China sends soldiers to Russia for military exercises - 'Responding to security threats'
Created: 2022-08-20 04:57
By: Bedrettin Bölükbasi, Stephanie Munk, Andreas Schmid, Fabian Müller
China is sending soldiers to Russia for military exercises.
Zelenskyj meets Erdogan and Guterres in Lviv.
The news ticker for the negotiations.
Tripartite summit
in
Lviv
: Guterres and Erdogan arrive in Ukraine.
Putin Minister
Shoigu
sees
no
reason for the use of
nuclear weapons
: he makes great accusations against the United States.
Negotiations
about the
Zaporizhia nuclear power plant
: the Russian army has been occupying the plant since March.
This news ticker has ended.
Current news on the
negotiations and sanctions in the Ukraine war
can be found here.
Update from August 18, 8:22 a.m.:
Ukrainian President Selenskyj meets UN Secretary General Guterres and Turkish President Erdogan in Lviv today.
In the run-up, Selenskyj has again called for Russian troops to be withdrawn from the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant.
"This must be done without conditions and as soon as possible," he said in his video address on Wednesday evening (August 17).
"Only absolute transparency and a controlled situation in and around the nuclear power plant guarantee a return to normal nuclear safety for the Ukrainian state, the international community and the IAEA," Zelenskyy said.
Ukrainian diplomats, scientists and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are working to allow an expert commission to visit the nuclear power plant.
The situation in Europe's largest nuclear power plant, which is occupied by Russian troops, has been worrying the international community for weeks.
Bullets keep falling on the power plant site, for which Russia and Ukraine blame each other.
The visit of an IAEA mission to Zaporizhia will be the subject of the tripartite meeting in Lviv (Lemberg).
Ukraine negotiations: Estonia restricts entry for citizens from Russia
Update from August 18, 8:02 a.m .:
Estonia has tightened its visa regulations for people from Russia and restricted their entry.
As of this Thursday, Russian citizens are no longer allowed to enter the Baltic EU and NATO country with a Schengen visa issued by Estonia.
According to a spokesman for the Interior Ministry in Tallinn, additional visa controls are to take place at the three border crossings with Russia in Narva, Luhamaa and Koidula.
As a reaction to the Ukraine war, Estonia had already largely suspended issuing visas and residence permits to Russians.
With a valid visa, however, it was still possible to enter the Schengen area via the Estonian border by bus or car.
This is no longer possible in the future.
However, certain exceptions apply, for example, to Russians who are resident, have the right to stay or have relatives in Estonia.
Together with its neighboring countries Finland and Latvia, which also border Russia, Estonia is campaigning for a fundamental ban on tourist visas for Russians.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz, however, is against it.
An opponent of the Kremlin has now also opposed an entry ban for Russians and warned of a “visa war”.
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China sends soldiers to Russia for military exercises - 'Responding to security threats'
Update from August 18, 6:10 a.m.:
In the middle of Vladimir Putin's war of aggression against Ukraine, China is sending soldiers to Russia for joint military exercises.
According to the Chinese Defense Ministry, the soldiers are to take part in the “Vostok” maneuver as part of a bilateral cooperation agreement with Russia.
According to Russian information, this will take place between August 30th and September 5th.
"The goal is to deepen practical and friendly cooperation with the armies of participating countries, raise the level of strategic cooperation between the participants, and strengthen the ability to respond to various security threats," the Chinese Defense Ministry said.
Accordingly, India, Belarus, Mongolia and Tajikistan are also taking part in the maneuver.
A Russian military helicopter during the Russian maneuver "Wostock" in 2014. The maneuver is to take place again from August 30, 2022 - also with the participation of China.
© ITAR TASS/Imago
Western countries accuse China and India of giving diplomatic support to Russia in the Ukraine war.
The two states did not condemn the Russian war.
Beijing stressed that China's participation in the "Vostok" exercise was not related to the "current international and regional situation".
Olaf Scholz worried about the situation at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant
Update from August 17, 8:15 p.m .:
Chancellor Olaf Scholz has expressed “serious concern” about the situation at the Ukrainian Zaporizhia nuclear power plant.
It is not acceptable to endanger the power plant, said Scholz on Wednesday evening in Neuruppin, Brandenburg.
The federal government will continue to work towards averting a dramatic situation on the ground, said the SPD politician.
It is “a very, very dangerous development that can take place there”.
The largest nuclear power plant in Europe is occupied by Russian troops.
There is repeated shelling in the vicinity, fueling international concern about the risk of a nuclear accident with far-reaching consequences.
At the citizens' dialogue in Neuruppin, where Scholz expressed his concerns, there were also loud protests against the chancellor and "Get lost!" calls.
Ukraine-News: Ukrainian expert worried about Zelenskyy's meeting with Guterres and Erdogan
Update from August 17, 6:15 p.m .:
On Thursday (August 18), the Ukrainian head of state Volodymyr Zelenskyj will receive UN Secretary General António Guterres and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Lviv (Lviv).
A three-way summit is on the agenda.
But there are also concerns in Ukraine about the meeting.
Take military expert Oleg Zhdanov, for example. According to him, the summit will be about ending the war through diplomacy with Russia.
Ankara has already confirmed this.
According to Zhdanov, however, this is precisely Moscow's plan.
"Believe me, the first condition of these negotiations will be a temporary ceasefire," Ukrainian news agency
Unian quoted
the expert as saying from a YouTube video.
Zhdanov went on to say: "There is nothing more permanent than something temporary." According to the expert, Russia will try to maintain the land gains it has made so far.
Ukraine repeatedly emphasizes that negotiations will only take place from a strong position.
According to the
Unian
report, Zhdanov accused UN chief Guterres of standing with Russia's ruler Vladimir Putin and being interested in "commodity money transactions".
Erdogan also has his own interests and agreements with Putin.
The Ukrainian expert referred to the meeting of the two presidents in Sochi on August 5.
At the summit on Thursday, for example, they want to force Selenskyj to sign a peace treaty in the interest of Russia, Zhdanov warned and described a ceasefire with Russia as a "dangerous situation".
Ukraine-News: Traffic light coalition at odds over Russia representative
Update from August 17, 5 p.m.:
The traffic light coalition is divided on the question of whether the federal government should appoint a new Russia representative.
The SPD foreign expert Nils Schmid called on Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) in the
Rheinische Post
to fill the vacant post.
The coordinator should serve "as a contact point for civil society in exile," he argued.
The FDP foreign politician Alexander Graf Lambsdorff contradicted: He thought it was “completely understandable” that something new had to be designed first.
It was appropriate "to take this position seriously in all its importance and to fill it accordingly," said Schmid.
The sphere of activity of the coordinator for intersocietal cooperation with Russia, Central Asia and the countries of the Eastern Partnership goes far beyond Russia.
He could be very helpful as a central political contact.
"Especially since these are also states such as Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova, which are pursuing a clear EU orientation."
SPD foreign policy expert Ralf Stegner told the newspaper that times are, of course, difficult to fill such positions.
Nevertheless, it is not too much to ask "that nine months after the formation of the government and before the day of the federal elections, all personnel decisions should have been made".
Otherwise, “the probably unintentional impression would arise that one considers this task to be dispensable”.
Triple summit in Lviv - Selenskyj receives Guterres and Erdogan
Update from August 17, 9.20 a.m
.: A three-way summit on the Ukraine war is on the agenda in Lviv (Lemberg).
Also present: Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyj, UN Secretary-General António Guterres and Turkey's Head of State Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
According to information from Ankara, it is about diplomatic ways out of the war.
Specifically, a statement from the President's Office says: "The end of the war between Ukraine and Russia will be discussed through diplomatic channels" at the meeting.
The United Nations was much more reluctant to talk about an end to hostilities.
"There are a number of issues that are being addressed: the conflict in general, the need for a political solution to this conflict," said Stephane Dujarric in New York when asked whether negotiations for a permanent ceasefire were also being discussed.
Guterres repeatedly emphasizes that he is a friend of the quiet diplomacy that negotiates ways out of a conflict behind closed doors.
Erdogan and Zelenskyy at a meeting in Kyiv in February.
Turkey recently brought Russia and Ukraine to a significant agreement on the agreement on the export of Ukrainian grain at the end of July.
© Celestino Arce/Imago
UN chief Guterres visits Ukraine - meets with Zelenskyy and Erdogan
Update from August 16, 6:45 p.m .:
UN Secretary-General António Guterres will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Turkish Head of State Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ukraine on Thursday.
A meeting is planned in Lviv, as UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in New York on Tuesday.
After that, Guterres will travel on to Odessa on the Black Sea and visit a port.
Before returning to New York, the UN chief will visit the joint coordination center for monitoring grain exports across the Black Sea in Istanbul.
Ukraine-News: Putin rages against the West and accuses "anti-Russia" project
Update from August 16, 4:45 p.m .:
Russian President Vladimir Putin used the security conference currently taking place in Moscow as an opportunity to verbally attack the West.
Washington and its allies are responsible for the bloodshed in Ukraine, the Russian head of state described the current situation.
The western alliance uses the Ukrainians as "cannon fodder" for their "anti-Russia" project, Putin continued in a video message to the participants of the conference.
The USA is trying to consolidate its hegemonic supremacy through the war in Ukraine.
At the same time, the 69-year-old once again defended the invasion of Ukraine.
It serves Russia's security and the protection of the people in Donbass.
It is a sovereign right of an independent state that does not submit to Western chaos, “liberal totalitarianism” and “neo-colonialist striving for supremacy” by the USA.
The security conference in Moscow shows that a multipolar world is emerging, said Putin.
In a video speech, Russian President Vladimir Putin once again blamed the West for the Ukraine war.
© Mikhail Klimentyev/imago-images
Russia's defense minister accuses the West of far-reaching involvement in the Ukraine war
Update from August 16, 2:36 p.m
.: Almost half a year after the war began, Russia has accused the West of extensive involvement in Ukrainian counter-offensives.
"Not only are the coordinates of attack targets provided by Western intelligence services, but entering this data into weapon systems is under the full control of Western specialists," Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Tuesday at the Moscow conference on international security, according to the
Interfax agency
.
He did not present any evidence of this.
Contrary to numerous reports to the contrary, Shoigu also claimed that Russian soldiers in Ukraine observed international law towards civilians and prisoners.
"Compliance with the Geneva Conventions on the rules of warfare has always been and always will be the main focus of commanders at all levels," the minister said.
Human rights activists, among others, have documented actions by Russian troops that violate international law in the past, including the use of cluster munitions in densely populated areas.
Ukraine and large parts of the international community repeatedly hold Russia responsible for the most serious crimes against civilians, including the murder of hundreds of people in the Kiev suburb of Bucha a few weeks after the war began.
In the midst of the Taiwan crisis, Putin blusters about Western plans in the Asia-Pacific region
Update from August 16, 12:15 p.m .:
According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Western countries are trying to expand a “NATO-like system” to the Asia-Pacific region.
The British
Guardian
reports .
In his welcome speech at the international security conference in Moscow, Putin also said that the US was trying to "prolong" the conflict in Ukraine.
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan earlier this month was "a carefully planned provocation."
Putin's statements are particularly explosive in connection with the current tensions between Taiwan and China.
China has been holding more military exercises in the region since Pelosi's visit to the island nation.
Putin Minister Shoigu sees no reason for the use of nuclear weapons - and makes great accusations against the United States
First report
: Moscow - Russia's Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu currently sees no reason to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine.
Shoigu said so in his speech at an international security conference in Moscow.
The Russian defense minister also stressed that the deployment of Ukrainian troops would be planned by the United States and Great Britain.
NATO has increased the number of its soldiers in Eastern and Central Europe many times over.
Shoigu also spoke to UN Secretary-General António Guterres about the armed conflict surrounding the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant.
The Russian Defense Ministry said in Moscow on Monday that Shoigu had spoken to Guterres "about the conditions for the safe operation of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant."
Negotiations about the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant: the Russian army has been occupying the plant since March
The Russian army has occupied the nuclear power plant in south-eastern Ukraine since March, shortly after the start of the Ukraine war, and it has been repeatedly shelled since the end of July.
Kyiv and Moscow blame each other for the attacks.
Rocket fire raises fears of a catastrophe at Europe's largest nuclear power plant.
The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting on Thursday.
The Ukrainian government and its western allies are demanding a demilitarized zone around the nuclear power plant and a withdrawal of Russian troops.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Shoigu and Guterres also spoke Monday about the explosions at the Olenivka detention center in eastern Ukraine, which is occupied by pro-Russian separatists.
There were several explosions in the prison at the end of July, killing dozens of Ukrainian inmates.
In this case, too, Ukraine and Russia blamed each other for the incident.
(fmu with afp)
