A poll conducted in all 27 EU countries has revealed that the majority of EU citizens support sanctions against Russia. Putin admits sanctions-related economic problems. All voices and developments on the Ukraine war in the ticker.
7:29 p.m .: The federal government will not deliver any of its “dingoes” to Ukraine. These are armored Unimog vehicles of the Bundeswehr, from which fire can be fired. The rejection comes from a secret paper (“VS – only for official use”), which is available to “Bild”. It has been circulating in the Federal Ministry of Defense since last week.
It says literally: “The DINGO type vehicles are used for training and exercise as well as in operations. A possible levy was already examined in an early phase of the Ukraine war, but rejected due to personal needs.”
According to the Bundeswehr, it has over 500 units, and writes in a description: “Probably no other Bundeswehr vehicle has saved as many lives as the Dingo.” A dingo withstands several kilos of explosives and light machine gun fire, and can be armed with heavy weapons.
5:59 p.m .: According to the Russian military administration, the referendum on the accession of the occupied southern Ukrainian territories to Russia is to be postponed to November 4th. “We are sure that 80 percent of the population will come to the referendum,” Moscow-appointed deputy head of the Kherson region Kirill Stremusov said on Wednesday, according to the state news agency TASS. Previously, an appointment in the first half of September was considered the desired date.
In the summer, the occupiers announced their intention to hold the vote parallel to the regional elections in Russia on the second weekend in September. However, in view of the Ukrainian counter-offensive in the south, the Russian military administration suspended its plans for a referendum. Stremusov is no longer in Cherson, but in Russia – according to Ukrainian information, other officials have also fled the embattled region.
The new date on November 4 has a symbolic character, in Russia the “Day of National Unity” is then celebrated. Before Stremousov, the secretary of the Kremlin party United Russia, Andrei Turchak, brought November 4th into the discussion as the voting date on Wednesday.
5:57 p.m .: In view of the energy crisis in Europe, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused the West of “provocations” against Russia. During a visit to the Serbian capital Belgrade on Wednesday, Erdogan said he understood Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to halt gas supplies to Germany via Nord Stream 1. “I can say very clearly that I don’t think the attitude of the West is correct, because it is a policy based on provocations,” Erdogan said.
“As long as you try to wage such a war of provocation, you will not achieve the desired result,” Erdogan said. Turkey has good relations with both Russia and Ukraine. Ankara supplied military drones to Kyiv but did not join Western sanctions against Moscow over the war of aggression against Ukraine. Erdogan already blamed Western sanctions for the energy crisis in Europe on Tuesday.
4:27 p.m .: Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selenskyj on the phone, as Selenskyj announced on Twitter on Wednesday afternoon. They talked about “a wide range of topics,” according to the Ukrainian President.
And further: “I thanked you for the approval of the large EU financial aid of five billion euros, but also emphasized the need for a full IMF program.” Plans to further strengthen Ukraine’s defense were also discussed together. Selenskyj did not give any details.
4:13 p.m .: According to British information, there is heavy fighting in Ukraine on several fronts: near the city of Kharkiv in the north-east, in the Donbass region in the east and in the Kherson region in the south. The Russian attackers are probably planning primarily to continue the advance on the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, as the Ministry of Defense in London announced on Wednesday, citing intelligence findings. However, the troops encountered problems.
“The commanders face the dilemma of whether to deploy operational reserves in support of this offensive or to defend against continued Ukrainian advances to the south.” “Multiple simultaneous threats spread over 500 kilometers” should therefore test Russia’s ability to coordinate operations. Russia hasn’t done that before.
The British Ministry of Defense has published unprecedented information on the course of the war since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine in late February, citing intelligence information. In doing so, the British government wants to both counter the Russian portrayal and keep allies in line. Moscow accuses London of a targeted disinformation campaign.
9.45 a.m .: Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin has again defended the war of aggression against neighboring Ukraine, which was ordered more than six months ago, as allegedly necessary to protect Russia. “I can say that the main gain is the strengthening of our sovereignty – and that is an inevitable result of what is happening right now,” Putin said Wednesday at the 7th Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok on the Pacific Ocean. Referring to the war, he added : “We haven’t lost anything (by doing so) and we won’t lose anything.”
Numerous state guests had traveled to the event in Vladivostok, including Myanmar’s military chief Min Aung Hlaing and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
9:05 a.m .: Russian President Vladimir Putin has criticized Western sanctions against his country as a “threat to the whole world”. Last year the corona pandemic was still the most pressing challenge, Putin said on Wednesday at the 7th Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok New difficulties have now arisen: “I mean the West’s sanctions fever, its aggressive attempts to impose a model of behavior on other countries, to deprive them of their sovereignty and to subject them to their own will.” There are difficulties in sectors and regions, and companies that depend on supplies from Europe are struggling.
Wednesday, September 7th, 7:29 a.m.: According to a survey by the EU Commission, the majority of Europeans support the sanctions imposed on Russia. 47 percent of respondents fully agree with the sanctions, and another 31 percent tend to agree, according to figures released on Tuesday. A total of 68 percent of those surveyed are also in favor of financing military support or direct arms deliveries to Ukraine – 35 percent of them particularly.
Around nine out of ten EU citizens (92 percent) think that humanitarian aid for war victims is the right thing to do, of which 61 percent totally agreed with the statement and 31 percent somewhat agreed. The majority of respondents are also in favor of accepting refugees from Ukraine in the EU. 56 percent totally agreed and 56 and 34 percent tended to agree).
In the discussion about energy security, 55 percent of EU citizens say that the EU should invest “massively” in renewable energies. A further 32 percent agree with the statement in principle. The situation is similar when it comes to the demand for more independence from Russia on energy issues: 32 percent of citizens would tend to support this and 54 percent would fully support it.
Between June 17 and July 17, 26,468 citizens of all 27 EU countries were interviewed online for the so-called Eurobarometer.
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