Bundescancer Olaf Scholz is apparently on his way to the Ukraine. He made his way to Kyiv together with French President Emmanuel Macron and Italy’s Prime Minister Mario Draghi, reports include the ZDF. The three met at night in the Polish city of Rzeszow and boarded a special train to Ukraine. The Italian newspaper “La Repubblica” published photos of the statesmen from the train.
For Scholz, the Kyiv trip could curb an uncomfortable long-term debate, since the federal government has not only come under considerable criticism for delayed arms deliveries to Ukraine, but also for waiting to visit Ukraine, which some perceive as an affront.
Federal Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) promised on Wednesday the delivery of three Mars II multiple rocket launchers to Ukraine. However, this is one system less than expected. At the beginning of June, on the fringes of a general debate in the Bundestag, government circles said that Germany would deliver four multiple rocket launchers.
Selenskyj wants to take part in summits
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he would represent his war-torn country’s interests at the G7 and NATO summits in late June. He gratefully accepted the invitations to the top meetings, said Zelenskyj on Twitter on Wednesday evening. It was initially unclear whether the Ukrainian head of state would leave his country for this or whether the video would be used as in other meetings. Overall, Zelenskyy saw great progress in international support for his country, he said in his video address that evening.
The military situation, especially in eastern Ukraine, remained extremely tense. “The fierce battle for the Luhansk region continues,” said Ukrainian commander-in-chief Valery Zalushny. The Russian troops attacked there from nine directions at the same time, he wrote on Facebook. The EU Commission intends to make its recommendation this Thursday in Brussels as to whether Ukraine will receive the hoped-for status as a candidate country.
Talks with Biden and Johnson
In his evening video, Zelenskyi listed all of Wednesday’s international contacts: phone calls with US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, a meeting with the heads of government from Albania and Montenegro, Edi Rama and Dritan Abazovic. The meeting of the US-led Ukraine contact group on Wednesday in Brussels sent the signal that arms deliveries would be stabilized, Zelensky said.
After the phone call with Zelenskyy, Biden announced another $1 billion in arms deliveries. The United States also provided an additional US$225 million (around €217 million) in humanitarian assistance to the country.
G 7 meet in Bavaria
Selenskyj said that Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) had invited him to the group of seven leading Western industrial nations. The invitation to join NATO came from Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. The G-7 meeting is scheduled to take place June 26-28 at the luxury alpine hotel Schloss Elmau in Bavaria. In addition to the USA and Germany, the G 7 also includes Japan, Great Britain, France, Italy and Canada. The EU is also represented at all meetings.
“Ukraine did everything possible to obtain candidate status,” Zelenskyy said of his country’s EU ambitions. Kyiv applied to join the EU shortly after the February 24 Russian invasion. The EU Commission wants to make its recommendation this Thursday as to whether the country should be granted candidate status. The EU states then want to deal with it at their summit at the end of next week. Ultimately, the EU countries must decide unanimously on this.
Immediately after the G-7 summit at the end of June, the NATO summit will begin in the Spanish capital of Madrid. The main focus will be on strengthening the eastern flank against Russia. When asked whether Zelenskyy would come to Madrid, Stoltenberg said: “He is welcome to come in person. If that is not possible for him, he will speak to us via video conference.”
“The enemy is using aircraft, multiple rocket launchers and artillery to drive our troops away,” Zalushny, the commander-in-chief, wrote of the fighting in the east. The key to the Ukrainian defense operation is the city of Sieverodonetsk, which has been fought over for days. The city, which is the seat of the Ukrainian administration in the Luhansk region, is already largely in Russian hands. For Ukraine, abandoning the city would be a significant, symbolic defeat. For Russia, in turn, the complete conquest of the Luhansk region is an important war goal.
Even less Russian gas for Germany
The Russian energy group Gazprom has again reduced the gas delivery volumes through the Nord Stream 1 Baltic Sea pipeline to Germany. Gazprom announced that from Thursday night only a maximum of 67 million cubic meters would be pumped through the pipeline every day. The state-owned company once again justified this step with delays in repair work. Gazprom had already announced on Tuesday that the daily volume would be reduced by around 40 percent from 167 million to 100 million cubic meters of gas per day and pointed to delays in the repair of gas compressors.
According to Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck, Russia wants to cause unrest with the delivery cuts. “The justification given by the Russian side is simply pretended. It is obviously the strategy to unsettle and drive up prices, ”said the Green politician. The quantities could currently be procured on the market, albeit at high prices. It is currently still being saved: “The security of supply is guaranteed.”
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