Anger in Greece at Chancellor Scholz and his planned exchange of armored rings is growing. Meanwhile, a secret NATO paper shows possible Russian plans for the Balkans. All voices and developments on the Ukraine war here in the ticker.
3:22 p.m .: Despite all the announcements, Germany’s arms deliveries are not starting. This is reported by “Spiegel”. In an email to selected security politicians on Wednesday, the federal government informed that there had been “no additions” to the weapons delivered since the week, reports the magazine.
3:10 p.m .: The Ukrainian ambassador in Berlin, Andriy Melnyk, has generally welcomed the fact that former Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) has publicly commented on her Russia policy. Melnyk told the broadcasters RTL and n-tv on Wednesday that there was a need for a “review of Russia policy” and an “open discussion in society in Germany”. “That’s why it was good that the chancellor agreed to take a stand.”
Unfortunately, in the first interview since the change of government six months ago, “not a hint of self-criticism” could be felt, Melnyk told the German Press Agency on Wednesday. “The ex-Chancellor’s statements about the infallibility of her Russia course and her far too lenient treatment of dictator Putin are disconcerting.”
However, he expected “a lot more” concrete answers from Merkel, the diplomat said. “Because if everything is supposed to have gone so well and no mistakes were made at all, then the question is why we have been dealing with this war of aggression for 105 days.” From his point of view, there are “still many unanswered questions”. He hopes “that the chancellor and German politicians as a whole will find the opportunity to give honest answers.”
1:27 p.m .: On the Pentecost weekend, the Spanish government announced, according to the daily newspaper “El Pais”, that it wanted to deliver 40 old Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. Spain acquired this from the German armaments industry in the 1990s.
But nothing seems to be coming of this plan: As “Business Insider” reports, citing German government circles, Madrid will send a maximum of ten tanks to the war-torn country – if at all. However, it is basically unclear how many vehicles can ultimately be delivered. The broken tanks would first have to be brought into shape. There are still questions about the delivery, which the government in Madrid must first vote on. The Federal Government would therefore not have received a related application. According to a clause in armaments contracts, it must first agree to the resale of German armaments to Ukraine. Spanish officials apologized for the inconvenience.
1:22 p.m .: Luxembourg has frozen almost 4.3 billion euros in assets as a result of EU sanctions after the Russian attack on Ukraine. These are bank deposits and securities, as the finance minister of the EU country, Yuriko Backes, announced on Wednesday. With 125 international banks, Luxembourg is one of the most important international financial centres. Since the start of the Russian invasion at the end of February, the EU has now agreed on six sanctions packages.
11:33 a.m .: After a reporter question, the press conference is over.
11:29 a.m .: He rules out an early meeting between Putin and the Ukrainian President. “Zelenskyy changes his mind every time. He said he would only proceed with negotiations if Russia withdraws its troops beyond the February 24 line. He can’t be serious,” says Lavrov. It is now the turn of Ukraine’s negotiating teams to take a step towards Russia.
11:27 a.m.: “We are ready to ensure the safety of Ukrainian ships sailing to the Bosphorus,” says the Foreign Minister. Zelenskyy, however, categorically rejects a solution to the mine problem. If the Ukrainian side is ready to negotiate, they will exchange views Ukrainians would have to let the ships out of their ports by demining or opening safe corridors.
11:25 a.m .: Security in the Black Sea must now be expanded and the stability of the region maintained. With that, Lavrov concludes.
11:22 a.m .: As part of risk minimization in the Syria issue, they also spoke to Iran. Then the foreign minister talks about further conflicts and appointments in the Middle East. For Lavrov, the issue of Ukraine quickly settled.
11:20 a.m .: If the Ukrainian side is ready to guarantee the departure of the ships, it is hoped that the problem will be solved. “Our navy is in contact with our Turkish friends,” says Lavrov. Details are discussed together. There are no obstacles to “solving this little problem,” he says, referring to the blocked ports.
11:19 a.m .: The Black Sea Fleet would have started setting up humane corridors a few weeks ago. This would allow ships to pass parts of the Black Sea. However, Zelenskyy refused to demin Ukrainian territories to let ships pass. Instead, the Ukrainian president would have said: “Give us anti-ship missiles and we will solve the problem ourselves”. “I believe everyone can judge for themselves how appropriate these statements are.”
11.16 a.m .: The talks were about trade and investments by countries, among other things. Above all, however, the Ukraine war was an issue. In addition, the two countries had also identified situations “with a threat to our security from external actors who are far away from us” – a clear dig at the NATO countries. The “special operation” has gone very well so far. We continue to try to avoid personal injury.
11:14 a.m .: Lavrov speaks. “It is clear that the relations between our countries are of a pragmatic nature,” he says, referring to Turkey. The tone for this is set by the presidents.
11.00 a.m .: The press conference is delayed a little.
10:42 a.m.: In a few minutes, at 10:50 a.m., Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will speak at a press conference. FOCUS Online will accompany this in the live ticker at this point. Lavrov is currently visiting Turkey and is meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.
Wednesday, June 8, 6:33 a.m .: Ukraine has rejected Russian claims that Russian troops have the strategically important eastern Ukrainian city of Sievjerodonetsk largely under control. “They don’t control the city,” Luhansk region governor Serhiy Gaiday said on Telegram on Tuesday. However, he admitted that it is “very difficult to hold Sieverodonetsk” and even spoke of a “mission impossible”.
Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu had previously said Russian forces had full control of the city’s residential areas. However, the Russian army continues to try to conquer the industrial area and the surrounding settlements.
Gajday said the “enemy” had “mobilized all forces, all reserves” to cut off the main road from Lysychansk to Bakhmut, thereby encircling both major cities. “They are bombing Lysychansk very hard,” the governor said of the neighboring city, which is separated from Sievarodonetsk by a river. Taking the two cities would allow Russia to advance towards the major city of Kramatorsk in the Donetsk region. Moscow would thus come a decisive step closer to its goal of completely conquering the Donbass.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reiterated on Tuesday evening that “the situation on the front has not changed significantly in the last 24 hours” and that “the absolutely heroic defense of Donbass continues”. He said more than 31,000 Russian soldiers had been killed since the war began in late February. This is almost 300 deaths a day. “However, the day will come when even for Russia the number of casualties will become unacceptable,” he predicted. An independent confirmation of the dead on both sides is not possible.
8:22 p.m .: Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu meet in Ankara on Wednesday for talks on a possible deblocking of Ukrainian grain exports. Lavrov landed in the Turkish capital on Tuesday evening, it is his second trip to Turkey since the beginning of the Ukraine war. The Turkish government is trying to play a mediating role in this.
Dozens of container ships are currently stranded in Ukrainian ports and are being blocked by the Russian military. As a result, Ukrainian exports of wheat, sunflower oil, fertilizer and other goods cannot be processed as usual. Shipping in the Black Sea is also hampered by sea mines. At the request of the United Nations, Turkey offered to escort maritime convoys from Ukrainian ports, despite the fact that sea mines were sometimes discovered near the Turkish coast.
7.40 p.m .: According to Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, Poland is currently signing an extensive contract for the supply of arms to Ukraine. It is “one of the largest, if not the largest, arms export contract in the past thirty years,” said Morawiecki on Tuesday during a visit to the armaments company Huta Stalowa Wola in the south-east of the country. The Polish weapons would be very important for the combat zones in eastern Ukraine, Morawiecki added. Ukraine will receive part of the funds for the purchase from the EU and pay part of it itself.
The Prime Minister of Poland did not say what kind of weapons it is exactly and what the scope of the arms deal is. However, when making the announcement to the press, he and Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak posed in front of a series of Krab self-propelled howitzers manufactured in Stalowa Wola.
6.48 p.m .: Russia has written out the Kremlin-critical writer Dmitry Glukhovsky for a national manhunt. The 42-year-old is wanted for a violation of the Russian Criminal Code, the Russian state agency TASS reported on Tuesday. Glukhovsky told the German Press Agency that he is currently not in Moscow. He assumes that he is wanted for insulting the Russian army. “I am ready to repeat everything I said: stop the war! Admit this is a war against an entire people. And end it!” he said, referring to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The author of the “Metro” trilogy, who mainly lives abroad and also speaks German, has been a harsh critic of the Russian political system for years. After the beginning of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, he repeatedly condemned the invasion on social networks, pointed out the losses in the Russian armed forces and reported on the murder of Ukrainian civilians.
“The most important structural problem of the Russian political system is that it is made up of thieving dumbass, living on the understanding of crooks, competing with each other in cannibalistic fervor, carrying out the orders of a remote, hypocritical old man with a personal crisis” , he wrote on Twitter in May.
6:20 p.m .: Greece is to receive 100 German infantry fighting vehicles as compensation for the delivery of Soviet-design weapons to Ukraine. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) announced this ring exchange last week. But the Greeks are not as enthusiastic about the Scholz plan as the chancellor himself: it is too complicated and above all it takes too long.
At a press conference in Athens on Monday, government spokesman Giannis Oikonomou emphasized that Greece would only deliver the weapons if the promised German armored personnel carriers actually arrived in Greece. But that would still take a while, said a high-ranking ministry representative in Athens to the “Bild” newspaper. “It can take at least two months until the first tank from Germany is with us on the islands where we have the GDR tanks in action.” The plan was nonsense, the representative continued.
Because the process would take a long time: Greece is currently still waiting for an invitation from its special committee to Germany to check the Marder tanks. The committee includes five to six military experts who are tasked with reviewing the condition of the tanks and determining which of the tanks should go to Greece. Then they have to be prepared, some converted. Initially, the tanks would then only be taken to mainland Greece, and would have to be re-inspected and painted in the colors of the Greek military. According to the report, Greece would only deliver the old GDR tanks to Ukraine once the tanks with the necessary ammunition were on the Greek islands. The official concluded to the “Bild”: “When should Ukraine get the tanks from the ring exchange – when the war is over?”
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