According to a media report, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is still assuming a Russian invasion of Ukraine on Thursday night (local time). “Russia will invade Ukraine before the night is over,” Blinken told US broadcaster NBC. He mightn’t give an exact time or place. But he still sees a chance “to avert greater aggression”.
+++ 02:07 peace researchers warn of armament spiral +++
In view of the latest developments, the head of the Stockholm peace research institute Sipri warns of an armament spiral. “Willingness to defend does not just depend on unlimited rearmament,” says Dan Smith of the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung”. “NATO is already spending much, much more money on weapons and equipment than Russia. Nevertheless, we have gotten into the dangerous situation we are in today.” NATO should work better on its organization “than just putting more money into armaments,” warns Smith.
+++ 01:32 UN Security Council is to meet once more during the night +++
In view of the threat of a Russian invasion, the UN Security Council should deal with the crisis once more. Diplomatic circles inform the dpa that the meeting of the most powerful UN body is to take place at night following a corresponding request from Kiev. The time given was 3:30 a.m. CET. The Security Council met in New York on Tuesday night.
+++ 00:50 EU puts new Russia sanctions into effect +++
The EU imposes new sanctions once morest Russia in the Ukraine crisis. Those affected include Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, Economics Minister Maxim Reshetnikov and Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Grigorenko, according to the Official Journal of the European Union published during the night.
+++ 00:17 Selenskyj: Tried to reach Putin by phone +++
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, he has called his Russian colleague Vladimir Putin in vain. “Today I took the initiative to have a phone call with the President of the Russian Federation. The result: silence,” Zelenskyy said in an address to the nation published last night. Earlier, the Kremlin said the separatists in eastern Ukraine had asked Russia for “help” in “repelling aggression” by the Ukrainian army.
+++ 23:55 Ukraine calls the UN Security Council once more +++
In view of the Ukrainian separatists’ request for assistance from Russia, Kiev is once more appealing to the United Nations Security Council. Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted that the most powerful UN body had been asked for an emergency meeting for a second time following Monday. Officially, only members of the 15-member council can request meetings. According to diplomats, it was initially unclear whether this would still happen today. Accordingly, a resolution once morest the Russian escalation in the Ukraine conflict is also in the works and might be put to the vote in the event of a meeting.
+++ 23:18 Habeck: Are on the verge of a massive land war in Europe +++
According to the Federal Economics Minister and Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck, Europe is on the verge of a massive land war in the Ukraine conflict. “I think that when you start such an armament spiral, it’s difficult to get out of it,” he said on ARD. At the moment there is no idea how to get back into diplomatic talks following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s speech and his recognition of the so-called People’s Republics in eastern Ukraine. It is regarding a clear, aggressive situation brought regarding by Russia, which points to a war of aggression. “This is a situation in such a concrete situation that we haven’t had since at least the Balkan wars, and these were civil wars in the broadest sense, it wasn’t that one country was threatening to overrun another.”
+++ 22:52 China does not defend Russia at the UN +++
Before the United Nations, China once once more expressed reservations regarding the Ukraine conflict and did not defend its partner Russia. “China’s position on upholding the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states has been consistent, and the aims and principles of the UN Charter should all be upheld,” Chinese Ambassador to the UN Zhang Jun told the UN General Assembly. Normally, Russia and China vote together on many issues before the United Nations and are considered close partners. “I think China prefers to step down and sit out this crisis. It was happy to support Russia’s criticism of NATO, but I don’t think it wants to be an accomplice in a war,” said UN expert Richard Gowan of the Crisis think tank group.
+++ 22:34 courses on Wall Street continue to slip due to the Ukraine crisis +++
Fear of a military conflict in Ukraine and its consequences pushed the US stock exchanges to multi-month lows on Wednesday. An early recovery was quickly ended, in late trading the Dow Jones Industrial fell to just under 33,085 points to its lowest level since April 2021. The leading index then crossed the finish line 1.38 percent lower at 33,131.76 points. The round mark of 33,000 points is gradually being targeted. Cyber attacks once morest Ukraine and a report by the US magazine “Newsweek” that the US is warning of a military attack by Russia on Ukraine in the next 48 hours drove investors to flee. Added to this is the concern regarding rapidly rising commodity prices, which might have what it takes to further intensify the inflationary headwinds that have been high for some time.
+++ 22:12 Separatists ask Putin for help +++
Separatist leaders in eastern Ukraine are asking Russian President Vladimir Putin for military aid. The heads of the People’s Republics of Luhansk and Donetsk have written letters asking for assistance in fending off attacks by the Ukrainian army, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, according to the Interfax agency. Putin has promised military intervention if asked. This might soon mean that Russian and Ukrainian soldiers will face each other for the first time in the conflict that has been going on for eight years.
+++ 22:02 US sanctions do not affect Schröder +++
The US sanctions once morest Nord Stream 2 AG do not affect the former Chancellor and Kremlin lobbyist Gerhard Schröder. This is announced by the US President’s Office. US President Joe Biden had just announced the green light for sanctions once morest Nord Stream 2 AG. The company belongs to the Russian state-owned company Gazprom. According to the US Treasury Department, the punitive measures are also aimed at German Nord Stream CEO Matthias Warnig.
+++ 21:55 Ukraine: Russia may create a pretext for aggression +++
A chemical plant in Crimea, annexed by Russia, has been evacuated, according to Ukrainian sources. Night shift workers were taken out of the plant, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on Twitter. This might be the preparation for a fabricated pretext by Russia for aggression.
+++ 21:43 Lauterbach distances itself from Schröder +++
Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach has clearly distanced himself from the actions of former SPD chancellor and Kremlin lobbyist Gerhard Schröder in view of the conflict over Ukraine. “It’s very clear that what he’s doing I mightn’t think of,” he said in a discussion with Die Zeit. It is something “where I never dream of doing fat business with an oligarch and a dictator, if you will, who keeps half the world in suspense,” said Lauterbach with a view to Schröder’s relationship with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin. He added that he also does not believe that Schroeder’s help will be sought for a possible mediation with Russia. “I don’t see the credibility that is necessary in him at the moment.” Lauterbach said it gave the impression that Schröder had become dependent, even if only financially. The supervisory board of the state energy company Rosneft has not yet been affected by the sanctions.
+++ 21:20 Ukraine: state of emergency starts at midnight +++
In Ukraine, due to Russia’s aggression, a state of emergency will apply across the country from midnight local time. The parliament in Kiev confirmed the imposition proposed by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday evening. The final text on the measures was not initially available. However, curfews and forced evictions from towns are possible. Strikes and demonstrations can also be banned. In addition, controls will be introduced primarily at the territorial borders. The regions can determine the concrete measures themselves. Increased police presence and the right to arbitrary checks of people and cars would also be permitted. The only exceptions are the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, in which a special form of emergency has been in force since 2014.
+++ 20:58 Grüner Bütikofer: Nord Stream 2 has seen its end +++
Germany’s role in the Ukraine conflict has been widely criticized. The Green MEP Bütikofer says in the ntv interview that Germany might not be able to do anything else, it has made itself susceptible to blackmail. Europe now needs a completely new Eastern policy in order to meet Putin without Nord Stream 2. “This pipeline has now come to an end,” said Bütikofer, adding that there are already gas transmission capacities that Gazprom is not using. “Gazprom even pays contractual penalties because they don’t use pipeline capacities that they have booked in order to inflate our prices and blackmail us.”
+++ 20:44 Separatist leader: Ukrainian troops should withdraw +++
The leader of the separatists in Donszk in eastern Ukraine, Denis Puschilin, wants the Ukrainian government troops to be withdrawn from the region. According to the agency Tass Puschilin, they should voluntarily withdraw from the territory and take their weapons with them. That would be “an optimal scenario”. The separatists lay claim to a much larger territory in Ukraine than they currently control.
The previous developments read here.
