DAccording to Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine now has fundamental doubts as to whether Germany will continue to deliver weapons to Ukraine in any significant quantities, as promised. “I’m asking the West again at this point to send us all the 155mm caliber guns and multiple rocket launchers that they can,” Kuleba said in an interview with the Italian daily Repubblica. When asked whether Germany was actually behind on its promised arms deliveries, Kuleba said: “There are countries where we are waiting for deliveries and countries where we are now fed up with waiting. Germany belongs in the second group.”
For weeks after the start of the war, Germany had systematically kept the Ukraine from knowing which weapons could be delivered. The Federal Government’s statements about which weapons can be delivered from the Bundeswehr’s stocks have been fluctuating and sometimes contradictory for weeks. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) was only willing to deliver heavy weapons to Kyiv after massive international pressure.
However, the federal government of Ukraine then announced the supply of Cheetah anti-aircraft tanks, which Kyiv had never requested – and continues to refuse to supply the requested Marder and Leopard tanks. The delivery of the Gepard tanks has also been delayed for more than a month.
All developments in the live ticker:
04:00 a.m. – IW boss Hüther considers the fuel tax cut to be the wrong instrument
Before the temporary tax cut on petrol and diesel on June 1st, government intervention remains controversial. The director of the employer-related Institute of the German Economy, Michael Hüther, spoke of a wrong instrument. “In terms of regulatory policy, politics should only intervene in the market if the price increase is due to abusive market power,” said Hüther of the “Augsburger Allgemeine” (Tuesday).
The head of the institute criticized the lack of targeting of the energy tax cut. “A tank discount is neither effective in terms of distribution policy, since it relieves the burden regardless of need, nor is it accurate in terms of company or industry policy,” said Hüther. The tax cut comes into effect this Wednesday and is limited to three months. It is 35.2 cents per liter for petrol including VAT and 16.7 cents per liter for diesel.
3:19 a.m. – Nouripour calls for better procurement from the Bundeswehr
Green Party leader Omid Nouripour is calling for a reform of the procurement system after the coalition and the Union have agreed on a special pot to equip the Bundeswehr. The procurement for the armed forces must be better, said Nouripour of the “Rheinische Post” (Tuesday). “In the Bermuda triangle between industry, Bundeswehr users and the procurement office, the focus is often not on what is most urgently needed.” That is why there are “inefficiencies”.
After weeks of wrangling, the coalition and Union had agreed on the legal basis for a special fund of 100 billion euros. In principle, this gives the green light for weapon orders from the armaments industry on a large scale. The head of the reservists’ association, Patrick Sensburg, called for better equipment for soldiers. These included, above all, protection against cold and moisture, night vision and radio equipment, said the former CDU member of the Bundestag to the editorial network Germany (RND/Tuesday).
02:01 am – South Ossetia cancels referendum on joining Russia
The Georgian separatist region of South Ossetia has canceled a referendum planned for mid-July on joining Russia. The new head of state of the pro-Russian enclave, Alan Gagloyev, canceled his predecessor’s referendum plans on Monday. In a decree, he emphasized the “uncertainty about the legal consequences” of a referendum.
It is not permissible to unilaterally decide on issues affecting the “legitimate rights and interests of the Russian Federation” by referendum, it said. Instead, Gagloyev announced talks with Moscow on the “further integration” of South Ossetia.
Gagloyev’s predecessor, Anatoly Bibilov, issued a decree about two weeks ago calling for a referendum on South Ossetia’s accession to Russia, emphasizing that this corresponds to the “historic aspirations” of the people in the region. However, Bibilov had lost the subsequent election to Gagloev. Russia expected him to ensure the “continuity” of relations.
Russia officially recognized the independence of the pro-Russian separatist region and neighboring Abkhazia in August 2008 after a brief military conflict with Georgia. Since then, Russian forces have been stationed there.
Georgia is firmly opposed to the accession of what it considers a breakaway region to Russia. This puts the country in a similar situation to Ukraine, where shortly before the start of the war Moscow also recognized the independence of the pro-Russian separatist regions in the east of the country.
1:08 am – Zelenskyy: 32 media workers killed since the beginning of the war
According to Ukraine’s head of state, Volodymyr Zelensky, 32 media workers have been killed since the start of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Among them is the French journalist Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff, said Selenskyj in his video speech on Monday evening. The French news channel BFM TV previously reported that the 32-year-old reporter had been fatally hit by a shrapnel while reporting on an evacuation operation near Sievjerodonetsk in eastern Ukraine. Accordingly, Leclerc-Imhoff was traveling in an armored vehicle.
A little over a month ago he gave an interview to this TV station, Zelenskyy said. It was his first interview with French media during the war. “My heartfelt condolences to Frédéric’s colleagues and family.”
01:05 – Heil wants to make it easier for migrants to access the labor market
Federal Labor Minister Hubertus Heil is aiming for a reform of the Skilled Immigration Act and wants to make it easier for migrants to access the German labor market. “We will make this possible for people who want to stay with us and work permanently,” said Heil of the Funke media group (Tuesday). “That’s why we will enable a change of lane through the toleration of employment.” Migration policy must be “reorganized” overall. He is currently working with Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) on further developing the Skilled Immigration Act, said the SPD politician.
Heil also referred to the most recent experience in dealing with refugees from Ukraine: “By accepting people into basic security from June 1, these people can be successfully integrated into the labor market.” The Federal Council passed a law a week and a half ago , which stipulates, among other things, that refugees from Ukraine should be entitled to benefits under Social Code II and XII as of June 1, 2022. So far, this group has received lower benefits under the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act.
11:04 p.m. – After reporter’s death: France investigates war crimes
After the death of a French war reporter in Ukraine, the anti-terror prosecutor’s office has launched a war crimes investigation. The investigations were started on Monday, among other things, because of an intentional attack on the life of a person protected by international law, as reported by the French news agency AFP.
TV journalist Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff died near Sievjerodonetsk in eastern Ukraine on Monday while accompanying a humanitarian evacuation. The 32-year-old reporter was hit by shrapnel. It was his second deployment to Ukraine since Russia’s war of aggression began on February 24.
A colleague who was traveling with him was slightly injured. Since the start of the Russian war on Ukraine, the agency has been investigating at least five other war crimes cases against French nationals in Ukraine.