A Bulgarian political scientist believes that using nuclear weapons in Ukraine could “make sense” for Putin. During the night there was a hacker attack on the Ukrainian administration in Lviv. All voices and developments on the Ukraine war here in the ticker.
7:38 p.m .: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declares that Turkey will not approve Sweden’s and Finland’s planned NATO accession. This is reported by the AFP news agency. Delegations from either country should not bother going to Turkey to convince the Turkish government of their bids for membership.
After Finland and Sweden officially decided to apply for NATO membership, Turkey accused both countries of not extraditing “terrorists” living there. In the past five years, neither Sweden nor Finland have responded positively to Turkey’s total of 33 extradition requests, the state news agency Anadolu reported on Monday, citing the Ministry of Justice in Ankara.
Erdogan accused Sweden and Finland on Friday of behaving “like a guest house for terrorist organizations”. He therefore has no “positive opinion” on the NATO accession plans of the two countries. According to Anadolu, “terror suspects” whose extradition Ankara is demanding are Kurdish extremists or members of the movement of preacher Fethullah Gülen.
A unanimous vote by NATO and the ratification of the alliance expansion by the parliaments of the 30 existing member states are required for Finland and Sweden to join.
7:33 p.m .: The foreign ministers of the EU countries have approved a further 500 million euros for the delivery of weapons and equipment to the Ukrainian armed forces. This was announced by EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Monday evening after a meeting with ministers in Brussels. This increases the EU funds available for military aid to Ukraine to two billion euros.
A first package of 500 million euros was approved at the end of February, followed by two more in March and April. According to EU information, the money will be used to finance personal protective equipment, fuel, but also weapons for defense. According to Borrell, the additional 500 million euros will be used to provide artillery pieces and armored vehicles, among other things.
The funds for the military aid come from the so-called European Peace Facility. It is a new EU financing instrument that can also be used to strengthen the capabilities of armed forces in partner countries. For the period from 2021 to 2027, the peace facility is endowed with around five billion euros. According to Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD), Germany finances around a quarter of the EU support. The formal legal act for the additional 500 million euros will probably be adopted in the next few weeks. Before that, among other things, the Bundestag must agree to the increase in funds.
5 p.m .: In the dispute over plans for a European oil embargo against Russia, there is hope for an agreement. “In the next few days we will come to a joint result – I am very confident about that,” said Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Monday at the sidelines of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.
There has been a dispute in the EU for almost two weeks now about the plans presented by the EU Commission for an import ban on Russian oil because Hungary is unwilling to support the project. The country justifies this with its high dependence on Russian oil supplies and the high costs of switching to other suppliers. Hungary only wants to agree to an embargo if it receives billions in aid or far-reaching exemptions from the EU.
Regarding the reservations, Baerbock said on Monday that it was important that all EU countries manage to end their energy dependency on Russia and be able to hold out. She also made it clear that she thinks an oil embargo without Hungary and other critical countries is a very bad idea.
4.50 p.m .: The traffic light coalition is postponing the vote planned for this week on the 100 billion program for the Bundeswehr. According to information from the German Press Agency, the item was removed from the Bundestag’s agenda. The reason is that the traffic light “is at odds with each other,” said Union housekeeper Mathias Middelberg. “This applies to the wording in the Basic Law, but also to the determination of the NATO goal of investing two percent of economic output in defense.”
SPD, FDP and Greens want to invest 100 billion euros in defense via a special fund in the coming years. Because the money to bypass the debt brake should come entirely from loans, they want to change the Basic Law. However, this requires a two-thirds majority in the Bundestag, which the coalition alone does not have. Negotiations with the Union have therefore been going on for weeks.
The talks were “in a good style and tone, they drag a bit,” said Green Party leader Omid Nouripour. You don’t have endless time, “but you don’t have to break it over your knee either”. The traffic light partners are all against anchoring the two percent target in the Basic Law.
Above all, the Union insists on a legal clarification that the special fund is used exclusively for the Bundeswehr. On the other hand, the previously planned wording “to strengthen alliance and defense capability” leaves a lot of leeway. Middelberg argued that Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) had clearly announced that the money was intended for the armed forces. However, the Greens and parts of the SPD were “a great distance from the positions of their own chancellor”. In addition, the Union demands a permanent increase in the defense budget. Scholz had announced the rearmament of the Bundeswehr at the end of February as a consequence of the Russian attack on Ukraine.
4:32 p.m .: What would a future without Vladimir Putin look like? A question that seems quite relevant in view of the constant rumors of a coup and illness surrounding the Russian president. In the guest article by our expert Gerhard Mangott, you can read who would take power in the Kremlin and under what circumstances.
3:15 p.m .: Vladimir Putin warned the West on Monday. Speaking to the leaders of a military alliance of former Soviet states, he emphasized that Russia would react if NATO strengthened the military infrastructure of Sweden and Finland. The Reuters news agency reports.
Putin again cited NATO expansion as the reason for the war in Ukraine. This is being used by the USA in an “aggressive” way to further aggravate the already difficult global security situation.
Russia has no problems with Finland or Sweden, so there is no direct threat from NATO expansion to include those countries, he said. “But extending military infrastructure to that area would certainly provoke our response.”
3:08 p.m .: Sweden will apply for NATO membership. Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson announced on Monday that her government had decided to officially notify Allianz of its desire to join. “Sweden’s NATO ambassador will inform NATO shortly,” Andresson told journalists in Stockholm. “We are leaving one era to enter a new one,” added the Prime Minister.
2:37 p.m.: The transit of Russian gas through Ukraine continues to decline. According to the energy company Gazprom, 46.8 million cubic meters of gas are to be pumped through the Ukrainian pipeline network towards Europe today. The contractually possible maximum utilization is 109 million cubic meters per day. The transit of Russian gas through the neighboring country dropped significantly last week because Ukraine closed a pipeline through the heavily contested Luhansk region due to the war.
2.30 p.m .: During a parliamentary debate in Sweden on Monday, a majority of the parties voted in favor of the country’s application for NATO membership. There shouldn’t be a vote. Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson wanted to announce her decision on the NATO issue in the afternoon. The ruling Social Democrats had already advocated an application to join the military alliance on Sunday.
A debate on the NATO membership application also took place in Finland on Monday. There was still no end in sight in the afternoon. However, a majority in Parliament for the application is considered safe.
2:46 p.m .: The US fast food chain McDonald’s is giving up its business in Russia as a result of the Russian war against Ukraine. After more than 30 years in the country, McDonald’s wants to sell the branches to a Russian buyer, as the group announced on Monday in Chicago. The company had come to the conclusion that ownership of the Russian activities was no longer tenable and no longer in line with the company’s values.
The company had already announced on March 8 that it would temporarily close the restaurants in the country. The new owner of the restaurants should no longer be able to use the brand symbols. According to its own statements, McDonald’s will post special costs of 1.2 to 1.4 billion US dollars for the withdrawal from Russia, including write-downs and foreign currency losses.
11:57 a.m .: Russia has nationalized the property of the French carmaker Renault in the country: the group and the Ministry of Trade in Moscow announced on Monday that the majority stake in the Russian carmaker Avtovaz and the plant in Moscow went to the Russian state. A price was not mentioned – but Russia’s Trade Minister Denis Manturov said in April that Renault was planning the sale for “a symbolic ruble”.
Renault boss Luca de Meo said: “Today we made a difficult but necessary decision – a responsible decision for our 45,000 employees in Russia.” Renault emphasized that the company had a six-year option to buy back the Avtovaz shares. De Meo said Renault could return to Russia “in the future, in a different context”.
Renault announced its withdrawal from Russia on March 24, a month after the start of the Ukraine war. Work at the Moscow plant has been suspended. At that time, Renault already said that the options for participating in the Lada manufacturer Avtovaz were being examined. The carmaker put the value of the Russian business at 2.2 billion euros.
09:52: Russia has again sharply criticized the efforts of Sweden and Finland to join NATO. “This is another serious mistake with far-reaching consequences,” Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Monday, according to Russian news agencies. Against the background of the Russian military operation in Ukraine, Sweden and Finland are about to give up their decades of military neutrality in order to join the western military alliance.
8:28 a.m .: After the French car group Renault left Russia, the group’s shares in the Lada manufacturer Avtovaz became the property of the Russian state. The Russian Trade Ministry announced in Moscow on Monday that contracts had been signed for the “transfer” of the Renault Group’s Russian shares to the Russian state and government in Moscow. Renault declared in Paris that the buyback option would remain.
6:23 a.m .: In an interview with Die Welt, political scientist and Eastern Europe expert Ivan Krastev mentioned two things that the West should fear in the war in Ukraine. “On the one hand, of course, that Putin’s attack was successful. Paradoxically, however, that things are going really badly for him. It is clear that he would then be willing to push certain boundaries.”
According to Krastev, this could also mean the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine. “From Putin’s point of view, the use of nuclear weapons can make sense,” he told Die Welt, but qualified: “I’m not talking about a nuclear war that would mean the end of the world. But attacking Ukraine with nuclear weapons to show that he is ready to cross any border is possible.” According to Krastev, the Ukraine war is also about “sending exactly those signals.” But whether Putin will He could “only speculate” that nuclear weapons would actually be used.
2:14 a.m .: The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj wants to increasingly ask for help in the Russian war of aggression against his country in Africa and Asia. He wants to speak to parliaments in other countries, said Selenskyj in his daily video speech on Monday night. In the past few months, the Ukrainian President had solicited support from parliamentarians in Europe, among other things, via video link. In a week he also wants to address the World Economic Forum in Davos, where, among other things, post-war reconstruction will be discussed.
One goal is also the tightening of sanctions against Russia, stressed Selenskyj. “The occupiers must constantly feel the increasing price of war for them.” The oil embargo against Russia is a priority. “No matter how hard Moscow tries to obstruct this decision, Europe’s period of dependence on Russian energy resources is coming to an end. And that will not change either,” Zelenskyj said.
Monday, May 16, 12:06 a.m.: The city administration of the western Ukrainian city of Lviv has become the target of a cyber attack by suspected Russian hackers. As a result of the attack on Friday, some city services were no longer available, Deputy Mayor Andriy Moskalenko wrote on Facebook. Part of it had been restored by Sunday.
The attackers also stole internal information from the city administration, which was then published in “hostile” information channels on the chat service Telegram, Moskalenko wrote. Russia is also conducting attacks on the “IT front” and one needs to be careful offline as well as online.
The Ukraine has long been in the sights of hacker groups, which Western IT security experts attribute to the environment of Russian secret services. With the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February, an escalation of cyber attacks was also expected, but so far there have been no major headlines.
8:59 p.m .: NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg considers Russia’s defeat in the war against Ukraine to be possible. “Ukraine can win this war,” said the Norwegian on Sunday after consultations with the foreign ministers of the 30 alliance states in Berlin. The war in Ukraine is not going as planned for Moscow. The offensive in the Donbass has stalled and the Russians are withdrawing from the Kharkiv area. In addition, the planned conquest of Kiev failed.
“Russia is not achieving its strategic goals,” added Stoltenberg. Ukraine is still standing and NATO is stronger than ever.
5:21 p.m .: After Finland, Sweden has now officially voted to join NATO. The ruling Social Democrats announced the decision in a statement after a special meeting of their party leadership on Sunday. This is another important step on the way to Sweden’s admission to the military alliance.
However, the Social Democrats do not want to accept the stationing of nuclear weapons or permanent NATO bases on their territory.
4:03 p.m .: With the war against Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin is robbing his country of all prospects, according to economic researcher Michael Hüther. “Russia is committing economic suicide with the war in Ukraine,” said the director of the German Economic Institute (IW) of the “Stuttgarter Zeitung” and the “Stuttgarter Nachrichten” on Monday. Russia is also being “politically degraded” and is not achieving its military goals.
Hüther added that Russia was a “resource-based oligarch economy” with extreme corruption. The country will not find a replacement for the collapsing natural gas markets in the west in the short term because the necessary pipelines are lacking.
In fact, Germany will never buy gas from Russia again. The current shift to liquefied natural gas from other countries will not be reversed because the construction of the import infrastructure is so expensive, said Hüther.
The “organizational ability of liberal democracies” was “once again underestimated during the crisis,” added the economist. At the same time, he expressed the hope that a devastating record of the Russian war of aggression could herald the end of conventional wars. These can no longer be listed under “rational economic history points”. “Thinking positively, that could also mean: It is the last such war that will be waged.”
3:29 p.m .: NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has expressed optimism that Turkey’s concerns about Sweden and Finland joining NATO can be quickly dispelled. Turkey has made it clear that it does not intend to “block” Finland and Sweden from joining the alliance, Stoltenberg said on Sunday at the end of informal consultations between NATO foreign ministers in Berlin. He was “confident” that NATO would find a common position if Finland and Sweden applied.
Stoltenberg stressed that NATO would respect “every decision” made by Finland and Sweden regarding NATO membership. Finland officially decided on Sunday to register with NATO. A similar decision by Sweden was expected on Sunday. In both countries, the parliaments still have to approve the move.
3:03 p.m .: Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said after the informal meeting of the NATO foreign ministers that NATO agreed that they must not and will not relax in military support. And she goes on to say: “We are all aware that this war will not be over any time soon.” That is why NATO is currently more important than ever. Baerbock also welcomes the interest of Sweden and Finland, which are currently taking part in NATO missions. “They are already NATO members, just without ID.” There shouldn’t be a gray phase between the application and ratification, which is why Germany would also like to adopt a fast-track procedure so that “Germany can be one of the first to ratify”. . Baerbock ends her statement with: “Sweden and Finland, if you are ready, we are ready.”
2:55 p.m .: NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is pleased about the unanimous interest of Sweden and Finland in joining NATO. A proposal would “represent a historic moment” and strengthen NATO’s defenses.
Regarding the war in Ukraine, Stoltenberg says that Russia has not achieved its war goals. “They failed to capture Kyiv, they are retreating from Kharkiv and their offensive in Donbass is deadlocked,” he says. “Ukraine can win this war,” says Stoltenberg confidently.
12.06 p.m .: The Finnish government has now officially decided to apply for membership in NATO. This was announced by Finnish President Sauli Niinistö and Prime Minister Sanna Marin at a joint press conference in the Presidential Palace on Sunday. “This is a historic day,” says President Sauli Niinistö.
9.43 a.m .: According to his own statements, General Inspector Eberhard Zorn has only received requests for artillery from Ukraine, not for Bundeswehr tanks. “The Ukrainians explicitly demanded artillery from us,” Zorn told the “Bild am Sonntag”. “I currently have no other demands on my table from the Ukrainian government that affect the existence of the Bundeswehr.”
During the Ukraine summit at the US Ramstein Air Force base in Rhineland-Palatinate, Kyiv reaffirmed the need for artillery pieces. Because the Dutch had promised five Panzerhaubitzen 2000 and you need about a dozen systems for a tactical fire unit, Germany will complete the dozen, stressed Zorn.
“The seven systems are currently at the industry for maintenance and will be handed over to the Ukrainians upon completion. Our obligations to NATO are not affected by this,” said the Inspector General.
Zorn did not want to generally rule out further deliveries of heavy weapons from Bundeswehr stocks to Ukraine: “If I say no now, then maybe everything will be different again in 14 days.” Scope. All arms deliveries are coordinated with our NATO partners, together we ensure a steady supply.”
9:28 a.m .: Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) has promised Sweden and Finland rapid admission to NATO. Germany would ratify the two countries’ entry into the alliance “very, very quickly,” said Baerbock on Sunday morning on the sidelines of informal consultations with her NATO colleagues in Berlin. The federal government has already held talks with “all democratic parties”.
Numerous other NATO countries have also promised a rapid ratification process, said Baerbock. She emphasized that there should not be a “hanging-up” after Sweden and Finland applied for membership. “NATO is an alliance that relies on defense and will always remain so,” said Baerbock. “But it is also an open-door alliance and that is why we welcome Finland and Sweden, if their parliaments, if their societies decide to do so.” “Pushed” Finland into NATO.
The Finnish government recently announced that it intends to apply for NATO membership. Sweden also wants to decide soon on a similar step. In both countries, the parliaments must first approve the applications for membership. Sweden’s Foreign Minister Ann Linde and Finland’s Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto are guests at the informal consultations of NATO ministers in Berlin.
9 a.m.: NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoana has assured Ukraine of continued Western support in its fight against Russian troops. “Thanks to the courage of the Ukrainian army and our help, Ukraine can win this war,” Geoana said on the sidelines of informal consultations between NATO foreign ministers in Berlin on Sunday morning. The Russian offensive in Ukraine is already “losing momentum”.
Geoana spoke positively about Sweden’s and Finland’s plans to join NATO. He was “confident that the Allies” would examine possible membership applications from both “vibrant democracies” “constructively and positively. Turkey’s “concerns” about this issue were discussed “amicably”. NATO’s “open-door policy” was “sacrosanct”.
The Finnish government recently announced that it intends to apply for NATO membership. Sweden also wants to decide soon on a similar step. In both countries, the parliaments have to approve the applications for membership.
Turkey had expressed reservations about the accession of the two countries. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused the Nordic countries of being close to Kurdish extremists. Numerous NATO states, including the federal government, have already voiced their support for Finland and Sweden to join NATO.
8:23 a.m .: Siegfried Russwurm, President of the Federation of German Industries (BDI), has described a stop in Russian gas deliveries as “devastating” at the current time. “A whole range of companies would then be completely cut off from gas supplies. In many cases, the companies affected would have to stop production, and some companies would probably never be able to start them up again,” he warned in the “Bild am Sonntag”.
Russwurm expressed doubts about the statement by Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) that Germany could get through the winter without Russian gas supplies if necessary. “That’s a bold prediction,” said Russwurm. “No one knows how cold next winter will be, how much we will have to heat.” It is right to do everything as quickly as possible to make Germany less dependent on Russian gas. “We’ll see if it’s enough and works by the end of the year.”
Russwurm clearly backed the existing sanctions against Russia and the EU’s planned oil embargo. “We will be able to do without Russian oil by the end of the year, maybe even sooner. I have my backing for the planned EU embargo six months in advance,” says Russwurm. “The sanctions as a whole are correct. Putin has denounced the basic consensus of the civilized world. We cannot condone him using force to push boundaries. Isolating this regime economically is the least that needs to be done.”
6:58 a.m .: Parties that support the Russian war of aggression should soon be able to be banned in Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a law passed in early May, the Ukrainian parliament announced on its website on Saturday. The law will come into effect one day after its official publication.
For example, the ban is intended to hit parties that justify or deny Russia’s war against Ukraine. As early as March, Ukrainian authorities halted the activities of nearly a dozen parties allegedly linked to Russia. Russian troops invaded Ukraine in February.
Sunday, May 15, 5:34 a.m.: Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has expressed skepticism about a ceasefire with Russia. “There is nothing bad about a ceasefire if it is the first step towards a solution where Ukrainian territory is liberated,” Kuleba said in an interview with Bild TV on Saturday evening. “However, we will not reconcile the fact that there is a partial detachment of territory.” He stressed: “We are ready for diplomacy, but we will not allow diplomacy to simply prolong our suffering and the next phase of the war just adjourned.”
Kuleba called on the Germans to accept the consequences of the sanctions against Russia: “Sometimes it’s cheaper to help someone else and endure a short period of deprivation than to sit at home, watch TV and do nothing, just allow it that the problem ends up knocking on your own door.” Ukraine had proposed a fair deal: “Give us everything we need and we will contain Russia and defeat it in Ukraine so that they never knock on your door. “
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