Kyiv Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sees his forces under pressure from the influx of newly mobilized soldiers on the Russian side. Although Russia only burns these men as cannon fodder, they make the task for the Ukrainian defenders more difficult, Zelensky said in his video address on Thursday.
The second largest city in Ukraine, Kharkiv, was again shelled with Russian rockets in the evening. Russian cruise missiles also hit a military facility near the city of Zolochiv in the west of the country. Friday marks the 233rd day of Ukraine’s defense against the Russian invasion.
During the European energy crisis caused by the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, Germany reached the planned storage level of 95 percent of natural gas before the start of winter. The Russian oil company Rosneft sued in Germany against the forced administration of its refinery subsidiaries ordered by the federal government.
Zelenskiy: Russia throws thousands of mobilized people to the front
In September, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the partial mobilization of 300,000 soldiers to compensate for losses in the Ukraine war. In fact, the mobilization affects all parts of Russian society. Hundreds of thousands of men fled abroad before conscription.
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According to reports, the conscripted soldiers are often sent to the front without training and poorly armed. The deaths of five such men from the Siberian region of Chelyabinsk were officially confirmed on Thursday. Other soldiers quickly end up in Ukrainian captivity.
The conscripted soldiers are often sent to the front without any training.
(Photo: dpa)
“Now Russia is throwing thousands of its mobilized men to the front,” Zelensky said. The Russian commanders didn’t need these soldiers at all: “They expect the mobilized Russians to survive at least a few weeks in the war and then die.” Then new soldiers would be sent. “But this period allows the Russian generals to use their people as cannon fodder to put extra pressure on our defenders.”
The pressure is palpable. “I am grateful to all our soldiers who endure this,” said the Ukrainian head of state. He also thanked the international partners who understand that under these conditions Ukraine needs even more military assistance.
Ukraine sets a deadline for the Red Cross
Ukraine is pressuring the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to take more care of Ukrainian soldiers in Russian captivity. During a video link, the head of the Kiev presidential office, Andriy Yermak, gave the ICRC three days to visit the Russian prison camp at Olenivka near Donetsk. “We can’t waste any more time. Lives are at stake,” he said.
More than 50 Ukrainian prisoners were killed in an explosion in Olenivka in July. Ukraine believes a bomb was deliberately detonated in the building. The ICRC has not yet managed to gain access to the camp. Zelensky said the ICRC has the right to access and must use it.
Grossi’s shuttle diplomacy to the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, spoke positively after talks with the presidents of Russia and Ukraine on the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant. “The work goes on and I think we’re making good progress,” said Grossi on Thursday evening in Kyiv on plans for a security zone around the embattled Ukrainian nuclear power plant. However, there were no concrete signals of approval from Moscow and Kyiv.
Grossi met Selenski in Kyiv last week. Then this week he traveled to Putin in St. Petersburg, who signaled his willingness to talk. On Thursday, the IAEA Director General was again in Kyiv and spoke with Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.
German gas storage facilities break the 95 percent mark
With a filling level of 95.14 percent, the gas storage facilities in Germany reached the mark set for November 1 early on Thursday evening. In terms of quantity, the gas is sufficient for about two cold winter months, said the President of the Federal Network Agency, Klaus Müller. “The well-stocked stores will help us in winter.”
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At the same time, the head of the authorities emphasized that the storage tanks were not sufficient for the entire heating period and that additional efforts were necessary. This included new liquid gas terminals on Germany’s coast. In addition, the gas supply must also remain stable in neighboring countries, and domestic gas consumption must fall by at least 20 percent, said Müller.
Rosneft sues against trusteeship of its refinery
In the dispute over the trusteeship of the German Rosneft subsidiaries, the Russian oil company has sued the Federal Ministry of Economics. This was announced by the Berlin law firm Malmendier. The requirements for compulsory administration were not met. The case differs fundamentally from that of the German subsidiary of the gas company Gazprom.
Rosneft is fully meeting its crude oil delivery commitments. “There are no interruptions in delivery and no disruptions in performance,” argued the lawyers. The federal government announced in September that it would bring the majority owners of the Brandenburg refinery PCK in Schwedt in Brandenburg – two Rosneft subsidiaries – under state control. The background is a planned oil embargo against Russia, which is to take effect from January 1st.
Ukrainian Ambassador Melnyk bids farewell to Germany
The Ukrainian Ambassador Andriy Melnyk said goodbye to Germany via Twitter. “I return home with a clear conscience and a feeling that I have done my duty to Ukraine, with my head held high,” he wrote early Friday morning. “Thank you, dear German friends, for your patience.” Melnyk wants to leave Germany on Saturday. He is to take up a new post in the Foreign Ministry in Kyiv.
His successor Oleksiy Makejev is expected in Berlin early next week. Selenski recalled Melnyk from his post in mid-July. Melnyk had not only made a name for himself with often harsh criticism of the federal government since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.
That will be important on Friday
The interior ministers of the European Union are meeting in Luxembourg, and Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faser (SPD) is also expected. One topic will be the situation of refugees from Ukraine in the EU.
In Copenhagen, the World Health Organization (WHO) comments in Europe on the health consequences of the war in Ukraine. It’s about how the Ukrainian health system can be better supported.
More: Don’t miss any development – Everything new in our news blog about the Ukraine war