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Russian ICBM (photo from 2018)
Photo: RU-RTR Russian Television / dpa
What has happened in the past few hours
According to Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the danger of a nuclear escalation in the Ukraine war has decreased.
“Russia has stopped threatening to use nuclear weapons.
In response to the international community marking a red line," Scholz told the newspapers of the Funke media group and the French newspaper Ouest-France.
“During my visit to Beijing, Chinese President Xi and I jointly expressed that nuclear weapons should not be used.
Shortly thereafter, the G20 states reaffirmed this stance.« When asked whether the danger of a nuclear escalation had been averted, the SPD politician said: »For the moment we have taken a stake against it.«
Scholz called on Russia to end the war immediately and withdraw troops from Ukraine.
"It is correct that the question then becomes how we can achieve security for Europe," he said, referring to statements by French President Emmanuel Macron on possible security guarantees for Russia.
“Of course we are ready to talk to Russia about arms control in Europe.
We already offered that before the war and nothing has changed in this position.«
Scholz once again defended the extent of German support for Ukraine.
"After the United States, Germany is one of the countries that supports Ukraine the most, including with weapons," said the Chancellor.
"By the way, no one has delivered western-style main battle tanks," added Scholz.
In order to save the peace order in Europe, Germany also accepts economic disadvantages and spends more money on its defense capabilities.
"Because there is no guarantee that Russia will not attack other countries," said Scholz.
At the same time he emphasized: “We are doing everything to prevent a direct war between Russia and NATO.
Such a conflict would only have losers – all over the world.«
Moscow says so
According to Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin, Russia will only use nuclear weapons in response to an attack.
"We consider weapons of mass destruction, nuclear weapons, as a means of defense," Putin told a televised meeting of the Kremlin's Human Rights Council on Wednesday.
Russia's strategy is based on a "so-called retaliatory strike" policy.
"If we're attacked, we'll fight back," he added.
Putin continued: “We haven't lost our minds.
We are aware of what nuclear weapons mean.
(...) We will not brandish these weapons like a razor blade.
But of course we act in the knowledge that they exist.«
In the past, the head of the Kremlin had announced that Russian territory would be defended with all military means.
Now, with a view to the confrontation with the West as a result of the Ukraine war, he emphasized that "the danger of a nuclear war is growing".
This conflict could "draw on for a long time," according to Putin.
In an initial reaction, the United States described the Kremlin chief's statements as frivolous talk.
US State Department spokesman Ned Price declined to respond directly to Putin's announcement.
At the same time, however, he stressed to the media that "we consider any loose talk about nuclear weapons to be absolutely irresponsible".
According to official information, Russian security forces arrested a convicted criminal on Wednesday who is said to have shot at police officers with a machine gun in a region bordering Ukraine.
According to a Russian media report, it is said to be a deserter from the Wagner mercenary group fighting in Ukraine.
According to the Russian investigative committee, the 38-year-old man is suspected of shooting at a group of police officers in the city of Novoshakhtinsk, which is part of the Russian border region of Rostov, on Tuesday, injuring one of them.
After a search of almost 24 hours, he was caught in the village of Kiseljowo.
According to investigators, the suspect had previously been convicted of "theft and robbery".
According to the Basa Telegram channel, which is known for its good contacts with the Russian security forces, the man was serving his sentence in a Russian penal colony when he was recruited by the Wagner squad to fight in Ukraine.
However, he later changed his mind and deserted.
That says Kyiv
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has reported that heavy fighting is continuing in the east of his country.
Ten people were killed in recent Russian attacks on the city of Kurakhove in the Donetsk region, Zelensky said in his video speech on Thursday night.
About the situation around the small town of Bakhmut, which the Russians have been trying to take for months, which is currently being particularly heavily shelled, he said: »There is a very tough confrontation there.
Every meter counts.« He also thanked all Ukrainian soldiers who opposed the attackers.
According to Ukrainian sources, Russia has attacked the Ukrainian power grid more than a thousand times so far.
“These attacks are the biggest blow to a power grid ever.
More than a thousand grenades and rockets were fired at electrical installations, lines and substations,” the Interfax agency quoted the head of network operator Ukrenergo, Volodymyr Kudrytsky, as saying.
Despite considerable damage, the energy infrastructure is still working.
According to President Selenskyj, the Ukrainian army has liberated around 2,000 Russian-occupied towns in the country.
"We have already managed to liberate towns from the occupying forces in 1888," said the head of state.
"Almost as many Ukrainian towns and villages are still occupied," he added.
International reactions
Estonia has passed a national budget with record defense spending for 2023.
According to the budget passed by Parliament in Tallinn on Wednesday, the military budget will exceed one billion euros for the first time in the coming year - that's the equivalent of 2.9 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) of the Baltic EU and NATO country.
Estonia borders Russia and regards its war of aggression against Ukraine as a direct threat to its security.
The Baltic state in north-eastern Europe has therefore already massively increased its military spending this year and is upgrading its armed forces.
The son of a former top Russian official with ties to President Vladimir Putin has been acquitted in a drone case in Norway.
This was reported by the NTB news agency on Wednesday evening.
While the defense attorney for the accused businessman Andrei Yakunin expressed his satisfaction with the verdict, the responsible public prosecutor announced an appeal to the radio station NRK and the newspaper »Verdens Gang«.
Yakunin, a 47-year-old British-Russian national, had denied the allegations before a court in Tromso, northern Norway.
There he was accused of flying a drone illegally on a sailing trip in Spitsbergen in the summer, thereby violating sanctions for Russian citizens.
He was arrested for this in mid-October.
Recently, drones have been repeatedly sighted over sensitive infrastructure in Norway, including oil platforms in the North Sea or airports.
Several Russians were arrested in the course of this and some were sentenced to several months in prison - Yakunin's acquittal could now have an impact on these sentences.
Yakunin's father is Vladimir Yakunin, a former Russian railway chief and one of the founders of the Osero dacha cooperative, of which Putin was also a member.
All of the founding members went on to have careers either as businessmen or high-ranking officials after Putin's election as president.
Yakunin himself was sorted out from Putin's closest circle a few years ago.
jok/dpa/Reuters