also wants to support grain exports.
"Let's call it a spade, (Putin) is using food as weapons," White House spokesman John Kirby told reporters Tuesday.
Ukraine is one of the world's largest grain exporters.
Ukraine News: Russia cuts gas supplies - "Putin leads economic attack on us"
+++ 18.05:
Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) has found clear words for the throttling of Russian gas supplies through the Baltic Sea pipeline Nord Stream.
The reduction in gas supplies is an "economic attack on us," stressed Habeck on Tuesday at Industry Day.
Russian President Vladimir Putin uses energy as a weapon in the Ukraine war.
By reducing the amount of gas, Putin wants to drive prices up.
The Green politician made it clear that the Kremlin boss wanted to trigger a debate about fear, such as material losses.
In order to reduce gas consumption in industry, Habeck presented a package of measures.
This also includes generating more climate-damaging coal, even if this is “very bad news”.
But that is necessary to fill up the gas storage tanks for the winter.
Ukraine News: EU to allocate 600 million euros to fight hunger
+++ 17:20:
Russia blocks the Black Sea ports and thus grain deliveries in Ukraine.
A food crisis is looming, especially in African countries.
"Russia is still blocking millions of tons of urgently needed grain," said EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday.
To counteract this, the EU Commission now wants to provide 600 million euros.
"These funds are being used to support African, Caribbean and Pacific countries (ACP countries) so that they can master the catastrophic situation," the Brussels authority said on Tuesday.
According to the information, the money comes from the reserve of the European Development Fund.
But first the EU countries have to agree.
The funds are to be used for this:
150 million euros for humanitarian aid
350 million to support food production
100 million for macro-financial assistance
Belarus is massing troops on the border with Ukraine
+++ 15.20:
Russia's ally Belarus is said to have started gathering its troops on the border with Ukraine.
According to a spokesman for the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, a total of seven Belarusian battalions are at or on the way to the border.
Each of these battalions consists of 3,500 to 4,000 soldiers.
According to information from Ukraine, Belarus has an army of around 60,000 soldiers.
The country's dictator, Alexander Lukashenko, had announced that he would increase the number of troops by up to 20,000.
Troops from Russia are also stationed in Ukraine's neighboring country.
Ukraine war: Russia announces: "Will never trust the West again"
+++ 11.30 a.m .:
Russia is said to be holding more than 1500 people from the Ukrainian civilian population in prisons.
This was stated by Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Iryna Vereshchuk during a briefing on Tuesday (June 20).
"They are in Rostov, Kursk, they are in prisons, they are being held as prisoners of war, although they shouldn't be," Vereshchuk said, adding that among the detained civilians are Ukrainian priests, volunteers, activists, journalists and heads of local government agencies are located.
Russia announces war in Ukraine: "Will never trust the West again"
Update from Tuesday, June 21, 7 a.m.:
Four months after the attack on Ukraine, Russia has described relations with the West as long-term damaged.
"Yes, it will be a long crisis," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov in an interview with US television channel MSNBC that was broadcast on Tuesday night.
"We will never trust the West again."
Ukraine War: Russia comments on American prisoners
Peskov also commented on the case of the two US soldiers who fought in the Ukrainian army and were recently captured by troops loyal to Moscow.
These are mercenaries and therefore do not fall under the protection of the Geneva Convention, said Peskow.
The Kremlin spokesman left open whether the two men were captured by Russian soldiers or by pro-Russian separatists.
This is also relevant in that the self-proclaimed People's Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk have introduced the death penalty, while Russia has suspended it.
Asked if he could guarantee that the two US citizens would not face the same fate as three foreigners recently sentenced to death in Donetsk, Peskov said: "I can't guarantee anything.
That depends on the investigation.”
Ukraine war: EU members call for tougher sanctions against Russia
+++ 10 p.m.:
A third of the 27 EU member states have called for further sanctions against Russia and Belarus and more military aid for Ukraine.
On the fringes of the meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg, the Nordic and Eastern European countries in particular were pushing for a seventh package of sanctions to be drawn up, the Reuters news agency reported.
Instead, Germany and other countries initially want to fully implement the existing sanctions and close any loopholes.
+++ 8.40 p.m .:
Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin was apparently afraid that the “spark of democracy could fly to Russia,” wrote Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) on the short message service Twitter.
That is why Putin has been pursuing a policy for years "that aims to dissolve NATO and the EU.
He wants to go back to a policy of zones of influence.” But the Russian President will not succeed, the Chancellor stressed.
Greens hope for Ukraine's EU accession - "Clear sign of solidarity"
+++ 7.15 p.m .:
From the Greens’ point of view, the EU should definitely accept Ukraine as a candidate for accession – also to send a message to Moscow.
"It's not just symbolic, it's also a clear stop sign towards Russia that we won't let Russian artillery destroy Ukraine's non-aligned status," said co-chairman Omid Nouripour on Monday after deliberations by the party executive in Berlin.
Nouripour is therefore hoping for a "clear sign of solidarity" from the heads of government of the member states.
The EU Commission recommended on Friday that Ukraine and Moldova should be officially designated as candidates for accession to the European Union.
The 27 EU countries must now make the decision on this.
War in Ukraine: Global food crisis looms
+++ 6.30 p.m .:
The Kremlin is still blocking Ukrainian ports and thus millions of tons of grain.
The negotiations to lift the blockade are difficult, admitted the Ukrainian head of state Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“We are conducting complex, multi-level negotiations to unblock our Ukrainian ports.
But there is no progress yet,” the president said in a video address at an African Union meeting.
Zelenskyy accused Russia of taking Africa "hostage".
"The global food crisis will last as long as this colonial war lasts," it said.
The main task now is to “eliminate the danger of famine”.
According to Zelenskyj, Ukraine is trying to set up new supply logistics.
Hungary had previously agreed to support its neighboring country with export deliveries.
The United Nations meanwhile assumes that the Ukraine war could plunge up to 49 million people into starvation or starvation-like conditions, especially in African countries.
Ukraine News: Grain export possible via Hungary
+++ 5.40 p.m .:
Around 20 million tons of grain are currently stuck in Ukraine because the Kremlin is blocking export deliveries.
This is already leading to food shortages in several countries.
However, these could now be delivered via Hungary, suggested Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto during a meeting of EU foreign ministers.
Attempts to lift the Russian blockade of the Black Sea ports have so far failed.
War in Ukraine: Russia blocks ports – new famine looms
+++ 3:00 p.m .:
Due to the Ukraine war, there is a risk of global food shortages.
For example, Ukrainian grain exports are currently being blocked by the Russian government.
To this end, the West is planning a conference on food security with Germany as the host.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will also attend the meeting next Friday (June 24).
Ukraine war: US hesitates to deliver combat drones
Update from Monday, June 20, 9:04 a.m .:
The United States is reluctant to supply Ukraine with combat drones that it urgently needs in the war against Russia.
Specifically, we are talking about four models of the MQ-1C Gray Eagle drone, which can be equipped with Hellfire missiles.
But the Pentagon stopped the delivery at the last moment for fear the drones might fall into enemy hands.
Ukraine war: Moscow condemns "blockade" by Lithuania - Scholz calls for EU reforms
++ 10.15 a.m .:
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) wants to accelerate the expansion of the EU with reforms.
In order to be able to accept states like Ukraine, the EU must “modernize its structures and decision-making processes.
It will not always be possible to decide everything unanimously that has to be decided unanimously today. ”The Chancellor said in an interview with the dpa news agency.
War in Ukraine: New weapons from Germany - prominent visit to Lviv
First report:
Kiev - More weapons, more money, but no direct intervention in the war.
That sums up what NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said about the future role of Western allies in the Ukraine war.
According to Stoltenberg, one has to be prepared for the fact that the war between Ukraine and Russia could "last for years".
"We must not let up in supporting Ukraine," Stoltenberg said in an interview with Bild am Sonntag.
Rising energy and food prices as a result of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine are "no comparison to the price that Ukrainians have to pay every day with many lives".
If Russian President Vladimir Putin learns from the war "that he can simply carry on as he did after the 2008 war in Georgia and the occupation of Crimea in 2014", then the NATO states would pay "a much higher price".
Help for Ukraine: More weapons, more money, no NATO soldiers
It sounded very similar from British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who visited Ukraine again at the weekend.
In an op-ed piece published in the Sunday Times late Saturday night, Johnson wrote that in the Ukraine war, time is "now of the essence".
Everything depends on "whether Ukraine strengthens its defense capability faster than Russia renews its attack capability."
For this, the country urgently and quickly needs new weapon systems from the West.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj has been demanding more weapons from Germany for weeks - with success, according to Ukrainian media reports.
Accordingly, the German ambassador in Ukraine confirmed the delivery of further self-propelled howitzers to Ukraine.
Feldhusen is said to have also promised to supply multiple rocket launcher artillery systems (HIMARS).
These weapon systems are currently being assembled and loaded on behalf of Germany, the USA and Great Britain.
Help for Ukraine: Ben Stiller visits Lviv
Hollywood celebrities have even traveled from the USA to Ukraine for support.
In his capacity as UNHCR Ambassador, actor Ben Stiller visited the city of Lviv, to which many Ukrainians from the east of the country had fled.
But whether all this technical and moral support for Ukraine will be enough to survive the attack from Russia is far from certain.
The governor of the Ukrainian Donbass sub-region of Luhansk, Serhiy Hajdaj, does not seem to be sure either.
He warned of a further escalation of the fighting with Russia.
"It's good that the West is helping us, but it's too late," Hajdaj told AFP.
In the face of the Russian attacks, there have long been "no longer any safe places" in the Luhansk region.
(dil/kas/ska/ktho with dpa/AFP)