The day of the war at a glance
Western countries announce new weapons – Russia massively cuts gas supplies to Germany
06/15/2022, 9:17 p.m
Things are still not going well for Ukrainian troops in Sieverodonetsk without Russian fighters gaining ground. Persons entrenched in a chemical plant could not be rescued, but an ultimatum for the soldiers of the Ukraine was missed. Heavy weapons might help. They announce Great Britain and the USA, but there is a damper from Germany. For the Federal Republic there is also less gas from Russia. The 112th day of the war at a glance.
Ultimatum in Seyerodonetsk expires without reaction
According to the Ukrainian authorities, Sievjerodonetsk will continue to be defended. The soldiers withstood attacks from three sides, said the governor of the Luhansk region, Serhiy Hajday. “You prevent the enemy from advancing on Lysychansk.” According to estimates by British intelligence services, the Russians have taken control of most of the Ukrainian city of Sieverodonetsk after more than a month of bitter fighting. In addition, British intelligence information supports the Ukrainian authorities’ account that hundreds of civilians are holding out together with Ukrainian soldiers in the bunkers of the Azot chemical plant in Sieverodonetsk. Pro-Russian separatists from the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic accuse Ukraine of having disrupted a humanitarian corridor from the Azot chemical plant in Sieverodonetsk. Allegedly, civilians could have left the plant throughout the day. On the other hand, the Ukrainian soldiers in the industrial complex were given an ultimatum to lay down their arms by morning, which they did not do.
US think tank: Donetsk could be annexed by September
Meanwhile, according to the US think tank Study for the Institute of War, Russian authorities may be accelerating their plans to annex occupied territories in Ukraine. Advisor to the Mayor of Mariupol, Petro Andryushchenko sees indications of plans by the Russian authorities to annex the occupied Donetsk region as early as September 1: Andryushchenko has stated that administrative tasks from separatist authorities in Donetsk have been completely transferred to Russian officials. In addition, the Russian education authorities would already designate Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Cherson as regions of Russia. Despite the plans, numerous children from homes in occupied territories are said to have been brought to Russia. This is reported by the investigative commission of the UN Human Rights Council after receiving information about the disappearance of children in care homes.
Russia captures ex-US soldiers
Away from Sievjerodonetsk, there are said to be further successes for the Russian army. According to the Defense Ministry in Moscow, an arms depot in the western Ukrainian region of Lviv was destroyed. Armaments delivered by NATO countries were housed there, it said. Some of it was ammunition for US M777 howitzers. Russian fighters also managed to arrest two former US soldiers who fought on the side of Ukraine. Alexander Drueke, 39, and Andy Huynh, 27, served as volunteers in a regular unit of the Ukrainian army. Like the two Britons Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner, they could face the death penalty as “mercenaries”.
Recruitment in Russia is apparently slow
Despite military advances, the Russian leadership is apparently having difficulty recruiting more soldiers. The US think tank “Institute for the Study of War” reported on possible attempts by the Russian military leadership to increase the number of eligible recruits. Russian military blogger Yuri Kotyenok claimed that Russian authorities are preparing to raise the age limit for military service from 40 to 49. In addition, the existing requirement of prior military service for service in armored and motorized infantry units would be dropped.
Western states agree to numerous weapons
What could also slow down the current successes of Russian troops are arms deliveries from Western countries. And there were recent announcements. At first it was said from Germany that only three instead of the four MARS II rocket launchers previously discussed would be delivered. Among other things, there would not be enough ammunition. The German rocket launchers from Bundeswehr stocks should be handed over to Ukraine in August or September. Great Britain, however, promised the rapid delivery of multiple rocket launcherswithout giving a specific number. The delivery of anti-ship missiles of the Harpoon type are also possible. Denmark and the Netherlands had already promised that. In the evening, US President Joe Biden followed suit and promised to supply arms to Ukraine in the amount of one billion dollars (960 million euros). In addition, there should be $225 million in humanitarian aid.
Ambassador Melnyk has two demands on Scholz
According to Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar, only around ten percent of the arms deliveries announced so far have arrived in Ukraine. The Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, Andriy Melnyk, also renewed his criticism of the lack of arms deliveries on RTL/ntv before Chancellor Olaf Scholz traveled to Kyiv. In addition to granting Ukraine candidate status for EU membership, it is expected that Scholz “jumps over the shadow of German hesitancy on the subject of heavy weapons and massively supports Ukraine with really all available means from the Bundeswehr stocks and the armaments industry”.
Ukraine cannot harvest crops
What would also help Ukraine would be to ship its grain stocks. This has not been possible for a long time due to the Russian blockade of the Black Sea, so that the grain stores are full. This blocks the storage of new grain. However, according to the Ukrainian Ministry of Agriculture, around 2.4 million hectares of winter grain cannot be harvested due to the fighting. The grain is worth around $1.435 billion. The agricultural sector has already suffered a loss of around $4.292 billion because of the Russian invasion.
Russian economy more resilient than expected
The Russian economy, on the other hand, does not appear to be as badly affected by the sanctions as was assumed at times. It is quite possible that “the strength of the decline will be a little less than we thought,” said Economy Minister Maxim Reshetnikov in Moscow. In addition, inflation could be lower than expected. “We can say that inflation will clearly be much lower than estimates,” added the minister.
Russia sends significantly less gas to Germany
It also seems possible to throttle gas supplies to Germany again. From Thursday morning, only a maximum of 67 million cubic meters will be pumped through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline every day, a third less, Gazprom announced. The Russian state company once again justified this step with delays in repair work by Siemens. Therefore, another gas compression plant had to be shut down, it said. Gazprom had already announced on Tuesday that it would reduce the maximum delivery volume to initially up to 100 million cubic meters of gas per day. This corresponds to around 60 percent of the previously planned daily volume of 167 million cubic meters of gas. The Federal Network Agency rejected Gazprom’s statements that delays in repairs to a gas compressor unit were the reason for the reduced gas delivery volumes.
Israel and Egypt could step in
A way out of dependence on Russian gas could be a contract between the EU, Israel and Egypt, there was a declaration of intent. The deal will enable “significant” exports of Israeli gas to Europe for the first time, Israel’s Energy Ministry said. Officials believe that Israeli gas will be piped to liquefaction facilities in Egypt and then shipped to Europe. Von der Leyen said the agreement would also strengthen regional cooperation. The EU is also planning an agreement with Egypt on the production of hydrogen.
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