Zelenskyy promises return of Crimea: "Russian war started here"
Created: 08/10/2022 06:33
By: Markus Hofstetter
President Zelenskyj has called for an international travel ban for Russians.
Federal Interior Minister Faeser describes Putin as a war criminal.
The news ticker.
Federal Interior Minister
Faeser
on
Putin
: SPD politician describes Kremlin chief as a war criminal.
Zelenskyj
calls for a
travel
ban for Russians: The Ukrainian President wants all Russians to live in their own world until they change their philosophy.
Putin's rejection
of the
UN
: At the United Nations General Assembly, the head of the Kremlin is being represented by Lavrov.
This
news ticker
on the
negotiations
in the Ukraine war is constantly updated.
Update from August 10, 6:27 a.m
.: Volodymyr Zelenskyj promises the return of Crimea in the Ukraine war: "The Black Sea region cannot be safe as long as Crimea is occupied," he said in his evening video speech.
"This Russian war against Ukraine, against all free Europe, started with Crimea and must end with Crimea, with its liberation."
With the annexation in 2014, Russia turned Crimea into one of the most dangerous places in Europe, Zelenskyy said.
Russia regards the peninsula as its territory and has threatened massive retaliation should Ukrainian attacks attack it.
Most states recognize that Crimea remains part of Ukraine under international law.
Smoke billows from an explosion near the village of Novofedorovka on the Crimean peninsula on Tuesday (August 9).
© IMAGO/Mulch / ITAR-TASS
Update from August 9, 9:53 p.m .:
Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) apparently regards Russian President Vladimir Putin as a war criminal because of his war of aggression in Ukraine.
Federal Interior Minister Faeser on Putin: SPD politician describes Kremlin chief as a war criminal
Faeser answered the question “Do you think Vladimir Putin is a war criminal?”
with a resounding “yes” on Tuesday evening in Potsdam at the “RND on site” event series organized by the
German editorial network.
This is of course subject to the preservation of evidence and the rule of law procedure," explained the SPD politician.
But in view of the suffering that Putin has caused in Ukraine, one can probably call him a war criminal.
Israeli President Izchak Herzog is on the phone with Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin
Update from August 9, 4:41 p.m
.: Israeli President Izchak Herzog spoke to Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin about the strained relationship between the two countries.
The call was "open and honest," said Herzog's office.
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Herzog spoke at length about the activities of the NGO Jewish Agency, which takes care of immigration to Israel.
The Russian Ministry of Justice wants to dissolve them despite protests from Israel.
Putin has emphasized his personal commitment to Holocaust commemoration and the fight against anti-Semitism, Herzog's office said.
The Russian Justice Ministry's lawsuit against the Jewish Agency is scheduled to be heard on August 19.
Russia had accused the Jewish Agency of violating the country's laws.
In Israel it is suspected that Russia wants to punish the country for its attitude in the Ukraine war by banning the organization.
War cemetery in Brandenburg: Russian embassy protests against desecration of memorial
Update from August 9, 3:39 p.m
.: The Russian embassy protested against the desecration of the Soviet memorial in Werneuchen in Brandenburg.
A video has appeared on the Internet "that shows a German neo-Nazi supporter desecrating the Soviet war cemetery by making racist comments," the embassy said.
"We view this outrageous act as an attempt to incite ethnic hatred and as a cynical disregard for the memory of the soldiers who gave their lives to liberate the world and Europe from Nazism," it said.
A spokesman for the East Police Department confirmed an incident.
A witness informed the police on Friday (August 5) that an unknown person had urinated at the memorial and was filmed or photographed by a second person.
State security is investigating.
Druzhba pipeline: Russian oil supplies through Ukraine suspended due to sanctions
Update from August 9, 1:50 p.m .:
According to the operating company, no Russian oil has flowed through the Ukraine to Europe through the Druzhba pipeline since Thursday.
Deliveries were halted after a bank transaction was rejected due to Western sanctions against Russia, Russian state-owned Transneft said on Tuesday.
The pipeline mainly supplies Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic with oil.
Ukraine-News: Two more grain carriers leave Ukraine
Update from August 9, 11:55 a.m .:
As part of the renewed grain exports from Ukraine, two more ships left the port of Chornomorsk.
A total of more than 70,000 tons of food will be transported by the two freighters through a security corridor in the Black Sea, the Ukrainian Ministry of Infrastructure announced on social networks on Tuesday.
According to this, 5300 tons of sunflower meal go to Turkey with the ship "Rahmi Yaggi".
The “Ocean Lion” transported another almost 65,000 tons of corn to South Korea.
At the end of July, Moscow and Kyiv agreed to make grain exports across the Black Sea possible again.
The freighter "Razoni" was the first ship to sail towards the Mediterranean.
Tripoli in Lebanon was named as its destination.
But the freighter has not yet arrived there.
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Selenskyj calls for a travel ban for Russians - they should "live in their own world"
Update from August 9, 6:25 a.m .:
With a view to the Ukraine war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj has called for an international travel ban for Russian citizens.
"The most important sanctions are to close the borders, because the Russians are taking other people's lands," he told the
Washington Post
in an interview on Monday.
Russians should "live in their own world until they change their philosophy."
Zelenskyj's statements are also met with a growing discussion in the EU to make it more difficult or to stop issuing tourist visas to Russians.
Even if travel is made more difficult by the cut flight and rail connections, many Russians traveled to the EU in the summer despite the war.
Russia's neighbor Latvia in the Baltic States has already tightened visa regulations.
Finland is considering this, but demands a solution for the whole Schengen area.
Ukraine-News: World Bank announces further support in the billions
Update from August 8, 7:50 p.m.:
The World Bank announces further financial support of 4.5 billion dollars (4.4 billion euros) for Ukraine.
The government in Kyiv should be able to use the money provided by the USA to pay pensions and salaries, among other things.
It is about, among other things, maintaining the health, education and social services in Ukraine in order to prevent a further deterioration in the living conditions of the people.
The new aid money is part of an aid package for Ukraine totaling 8.5 billion dollars (a good 8.3 billion euros) promised by the United States through the World Bank.
Ukraine war: Putin prefers to send Lavrov to the UN General Assembly
Update from August 8, 5:40 p.m.:
Without Vladimir Putin, the UN General Assembly will take place in September.
The Kremlin boss is not making a speech, and the Russian delegation at this year's meeting will be led by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov instead.
This comes from a presidential decree.
Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the president will not be making a virtual appearance before the meeting this year either.
Putin last appeared at the 75th UN General Assembly in September 2020 and promoted the Russian Covid vaccine Sputnik V. With his absence in a few weeks, he is avoiding discussions about the Ukraine war, which is likely to dominate the meeting.
Among others, US President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj are to appear.
However, Putin's refusal to travel to New York is not a sure sign that the Russian President will not be attending the G20 summit in Indonesia.
Western politicians want to prevent him from appearing there, but the Kremlin itself has so far left open participation.
Update from August 8, 3:49 p.m
.: A video of right-wing extremists shows Robert Habeck (Greens) as the culprit in a process because of his party’s sanctions policy – the Federal Ministry of Economics is now taking action against the clip.
"We have reported the video to Facebook for review under the Network Enforcement Act and removal.
We are also examining the facts from a legal point of view," it said in response to a
dpa
request.
In the video, which was initially available on the QAnon conspiracy movement's Telegram channel on August 8, a man in a red and orange prison suit with a sack over his head and handcuffs is shown in a vehicle.
The person is obviously intended to represent Habeck.
A voice can be heard announcing an alleged verdict: "You, Robert Habeck, are sentenced by the people to 16 weeks in the pillory on the local market square."
At the end of the video, a demonstration in Heidenau near Dresden is advertised, at which a Habeck actor is to be pilloried.
The online portal
Tag24
reported about it first.
According to the Dresden public prosecutor's office, there is an investigation into this case.
Incitement to commit a crime is a criminal offence.
The right-wing extremist micro-party "Freie Sachsen" has recently been mobilizing on Monday demonstrations in Heidenau against rising energy prices.
Russia sanctions: Scholz sees no dwindling support among Germans
Update from August 8, 2:17 p.m
.: Do the Germans still support the Russia sanctions?
Olaf Scholz (SPD) apparently sees no change of heart on this issue.
The Chancellor sees "no lack of or dwindling support for these measures," said government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit in Berlin.
It is clear that the cut in gas supplies "poses challenges for all of us", he added, referring to the various measures that have been put in place for the autumn and winter.
Referring to the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, Hebestreit said it has not been approved and will not be approved.
Scholz rules out revising this decision.
"Two for two" prisoner swap: basketball star and ex-soldier for arms dealer and zoo killer?
First report from August 8
: Munich – After the end of the Russian naval blockade, a cargo ship docked in a Ukrainian port for the first time.
"The bulk carrier Fulmar S has arrived at the port of Chornomorsk and is ready for loading," announced the Ukrainian Ministry of Infrastructure on its Telegram channel.
Grain exports from Ukraine: So far, eight ships have left the port
So far, eight ships carrying grain have left Ukrainian ports since the beginning of August.
They were among dozens of freighters that had been stranded there since the war began in February because of the Russian naval blockade and the Ukrainian military's mining of its own ports.
With the arrival of the Fulmar S, the grain corridor now has an "entrance and exit," explained Infrastructure Minister Olexander Kubrakow.
Meanwhile, Lebanon is still waiting for the first ship loaded with Ukrainian grain.
The freighter "Razoni" left the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Odessa last Monday.
US citizens detained in Russia: 'two for two' exchange expected
Former US diplomat Bill Richardson is confident that a prisoner swap can be negotiated with Russia to free basketball player Brittney Griner, who has been sentenced to nine years in prison for drug smuggling.
"I'm optimistic," the former US ambassador to the United Nations said on ABC
on Sunday
.
"I think she will be released.
I think she's pursuing the right strategy with regret."
A Russian court has sentenced US basketball player Brittney Griner to nine years in prison for illegal drug possession.
© Evgenia Novozhenina/Pool Reuters/AP/dpa
Although Richardson emphasized that he was only indirectly involved in possible negotiations, he appeared to be very well informed.
In his own words, he expects a “two for two” prisoner exchange to free former US soldier Paul Whelan, who is being held in Russia.
According to media reports, Griner and Whelan could be exchanged for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.
It is not yet clear who the second Russian could be.
According to US information, Russia had demanded the release of Russian Vadim K., who had been sentenced to life imprisonment in Germany for the Tiergarten murder.
Celebrities in the Ukraine War: Roger Waters versus Jessica Chastain
Meanwhile, Oscar winner Jessica Chastain visited a children's hospital in Kyiv on Sunday (August 7) and later the Kiev suburb of Irpin, which became known for Russian war crimes.
In the evening, like other Hollywood greats, she was received by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Meanwhile, another show size caused displeasure.
British musician Roger Waters, ex-Pink Floyd frontman, provoked outrage in Kyiv and applause in Moscow with comments on the Russian war of aggression.
At the beginning of the war he had described the Russian attack as an act of a gangster, but now he blamed US President Joe Biden, which pleased Russia's ex-President Dmitry Medvedev.
“There are still adequate people in the West.
Pink Floyd forever,” he wrote on his page on the vkontakte social network.
