After criticism from Kyiv: another EU foreign minister contradicts Scholz - Putin is probably planning "sham referendums"

Created: 08/13/2022, 06:40

By: Stephanie Munk, Andreas Schmid, Fabian Müller

Moscow apparently plans to hold sham referendums to annex several Ukrainian cities to Russia.

All current information on negotiations can be found in this news ticker.

• Moscow is planning

  mock

  referendums in Ukrainian cities: the aim is to annex the areas to Russia

  
  
  

  Ukrainian

  Foreign Minister

  Scholz

  lectures: Dmytro Kuleba

  contradicted the Chancellor's assessment that it was Putin's war.

• UN

  demands access to

  Zaporizhia nuclear plant

  : Russian ambassador speaks of "propaganda attacks"

• This news ticker on the

  negotiations

  in the

  Ukraine war

  is constantly

  updated

  .

Update from August 12, 9:59 p.m .:

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has called for an immediate withdrawal of Russian troops from the occupied Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine.

The nuclear power plant should not be drawn into military conflicts, Borrell wrote on Twitter on Friday evening.

He supports calls for demilitarization of the area and urges experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to visit.

"Russia must immediately return control to Ukraine as the rightful owner," Borrell wrote.

Moscow is planning mock referendums in Ukrainian cities: the aim is to annex the areas to Russia

Update from August 12, 6:48 p.m .:

According to information from the US secret service, Russia has started concrete plans for referendums in several cities in eastern Ukraine.

The aim of the planned referendums is a connection of the areas to Russia.

According to information from the US intelligence service, Russian officials themselves reckoned that turnout at the referendums would be low, that the procedure was not legitimate and that the referendums did not reflect the will of the people.

A senior National Security Council official said in Washington on Friday that Russia wants to hold mock referendums in Kherson, Zaporizhia, the separatist regions of Luhansk and Donetsk and parts of Kharkiv.

"The Russian leadership has instructed officials to start holding referendums in these areas and also in parts of Kharkiv," he said.

“We have information that officials are reviewing candidates to serve as administrators of these areas.

And that this could already happen in the coming weeks.”

First UN ship for grain deliveries from Ukraine expected at destination port on Friday

Update from August 12, 6:07 p.m .:

The first UN ship for grain deliveries from Ukraine is expected at its destination port on the Black Sea on Friday.

The ship will load Ukrainian wheat bought by the UN World Food Program (WFP), WFP spokesman Tomson Phiri said in Geneva on Friday.

WFP hopes this first shipment will mark the start of regular shipments of grain from Ukraine to regions of the world most at risk of hunger.

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Russia is reportedly planning trials of Ukrainian prisoners of war in August

Update from August 12, 4:55 p.m.:

Ukrainian officials expect that the trials of Ukrainian prisoners of war will begin in August.

Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boichenko said at a media briefing on Friday that Russia is planning a trial on August 24.

This was reported by the US broadcaster CNN.

The date has a special symbolic effect, as Ukrainians celebrate their Independence Day on August 24th.

"The occupiers are turning the Mariupol Philharmonic, the pearl of the city where only festive events were held, into a courtroom for our prisoners of war and civilians," he said.

Also in the self-proclaimed "Donetsk People's Republic" in the Donbass there will soon be trials.

Criticism of Scholz: The Estonian Foreign Minister also contradicts the Chancellor

Update from August 12, 1:30 p.m .:

After the criticism of the Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytri Kuleba, the Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu also joined the discussion.

When asked about general entry restrictions for Russian citizens, the 47-year-old Chancellor Olaf Scholz objected.

“I do not agree with an approach where we take the so-called ordinary Russian citizens and distinguish them from Putin.

The war is waged by the Russian Federation as a state.

And undoubtedly, by their passivity, Russian citizens bear moral responsibility for this,” said the chief Estonian diplomat.

The government in Tallinn decided on Thursday that from August 18, Russian citizens would no longer be allowed to enter the country with a Schengen visa issued by Estonia.

Along with several other EU countries, Estonia is campaigning for a general ban on tourist visas.

Scholz had rejected this on Thursday.

"This is Putin's war, and that's why I have a hard time with this thought," said the Chancellor in Berlin.

Kyiv urges further help from Germany - "We really need German technology"

Update from August 12, 8:58 a.m .:

Ukraine is urging rapid further help from Germany to defend against Russia.

"We are very grateful for Germany's decision to support us," said Ukrainian Parliament President Ruslan Stefantschuk to the newspapers of the

.

"I very much hope that the time between the decisions and the actual arrival of the aid will become shorter and shorter.

Because we really need German technology, including tanks and howitzers.”

Ukrainian Foreign Minister lectures Scholz: "It's not just Putin's war"

Update from August 12, 7:36 a.m .:

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has criticized a formulation by Chancellor Olaf Scholz in connection with the Ukraine war.

It was about Ukraine's demand for a travel ban for Russian citizens.

Scholz had said: "This is (President Vladimir) Putin's war", so he could not imagine a ban on tourist visas for Russians.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz has been criticized for a wording on the Ukraine war.

© Kay Nietfeld/dpa

In a tweet on Thursday, August 11, Kuleba echoed the Chancellor's formulation: "This is Russia's war, not just Putin's," the Ukrainian foreign minister wrote.

"Not Putin, but Russian soldiers come from Russia to murder, torture and destroy." The majority of the Russian population supports the war.

"So Russian tourists should enjoy Russia," demanded the Kiev Foreign Minister.

The Baltic states of Estonia and Latvia have already tightened entry rules for Russians, and Finland is also considering doing so.

Germany and the EU Commission in Brussels reject a fundamental freeze on tourist visas for Russians.

UN demands access to Zaporizhia nuclear plant - Russian ambassador speaks of "propaganda attacks"

Update from August 12, 6:12 a.m .:

The threatening situation in the Russian-occupied Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine on Thursday, August 11, occupied the United Nations Security Council in New York.

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, reported that Europe's largest nuclear power plant, which has been shot at several times, does not currently pose a safety risk.

"However, this can change at any time." Grossi continues: "This is a serious hour, a grave hour.

The IAEA must be allowed to carry out its mission in Zaporizhia as soon as possible.” 

Ukrainian Ambassador to the UN Sergei Kislitsa said at the crisis meeting.

"Six months ago it was hard to imagine that Europe's largest nuclear facility would be taken over by a military attack and crammed full of soldiers and weapons."

At the emergency meeting, Russia's UN ambassador Vasily Nebensia rejected calls for the troops to be withdrawn.

However, he promised Russian support for an international commission of experts to visit the nuclear power plant.

He called the accusation that Russia would directly target nuclear power plants absurd.

“These are propaganda attacks by the western press.

It contradicts common sense, because these nuclear power plants are controlled by the Russian army,” said Nebenziya.

The UN Security Council discussed the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine.

© Ed Jones/AFP

Bonnie Jenkins, US Undersecretary of State for Arms Control, said: "Russia continues to spread false reports to distract from reality and now claims that Ukraine is responsible for the situation at the nuclear plant.

This completely twists the facts - namely that Russia is illegally on the site.”

In Kyiv, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy demanded an immediate withdrawal of Russian troops from the plant and accused Moscow of "nuclear blackmail".

"No one else has so obviously used a nuclear power plant to threaten the whole world and impose conditions," Zelenskyy said in his evening video address.

Russia is negotiating with pro-Russian separatists in Donetsk and Luhansk

Update from August 11, 9:30 p.m.

: Negotiation meeting in Donbass.

According to their own statements, the Kremlin leaders of the Moscow security apparatus have discussed further rapprochement with the pro-Russian separatist republics of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine.

According to ex-president Dmitry Medvedev, the interior minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev, the head of the secret service Alexander Bortnikov and the deputy head of the presidential office, Sergei Kiriyenko, attended.

Medvedev wrote that discussions had been held on aligning the laws of the People's Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk with Russian legislation.

It was also about the reconstruction of destroyed infrastructure.

On February 21, Russia recognized the independence of the people's republics, three days before invading Ukraine.

Russia's ex-president Dmitry Medvedev (l) and current Russian president Vladimir Putin at a government meeting in 2020. © Dmitry Astakhov/Imago

Update from August 11, 6:47 p.m.:

More than 1.5 billion euros in support for Ukraine came together at an international donor conference in Copenhagen.

The participants at the conference on Thursday committed themselves to this sum, which could still be increased, Danish Defense Minister Morten Bødskov announced afterwards.

The money is earmarked for this year and next.

It can go, for example, into weapons and the training of Ukrainian soldiers.

According to the information, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic also agreed to expand the production of artillery systems, ammunition and other equipment.

In a joint declaration, the states committed to continued and sustained military support for Ukraine.

A next meeting is planned online in September.

Ukraine conflict: donor conference collects billions in aid

The conference in the Danish capital focused primarily on weapons, training Ukrainian soldiers and help with demining.

26 countries sent delegations to Copenhagen, and State Secretary Benedikt Zimmer from the Federal Ministry of Defense was there for Germany.

The meeting was intended to complement cooperation within the Ukraine Contact Group, which was launched in April at the US base in Ramstein, Rhineland-Palatinate.

This group primarily coordinates arms deliveries for the Ukrainian armed forces.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked for further support during the conference via video address.

Ukraine needs maximum armament and ammunition to defend against the Russian attack, he said at the start of the meeting.

Denmark then promised a further 110 million euros for weapons, equipment and training - co-host Great Britain also promised to send more multiple rocket launchers to Ukraine.

In addition, there is a “significant number” of M31A1 precision missiles, said British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace.

Latvia categorizes Putin's Russia as a "terrorist sponsor": violence against civilians in Ukraine

Update from August 11, 2:50 p.m .:

According to Moscow, Switzerland cannot represent Ukraine diplomatically in Russia, as proposed, because it has lost its neutral status as a result of the sanctions against Russia.

The government in Bern can therefore "act neither as a mediator nor as a representative of interests," said the spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Ivan Nechayev.

The spokesman confirmed that Switzerland had proposed to represent Ukraine's interests in Russia.

But Switzerland supported the Ukrainian government and imposed sanctions on Russia, he said.

"It is completely incomprehensible how one can offer mediation, representation or other (...) services with such behavior," Nechayev added.

Russia as "terror sponsor" - Latvian parliament announces decision

Update from August 11, 11:34 a.m

.: The Latvian parliament declares Russia a “state that supports terrorism.” The background is the violence against the Ukrainian civilian population in the course of the Ukraine war – but also the action in Syria, for example, it said in a statement.

This is reported unanimously by the public broadcaster in Latvia (LSM) and the Russian news agency Ria Novosti.

Zaporizhia nuclear plant: UN Security Council meets in New York

Update from August 11, 6:17 a.m

.: The UN Security Council in New York will deal with the tense situation in the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant occupied by Russian troops this Thursday.

For Ukraine it is the 169th day since the beginning of the Russian invasion.

Negotiations with Moscow: Kyiv asks Switzerland to mediate

Update from August 10, 10:20 p.m .:

The diplomatic relations between Ukraine and Russia, which have been put on hold, may now be resumed through Switzerland as an intermediary.

"Negotiations on the extent to which Switzerland can represent Ukraine in Moscow are complete," a spokeswoman for the Swiss Foreign Ministry told AFP.

However, Russia's approval is still pending.

According to the Swiss Foreign Ministry, Ukraine can imagine a so-called protecting power mandate.

This would allow Russia and Ukraine to "maintain low-level relations."

Since the 19th century, Switzerland has been a regular mediator between countries that have broken off diplomatic relations with one another.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy in 2020 with then Swiss President Simonetta Sommaruga.

© Pavlo Bagmut/Imago (archive photo)

Ukraine warns Russia: Power lines will be cut when nuclear power plants are connected to Crimea

First report from August 10, 20:05:

Enerhodar - "I think our armed forces will be ready if necessary," announced the head of the state nuclear power plant operator Enerhoatom, Petro Kotin, on Wednesday (August 10) the agency RBK- Ukraine on.

"In addition" means cutting the power lines of the Ukrainian nuclear power plant (NPP) Zaporizhia.

Should Russia disconnect the nuclear power plant from the Ukrainian grid and connect it to the Russian-annexed Crimean Peninsula, Ukraine would be prepared to end the power supply.

War in Ukraine: Ukraine warns Russia against nuclear power plant connection to Crimea

As Kotin points out, Russia has long harbored the intention of connecting the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant to Crimea.

"To do this, the power plant must be completely disconnected from the Ukrainian energy system and connected to the line that connects Crimea to the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant," explained the 61-year-old.

In this case, Kotin continues, the power lines will be shot at.

If the power plant failed, the power supply for the entire Russian-occupied south would be at risk.

In March 2022, Russia managed to seize the largest European nuclear power plant, Zaporizhia.

Since then, there have been many calls for the Russian troops to be withdrawn from the nuclear power plant and for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to make it unrestrictedly accessible.

The Zaporizhia nuclear power plant is located in an area under Russian military control in south-eastern Ukraine.

(Archive image) © Russian Defense Ministry/AP/dpa

"Russia is breaking all international regulations for the safe operation of nuclear power plants and is consciously using the risk of a nuclear meltdown as a means of pressure," criticized MdB Jürgen Trittin and Robin Wagener (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen) at the time, which made it clear that "nuclear power plants do not offer security in the event of war, but rather multiply the risks for the population.”

Kotin also said that Ukrainian troops would shell power lines if Russia connected the nuclear power plant to its grid.

If the power plant failed, the power supply for the entire Russian-occupied south would be at risk.