No hope for a quick end to the war.
(Photo: AP)
Kyiv Russia is cutting off gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria, further increasing tensions with the West. Warsaw said it was prepared for the gas stop. The Federal Ministry of Economics said that the supply in Germany was guaranteed.
Meanwhile, Ukraine mourned the deaths and injuries after new Russian attacks. Kyiv is also prepared for a possible attack by Russian troops from Moldovan Transnistria.
Poland’s climate minister Anna Moskwa said that from Wednesday morning at 8 a.m. no more Russian gas would flow through the Yamal pipeline to Poland. The effects of the delivery stop are small. Since the first days of the Ukraine war, Warsaw has declared that it is ready for full independence from Russian raw materials.
Polish Government Commissioner for Strategic Energy Infrastructure Piotr Naimski assured that gas will continue to flow to Germany via Nord Stream 1. The security of supply in Germany is currently still guaranteed, said a spokeswoman for Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens) on Tuesday evening after the news from Poland. “We are monitoring the situation closely.”
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The Ministry of Energy in Sofia announced that Bulgaria had also taken steps towards an alternative gas supply. For the time being, there is no need to limit gas consumption. It has “completely fulfilled” its commitments and made all payments for Russian gas “timely and strictly” required by the current contract, the statement said.
A local online portal reported that gas payment for May was made in the usual way, and not through two newly opened accounts at Gazprom Bank, as requested by Gazprom – in dollars and in rubles. Poland also does not want to use this account solution to pay for natural gas in rubles, as Russia has demanded.
>>> Read about this: Russia extends its war aim to Moldova
At the end of March, Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin demanded that Western countries open accounts with the Gazprom Bank effective April 1 in order to pay for Russian gas deliveries. Otherwise these would be set for the “unfriendly” countries.
Ukraine reports deaths and injuries in hostilities
After new Russian attacks, Ukraine reported further deaths and injuries in several regions of the country. In the Donetsk region in the east, three civilians were killed in three separate incidents, the governor of the region, Pavel Kyrylenko, said on Telegram.
In the large city of Kharkiv in the east of the country, three other people were killed and seven injured as a result of shelling, the governor of the region, Oleh Synyehubov, said on Telegram.
Ukraine’s presidential adviser: War may last until the end of the year
According to the Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych, the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine could drag on for many months. If, for example, active combat operations in the Donbass are stopped after the current offensive and positions are taken up, this does not mean the end of the war, said Arestovych in a YouTube interview, as reported by the Ukrainian agency Unian.
The weapons newly received by Ukraine could have a “serious impact” on the fighting in late May or early June. The war itself could last until the end of the year.
Ukraine: Forces ready for possible attack from Transnistria
The Ukrainian armed forces are prepared for a possible attack by Russian troops from the Moldovan separatist region of Transnistria. That’s what Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in Kyiv.
The strength of these troops is known and the Ukrainian armed forces are not afraid of them. A contingent of Russian soldiers is stationed in Transnistria.
According to Zelensky, Moscow’s goals go far beyond Ukraine. “The ultimate goal of the Russian leadership is not only the conquest of Ukraine, but the destruction of the entire center and eastern Europe,” Zelensky said in his evening video message, which was published on Telegram on Wednesday night. A “global strike against democracy” is also part of the goal.
More Handelsblatt articles on the war in Ukraine
Union calls for relief package for the economy
In view of the burdens also caused by the Ukraine war, the Union called on the federal government to provide a comprehensive relief package for the economy. In a Bundestag motion, the CDU/CSU parliamentary group advocates, among other things, a “moratorium on tax burdens”, tax relief and more flexible labor law regulations. The competitiveness and sustainability of the economy must be strengthened. The application is to be discussed in the Bundestag on Thursday.
That’s going to be important today
The focus of the Bundestag session is on Russia’s war against Ukraine and its consequences. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) answers questions from MPs. It should again be a question of whether and which heavy weapons Germany will make available to Ukraine.
The federal cabinet also wants to pass a billion-euro relief package because of the sharp rise in energy prices.
More: You can follow the latest developments in our news blog