Gazprom has stated that the continued operation of Nord Stream 1 cannot be guaranteed. The EU is now developing an emergency plan for the gas supply stop. The oral hearing in the SPD proceedings on the party expulsion of former Chancellor Schröder will take place today. All voices and developments on the Ukraine war here in the ticker.
1:06 p.m .: According to Moscow, the restart of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline after the current maintenance work is primarily the responsibility of the West. “As for the operation of the gas pipeline in the future, much will depend on our partners – both in terms of demand for gas and in terms of preventing the negative impact of illegal restrictive measures,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said , according to the Interfax agency on Thursday.
Zakharova specifically referred to the case of a turbine that was overhauled in Canada but then not returned to Russia due to Western sanctions. In the meantime, however, Canada has decided to hand over the turbine to Germany. Russia had significantly throttled gas deliveries to Germany in June, citing the missing part as the reason.
9.32 a.m .: The chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Bundestag, Michael Roth, calls for further arms deliveries from Germany to Ukraine. “The delivery of modern Western equipment, also from Germany, makes a big difference,” said the SPD politician in an interview with the news portal ntv.de. “That’s why these arms deliveries must be continued consistently and comprehensively.” The war in Ukraine is changing. “In the coming months, Ukraine will increasingly focus on regaining territories conquered by Russia,” said Roth. The federal government has also promised arms deliveries for this phase. “We must not let up in the coming weeks and months.”
Unlike other public voices, Roth did not insist on a quick ceasefire: “A ceasefire without troop withdrawals would only give Putin a welcome respite to bring even more soldiers and military equipment to the front,” Roth said. Vladimir Putin is only pretending to be interested in negotiations. “Russia wants to destroy Ukraine. There is absolutely no doubt about that.”
With a view to Russian gas supplies, which may soon be completely eliminated, Roth said: “It is technically impossible for Russia to simply reduce domestic gas production to zero. That does not work. Then Putin would have to flare off the gas. He can certainly turn the gas tap on and off at times, but he cannot bring gas production to zero or divert the gas to other countries via other pipelines because they do not exist.” Roth urged more self-confidence in the showdown with the Kremlin. “Russia is a tired, sick colossus that rests one-sidedly on finite raw materials and military power. He has faltered quite a bit, ”said the foreign expert. “It is kept alive by nationalism and colonialism, a violent dictator and anti-social turbo-capitalism.”
Roth reported that there are still many “Putin understanders who attack me every day” in Germany. However, their number has recently decreased. “At least a lot of people just shut up now,” he said. Roth paid tribute to the outgoing Ukrainian Ambassador Andriy Melnyk despite all the differences: “Of course he polarized people, he also hurt people and certainly made mistakes,” said Roth. But: “Melnyk represents a country that is fighting for its existence and for its survival. He wanted to do something so that we do not turn a blind eye to this misery. He succeeded.”
5:35 a.m .: In view of the impending gas crisis, significant energy saving measures could come to the economy and consumers. A draft for an emergency plan by the European Commission provides that public buildings, offices and commercial buildings should be heated to a maximum of 19 degrees from autumn. “Acting now can reduce the effects of a sudden supply interruption by a third,” says the text, which is available to the German Press Agency. There is now a “considerable risk” that Russia will stop gas supplies to Europe this year.
Companies that can replace gas should reduce their consumption, they say. The aim is to protect industries that are particularly important for supply chains and competitiveness. Households are also encouraged to voluntarily consume less. “Anyone can save gas, now,” writes the commission.
5.12 a.m .: The oral hearing in the SPD proceedings on a party expulsion of former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder will take place in Hanover on Thursday (11.30 a.m.). At the meeting, a total of 17 applications from district and local associations against Schröder will be negotiated. The majority are aiming for expulsion from the party because of the ex-chancellor’s attitude towards the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine and President Vladimir Putin, as well as his work for Russian energy companies.
Schröder himself is not expected at the appointment. According to the Hanover sub-district, he will probably not be represented either. If necessary, the hearing will continue on Friday. The Arbitration Commission should then make its decision “no later than three weeks after the end of the oral hearing”.
4:31 a.m .: SPD parliamentary group leader Rolf Mützenich advocates not excluding talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin under certain conditions. “You can’t force such talks,” said Mützenich of the German Press Agency. “But if President Putin is willing to hold reliable talks with the heads of state and government of the EU, NATO and Ukraine, that shouldn’t be ruled out in principle.”
Such talks would have to be made dependent on the concrete framework conditions. “And the Federal Chancellor is experienced enough to decide when he considers such a discussion with the partners to be expedient,” said Mützenich. But he sees no special role for Germany. “On the contrary, I warn against a special role now as in the past.” Instead, there must always be close agreements with the partners.
“I continue to assume that this war will not be decided on the battlefield by an absolute victory, but in the end only by talks, by negotiations, by agreements,” emphasized Mützenich. This is how wars have ended in the past should always be able to use certain signals that indicate a possible ceasefire to re-enter diplomatic talks, but such signals are lacking to date.”
Thursday, July 14, 2:13 a.m .: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sees a good chance that the blocked grain exports will soon be released. “The Ukrainian delegation informed me that there is some progress,” Zelenskyy said in his video address on Wednesday. He was referring to the negotiations in Turkey on lifting the Russian naval blockade of Ukrainian ports. If the Russian threat to shipping in the Black Sea can be eliminated, the global food crisis will become less acute, Zelenskyy assured. Before the war, Ukraine was one of the largest grain exporters in the world.
In his video address, the Ukrainian President also referred to his planned appearance at a forum in The Hague on the prosecution of war crimes in Ukraine on Thursday. “We must coordinate our efforts in such a way that all guilty parties receive their just punishment,” said Zelenskyy. Since the start of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, numerous war crimes have also been recorded against the civilian population. Zelenskyj was convinced that the perpetrators would be brought before an international court.
9:59 p.m .: In the war against Russia, Ukraine is hoping for longer-range missiles from the USA. “At all levels, our state is holding talks with US officials about providing longer-range missiles for the HIMARS missile launchers,” Fedir Venislavsky, a member of the parliament’s Defense Committee, told Ukrainian television on Wednesday. The army currently only has projectiles with a range of around 70 kilometers for this type of rocket launcher. However, there are also missiles for targets a good 300 and 500 kilometers away.
9:13 p.m.: A presenter on Russian state television, Olga Skabeeva, has suggested that US military support for Ukraine could lead to the war escalating into a conflict between Russia and NATO. “If, God forbid, the Americans deliver missiles that can fly 300 kilometers, then we just can’t stop,” said Skabeeva, “then we will go all the way to Warsaw.”
The background to her statement is that the USA has been supplying Ukraine with the Himar multiple rocket launcher since June, which can hit even more targets than previously delivered howitzers. Kremlin sources have already expressed concern about the weapons systems, which have reportedly caused significant casualties in troops and equipment, especially as the US pledged even more military support to Ukraine.
9 p.m.: Russia and Ukraine have made headway in negotiations over a possible resumption of grain supplies, according to Turkey and the UN. It has been agreed that the Russian and Ukrainian delegations will meet again in Turkey next week, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said after a first meeting in Istanbul on Wednesday. UN Secretary-General António Guterres called the talks a “glimmer of hope”.
7.30 p.m .: Several German scientists and military experts currently see no scope for a “serious diplomatic solution” with regard to the Ukraine war. Rather, the 22 authors in a guest article for the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” call for “the level and quantity of Western arms deliveries” to be increased so that the country can avert a “dictated peace”.
Should Ukraine succumb to the Russian attack, Moscow is likely to plan further wars “to destroy the European security order,” they warned.
The signatories to the guest article included military expert Carlo Masala from the University of the German Armed Forces in Munich, military historian Sönke Neitzel from the University of Potsdam and several former generals in the German Armed Forces. With their contribution, they contradicted an open letter from German writers, journalists and philosophers who, at the end of June in the weekly newspaper “Die Zeit” under the headline “Armistice now!”, had called for the war to end as quickly as possible.
In the new guest article, the authors warn that peace cannot be achieved with a hasty “diplomatic solution”. This would send a signal to Russian President Vladimir Putin that invasions will be rewarded with land gains, the obliteration of sovereign states and geopolitical power expansion, the professors and ex-military officials warn.
6:14 p.m .: After Russian-Ukrainian negotiations on a possible resumption of grain deliveries, there are no signs of a breakthrough. The Turkish Defense Ministry said in a brief statement on Wednesday that the talks held in Istanbul with the participation of Turkey and the UN “have come to an end”, without giving any indication of possible progress. These were the first direct talks between Russia and Ukraine since March.
4:25 p.m .: The Russian gas company Gazprom has questioned the continued operation of the Nord Stream pipeline against the background of the repair of a necessary turbine in Canada. Gazprom has so far had no written confirmation that the repaired turbine from Canada will actually be delivered to Siemens, the company responsible for the installation, the Russian gas company said on Wednesday. “Under these circumstances” Gazprom cannot guarantee the future operation of the line.
Since Monday, Nord Stream 1 has stopped supplying gas due to maintenance work. The work is expected to last until July 21. It is unclear whether Gazprom will supply gas again afterwards.
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