There is huge anger in the Kremlin over the airspace ban on Foreign Minister Lavrov. Meanwhile, the United States wants to confiscate two of Oligarch Abramovich’s planes. Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth became clear during her visit to Odessa. All voices and developments on the Ukraine war here in the ticker.
4:55 p.m .: Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck has shown sympathy for Spain to approve the export of German-made Leopard tanks to Ukraine. The Green politician said on Tuesday during a visit to Ramallah in Palestine that the Spanish government had not yet made a decision when he left on Monday.
Spain had bought the tanks in Germany. With a so-called end-use clause, Germany has – as is usual with such armaments deals – secured a proviso for the transfer to third parties, so that the federal government now has to agree. The body responsible for this is the Federal Security Council, which meets in one session or can also use the so-called circulation procedure to reach a consensus.
So far, such a permit has also been granted, for example for howitzers from old GDR stocks, the transfer of which to the Ukraine had been approved by the Estonian government. “I can’t anticipate the exam now. But the official route is clear. And I believe that Ukraine needs to be supported during this difficult time,” Habeck said.
4:48 p.m .: The Russian authorities have punished twelve officers for illegally sending conscripts into the war against Ukraine. “About 600 conscripts were called up for the special military operation, all of whom were sent back within a very short time,” said the military prosecutor of Russia’s western military district, Artur Jegiev, on Tuesday, according to the Interfax news agency. The officers have been held accountable for this, he added.
Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin had promised not to use conscripts in Ukraine, but only temporary and professional soldiers. When it became known that conscripts were nevertheless being drafted into the war, the Russian President publicly ordered their return.
4:14 p.m .: Russian President Vladimir Putin is destabilizing all of Eastern Europe with his war in Ukraine – and may already have the next goal in mind: In a confidential paper, NATO assumes that Russia also wants to expand its influence in the Balkans. The paper is available to Business Insider. It says: “The Western Balkans is a region in which Russia has long been active with political provocations.” Moscow is trying to counter the influence of the EU and to undermine Western actors.
The overall threat level is low, and the situation in the Western Balkans is still calm, but “fragile,” according to the document. Moscow’s plans are outlined in the paper: “Russia’s increasing meddling threatens to lead to further divisions amid already strained ethnic and political ties in the region.” Russia has freedom of movement, particularly in the area of disinformation. The complicated situation in the Balkans is playing into Moscow’s hands.
The NATO paper states that it is also expected that Russia will try to undermine NATO’s success in the region. In plain language: There is a threat of a cold war in the region between the West and Russia, which is being waged primarily with propaganda. Therefore, one should counter Putin’s disinformation, such as the claim that the war in Ukraine is merely a reaction to NATO’s actions, the paper says.
China is also very interested in the region – and NATO apparently believes that Beijing is playing a double game. The document states that, on the one hand, it is assumed that China will propaganda support Russia. At the same time, the region wants to offer itself as an “alternative to Russia” in the field of security policy.
4:02 p.m .: Ex-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev sent an angry message against alleged enemies of Russia. “I hate them. They are bastards and degenerate people,” Medvedev wrote in a message on the online service Telegram on Tuesday. He will “do everything to make them disappear”. Medvedev, 56, wrote that these people wanted “death for us, for Russia”. He gave no further details.
Since the start of the Russian military operation in Ukraine on February 24 and the subsequent Western sanctions, Medvedev has published increasingly harshly worded articles in online networks. In May, Medvedev wrote that the West could not impose “crazy sanctions” on Russia on the one hand and expect the country to export food on the other.
Medvedev is currently Deputy Chairman of the National Security Council. From 2008 to 2012 he was Russian head of state, after which he took over the post of prime minister until 2020. When he took office, he promised to make Russia a freer and more democratic country.
4 p.m.: Ukraine refuses any inspection of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant by the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as long as the nuclear plant is occupied by Russian troops. The Ukrainian atomic energy authority Energoatom emphasized on Tuesday that it did not give permission for IAEA chief Rafael Grossi to visit the nuclear power plant site. Any other statements by Grossi are “lies”.
Grossi wrote on Twitter on Monday that his authority was preparing an expert visit to the Zaporizhia nuclear plant in south-eastern Ukraine, which was occupied by Russian troops. Energoatom wrote in the messenger service Telegram: “The IAEA director Rafael Grossi is lying again.”
Ukraine did not invite Grossi “to visit the Zaporizhia power plant and in the past has prevented him from making such a visit,” Energoatom wrote. “Visiting the power plant will only be possible when Ukraine takes control of the plant again.” Grossi’s statement describes Energoatom as “a new attempt to gain access to the Zaporizhia power plant in order to legitimize the presence of the occupiers and to approve their activities .” The Russian army took control of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in early March. On May 19, Russia threatened to cut off Ukraine’s power supply from the nuclear plant if Kyiv did not pay for the electricity produced there.
3:42 p.m .: During a visit to Lithuania, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) defended the German position on arms deliveries to Ukraine. Germany is one of the “most important military supporters” of Ukraine, Scholz said at a joint press conference with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas and Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins. “Nobody delivers on a similar scale as Germany does,” said the Chancellor. Scholz promised the Lithuanian government additional support to strengthen NATO’s eastern flank.
When asked by a journalist, Scholz described the impression that Germany was hesitant to deliver arms to Kyiv as “wrong”. Germany is supplying arms to Ukraine on a “very large scale”, including armored personnel carriers, mortar rockets and ammunition. Germany will continue to supply arms to Ukraine “as long as necessary” to help Ukraine repel “Russian aggression.”
1:10 p.m .: According to Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Spain has not yet made a request for the export of German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. If there is another such application, it will be examined, he said during his visit to Lithuania.
12:47 p.m .: Chancellor Olaf Scholz has promised Lithuania additional military support to deter and defend against a possible Russian attack. “We are determined that we will increase our contribution,” said the SPD politician on Tuesday after talks with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda and the heads of government of all three Baltic states, which also include Latvia and Estonia. The German commitment should be developed “in the direction of a robust combat brigade”.
“As allies in NATO, we feel obliged to each other and we will defend every inch of NATO territory in the event of an attack,” said Scholz. The Chancellor did not initially give details of the increased German commitment.
A German-led NATO battalion with 1,600 soldiers is currently stationed in Lithuania, more than 1,000 of whom belong to the Bundeswehr. A brigade usually consists of around 3,000 to 5,000 soldiers.
The Baltic states have been pushing for a NATO brigade to be stationed in each of the three countries for a long time. However, it is unclear how many soldiers are actually to be stationed on site and how many are to be kept ready outside.
10.50 a.m .: Chancellor Olaf Scholz arrived in Lithuania on Tuesday for a visit. The SPD politician was received in the capital Vilnius by President Gitanas Nauseda. This was followed by a meeting with the heads of government of all three Baltic states. In addition to Lithuania, this also includes Latvia and Estonia. For Scholz, this is the first visit to a NATO country that borders Russia and feels particularly threatened by the nuclear power since the start of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine more than three months ago.
The program also includes an encounter with Bundeswehr soldiers who are stationed in Lithuania to secure NATO’s eastern flank. At a summit meeting of the military alliance at the end of the month in Madrid, it will also be a question of whether the troops on the alliance’s eastern flank will be increased again. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) had already promised a “substantial contribution” from Germany during a visit to Lithuania in April. 1000 German soldiers are currently stationed in Lithuania.
10.45 a.m .: The Union has warned the federal government against abandoning Ukraine in the event of a possible delivery of Leopard tanks from Spain. “Germany abandons Ukraine every day that no heavy weapons arrive there,” said deputy head of the Union faction Johann Wadephul (CDU) of the “Augsburger Allgemeine” on Tuesday. “If Spain wants to deliver Leopard 2, the federal government must make it possible quickly.”
Wadephul referred to media reports that Spain wanted to supply used German-made Leopard 2 tanks to the war zone. “The seriousness of the situation was recognized more clearly in Madrid than in Berlin – a devastating realization,” said the CDU politician. Ukraine threatens to lose the Donbass battle. “It’s about the lives of innocent people, but also about defending Europe against an imperial aggressor,” he stressed.
Wadephul called on Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) to take a clear position on the delivery of heavy weapons. The coalition partners of the SPD should finally show their colors. “Greens and FDP must know: Public statements on talk shows do not replace practical politics,” said the CDU politician. They are “fully responsible for the role of spectator that Germany is actually taking on at the moment,” he criticized.
The Spanish newspaper “El País” had reported, citing government circles in Madrid, that Spain now also wanted to supply heavy weapons to Ukraine. In addition to anti-aircraft missiles, the package included around 40 used Leopard 2 A4 tanks, which Germany sold to Spain in 1995. However, these tanks would first have to be made operational, reported “El País”. In addition, Ukrainian soldiers would have to be trained on the tanks, which should initially take place in Latvia, where Spanish soldiers are stationed as part of the NATO troops.
6.40 a.m .: Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth (Greens) chose clear words for the attack by Russian troops during her visit to the Ukrainian port city of Odessa. Her Ukrainian counterpart gave her two stamps as a gift. The first motif shows a soldier in front of the silhouette of the sunken Russian warship Moskva. On the second stamp, the ship has disappeared and the soldier is raising his middle finger instead. “Fuck off, Black Sea Fleet!” Roth translates the scene to the delight of the Ukrainian.
As a port city on the Black Sea in southern Ukraine, Odessa is not only of strategic but also of cultural importance. For the first day of her journey, Roth chose to visit the Potemkin Stairs, which became world-famous through the film “Panzerkreuzer Potemkin” by Sergei Eisenstein (1925).
Roth summed it up: “In Odessa we can see what it means when culture is deliberately destroyed. A war on culture is also a war on democracy,” said Roth. “When culture is destroyed, democracy no longer makes sense.” Ukraine reports 375 destroyed cultural sites in the country since the Russian war of aggression began.
Tuesday, June 7, 4:06 a.m .: Lithuania’s President Gitanas Nauseda is pushing for a stronger NATO presence in the Baltic States in view of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine. “The NATO summit in Madrid must be the summit of decisions,” Nauseda told the German Press Agency before Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s one-day visit to Vilnius on Tuesday. “We hope to agree at the summit: on a transition from deterrence to forward defense, from a battalion to a brigade, from air surveillance to air defense.”
At the NATO summit in Madrid at the end of the month, the question will be whether the troops on the eastern flank of the western defense alliance will be increased again.
11:44 p.m .: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj firmly expects his country to have EU candidate status within the next few weeks. “I mean, this will be a decision not only for Ukraine, but for the entire European project,” the head of state said in his daily video message on Monday. That will also decide whether the EU has a future or not, Zelenskyj said.
The EU Commission wants to decide in June how to proceed with the ambitions of the country attacked by Russia. The federal government has not yet taken a position on this issue. However, Chancellor Olaf Scholz made it clear that there should be no shortcuts for Ukraine on the way to the EU. Ukraine sees their fight against Russia as sufficient qualification.
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