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Police officers at a bomb crater in Kharkiv
Photo: SERGEY KOZLOV / EPA
What has happened in the past few hours
International experts have documented
serious and widespread violations
of international humanitarian law by Russian troops since the beginning of the war against Ukraine.
The Warsaw-based electoral and human rights office ODIHR of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) presented a report supporting the allegations.
Particularly serious cases are the
shelling of the theater full of refugees
in Mariupol in mid-March and the busy
Kramatorsk train station
in early April.
The ODIHR also expressed dismay at the sieges of cities.
Civilians were
not given the opportunity to evacuate
.
The actions of the Russian troops violated every principle of proportionality and consideration.
Witnesses reported many cases of illegal executions, detentions, torture, sexual violence and kidnappings.
The Ukrainian army also violated international humanitarian law, albeit to a lesser extent, the report said.
Violence against suspected looters was criticized.
Both sides would also
violate applicable international law
when dealing with prisoners of war .
The 53-page collection of material was specifically identified as an ODIHR report and not an OSCE report.
The largest security organization in Europe has been largely paralyzed by the conflict with key member Russia.
How many soldiers
lost their lives
in the war ?
According to the latest estimates by the US secret services, around
15,000 Russian soldiers
have died so far .
The number of wounded is perhaps three times as high, CIA Director William Burns said at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado.
“The Ukrainians also suffered – probably a little less.”
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.
That says Kyiv
According to its President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
, Russia is using Ukraine
as a
testing ground for possible further attacks
against other European countries.
"Russia is testing everything in Ukraine that can be used against other European countries," Zelensky said in his video speech on Thursday night.
"It started with gas wars and ended with a full-scale invasion, rocket terror, and burned down Ukrainian cities."
Ukraine must also defeat Russia so that other countries are safe, Zelenskyj said.
"The quicker this happens, the less harm and suffering all European families, all European countries will experience."
Around five months after the start of the war, the Ukrainian head of state once again expressed his gratitude for the Himars multiple rocket launchers
supplied by the USA
.
At the same time he insisted on the preservation of air defense systems.
There are already agreements with international partners, but in view of the Russian attacks "a completely different speed and a completely different level of protection" are required, said Zelenskyj.
Moscow says so
The Russian border region of Belgorod blames the Ukrainian side for an
attack that killed one person
.
The villages of Nekhoteyevka and Zhuravlevka were shelled on Wednesday, the governor of the region said.
As a result, several houses were damaged in Nekhoteyevka.
A civilian also died.
Russia, which started the war against neighboring Ukraine five months ago, has since repeatedly complained about shelling on its own territory.
Among the Russian border regions, Belgorod is the one that reported the most serious attack to date: four people died there as a result of shelling in early July.
The Ukrainian side usually does not comment on these allegations.
According to Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Nowak, Russia does not want to
supply
oil to the world market if a
price cap
is set.
“If these prices they are talking about are lower than the cost of production, Russia will not make deliveries to world markets.
This means that we will not work at a loss, "quotes the agency Interfax Nowak.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is considering a price cap on Russian oil.
The US aims to set the price at a level that will cover Russia's production costs so the government in Moscow will still have an incentive to export oil, but not so high that it can fund the war against Ukraine.
humanitarian situation
With a
"grain bridge"
, Deutsche Bahn wants to bring grain intended for export from the Ukraine to the German ports of Rostock, Hamburg and Brake, among other places.
The network set up for the transport of relief supplies is intended to transport grain by freight train to the seaports, Deutsche Bahn confirms reports from dpa and NDR.
Several trains per week should therefore be on their way.
A large part of the transport should go through Romania, since the country not only shares a long border with Ukraine, but also has a good infrastructure for agricultural transport.
International reactions
Foreign Minister
Annalena Baerbock
has stressed that sanctions against Russia will be adhered to over the attack on Ukraine.
"Putin must not break us," she said at an event organized by the RND media group in Hanover.
The sanctions against Russia were not imposed in the hope of being able to end the war quickly.
But it must be clear that Russia has to
pay a high price
for its blatant breach of international law .
There is already massive damage to the Russian economy, many IT workers are leaving the country - "unfortunately not necessarily to Germany," says the Green politician.
Shortly before the end of the maintenance work on the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, the leader of the European People's Party (EPP),
Manfred Weber
, warned that a
"complete gas stop" by Russia was also possible
.
For fear of a total failure of Russian gas supplies, the sanctions against Moscow should not be relaxed, the CSU politician told the Funke media group.
“It must not happen that any kind of peace treaty is forced upon Ukraine.
The federal government must not only be strong in words, but also in deeds.«
When asked whether the situation would result in the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline being put into operation, Weber said: “That would be a big mistake.
Being pushed along by Putin, this dangerous game must not let the traffic light play with you.«
What is happening today
The euro zone is facing its
first rate hike in eleven years
.
In order to curb high inflation, the European Central Bank (ECB) wants to raise key interest rates again after years of ultra-loose monetary policy.
The central bank's decisions will be announced in the afternoon, for the first time at 2:15 p.m.
If the Governing Council of the ECB follows the path announced in June at its meeting in Frankfurt am Main, the key interest rate would rise from zero percent to 0.25 percent in a first step, the negative interest rate for commercial banks’ parked funds at the ECB would rise from minus 0, 5 percent halved to minus 0.25 percent
jul/dpa/Reuters/AFP