Rolf Mützenich calls again for more diplomatic efforts. The Ukrainian adviser Mykhailo Podoliak hinted at tank deliveries from Germany. Putin wants tighter control of financial flows for army equipment. All current voices and developments on the Ukraine war can be found in the ticker.
More on the course of the war in Ukraine.
5:50 a.m.: SPD parliamentary group leader Rolf Mützenich has reiterated his call for more diplomatic action to end the Ukraine war. “I wish that there would be as much talk about diplomacy as about arms deliveries,” he told the newspapers of the Neue Berliner Redaktionsgesellschaft on Saturday. He sometimes had the impression that “diplomacy” was in danger of becoming a swear word, he criticized.
It’s not about “negotiating with Russia over the heads of Ukraine,” stressed Mützenich. But there must be talks with the governments in the world “that could still have a certain influence on Putin”. He advocates “not closing small diplomatic windows thoughtlessly,” said the long-time foreign politician.
With a view to the debate in the SPD about the earlier Russia policy, the faction leader warned against exaggerated self-flagellation. “I’m not willing to go in sackcloth and ashes,” he told the newspapers. The SPD’s policy of détente was “an important door opener for the peaceful establishment of sovereignty in formerly oppressed states in Eastern Europe”. “You don’t need to apologize for that.”
Nevertheless, Mützenich acknowledged mistakes in Russia policy in recent years. “This includes, for example, the sale of gas storage facilities to Russian companies and also the relativization of the political dimension of Nord Stream 2,” he said.
4:12 a.m .: The mysterious street artist is believed to have immortalized himself in Ukraine. On his Instagram channel on Friday evening, Banksy published images of a work on a destroyed house, said to have been taken in the badly devastated town of Borodyanka near Kyiv.
The work shows a girl on the gray wall of a war-damaged house, apparently doing a handstand on the rubble. The publication on his Instagram channel is traditionally seen as a sign that Banksy confirms a work as his. The famous street artist has also traveled to crisis areas in the past, including the West Bank. Banksy’s identity is still unknown.
Saturday, November 12, 1:45 a.m.: The European Commission and several development banks are increasing their support for grain exports from Ukraine by one billion euros. The money is to be invested in the so-called solidarity corridors. These are routes on which Ukrainian grain is transported by road or rail to ports in the EU. From there it can then be shipped to other parts of the world.
“Where Russia sowed destruction, Europe restored hope,” said EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Twitter on Friday. The money was intended to shorten waiting times for trucks and trains heading to Poland and Romania. According to a statement, it is planned to improve the flow of traffic at border crossings and the road and rail infrastructure in Ukraine.
Ukraine is one of the largest grain producers in the world. However, because of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, Kiev’s grain exports are severely affected.
An agreement brokered by the UN and Turkey was signed in Istanbul on July 22 to enable the safe export of Ukrainian grain through a protective corridor in the Black Sea and the export of Russian food and fertilizers despite the war. However, the agreement expires on November 19th.
On Friday, representatives of Russia and the UN spoke in Geneva about a continuation of the agreement. The United Nations hopes for a one-year extension. However, it is still unclear whether Russia will extend its involvement. Moscow has repeatedly complained that it cannot sell its grain and fertilizers because of the sanctions imposed by the West. “The world cannot afford to allow global problems in access to fertilizers to lead to global food shortages,” the United Nations said in a statement.
5:58 p.m .: Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) phoned Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj before the G20 summit. Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit announced on Friday that it was about the military, political and humanitarian situation in Ukraine. Zelenskyi also informed the chancellor about the most recent development of the situation in the Cherson region. Both politicians also condemned “the ongoing targeted shelling of civilian infrastructure in Ukraine by the Russian armed forces and discussed concrete measures to strengthen the Ukrainian energy infrastructure”. Chancellor Scholz reaffirmed Germany’s continued support to Ukraine with current priorities in the areas of energy infrastructure and air defense.
The summit of the group of major economies is next Tuesday and Wednesday on the Indonesian island of Bali. The Russian war of aggression against Ukraine is a key issue in the talks.
As Hebestreit further announced, Scholz and Selenskyj called for the grain agreement under the aegis of the United Nations to be extended beyond November 19, which will help to improve the global food situation. Both agreed to stay in close contact. As Selensky wrote on Twitter, he thanked Scholz for the German support during the conversation.
On Wednesday, Russia announced the withdrawal of troops from the region’s capital, Cherson, because supplying its own soldiers was impossible, for example due to bridges that were no longer usable. Since then, the Ukrainian armed forces have reported a gradual advance in the region. Several towns were therefore freed again. After the failure of the advance on Kyiv and the retreat at Kharkiv, this is considered another military defeat for Russia.
3:15 p.m .: Mykhailo Podoliak, a close adviser to the Ukrainian President, spoke in an interview with “t-online” about the current situation in Ukraine. According to Podoliak, the army liberated village after village in the Cherson region after the Russians withdrew.
When asked how his country viewed Germany, Poldoljak said: “We see that there is a change in mentality in the German government and there is a growing understanding of what kind of war is happening here.” He attaches this to “public statements and statements by German ministers behind closed doors”. “Germany has started to deliver missile defense systems to us. In addition, the German government is reconsidering its position on new weapon deliveries. This also applies to Leopard 2 and Marder tanks. With 200 modern battle and infantry fighting vehicles, we could enormously accelerate our counter-offensives on several front sectors .
Ukraine is “expecting a delivery of this magnitude soon, as soon as Berlin sees how effective the plans of the Ukrainian general staff are.”
12:26 p.m .: According to its own statements, Russia has completed the withdrawal of its troops from the southern Ukrainian city of Cherson and parts of the area. The Russian Defense Ministry announced on Friday that the redeployment had ended. All units, including technology and equipment, were brought to the left bank of the Dnipro River without any losses, and no technology was left behind on the right side, said ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov in Moscow.
Even after the withdrawal of its troops, Moscow continues to regard the Ukrainian region of Kherson as Russian territory. The Kherson region will remain part of the Russian Federation, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, according to the Interfax news agency. “This status is determined and consolidated by law. There are no changes here and there can be none, »said Peskov.
9:28 a.m .: According to British secret services, Russia is using a wave-like offensive in its attacks on critical infrastructure in Ukraine. This caused extensive damage to power plants and transmission stations, it said on Friday in the daily short report from the British Ministry of Defense on Twitter.
In particular, the capital Kyiv was badly affected by power outages. In the most recent, more intensive attacks, which took place at the end of October, a hydroelectric power station was also the target for the first time. With these attacks, Moscow is trying to weaken the morale of the Ukrainian civilian population.
Friday, November 11, 4:52 a.m.: According to a newspaper report, South Korea wants to sell ammunition to the United States for its military equipment of the Ukrainian armed forces. There is a confidential arms deal between Seoul and Washington, according to which the United States would buy 100,000 rounds of 150-millimeter artillery ammunition from its ally, the Wall Street Journal reported on its website on Thursday (local time), citing US officials . That is enough to provide Ukraine’s artillery units with ammunition for at least a few weeks to ward off Russian troops.
The Defense Ministry in Seoul confirmed that South Korean companies are negotiating with the US to export ammunition. The purchase is intended to “compensate for the shortage of 150mm ammunition in stock” in the United States. It will be negotiated under the condition that the United States are “end users”. The ministry stressed that nothing has changed in South Korea’s position of not supplying lethal weapons to Ukraine.
South Korea’s largely isolated neighbor North Korea recently denied statements by the US government that it was secretly sending ammunition to Russia. North Korea responded to statements by US National Security Council communications director John Kirby. Earlier this month he criticized Russia for receiving artillery shells from North Korea and using them for its war of aggression against Ukraine. Military experts suspect that Russia could be dependent on arms imports due to supply bottlenecks in the domestic arms industry.
10:17 p.m .: In the course of the ongoing withdrawal of Russian troops from the Cherson region, Ukrainian troops have already liberated more than 40 towns, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “The number of Ukrainian flags returning to their rightful place as part of the ongoing defense operation is already tens,” he said in his daily video message on Thursday evening.
At the same time he warned of the dangers in the areas now abandoned by the occupying forces. “The first and fundamental task is demining,” said Zelenskyy. The occupiers left behind thousands of duds and ammunition. “I’ve often heard estimates that clearing Ukraine of Russian mines will take decades.” According to his findings, around 170,000 square kilometers of the country are still infested with mines.
Zelenskyy pointed out that the current successes of the Ukrainian armed forces were achieved “through months of brutal fighting”. “It’s not the enemy who’s leaving – it’s the Ukrainians who are driving the occupiers away,” Zelensky said. “And we need to go all the way – on the battlefield and in diplomacy – so that everywhere in our country, along our entire internationally recognized border, our flags – Ukrainian flags – can be seen. And no more enemy tricolors.
You can read more news on the following pages.
