Lower Saxony

Dhe Russian Foreign Ministry has warned that the grain agreement could fail. Grain exports from Russia and Ukraine must begin simultaneously, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko demanded on Wednesday, according to the Interfax agency. Therefore, the obstacles to the export of Russian grain must be removed quickly. A center for coordinating grain exports was due to open in Istanbul on Wednesday. It is part of the agreement brokered by the United Nations and Turkey to lift the blockade of Ukrainian ports. In the agreement, Russia had pledged, for example, to let ships sail along a sea corridor and not to attack them or the ports involved.

“We always hope for the best and count on our partners to implement the two components of the grain deal, which concerns the export of grain from Ukraine and the lifting of restrictions on Russian grain exports altogether,” Rudenko said. In the past, Russia has explicitly made an end to the blockade of the Ukrainian Black Sea ports dependent on the easing of Western sanctions against itself.

Although the sanctions are not directed against the export of food and fertilizer from Russia, they have become so effective that they also hinder their export. Moscow complains that Russian ships that transport grain can no longer dock in European ports or be insured. There are also problems with the financing of such transports due to the restrictions in the financial sector.

All developments in the live ticker:

11:30 am – Russia uses gas as leverage in energy warfare

According to Netzagentur boss Klaus Müller, natural gas is now part of Russian foreign policy and possibly also part of the war strategy. It is unrealistic to assume that 40 percent of the possible volume will still come through the Nord Stream 1 Baltic Sea pipeline in the coming weeks, Müller said on Deutschlandfunk on Wednesday.

The Russian company Gazprom had announced that it would reduce the capacity utilization of Nord Stream 1 to Germany from 40 percent to 20 percent of the normal volume from Wednesday.

The head of the agency was reluctant to comment on reports that Russia could deliver more gas to Europe via Ukraine. This still has to be verified. “I don’t trust all the announcements until we’ve seen a few hours into the day.”

According to the pipeline operator Eugas, the Russian energy group Gazprom booked significantly more capacity on the Transgas pipeline through Slovakia on Wednesday than in the past few days. The transmission of 68.6 million cubic meters of gas was announced at the starting point of the Slovak section. The day before it was 36.8 million cubic meters. The booking indicates that Gazprom will make up for lost gas supplies to Europe at Nord Stream 1 via the route through Slovakia.

11:20 am – Ukrainian army bombs Russian-held bridge in Kherson

The Ukrainian army bombed a strategically important bridge during its counter-offensive in the city of Cherson in southern Ukraine, which is occupied by Russian troops. The Ukrainian military released video Wednesday morning apparently showing rockets being fired at the bridge.

The deputy head of the Russian-deployed regional administration in Kherson, Kirill Stremusov, confirmed the attack. The attack will affect the outcome of the fighting in the region “in no way,” he said in a video message.

The Russian army had used the Antonivka Bridge over the Dnipro River as an important supply route to Kherson. “Occupiers should learn how to swim across the Dnipro River,” Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhailo Podoliak wrote on Twitter. “Or they should leave Kherson while it’s still possible.”

11:15 a.m. – Ukraine invites Steinmeier again to Kyiv

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj has again invited Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier to visit. That’s what the outgoing Ukrainian ambassador Andriy Melnyk told Die Zeit. “We are still waiting for his visit to Kyiv.”

Melnyk announces that he will leave Germany in two or three weeks. His recall is a matter of routine, but also has to do with his “type of diplomacy”. The ambassador is known for sometimes sharp statements. He once described Chancellor Olaf Scholz as an “offended liverwurst”.

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11:05 am – Ukrainian grain exports are expected to start later this week

According to a Turkish government representative, the first ship loaded with Ukrainian grain is likely to set sail this week. A safe, unmined corridor through the Black Sea is planned for the first export of grain by sea since the beginning of the Russian invasion. Ukraine and Russia signed an agreement last Friday, mediated by Turkey and the UN, according to which the blockade of the transports is to be lifted. The exports are intended to curb the global rise in food prices.

10:15 am – Russian mercenaries capture territories in Donbass

According to information from the British secret service, the Russian mercenary group Wagner probably made tactical gains in Donbass. The British Ministry of Defense announced on Twitter that the mercenaries had advanced in the vicinity of the largest coal-fired power plant Wuhlehirska in Svitlodarsk and in the nearby village of Nowoluhanske. It quotes from the latest military intelligence report. After that, some Ukrainian troops in the area are believed to have retreated.

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8:30 a.m. – Ukraine reports recapture of a town in the south of the country

According to the Ukrainian military, it has completely conquered the small town of Andriyivka in the Cherson region in the south of the country. “Andriyivka has been liberated and finally cleared of the Russian occupying forces,” said the spokesman for the “South” command center of the Ukrainian troops, Vladyslaw Nazarov, on Tuesday evening.

While troops loyal to Moscow continue to have the initiative in the east of the country, Kyiv has now launched counterattacks in the south.

7:00 a.m. – Nuclear power plant restart “primarily a question of political will”

The managing director of the Tüv Association, Joachim Bühler, believes that the three nuclear power plants that were shut down in Germany at the end of last year can be put back into operation quickly. These are the piles of Brokdorf (Schleswig-Holstein), Grohnde (Lower Saxony) and Gundremmingen C (Bavaria).

Bühler said “Bild” that a restart would be “not a question of years, but rather of a few months or weeks” – and above all a question of political will. “We are convinced that the three power plants are in a state of safety that would make it possible to connect them to the grid again.” The nuclear power plants are among the safest and technically best in the world.

There are currently three nuclear power plants still connected to the grid in Germany: Emsland in Lower Saxony, Isar 2 in Bavaria and Neckarwestheim 2 in Baden-Württemberg. According to current law, they must be switched off by December 31, 2022 at the latest. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) wants to wait for the results of a second stress test on the security of the power supply before making any decisions, as a government spokeswoman said.

The President of the Federal Association of Renewable Energy (BEE), Simone Peter, warns against exaggerated expectations of a possible continued operation of nuclear power plants. From a purely technical point of view, these could not replace what gas-fired power plants can do. The continued operation of nuclear power plants also leads to a massive displacement of renewable capacity from the grids,” said Peter of the “Rheinische Post”. Instead, the potential of renewable energies must now be fully exploited. Domestic biogas in particular can contribute even more. “And when it comes to power supply, many wind and solar projects are pending approval that can be connected at short notice. From our point of view, this should be checked as a matter of priority.”

5:10 a.m. – Zelenskyj insists on new sanctions for gas rationing

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has again called on the West to react to the forthcoming cut in Russian gas supplies with sanctions against Moscow. “Because it is clear to everyone that this is deliberate price terror by Russia against Europe,” Zelenskyy said in his daily video speech on Tuesday evening. With the help of Gazprom, Moscow is doing everything to make this winter the hardest in history for European countries, said Zelenskyy. With its announcement that deliveries via Nord Stream 1 would be further reduced, Moscow deliberately provoked the rise in gas prices to the equivalent of a good 2,000 euros for 1,000 cubic meters on the stock exchange.

4:10 a.m. – DIW boss Fratzscher warns of a severe recession

The President of the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW), Marcel Fratzscher, expects a recession well into the coming year if the energy crisis worsens. “If energy prices continue to rise and no more Russian gas flows, then we must expect a deep and prolonged recession for the whole of 2023,” says Fratzscher of the Augsburger Allgemeine. If Germany gets through the winter without major energy shortages, it could remain in a mild recession lasting two quarters. The economist expects prices to remain high in the long term, to which companies would have to respond with wage increases.

02:40 a.m. – Merz accuses Scholz of serious failure to deliver weapons

Before his trip to Poland, CDU leader Friedrich Merz accused Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) of serious failure to deliver weapons to Ukraine. “The German public and parliament are being deceived. And the federal government is not doing what the Bundestag decided: namely to supply heavy weapons,” Merz told the newspapers of the Funke media group. “The attacks on Odessa last week could possibly have been prevented with the missile defense systems that Olaf Scholz promised to deliver.”

“His announcements about military support for Ukraine do not stand up to scrutiny,” said the CDU chairman and Union faction leader. The Union has therefore lost “all confidence” in the commitments of the federal government. “We have to have a public debate about how trustworthy our government is in our own country, but also and especially in Central and Eastern Europe.”

“Kick-off Politics” is WELT’s daily news podcast. The most important topic analyzed by WELT editors and the dates of the day. Subscribe to the podcast at Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music or directly via RSS feed.