Ukraine news: Economics Minister Habeck accuses Russia of blackmail

The essentials in brief:

• Economics Minister Habeck announces further energy saving law
• Nord Stream 1 is supplying gas again
• Hungary wants to continue buying Russian gas
• Lukashenko warns of nuclear war
• According to the US intelligence services, 15,000 Russian soldiers have been killed so far

The German Economics Minister Robert Habeck has once again sharply criticized Russia for its energy policy. Statements from Russia, according to which the country is a guarantor of the energy supply in Europe, rejected Habeck: “That is a distortion of every fact,” said Habeck at an online press conference in Berlin. Russia uses its power to blackmail Germany and Europe. “And every day proves to be an insecure cantonist in the energy supply in Europe.”

Habeck announced another energy security package. These include stricter requirements for filling gas storage facilities and activation of the lignite reserve. From October 1st, the lignite reserve will be activated in addition to the hard coal, said the Green politician. Although gas is now flowing through the Nord Stream 1 Baltic Sea pipeline again, this is no reason to sit back and relax. It should by no means be assumed that deliveries, currently at 40 percent of line capacities, will continue as they are, he warned. Therefore, a gas saving regulation is planned. It is about saving measures in public buildings and a mandatory “heating check”. “We need staying power,” said Habeck. “Winter is yet to come.” And this is only the first winter. The second winter of 2023/2024 will still pose challenges for Europe.

Russia is sending gas again via Nord Stream 1

After the maintenance of Nord Stream 1, the gas supply through the German-Russian pipeline started again on Thursday morning. Gas is flowing again, a spokesman for Nord Stream AG told the German Press Agency. It will take some time before the full transport capacity is reached. The spokesman said the gas was last announced at about the same level as before the maintenance, i.e. around 67 million cubic meters per day. This corresponds to about 40 percent utilization of the maximum
Capacity. However, the notified quantities can also change in the course of a day with a certain amount of advance notice.

The course of Nord Stream 1

The Nord Stream 1 pipeline – the main gas pipeline from Russia to Germany – was put into operation in 2011. Since June, however, Russia’s state energy giant Gazprom has cut gas supplies to Germany by more than half. This was justified with a missing turbine from Siemens Energy, which the federal government criticized as a pretense. Later, the more than 1,200-kilometer-long pipeline was also completely shut down for annual maintenance work – as planned until this Thursday.

Hungary continues to rely on Russian gas

Regardless of the European Union’s efforts to become less dependent on energy supplies from Russia, Hungary wants to buy an additional 700 million cubic meters of gas from Moscow. Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto traveled to the Russian capital to negotiate. He will meet his counterpart Sergei Lavrov and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, reports the Hungarian news agency MTI, citing a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Hungary signed a 15-year deal with Russian energy giant Gazprom last year and is looking to secure a deal ahead of the heating season as energy prices soar.

Alexander Lukashenko urges Kyiv to resume negotiations with Moscow

Lukashenko warns of nuclear war

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has warned of a nuclear escalation in the Ukraine conflict. He called on the West, Ukraine and Russia to end the conflict in order to avert an impending “nuclear war”. “We have to stop and come to an agreement to end this chaos, this operation and the war in Ukraine,” Lukashenko told the French news agency AFP.

Lukashenko is an ally of Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin. He called on the Ukrainian government to resume negotiations with Russia. “Everything depends on Ukraine,” said Lukashenko. He assigned responsibility for the military escalation of the Ukraine conflict to the West, which “provoked” it and is continuing to fan it.

troop visit to Ukraine at the end of June; Moscow’s Defense Minister Shoigu honors a Russian soldier

Russia is massively violating international law

International experts have documented serious and widespread violations of international humanitarian law by Russian troops since the beginning of the war against Ukraine. The Warsaw-based electoral and human rights office ODIHR of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) presented a corresponding report.

Particularly serious cases are the shelling of the theater full of refugees in Mariupol in mid-March and the busy Kramatorsk train station in early April. The ODIHR also expressed dismay at the sieges of cities. Civilians were not given the opportunity to evacuate. Witnesses reported many cases of illegal executions, detentions, torture, sexual violence and kidnappings.

View of the destroyed theater building in the port city of Mariupol (in April)

The Ukrainian armed forces also violated international humanitarian law, albeit to a lesser extent, the report said.

15,000 Russians killed

According to US intelligence, around 15,000 Russian soldiers have died in the Ukraine war. “The latest US intelligence estimates are about 15,000 (Russian) soldiers killed and maybe three times as many wounded. So significant casualties,” CIA director William Burns said at a security conference in Colorado. “And the Ukrainians suffered too – probably a little less. But, you know, significant losses.”

Russia is very incomplete in quantifying its losses. The government in Kyiv announced in June that 100 to 200 Ukrainian soldiers were being killed in the fighting every day.

Baerbock promises further help to Ukraine in a DW interview

Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has reacted sharply to Russian announcements that she would attack further areas in Ukraine. Russia uses a different argument each time, Baerbock told DW in Hanover. So this is just new propaganda from the Russian side. Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had previously said with a view to supplying Ukraine with western weapons that the Russian military operation should be expanded to targets in western Ukraine.

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock in a DW interview

Baerbock promised Ukraine further support from Germany. In this context, she mentioned help in demining cities, caring for refugees and in the medical field.

Zelenskyy’s wife calls for more weapons for Ukraine

In a speech before the US Congress, Olena Zelenska, the wife of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, called for more arms deliveries to her country. “We are grateful that the United States is with us in this war,” Selenska said. “But the war is not over.” Ukraine needs more weapons “to protect everyone’s homes” so that everyone “can wake up alive in those homes,” she said.

Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska addresses US Congressmen in Washington

The US has sent nearly $7 billion worth of military supplies to Ukraine since Russia’s war of aggression began on February 24.

Mercosur rejects Zelenskyj as a speaker at the summit

South America’s Mercosur union has refused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a speech at a summit. The Mercosur countries Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay have not reached an agreement on the matter, Paraguay Deputy Foreign Minister Raúl Cano said. He did not say which countries specifically opposed Zelensky’s appearance. Selenskyj had asked Paraguay’s head of state Mario Abdo to address a message to the presidents of the member states during the summit.

Both Argentine President Alberto Fernández and Brazil’s head of state Jair Bolsonaro visited Moscow in February shortly before the start of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and offered Russian head of state Vladimir Putin to deepen relations.

Deutsche Bahn transports Ukrainian grain

Deutsche Bahn (DB) wants to bring grain intended for export from the Ukraine to the German ports of Rostock, Hamburg and Brake, among others. According to the DB, the network set up for the transport of relief supplies is intended to transport grain by freight train to the seaports.

Several trains should be on their way every week. A large part of the transport should go through Romania, since the country not only shares a long border with Ukraine, but also has a good infrastructure for agricultural transport.

Russian journalist in court

The journalist Marina Owsyannikova, who became known for her live protest action on Russian television against the war of aggression in Ukraine, has to appear in court in Moscow from this Thursday. The 44-year-old is accused of “discrediting” the Russian army. At the trial in the Russian capital, she faces a long prison sentence.

The Russian journalist Marina Ovsyannikova does not want to be silenced

Ovzyannikova appeared behind the anchorwoman during a live broadcast on March 14 and held up a sign that read “No War” to the camera. The journalist then spent several months abroad and worked briefly for the German newspaper “Die Welt”. Last week they again demonstrated against the war near the Kremlin and called President Vladimir Putin a “killer”.

sti/fab/se/AR (dpa, rtr, afp, ap)

This article will be continuously updated on the day of its publication. Reports from the combat zones cannot be independently verified.