Swift Exclusion & Explosions in Ukraine

New York, Dusseldorf The special session of the Bundestag on Sunday will go down in history. In response to Russia’s attack on Ukraine, Germany plans to massively increase its defense spending. Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced a “special fund” of 100 billion euros.

“We will use the funds for necessary investments and armaments projects,” said the SPD politician. “From now on we will invest more than two percent of the gross domestic product in our defense – year after year.” Scholz also appealed to the entire Bundestag to anchor the special fund for the Bundeswehr in the Basic Law.

It is a reversal in foreign and defense policy. “As democrats, as Europeans, we stand by your side – on the right side of history,” said Scholz on the Russian attack on Ukraine. The Federal Chancellor described Putin’s government in Russia as an “oppressive regime”, which apparently means that the Russian ruler is now also officially classified as a “dictator”.

In addition to increased military spending, the federal government has also decided to build two LNG terminals in Germany to reduce dependence on Russian natural gas. Scholz named Brunsbüttel and Wilhelmshaven as locations. In addition, a coal and gas reserve should be built up.

Fighting in Ukraine continues. According to the governor of Kharkiv, the country’s second largest city is back under Ukrainian control. “Armed forces, police and defense forces are working, and the city is being completely cleared of the enemy,” Oleh Sinegubov writes on Telegram.

On the night of Sunday, Kharkiv was shaken by heavy fighting and bombing. In the morning, the first Russian troops entered the city center behind light military vehicles. Apparently they were pushed back. This could not be verified by an independent body.

Fighting also continues inside Kiev. Ukrainian troops have been fighting “with the remnants of Russian irregular troops” inside Kiev for the second straight night, an intelligence update released by the ministry on social media said. In order to stop the advance of Russian troops, the Ukrainian military apparently also blew up a bridge in front of the gates of the capital. This is the Bucha-Irpin Bridge, about 25 kilometers from the center of Kiev as the crow flies.

After meeting stiff resistance in Chernihiv, Russian troops are now bypassing the area to concentrate on encircling and isolating the capital, Kiev.

Lukashenko admits shelling of Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed volunteers abroad in a morning speech with which he wanted to set up an “international” force. “This will be a crucial demonstration of your support for our country,” Zelensky said. It was also aimed at the people of neighboring Belarus. “From your territory, Russian Federation troops are firing missiles at Ukraine,” the president said in a video message.

For this reason Zelensky also rejects possible talks with a Russian delegation, which according to information from Moscow has traveled to Belarus to start negotiations with Zelensky. The Ukrainian President emphasizes that talks are ready, but only in countries “from which no rockets are fired”. Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko recently admitted that two Russian rockets had been launched from Belarusian territory.

In return, Ukraine has offered to hold talks in Warsaw, Bratislava, Budapest, Istanbul or Baku. “We want to talk, we want to end the war,” Zelensky said in a video message. At the same time, the country claims it has filed a complaint with the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

“Russia must be held accountable for manipulating the notion of genocide to justify aggression,” Zelensky wrote on Twitter on Sunday. “We are calling for an urgent decision ordering Russia to cease military activities now and expect trials to begin next week.”

Meanwhile, on the western border, the number of people fleeing the war is increasing. The UN refugee organization says that 368,000 people have left Ukraine so far.

Russia withdraws overflight rights – Lufthansa no longer wants to fly to Russia

Russia closed its airspace to aircraft from a number of EU countries on Sunday night. According to a statement from the Russian aviation authority, machines from Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania and Slovenia are no longer allowed to fly to Russia, as reported by the Tass agency. The ban also applies to transit flights and overflights through Russian airspace. This is a reaction to corresponding steps by these states.

In response to the invasion of Ukraine, several EU countries have already closed their airspace to aircraft from Russian companies. In addition to the Baltic States and Slovenia, Bulgaria, Romania, Poland and the Czech Republic have also decided to take this measure. The UK has also blocked Russian flights. Germany will block the airspace for Russian airlines for three months from 3 p.m. on Sunday.

West decides to exclude Russian banks from Swift

Germany and Western allies decided late on Saturday evening to exclude Russian financial institutions from the Swift banking communications network. This was announced by government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit in Berlin. The decision was made by the United States, France, Canada, Italy, Great Britain, the European Commission and Germany.

All Russian banks that have already been sanctioned by the international community are affected. If necessary, other Russian banks should also be added. This is intended to isolate these institutions from international financial flows, which will massively restrict their global activities. “Most likely, most of the world’s banks will stop doing business with the Russian banks that will be locked out of Swift altogether,” a senior White House official said in Washington.

In addition, according to the federal government, the countries decided to further restrict the possibilities of the Russian central bank to support the ruble exchange rate with international financial transactions.

The sanctions adopted were also aimed at individuals and entities in Russia and elsewhere who supported the war against Ukraine. In particular, the possibility for wealthy Russians to obtain a so-called golden passport and thus European citizenship for themselves and their family members should be ended.

This is how the Handelsblatt reports on the developments in the Ukraine war:

Russia’s central bank, meanwhile, said on Sunday that there is enough capital and liquidity for uninterrupted functioning in any given situation. “All client funds remain in the accounts and are accessible at any given moment,” the statement said. Banking services would also work as usual. However, numerous Russian bank customers had reported problems withdrawing money from ATMs and paying with cards.

protests in Russia

More than 3,000 demonstrators have been arrested in Russia in recent days during nationwide protests against the war in Ukraine. The civil rights group OWD-Info reported on Saturday evening at least 3093 arrests in the past three days. Almost 2,000 people were arrested on the first day alone, immediately after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The horror of their own country’s war against Ukraine has driven many people to protest in Russia. However, the Russian security forces are brutally cracking down on demonstrators. The Russian authorities warn against taking part in the unauthorized rallies. Demonstrations are not allowed under the pretext of security against infection in the corona pandemic.

With agency material

More: “A Swift exclusion that hits the right people” – Europe agrees on next sanctions against Russia