Putin praises fight against "Ukrainian nationalists" - but an official admits "problems".
Created: 08/17/2022, 04:55
By: Florian Naumann, Astrid Theil, Bettina Menzel, Bedrettin Bölükbasi
Zelenskyj's adviser Podolyak rejects negotiations with Putin's Russia.
Meanwhile, Russia and North Korea want to expand their relations.
The news ticker.
Putin
praises fight against "Ukrainian nationalists": a Russian official admits "problems".
Ukraine
ceasefire around
Zaporizhia
?
Russia surprises with demand
Putin and Kim Jong Un
send greetings: Russia and North Korea want to further develop relations.
This news ticker has ended.
All further information on the
negotiations
in the
Ukraine war
can be found here.
Update from August 16, 6:06 a.m .:
Deliveries of heavy weapons from the West are important for Ukraine to withstand the Russian army.
The Ukrainian military has now received four helicopters as military aid from EU and NATO member state Latvia.
The Ministry of Defense in Riga announced on Monday (August 15) that two Mi-17 and Mi-2 helicopters had been delivered to the Ukrainian Air Force, some of which had been dismantled.
Latvia has delivered four helicopters to Ukraine.
Among them are two MI-17 (in the photo an MI-17 of the Czech Air Force) © Peter Endig/dpa/picture alliance
The donated helicopters would help "carry out military operations and save lives," Defense Secretary Artis Pabriks said in a statement.
"Western countries' support for Ukraine must not end until it has liberated its entire territory from the Russian occupying power."
The US has already handed over 11 Mi-17 helicopters originally intended for Afghanistan to Ukraine.
Phone call from Schoigu and Guterres: What's next for the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant?
Update from August 15, 8:45 p.m .:
Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and UN Secretary General António Guterres spoke on the phone about the situation in Ukraine.
The conditions for safe operation of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, which was occupied by Russian troops, were discussed, Shoigu's ministry said.
The United Nations confirmed the call.
Details were not given.
More than 40 countries had previously asked Russia to hand over Europe's largest nuclear power plant to Ukraine.
Russia rejects that.
Russia had accused the UN of having stopped an already agreed visit by experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency at the last moment.
The nuclear power plant has been under fire for days.
Therefore, the concern of a nuclear incident is great.
Russia and Ukraine blame each other for the shelling.
The Russian ministry also said the talks were about a mission to investigate the attack on a camp with Ukrainian prisoners of war.
After the death of around 50 Ukrainian prisoners of war in the prison at the end of July, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov again demanded access by independent international experts over the weekend.
It is also the UN's duty to urge Russia to allow Red Cross officials access to the remaining prisoners, Reznikov said.
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Ex-intelligence chief: Vladimir Putin will experience an 'unpleasant end'
Update from August 15, 8:22 p.m .:
Chancellor Olaf Scholz met the heads of government of Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland at a summit in Oslo.
Germany and Norway want to expand their cooperation on natural gas - that is "very important", explained Scholz in the evening.
However, there were also differences: When it came to the question of an EU-wide visa freeze for Russian citizens, Scholz and his counterparts from Denmark and Sweden in particular were apparently at odds.
Putin praises fight against "Ukrainian nationalists" - but an official admits "problems".
Update from August 15, 6:28 p.m.:
In the morning, the Russian occupation authorities had surprised with the call for a ceasefire around the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant – but Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin has now personally reaffirmed the war goals in Ukraine.
The Russian army is fulfilling its tasks in the "Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics," Putin told international guests on Monday at a military forum near Moscow.
Putin once again emphasized that "the soil of the Donbass" will be "liberated step by step from Ukrainian nationalists".
Vladimir Putin (right) and his Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on Monday at a "military forum".
© IMAGO/Kremlin Pool
In his speech, Putin praised the work of Russian armaments companies in equipping the army and navy with "modern weapons that work today for victory".
Referring to guests from 70 countries, according to official figures, the Kremlin chief said that Russia has partners on many continents who have shown courage and character without bowing to the United States.
The state-run Russian arms exporter Rosoboronexport meanwhile emphasized that the western sanctions do not affect the export of military technology.
On the other hand, the head of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation Dmitry Shugaev admitted that "in connection with the political events" some logistical problems had been identified.
Ukraine ceasefire around Zaporizhia?
Russia surprises with demand
Update from August 15, 11:31 a.m .:
The Russian occupiers propose a ceasefire in the contested area after multiple shelling of the southern Ukrainian nuclear power plant Zaporizhia.
"The leadership of the United Nations and the chief diplomat of the EU should not be talking about demilitarization, but about introducing a ceasefire," Vladimir Rogov, a representative of the Russian occupation authorities, told Russia's state news agency Ria Novosti on Monday.
In doing so, Russia was responding to demands from 42 countries and the EU for the immediate withdrawal of Russian occupying forces from the area around Europe's largest nuclear power plant.
In the past, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has also expressed concern about the situation in the nuclear power plant and wants to get an idea of the situation on site as quickly as possible.
A Russian soldier guards an area of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant.
The photo was taken during a trip organized by the Russian Defense Ministry.
© Uncredited/dpa
Putin and Kim Jong Un send greetings: Russia and North Korea want to expand relations
Update from August 15, 9:12 a.m .:
Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s ruler Kim Jong Un want to expand relations between their countries.
In a message to Kim on the day Korea was liberated from Japanese colonial rule (1910 to 1945), Putin wrote that both sides share a tradition of bilateral friendship and cooperation, North Korean state media reported on Monday.
Putin was quoted as saying that it was in the interest of the people of both countries to develop relations.
It would also help "bolster security and stability in the Korean peninsula and throughout the Northeast Asian region."
After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the largely isolated North Korea pledged its political support for Putin's course.
According to reports from North Korea, Kim also sent a greeting to Putin.
In the letter, Kim expressed the belief that friendly relations are "getting stronger in all areas."
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a three-day summit in 2019 with Russian President Vladimir Putin (archive image, April 26, 2019).
© KCNA/IMAGO/UPI Photo
There is movement in grain exports: the first UN ship is loaded and ready to go
Update from August 15, 8:53 a.m .:
According to Kiev, the first UN ship for grain deliveries from Ukraine is loaded with wheat and ready to go, as the AFP news agency reported on Monday morning.
The MV Brave Commander, currently moored in the Black Sea port of the Ukrainian city of Yuzhne, is ready to depart for Ethiopia with 23,000 tons of wheat on board, Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said on Sunday.
According to the
Kyiv Independent
, the UN Grain Corridor Coordination Center in Istanbul (JCC) reported on Monday morning that six more ships have received permission to export Ukrainian grain.
Two ships have already passed the inspection and can call at the port of Chornomorsk for loading, while four other ships are waiting for the inspection scheduled for August 15.
Because of the Russian war of aggression, all of Ukraine's grain exports from its Black Sea ports were blocked for months, contributing to a global food crisis.
Ukraine war: 42 states and the EU demand Russia's withdrawal from the Zaporizhia nuclear plant
Update from August 14, 8:45 p.m .:
42 states and the EU have demanded the immediate withdrawal of Russian troops from the occupied Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine in a statement in Vienna.
"The stationing of Russian military and weapons at the nuclear facility is unacceptable," the statement said.
Russia is violating the safety principles to which all member countries of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have committed.
Control of the nuclear power plant must be handed over to the authorized Ukrainian authorities.
Then experts from the IAEA could carry out their duty of supervision over the work of the Ukrainians.
Russia must withdraw completely from Ukraine and end the "unprovoked or justified war of aggression" against the neighboring country.
The demand was made on behalf of the EU and all of its member countries.
The USA, Great Britain, Norway, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and other countries also signed.
Ukraine-News: Russia sees UN's turn at Zaporizhia - "green light for expert visit"
Update from August 14, 5:10 p.m .:
In the struggle for the security of the Ukrainian nuclear power plant (nuclear plant) Zaporizhia that was shot at, Moscow sees the United Nations on the train.
The task of the UN Secretariat is to "give the green light for a visit to the nuclear power plant by experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)," said Russian diplomat Mikhail Ulyanov in an interview with the Russian state news agency
TASS
.
Ulyanov, Moscow's representative at the UN, said the expert visit had been practically prepared.
"The UN Secretariat blocked it at the last moment without explaining the reasons," the diplomat said.
According to reports, the UN had not previously allowed IAEA boss Rafael Grossi to travel, not only for security reasons, but also because there was a dispute about the route to be taken.
In view of the fighting over the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy is calling on the West to impose sanctions on Russia's nuclear industry.
The punitive measures would have to be taken by the nuclear industry of the aggressor state, said Selenskyj in a video speech distributed on Saturday evening.
Russia is using the nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine to blackmail the Ukrainian leadership and the whole world, Zelenskyy said.
Ukraine-News: Latvia's president calls for suspension of visas for Russians
Update from August 14, 2:00 p.m .:
Latvian President Egils Levits calls on the Latvian government to work together with Finland, Estonia, the Czech Republic and other countries at European level to stop issuing tourist visas to Russian citizens.
He announced this at an event in the Latvian city of Ikšķile.
Levit also wants to check existing visas and permanent residence permits for Russian citizens in Latvia.
Russians who support the war in Ukraine should cancel their permanent residence permits or not have them extended.
Also, no such permits should be given to people intending to acquire Russian citizenship.
Ukraine-News: Poland debates tourist visas for Russians - stop possible
Update from August 14, 12:00 p.m .:
In addition to Estonia and Latvia, Poland is now considering restricting tourist visas to Russian citizens.
"Poland is working on developing a concept that will make it possible not to issue visas to Russians," Deputy Foreign Minister Piotr Wawrzyk told the PAP news agency.
A decision on this should be made in the coming weeks.
According to Wawrzyk, Poland is in favor of the EU imposing further sanctions on Russia.
This also includes the suspension of the treaty on visa facilitation for Russian citizens.
So far, however, the large member states such as Germany, France and the Netherlands have resisted.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz does not share the view of countries like Poland and Estonia.
No visas for Russians?
- Kuleba appeals to outraged Russian citizens
Update from August 13, 9:30 p.m.:
In the background of the Ukraine war, some European countries are discussing suspending visa procedures for Russians.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba tweeted: "Russians unhappy at the prospect of a ban on tourist travel to Europe can complain to the Kremlin and to more than 70 percent of their compatriots who support the war. complain.” At the same time, he signaled that a ban on asylum and humanitarian entry is not part of the debate.
Ukraine News: Negotiations with Russia?
- Selenskyj adviser rejects
First report from August 13:
Kiev/Munich – In the Ukraine war, Russia's heavy attacks on Ukrainian territory are continuing.
In the background of the violent fighting, direct negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow now seem impossible.
The advisor to the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj and at the same time Ukrainian chief negotiator, Mykhailo Podolyak, has now commented again with a view to possible talks.
In view of the current situation, he refused diplomacy with the Russian ruler Vladimir Putin.
Negotiations would only mean a victory for Russia, Podolyak declared, according to the Ukrainian news agency
Unian
.
Russia-Ukraine talks - Podolyak worried about 'Russian victory' at table
"Negotiations with the Russian Federation today would only mean one thing: that Russia won," the news agency quoted the Ukrainian diplomat as saying.
Talks would also mean a defeat for Ukraine, for Europe and for "democratic values".
Ukraine currently has “no motives” for negotiations with Russia, Podolyak also emphasized.
Talks would therefore not solve Ukraine's problems.
"If we create a new demarcation line today, then the entire central and southern Ukraine will be deserted and in ruins," the Ukrainian diplomat warned, explaining that this would also affect the Ukrainian economy.
The Ukraine War in Pictures - Destruction, Resistance and Hope
View photo gallery
Ukraine-News: Zelenskyj's adviser Podolyak warns - "what Putin wished for"
"Nobody will invest money, nobody will return to the homes on the front lines - a postponed war," he noted.
As a result, both the Ukrainian economy and social relations of Ukraine would suffer, President Zelenskyy's adviser underlined.
Podolyak is certain: "Today's negotiation process would be what Putin wanted: the destruction of the Ukrainian state - just in a different way." Ukraine has repeatedly emphasized that it can only come to the negotiating table from a strong position with Russia.
The last major diplomatic contact between the two warring parties took place as part of the grain deal negotiated by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the UN.
With regard to the hostilities in Ukraine, however, there have been no meaningful negotiations for a long time.
(bb)
