The fiercest fighting is currently raging in eastern Ukraine. Pro-Russian separatists announce the capture of the town of Lyman in the Donbass. Federal Development Minister Schulze visits the Kiev suburb of Borodjanka and promises civilian aid from Germany.

The fiercest fighting is currently raging in eastern Ukraine. Pro-Russian separatists announce the capture of the town of Lyman in the Donbass. In addition, Moscow is said to be planning another attack on Kyiv. Federal Development Minister Schulze visits the Kiev suburb of Borodjanka and promises civilian aid from Germany. The 93rd day of the war at a glance.

Russians capture Lyman and invade Sieveyerodonetsk

The Ukrainian troops are coming under increasing pressure in the east of the country. Pro-Russian separatists declared that they had captured the strategically important city of Lyman. The railway junction is in their hands, said representatives of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic. According to the governor of the Luhansk region, Serhiy Gaidai, the city of Sieveyerodonetsk is two-thirds encircled by Russian forces. The very strong Russian shelling damaged 90 percent of the apartments in the city. According to Gaidai, the situation for the Ukrainian troops in Siewierodonetsk is becoming increasingly difficult. Russian units have entered the city, he writes on Telegram. The Ukrainian soldiers have enough strength and resources to defend themselves. “Nevertheless, it is possible that we have to withdraw in order not to have to surrender.

Kremlin to discuss second attack on Kyiv

Despite the successes in the Donbass, capturing the capital Kyiv remains the Kremlin’s top priority, according to information from the investigative medium Meduza. Accordingly, two sources close to the Kremlin report that the Russian government is continuing to discuss attacks on Kyiv and is even hoping for a comprehensive victory by autumn. “We will crush them [the Ukrainians] in the end. The whole thing will probably be over by autumn,” Meduza quoted the anonymous sources as saying. Russian President Vladimir Putin declared the complete capture of the Donbass to be the bare minimum for a successful “special military operation,” it said.

Schulze promises Ukraine help with reconstruction

Development Minister Svenja Schulze is the second member of the federal government to travel to Ukraine – after Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock – since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression. During a visit to the heavily damaged Kiev suburb of Borodjanka, she assured the people of civil aid from Germany. 185 million euros for emergency measures have already been approved, Schulze told journalists in Borodjanka. Specifically, apartments and power lines are to be built. “The Ukrainians simply need water and electricity. Those who have fled inside Ukraine need a roof over their heads, the children need to be able to go back to school, and support is needed for all of that.”

Putin is on the phone with Nehammer

After a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Austria’s Chancellor Karl Nehammer announced that he was ready to talk about a prisoner exchange. In addition, Russia wants to continue its gas deliveries. Putin dismissed accusations that his country was responsible for the global grain crisis as “unfounded”. Rather, the sanctions of the West are responsible, said Putin in the phone call, according to the Kremlin. He said in Vienna that Putin had given “signals” that he could allow seed and food exports from Ukraine via seaports. In addition, the Russian Ministry of Agriculture announced that it would increase grain exports. It said to export at least 50 million tons of grain. In addition, Italy’s Prime Minister Mario Draghi spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy about the grain crisis, after he had already discussed it with Putin. However, no solution emerged.

Scholz: Putin wants to go back to the law of the strongest

At the Catholic Day in Stuttgart, Chancellor Olaf Scholz also addressed the famine that is threatening some parts of the world due to the war. Scholz said that the “Putinian narrative” that the West was responsible for the hunger crisis that had been triggered must be refuted. In addition, the SPD politician again condemned the Russian war of aggression and emphasized that Germany felt obliged to support Ukraine. “We have decided to help the victims of this war of aggression,” said Scholz. “Putin’s war is directed against a peace order that arose from the commitment ‘Never again’ after two devastating world wars. He wants to go back to the law of the strongest.”

Kremlin wants to boost economy with 111 billion euros

Meanwhile, the Russian economy is suffering from the consequences of the war and Western sanctions. Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said that the Kremlin wants to set budgetary stimulus for the economy in the amount of eight trillion rubles, the equivalent of around 111 billion euros. Putin this week ordered a 10 percent increase in pensions and the minimum wage to stem inflation. He denied that the economic problems were primarily related to what Russia called a special military operation in Ukraine.

Ukraine calls for Nord Stream 1 gas stop

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused the EU of still not having banned Russian energy imports. Every day, EU countries pay €1 billion for gas and oil that will fund Russia’s war effort. “Pressuring Russia is literally a matter of saving lives. Every day of hesitation, weakness, various disputes or proposals to ‘pacify’ the aggressor at the expense of the victim only means more Ukrainians will be killed,” he said he. In this context, the state-owned Ukrainian gas company and network operator called on Germany to stop or severely throttle natural gas deliveries via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. A corresponding request had been sent to the German government, explains Serhiy Makogon on Ukrainian television. German law allows the pipeline to be operated on condition that this secures Europe’s gas supply. However, Russia does not contribute to a secure gas supply.

US considering delivery of multiple rocket launchers

Meanwhile, the debate over Western arms sales to Ukraine continued. The government in Kyiv called for longer-range ground weapons, particularly rocket launchers, which could help it win an artillery battle against Russia to the east. According to US information, the government of President Joe Biden is even considering supplying Kyiv with the M142 HIMARS artillery system, which can have a range of hundreds of kilometers. Previously, Washington had also warned that longer-range weapons could mean an escalation if Ukraine were to use them to attack targets deep in Russia. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned that any arms shipments that might reach Russian territory would be “a serious step towards an unacceptable escalation.”

Russian regional deputies criticize war

In the Primorsky Krai, in the easternmost part of Russia, two communist lawmakers have publicly called for an end to the offensive in Ukraine. “If our country does not stop the military operation, there will be even more orphans in our country,” MP Leonid Vasyukevich said during a session of the regional parliament. “We demand the immediate withdrawal of Russian troops.” Vasyukevich’s faction colleague Gennady Chulga agreed with him. The governor of the Primorye region in eastern Siberia, Oleg Koshemjako, who was present at the parliamentary session, accused the two communist deputies of “discrediting the Russian army (…) which is fighting against Nazism”. Both deputies were then deprived of their voting rights in the regional parliament by a vote of 27 to 5 for the duration of the day. The communist parliamentary group chairman Anatoly Dolgachev immediately turned against his colleagues and promised “the harshest punitive measures”.

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