US Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo warns that Russia is trying to circumvent Western sanctions over Turkey. According to the US Treasury Department, Adeyemo conveyed this concern to Turkey’s Deputy Finance Minister Yunus Elitas. In a phone call, the two politicians also discussed ongoing efforts to enforce sanctions against Russia.

Despite a warning from the USA, Turkey sees no violation of western sanctions aimed at Russia in the Ukraine war. Turkey has extensive economic and political ties with Russia and Ukraine, the Turkish Ministry of Finance announced. Turkey’s Deputy Finance Minister Yunus Elitas confirmed that Turkey’s position on the punitive measures has not changed. The government in Ankara will not allow the sanctions to be violated. (Reuters)

According to the occupying authorities, the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, which was occupied by Russian troops, was again subjected to artillery fire by Ukrainian forces. Critical objects were not hit, according to a statement published on Saturday by the Russian military administration in the city of Enerhodar, where Europe’s largest nuclear power plant is located.

The NATO ammunition was fired from the opposite bank of the Dnipro River and hit the site of the nuclear power plant – in the immediate vicinity of an administration building, it said. Four bullets were registered. “Critical objects of the plant are not damaged.” The information could not be verified by an independent party.

Russia and Ukraine repeatedly accuse each other of shelling nuclear power plants and planning provocations. Occupation representative Vladimir Rogov accused Ukraine of “nuclear terrorism”. It will be checked whether there are injuries. The number of employees has already been reduced in view of the danger. With six reactors and a net output of 5700 megawatts, Europe’s largest nuclear power plant was occupied by Russian troops in early March. It is of strategic importance for the country’s electricity supply. (dpa)

According to a media report, Austria’s Foreign Ministry has appointed Russia’s permanent representative to international organizations, Mikhail Ulyanov, for Sunday. The Foreign Ministry is reacting to a Twitter comment by Ulyanov, reports “Bild”. He is said to have written under a tweet by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy: “No mercy for the Ukrainian people!”.

The Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament, Ruslan Stefanchuk, had previously called on Austria to declare the Permanent Representative persona non grata (undesirable person) for “calling for genocide” and to expel him immediately. (Reuters)

Before Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s trip to Canada, the head of the Ukrainian energy company Naftogaz, Jurij Vitrenko, also expressed interest in Canadian liquefied natural gas (LNG). “LNG from Canada is a much better alternative than gas from Russia,” Vitrenko told Reuters on Saturday.

Canada is a democratic country that does not invade its neighbors, he said, referring to the Russian attack on Ukraine. “Canadian providers do not have a dominant position in the German market and do not abuse it like Gazprom, which artificially tightens supply, dominates the market and rips off its customers,” added Vitrenko.

Already on June 13, Naftogaz and the Canadian company Symbio, which is behind the LNG project Energie Saguenay in the east, signed a letter of intent for the supply of LNG and hydrogen. “Canadian LNG from Symbio is much more environmentally friendly than gas from Gazprom,” Vitrenko said. Much less methane and CO2 emissions would be released due to “superior technologies and care”.

Ukraine is looking for alternatives to Russian gas. The trip by Scholz and Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck to Canada, which begins on Sunday, will also deal with the possibilities of whether the North American country could supply Europe with liquid gas and hydrogen. However, the construction of LNG terminals on the east coast is controversial. (Reuters)

Russia has accused Ukraine of poisoning several Russian soldiers in the Russian-held Zaporizhia region. On July 31, several soldiers with symptoms of poisoning were taken to a military hospital, the Defense Ministry in Moscow said. The poison botulinum toxin type B was found in them. The ministry speaks of “chemical terrorism” in Ukraine.

The Ukrainian Ministry of the Interior, on the other hand, names spoiled canned meat, in which this poison often occurs, as a possible cause of poisoning. According to a ministry adviser, Russian troops have received numerous complaints about past-date canned meat. (Reuters)

According to information from Kyiv, Russia has also fired on civilians and non-military infrastructure in new rocket and artillery attacks in Ukraine. In the Donetsk region, 7 civilians were killed and another 13 injured within 24 hours, the General Staff in Kyiv said on Saturday. “The area has no gas, partly no water and no electricity. The evacuation of the population is continuing.” In many places, the Russian attacks were successfully repelled, it said. The Ukrainian air force also attacked enemy positions. The information could not initially be verified by an independent party. (dpa)

According to Ukrainian sources, twelve people were injured in a Russian bomb attack in southern Ukraine near the country’s second largest nuclear power plant. The bombs hit a residential building and other houses in Voznesensk in the southern Ukrainian region of Mykolayiv, the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office said on Telegram on Saturday.

According to preliminary information, three children were among the injured, two of whom were in a “critical” condition. The regional governor of Mykolaiv, Vitali Kim, had previously reported on Telegram that nine were injured. Among them are four children and young people aged between three and 17 who are “all in critical condition”.

Voznesensk is about 20 kilometers away from Ukraine’s second largest nuclear power plant in Pivdennoukrainsk. The Russian attack in the 30-kilometer zone around the power plant is “another cynical act of nuclear terrorism,” said the Ukrainian power plant operator Energoatom on Telegram. It cannot be ruled out that the projectiles were fired in the direction of the power plant.

The Russian military tried to seize the nuclear power plant at the beginning of March, the operator added. The “terrorist country” Russia fired on a residential building, wrote the head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office, Andriy Yermak, on Telegram ensure that not only today’s generation of Russians are held responsible, but also their children and grandchildren,” he added. Russia will “pay for everything”. (AFP)

During a visit to Istanbul, UN Secretary-General António Guterres praised the work involved in opening the secure corridor for grain from Ukraine attacked by Russia. “What an impressive and inspiring operation,” Guterres said during a speech at the control center set up specifically for the grain deal on Friday.

But exporting Ukrainian grain is only part of the solution. According to Guterres, Russian food and fertilizers must also be given unhindered access to global markets. “Without fertilizer in 2022, there may not be enough food in 2023.” (dpa)

I think of our people who need fortitude to face the times ahead, to withstand uncertainty, sometimes comfort and adversity, and to collectively accept paying the price for our freedom and values.